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Title: An experimental investigation of the effects of sex and status on proxemic behavior in dyadic interviews.
Creator: Russ, Nanelle Davis, Pryor, Albert, Social Sciences
Abstract / Description: Florida Technological University College of Social Sciences Thesis; Man's perception of his personal space can be compared to a basic concept in the study of animal behavior, territoriality, defined by Hall as "behavior" by which an organism characteristically lays claim to an area and defends it against members of its own species. (1966, p. 7) Territoriality was first described in 1920 by the English ornithologist H. E. Howard. He recognized events that had been noted by naturalists as far...
Show moreFlorida Technological University College of Social Sciences Thesis; Man's perception of his personal space can be compared to a basic concept in the study of animal behavior, territoriality, defined by Hall as "behavior" by which an organism characteristically lays claim to an area and defends it against members of its own species. (1966, p. 7) Territoriality was first described in 1920 by the English ornithologist H. E. Howard. He recognized events that had been noted by naturalists as far back as the seventeenth century as manifestations of territoriality (Hall, 1966).
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Date Issued: 1976
Identifier: CFR0003502, ucf:53014
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFR0003502

Title: SPITEFUL HOUSES, SWEET HOMES: ANALYZING DENVER'S TRAUMATIC SPACE IN BELOVED.
Creator: Dick, Tyler, Angley, Patricia, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis aims to explore and evaluate the traumatic space of Denver in Toni Morrison's Beloved. Currently, a lack of critical discourse exists to link together Denver, trauma, and theories of spatiality. This thesis evaluates three types of trauma that inform and develop Denver's traumatic space: direct, indirect, and insidious trauma. Paired with spatial theories, the origins of Denver's trauma are mapped throughout the various places of the novel. The result of this analysis reveals a...
Show moreThis thesis aims to explore and evaluate the traumatic space of Denver in Toni Morrison's Beloved. Currently, a lack of critical discourse exists to link together Denver, trauma, and theories of spatiality. This thesis evaluates three types of trauma that inform and develop Denver's traumatic space: direct, indirect, and insidious trauma. Paired with spatial theories, the origins of Denver's trauma are mapped throughout the various places of the novel. The result of this analysis reveals a complex and layered traumatic space, with lasting ramifications on Denver's sense of safety, identity, and stability in a post-slavery United States.
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Date Issued: 2019
Identifier: CFH2000484, ucf:45797
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000484

Title: Learning Spaces are WAC: Investigating How Classroom Space Design Influences Student Disciplinary Identities.
Creator: Berry, Landon, Zemliansky, Pavel, Vie, Stephanie, Bowdon, Melody, Pigg, Stacey, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation used classroom observations, movement mapping, instructor interviews, and student focus groups to examine the ways in which both instructors and students navigated the classroom spaces they were assigned in upper-level, discipline-specific courses. By focusing on three diverse disciplines (writing and rhetoric, education, and chemistry), this dissertation makes arguments about how the design of classroom spaces (as well as the tools that are housed therein) support,...
Show moreThis dissertation used classroom observations, movement mapping, instructor interviews, and student focus groups to examine the ways in which both instructors and students navigated the classroom spaces they were assigned in upper-level, discipline-specific courses. By focusing on three diverse disciplines (writing and rhetoric, education, and chemistry), this dissertation makes arguments about how the design of classroom spaces (as well as the tools that are housed therein) support, facilitate, and detract from a student's ability to develop a disciplinary identity, which is defined here as the social and linguistic construction of a practitioner of a discipline that is shaped by the language, positions, and peer acknowledgement negotiated by that discipline. Moreover, this dissertation also makes arguments about how tools that are common across many disciplines (desktops, chairs, etc.) support or detract from student engagement. Ultimately, this dissertation argues that teachers across disciplines can be mindful of the spaces they are assigned (even if those spaces were perhaps not designed with disciplinary goals in mind) in an effort to help students begin to think of those spaces as extensions of their discipline so they can better imagine themselves as future professionals in those spaces.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0006977, ucf:51651
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006977

