Digital Commons Network^™

Comparison Of Equivalent Three And Five Phase Brushless Dc Motors : Evaluation Of Torque Production For Inverter Failures In One Phase, Brian Lain

Masters Theses

In this study the post-failure torque production of three