Title: INDIA AND CHINA SPACE PROGRAMS: FROM GENESIS OF SPACE TECHNOLOGIES TO MAJOR SPACE PROGRAMS AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.
Creator: BHOLA, GAURAV, HANDBERG, ROGER, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The Indian and Chinese space programs have evolved into technologically advanced vehicles of national prestige and international competition for developed nations. The programs continue to evolve with impetus that India and China will have the same space capabilities as the United States with in the coming years. This will present new challenges to the international community in spheres civilian, to space and military applications and their residual benefits.
Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002745, ucf:48156
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002745

Title: SPACE MATTERS: AN INSTITUTIONAL CRITIQUE OF DISTANCE LEARNING WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA ENGLISH DEPARTMENT.
Creator: Mumpower, Lori, Kitalong, Karla, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation examines distance learning within a local, particular context: UCF's English department. In order to fully examine distance learning in this specific environment, I employ institutional critique as my methodology, a rhetorical and spatial approach that allows me to map distance learning within UCF's English department. Drawing upon the work of David Harvey, I examine the experienced, perceived, and imagined spaces of distance learning in our department. Through an...
Show moreThis dissertation examines distance learning within a local, particular context: UCF's English department. In order to fully examine distance learning in this specific environment, I employ institutional critique as my methodology, a rhetorical and spatial approach that allows me to map distance learning within UCF's English department. Drawing upon the work of David Harvey, I examine the experienced, perceived, and imagined spaces of distance learning in our department. Through an examination of the history of naming UCF, rhetorical analyses of institutional documents that reference technologies, analysis of survey results noting faculty attitudes and perceptions of online learning, and postmodern mapping of faculty members' perceived and ideal spaces, we can find local solutions for local problems related to distance learning.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001708, ucf:47331
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001708

Title: MODELED AND OBSERVED N2 LYMAN-BIRGE-HOPFIELD BAND EMISSIONS IN EARTH'S DAYGLOW: A COMPARISON.
Creator: Murray, Donald, Eastes, Richard, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Ultraviolet (UV) spectra obtained from Earth's dayglow contain important information for understanding the thermosphere, and the N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield (LBH) bands are possibly the most useful emission. To be useful, a thorough understanding of how the LBH band emission varies with altitude and latitude is essential to present and future use of this emission by space-based remote sensors. Excited by photoelectron impact on N2 leading to transitions from the a 1Πg state to the ground...
Show moreUltraviolet (UV) spectra obtained from Earth's dayglow contain important information for understanding the thermosphere, and the N2 Lyman-Birge-Hopfield (LBH) bands are possibly the most useful emission. To be useful, a thorough understanding of how the LBH band emission varies with altitude and latitude is essential to present and future use of this emission by space-based remote sensors. Excited by photoelectron impact on N2 leading to transitions from the a 1Πg state to the ground state, the LBH emissions radiate between 1270 and 2400 Å. In addition to being populated by electron impact excitation, the a 1Πg state is populated by radiative and collisional cascading from adjacent singlet states a' 1Σu, and w 1Δu (Eastes, 2000). Ultimately, the intensity is most dependent on low energy electron flux (Ajello and Shemansky, 1985; Meier, 1991) because that is where the electron impact scattering cross sections of the singlet states are the largest. This dissertation presents modeled LBH profiles produced using the Intrasystem Cascade Excitation (ICE) model (Eastes, 2000) with photoelectron fluxes calculated using the Continuous Slowing Down (CSD) model (Jasperse, 1976). Both of these models implement the Mass Spectrometer and Incoherent Scatter (MSIS) to model an atmosphere. Modeled emissions are compared against observations by the High resolution Ionospheric and Thermospheric Spectrograph (HITS) on the Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite (ARGOS). This dissertation will investigate the LBH emissions in detail and ultimately use them for remote sensing of thermospheric temperatures.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001986, ucf:47422
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001986

Title: "A MAN'S WORLD"?: A STUDY OF FEMALE WORKERS AT NASA'S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER.
Creator: Schwartz, Nanci, Leckie, Shirley, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: By focusing on women workers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this study seeks to understand why women were initially congregated in certain occupations such as clerical work and later moved into non-traditional jobs such as engineering and the sciences. Such an investigation requires careful examination of the changing attitudes towards female workers in technical or non-traditional fields and why and how those attitudes changed over time and the extent to which this occurred. It...
Show moreBy focusing on women workers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this study seeks to understand why women were initially congregated in certain occupations such as clerical work and later moved into non-traditional jobs such as engineering and the sciences. Such an investigation requires careful examination of the changing attitudes towards female workers in technical or non-traditional fields and why and how those attitudes changed over time and the extent to which this occurred. It also attempts to identify areas of continuing concern. The study reveals that several factors contributed to the women's progress in the workplace. These included the rise of the second wave of feminism, the federal government's support for the new feminism, favorable U.S. Supreme Court decisions and the willingness of officials at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to implement federal decrees. In addition, the women's movement expanded its efforts to encourage women to gain the skills and education that were necessary to move women into scientific and technical fields, although recently that effort has reached a plateau. The research for this study includes employee data from NASA and KSC, oral histories with female KSC workers, articles from KSC's official employee newsletter, Spaceport News, websites, and other secondary sources about women in technical fields, women in the workplace, and the recruitment of women into the labor force. Data from NASA and Spaceport News articles was also compared with information obtained through oral histories, to determine if the official policies of KSC influenced the behavior of its employees. Attention is also given to the legislation and court cases that opened doors for women seeking new avenues of advancement and the extent to which these outside factors influenced changes in women's employment and opportunities at KSC. This study shows that the status of women at KSC changed along with the larger women's movement in America. Supreme Court cases and Equal Employment Opportunity laws helped women gain headway in fields traditionally occupied by men. Women received token representation at first, but later moved up in their fields and even became senior managers. This change took place over a long period of time and is still ongoing. At the same time, there is still strong evidence of backlash and some weakening on the part of federal government in terms of its willingness to support women's drive for equality.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: CFE0000292, ucf:46211
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000292

Title: MONITORING A POTENTIALLY STRESSFUL SITUATION IN CAPTIVE WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS (GORILLA GORILLA GORILLA) THROUGH ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR AND URINARY CORTISOL.
Creator: Skurski, Douglas, Waterman, Jane, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The concept of quantifying animal welfare has received much discussion, in various industries such as agriculture, laboratory, and zoological facilities. Behavioral, physical, and physiological indicators of welfare have previously been used to assess animal welfare; each having advantages and disadvantages, ranging from the practicality of data collection, to the validity of the data and how it is interpreted. Concurrent assessment of multiple measures is a more robust way to examine animal...
Show moreThe concept of quantifying animal welfare has received much discussion, in various industries such as agriculture, laboratory, and zoological facilities. Behavioral, physical, and physiological indicators of welfare have previously been used to assess animal welfare; each having advantages and disadvantages, ranging from the practicality of data collection, to the validity of the data and how it is interpreted. Concurrent assessment of multiple measures is a more robust way to examine animal welfare, which utilizes the advantages of each measure, and provides additional information on which to base conclusions and animal care management decisions. This study used measures of behavior and urinary cortisol to examine the potential stress response of a captive gorilla group to short-term space restriction associated with temporary confinement to indoor housing facilities. The study duration was three months; one month of baseline data collection, one month of indoor restriction, and one month of monitoring post-restriction. All-occurrences of selected behaviors were collected, with an emphasis on social and stress-related behaviors, and urine samples were collected daily from a sub-set of the group. A urinary cortisol metabolite enzyme immunoassay was validated and used to monitor adrenal activity in gorillas. Measured cortisol increases in response to a known stressor (medical illness) provided a physical validation of the cortisol EIA and established biological relevance of the assay system. No significant differences in social behaviors (aggression, affiliation) or stereotypic behaviors were observed. Significant (p<0.05) increases in cortisol concentration were measured, suggesting that the gorillas were responding to a stressor during the study period. The observed cortisol increase was not likely to have been caused exclusively by the temporary indoor confinement. Potential additional causes of increased adrenal activity during the study included: presence of the observer and novelty of re-landscaped outdoor enclosure. While the increases in cortisol concentration demonstrate an observed stress response, the magnitude of this stressor, and thus the degree of the stress response, was minor. The stress experienced was not significant enough to alter the normal biological function of the gorillas, and thus, can be considered negligible. The gorillas' ability to effectively deal with this expected stressor may have been enhanced by the additional enrichment provided to the gorillas during their indoor confinement. Gorillas were provided with additional browse, more enrichment items, additional training sessions, and increased keeper interaction while they remained indoors. These animal care and management techniques may have buffered the predicted negative impact on animal welfare due to increases in stress by providing stimulating novelty in the gorillas' indoor environment.
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Date Issued: 2006
Identifier: CFE0000923, ucf:46744
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000923

Title: THE RISE OF ASIA'S DEMOCRATIC SPACE POWERS: HOW JAPAN AND INDIA BECAME THE NEXT SPACE POWERS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.
Creator: Kunze, Shane, Handberg, Roger, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Since the end of World War II the world has seen several nations expand into the space age. Also after the Second World War, the Cold War began and many nations found themselves allying themselves with either the hegemony of the West or the Communists. Space was no exception in this dilemma, as weaker nations began to develop their own indigenous space programs and had technological diffusion from one of the hegemonies. Japan and India are two democracies that both sought support for their...
Show moreSince the end of World War II the world has seen several nations expand into the space age. Also after the Second World War, the Cold War began and many nations found themselves allying themselves with either the hegemony of the West or the Communists. Space was no exception in this dilemma, as weaker nations began to develop their own indigenous space programs and had technological diffusion from one of the hegemonies. Japan and India are two democracies that both sought support for their indigenous space programs from the west, particularly from the U.S. These two nations emerged from poverty and a broken infrastructure during the 1950s and have grown over the last sixty years into two of the most advanced space-faring nations in the world. These two nations have overcome several external and internal factors ranging from Communist expansion to bureaucratic strife. Japan and India have been and remain the two leading democratic nations in Asia that have risen to the rank of space power.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFH0004170, ucf:44858
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004170

Title: Joint Optimization of Illumination and Communication for a Multi-Element VLC Architecture.
Creator: Ibne Mushfique, Sifat, Yuksel, Murat, Pourmohammadi Fallah, Yaser, Turgut, Damla, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Because of the ever increasing demand wireless data in the modern era, the Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum is becoming more congested. The remaining RF spectrum is being shrunk at a very heavy rate, and spectral management is becoming more difficult. Mobile data is estimated to grow more than 10 times between 2013 and 2019, and due to this explosion in data usage, mobile operators are having serious concerns focusing on public Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and other alternative technologies....
Show moreBecause of the ever increasing demand wireless data in the modern era, the Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum is becoming more congested. The remaining RF spectrum is being shrunk at a very heavy rate, and spectral management is becoming more difficult. Mobile data is estimated to grow more than 10 times between 2013 and 2019, and due to this explosion in data usage, mobile operators are having serious concerns focusing on public Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and other alternative technologies. Visible Light Communication (VLC) is a recent promising technology complementary to RF spectrum which operates at the visible light spectrum band (roughly 400 THz to 780 THz) and it has 10,000 times bigger size than radio waves (roughly 3 kHz to 300 GHz). Due to this tremendous potential, VLC has captured a lot of interest recently as there is already an extensive deployment of energy efficient Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). The advancements in LED technology with fast nanosecond switching times is also very encouraging. In this work, we present hybrid RF/VLC architecture which is capable of providing simultaneous lighting and communication coverage in an indoor setting. The architecture consists of a multi-element hemispherical bulb design, where it is possible to transmit multiple data streams from the multi-element hemispherical bulb using LED modules. We present the detailed components of the architecture and make simulations considering various VLC transmitter configurations. Also, we devise an approach for an efficient bulb design mechanism to maintain both illumination and communication at a satisfactory rate, and analyze it in the case of two users in a room. The approach involves formulating an optimization problem and tackling the problem using a simple partitioning algorithm. The results indicate that good link quality and high spatial reuse can be maintained in a typical indoor communication setting.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007016, ucf:52025
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007016

Title: Human Spaceflight Decision-Making as a Potential Well Problem.
Creator: Litwin, Ari, Handberg, Roger, Dolan, Thomas, Houghton, David, Sadri, Houman, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This study investigates funding within the US human spaceflight program in the time-period from 2004 to 2012. The approach taken employed the (")potential well(") model from physical science. The potential well model constrains any physical body trapped within it, and similarly a political (")funding well(") will constrain all programmatic decision-making.Two potential well models are employed, one represents classical physics while the other represents quantum physics. Since each model...
Show moreThis study investigates funding within the US human spaceflight program in the time-period from 2004 to 2012. The approach taken employed the (")potential well(") model from physical science. The potential well model constrains any physical body trapped within it, and similarly a political (")funding well(") will constrain all programmatic decision-making.Two potential well models are employed, one represents classical physics while the other represents quantum physics. Since each model results in motion with certain properties, it can be seen if funding decisions also exhibit similar properties. In physics, the bifurcation between the classical world of aggregate bodies and the quantum world of individual particles is an indicator of deeper physical principles. This study seeks to explore whether this bifurcation exists in the political world as well. If so, it would help explain space policy evolution from 2004 to 2012, and provide evidence concerning the usefulness of physical models for discovering further trends in social science, including political science.The study of a bifurcation in space policy political decision-making resulted in an unclear relationship since some properties were found to be similar to their physical counterpart, some were found to be different, and one property, the quantization of funding into discrete increments, was absent from political decision-making. Further studies are required to explore this bifurcation in greater detail. However, the potential well did prove to be a powerful model in explaining the evolution of human spaceflight policy in 2004 to 2012 as it provided a framework to explain dynamics that may have otherwise remained unclear.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004401, ucf:49370
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004401

Title: IMPROVING PROJECT MANAGEMENT WITH SIMULATION AND COMPLETION DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS.
Creator: Cates, Grant, Mollaghasemi, Mansooreh, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Despite the critical importance of project completion timeliness, management practices in place today remain inadequate for addressing the persistent problem of project completion tardiness. Uncertainty has been identified as a contributing factor in late projects. This uncertainty resides in activity duration estimates, unplanned upsetting events, and the potential unavailability of critical resources. This research developed a comprehensive simulation based methodology for conducting...
Show moreDespite the critical importance of project completion timeliness, management practices in place today remain inadequate for addressing the persistent problem of project completion tardiness. Uncertainty has been identified as a contributing factor in late projects. This uncertainty resides in activity duration estimates, unplanned upsetting events, and the potential unavailability of critical resources. This research developed a comprehensive simulation based methodology for conducting quantitative project completion-time risk assessments. The methodology enables project stakeholders to visualize uncertainty or risk, i.e. the likelihood of their project completing late and the magnitude of the lateness, by providing them with a completion time distribution function of their projects. Discrete event simulation is used to determine a project's completion distribution function. The project simulation is populated with both deterministic and stochastic elements. Deterministic inputs include planned activities and resource requirements. Stochastic inputs include activity duration growth distributions, probabilities for unplanned upsetting events, and other dynamic constraints upon project activities. Stochastic inputs are based upon past data from similar projects. The time for an entity to complete the simulation network, subject to both the deterministic and stochastic factors, represents the time to complete the project. Multiple replications of the simulation are run to create the completion distribution function. The methodology was demonstrated to be effective for the on-going project to assemble the International Space Station. Approximately $500 million per month is being spent on this project, which is scheduled to complete by 2010. Project stakeholders participated in determining and managing completion distribution functions. The first result was improved project completion risk awareness. Secondly, mitigation options were analyzed to improve project completion performance and reduce total project cost.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: CFE0000209, ucf:46243
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000209

Title: Constituting Rhetorical Agency in a Feminist Discursive Space.
Creator: Raynor, Ella, Scott, Blake, Jones, Natasha, Brenckle, Martha, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis details an analysis of a project called Exposing the Silence in order to learn about agency and discursive space. This gallery for traumatic birth stories serves as a relevant site for better understanding how women are constituting their experiences with embodied autonomy and rhetorical dis/empowerment and how they come together to visually and discursively form a feminist space online. I completed a rhetorical analysis of the birth narratives and of an interview with Lindsay...
Show moreThis thesis details an analysis of a project called Exposing the Silence in order to learn about agency and discursive space. This gallery for traumatic birth stories serves as a relevant site for better understanding how women are constituting their experiences with embodied autonomy and rhetorical dis/empowerment and how they come together to visually and discursively form a feminist space online. I completed a rhetorical analysis of the birth narratives and of an interview with Lindsay Askins, one of the creators of Exposing the Silence.My study finds that a dyadic relationship between embodied autonomy and rhetorical agency exists while women negotiate power constructs during their traumatic obstetric experiences. When their rhetorical agency was diminished, so was their embodied autonomy. While they asserted agency during the traumatic experience, loss of agency is the main reason for their feelings of trauma. However, they work to re-assert rhetorical agency by sharing their narratives in the discursive space. The discursive space of the website is feminist because it promotes the rhetorical agency of its users and provides the opportunity for its users to socially construct that agency.My study contributes to the rhetoric of health and medicine (RHM) through its focus on how women constitute their embodied autonomy and rhetorical agency when speaking about an experience in which they lost some amount of both. I especially contribute an interpretation of how rhetorical agency, a discursive assertion of agency, can interact with agency itself, or embodied autonomy, without being the same entities. This project also contributes to RHM through its focus on how an online feminist visual-discursive space is socially constructed by its occupants and creators to assert rhetorical agency.
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Date Issued: 2018
Identifier: CFE0007238, ucf:52238
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007238

Title: OPTIMAL DUAL FRAMES FOR ERASURES AND DISCRETE GABOR FRAMES.
Creator: Lopez, Jerry, Han, Deguang, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Since their discovery in the early 1950's, frames have emerged as an important tool in areas such as signal processing, image processing, data compression and sampling theory, just to name a few. Our purpose of this dissertation is to investigate dual frames and the ability to find dual frames which are optimal when coping with the problem of erasures in data transmission. In addition, we study a special class of frames which exhibit algebraic structure, discrete Gabor frames. Much work...
Show moreSince their discovery in the early 1950's, frames have emerged as an important tool in areas such as signal processing, image processing, data compression and sampling theory, just to name a few. Our purpose of this dissertation is to investigate dual frames and the ability to find dual frames which are optimal when coping with the problem of erasures in data transmission. In addition, we study a special class of frames which exhibit algebraic structure, discrete Gabor frames. Much work has been done in the study of discrete Gabor frames in $\mathbb^n$, but very little is known about the $\ell^2(\mathbb)$ case or the $\ell^2(\mathbb^d)$ case. We establish some basic Gabor frame theory for $\ell^2(\mathbb)$ and then generalize to the $\ell^2(\mathbb^d)$ case.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002614, ucf:48274
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002614

Title: Let Me Tell You About Homestuck: The Online Production of Place.
Creator: Short, Jennifer, Hubbard, Susan, Kesler, Russ, Rushin, Pat, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This thesis investigates the potential for the online production of place, specifically as it applies to the host site for the Homestuck web comic, MS Paint Adventures, and its attendant fandom. The proliferation of digital environments such as video games, web sites, and chat rooms has led to numerous opportunities for the study of online spaces and the numerous practices that take place within them. The lack of physical location in online spaces can, however, make it difficult to...
Show moreThis thesis investigates the potential for the online production of place, specifically as it applies to the host site for the Homestuck web comic, MS Paint Adventures, and its attendant fandom. The proliferation of digital environments such as video games, web sites, and chat rooms has led to numerous opportunities for the study of online spaces and the numerous practices that take place within them. The lack of physical location in online spaces can, however, make it difficult to conceptualize of a web site as real, a problem that has often led researchers to develop new theories of space that do not rely on material places. This thesis was inspired by questions about the potential for the production of online place, and how and to what extent this operation can be studied through the application of a theory of place. Applying Certeau's theory of place from The Practice of Everyday Life this thesis theorizes the operations through which Andrew Hussie created MS Paint Adventures as a habitable place. Hussie accomplishes this through the generation and maintenance of authority, the creation of stable and ordered elements, and the establishment of the "proper," the rules and reality that govern the site. In addition, I theorize about the space that MS Paint Adventures as a place attempts to create, a space where readers are encouraged and enabled to engage with the web comic Homestuck and with each other through meaningful online interaction, and about the ways in which the site can be, and is, inhabited. Ultimately, I explore the extent to which web sites, though lacking physical location, can be fairly and logically conceived of, and therefore examined as, habitable places.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005416, ucf:50424
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005416

Title: IMAGE-SPACE APPROACH TO REAL-TIME REALISTIC RENDERING.
Creator: Shah, Musawir, Pattanaik, Sumanta, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: One of the main goals of computer graphics is the fast synthesis of photorealistic image of virtual 3D scenes. The work presented in this thesis addresses this goal of speed and realism. In real-time realistic rendering, we encounter certain problems that are difficult to solve in the traditional 3-dimensional geometric space. We show that using an image-space approach can provide effective solutions to these problems. Unlike geometric space algorithms that operate on 3D primitives such as...
Show moreOne of the main goals of computer graphics is the fast synthesis of photorealistic image of virtual 3D scenes. The work presented in this thesis addresses this goal of speed and realism. In real-time realistic rendering, we encounter certain problems that are difficult to solve in the traditional 3-dimensional geometric space. We show that using an image-space approach can provide effective solutions to these problems. Unlike geometric space algorithms that operate on 3D primitives such as points, edges, and polygons, image-space algorithms operate on 2D snapshot images of the 3D geometric data. Operating in image-space effectively decouples the geometric complexity of the 3D data from the run-time of the rendering algorithm. Other important advantages of image-space algorithms include ease of implementation on modern graphics hardware, and fast computation of approximate solutions to certain lighting calculations. We have applied the image-space approach and developed algorithms for three prominent problems in real-time realistic rendering, namely, representing and lighting large 3D scenes in the context of grass rendering, rendering caustics, which is a complex indirect illumination effect, and subsurface scattering for rendering of translucent objects.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001967, ucf:47462
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001967

Title: ALAYZING THE EFFECTS OF MODULARITY ON SEARCH SPACES.
Creator: Garibay, Ozlem, Wu, Annie, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: We are continuously challenged by ever increasing problem complexity and the need to develop algorithms that can solve complex problems and solve them within a reasonable amount of time. Modularity is thought to reduce problem complexity by decomposing large problems into smaller and less complex subproblems. In practice, introducing modularity into evolutionary algorithm representations appears to improve search performance; however, how and why modularity improves performance is not well...
Show moreWe are continuously challenged by ever increasing problem complexity and the need to develop algorithms that can solve complex problems and solve them within a reasonable amount of time. Modularity is thought to reduce problem complexity by decomposing large problems into smaller and less complex subproblems. In practice, introducing modularity into evolutionary algorithm representations appears to improve search performance; however, how and why modularity improves performance is not well understood. In this thesis, we seek to better understand the effects of modularity on search. In particular, what are the effects of module creation on the search space structure and how do these structural changes affect performance? We define a theoretical and empirical framework to study modularity in evolutionary algorithms. Using this framework, we provide evidence of the following. First, not all types of modularity have an effect on search. We can have highly modular spaces that in essence are equivalent to simpler non-modular spaces. This is the case, because these spaces achieve higher degree of modularity without changing the fundamental structure of the search space. Second, for the cases when modularity actually has an effect on the fundamental structure of the search space, if left without guidance, it would only crowd and complicate the space structure resulting in a harder space for most search algorithms. Finally, we have the case when modularity not only has an effect in the search space structure, but most importantly, module creation can be guided by problem domain knowledge. When this knowledge can be used to estimate the value of a module in terms of its contribution toward building the solution, then modularity is extremely effective. It is in this last case that creating high value modules or low value modules has a direct and decisive impact on performance. The results presented in this thesis help to better understand, in a principled way, the effects of modularity on search. Better understanding the effects of modularity on search is a step forward in the larger issue of evolutionary search applied to increasingly complex problems.
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Date Issued: 2008
Identifier: CFE0002490, ucf:47680
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002490

Title: DEVELOPMENT OF A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT MODEL IN LARGE-SCALE INTERNATIONAL SPACE SCIENCE PROJECTS.
Creator: Nunez, Jose, Kotnour, Timothy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Large-scale international science projects (LISPs) are those projects where two or more countries formally agree to cooperate toward the achievement of a scientific, research and development, or engineering goal. In general, only projects exceeding $1 billion U.S. are considered LISPs, so sheer size commands attention, and because they are so costly and visible, failure can lead to significant scientific, financial and political consequences. This researched focused on how 7 different...
Show moreLarge-scale international science projects (LISPs) are those projects where two or more countries formally agree to cooperate toward the achievement of a scientific, research and development, or engineering goal. In general, only projects exceeding $1 billion U.S. are considered LISPs, so sheer size commands attention, and because they are so costly and visible, failure can lead to significant scientific, financial and political consequences. This researched focused on how 7 different critical success factors impacted the level of technical interface knowledge shared among international partners involved in a large-scale international space science project (LISSP) – the International Space Station (ISS), which is currently under assembly and testing at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The research methodology employed documentation review, individual interviews and surveys of experienced engineers and managers from three different countries associated with the ISS. The research methodology was applied to three different cases (retrospectively) involving the processing of flight hardware from the three different international partners. The analysis showed that only 5 out of the 7-factor model played a significant role in the level of knowledge sharing between partners. The developed model provides future international partnerships with critical success factors that they can apply to their specific project / mission teams in order to improve the level of knowledge shared between them.
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Date Issued: 2005
Identifier: CFE0000656, ucf:46501
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000656

Title: HABITAT USE AND SEASONAL ACTIVITY OF SELECTED SNAKES ON JOHN F. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLORIDA.
Creator: Dyer, Karen, Stout, I. Jack, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: An intensive, replicated monthly sampling of snake communities inhabiting four habitat types was conducted at John F. Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County, Florida from November 2002 through October 2003. Thirteen species (580 individuals plus 74 recaptures) plus one hybrid were captured. The three most commonly captured species, Coluber constrictor, Thamnophis sirtalis, and Thamnophis sauritus, combined made up 85% of the sample. These three species were active during every month of the year...
Show moreAn intensive, replicated monthly sampling of snake communities inhabiting four habitat types was conducted at John F. Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County, Florida from November 2002 through October 2003. Thirteen species (580 individuals plus 74 recaptures) plus one hybrid were captured. The three most commonly captured species, Coluber constrictor, Thamnophis sirtalis, and Thamnophis sauritus, combined made up 85% of the sample. These three species were active during every month of the year, but showed modal activity patterns typical of Temperate Zone snakes. Monthly snake captures were correlated with monthly captures of potential prey species and with mean monthly temperature. Species richness in the four habitat types varied from nine to 12. Drift fences in ruderal habitats had the highest species richness, while fences in swales captured the greatest number of individuals. The most dissimilar habitat pair was scrub and swale, while the most similar pair was ruderal and hammock. Box traps proved more effective for targeting the largest snake species, while funnel and box traps were equally effective for targeting other species.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: CFE0000237, ucf:46264
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000237

Title: ANALYSIS AND INTEGRATION OF A DEBRIS MODEL IN THE VIRTUAL RANGE PROJECT.
Creator: Robledo, Luis, Sepulveda, Jose, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: After the accident of the STS 107 Columbia Space Shuttle, great concern has been focused on the risk associated to the population on the ground. Before this accident happened, re-entry routes as well as risk calculation of were not of public concern. Two issues that have been raised from this lamentable accident relate to spacecraft security and to public safety. The integration of a debris model has been part of the original conceptual architecture of the Virtual Range Project. Its...
Show moreAfter the accident of the STS 107 Columbia Space Shuttle, great concern has been focused on the risk associated to the population on the ground. Before this accident happened, re-entry routes as well as risk calculation of were not of public concern. Two issues that have been raised from this lamentable accident relate to spacecraft security and to public safety. The integration of a debris model has been part of the original conceptual architecture of the Virtual Range Project. Its integration has been considered as a specific research due to the complexity of the models and the difficulties to obtain them since the commercial off-the-shelf available software seems to be less accessible. This research provides solid information concerning what debris fragmentation models are, their fundamentals, their weaknesses and strengths. The research provides information of the main debris models being currently used by NASA which have direct relationship with the space programs conducted. This study also addresses the integration of a debris model into the Virtual Range Project. We created a provisional model based on the distribution of the Columbia debris fragments over Texas and part of Louisiana in order to create an analytical methodology as well. This analysis shows a way of integrating this debris model with a Geographic Information System as well as the integration of several raster and vector data sets which will provide the source data to compute the calculations. This research uses population data sets that allow the determination of the number of people at risk on the ground. The graphical and numerical analysis made can lead to the determination of new and more secure re-entry trajectories as well as further population-related security issues concerning this type of flights.
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Date Issued: 2004
Identifier: CFE0000193, ucf:46175
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000193

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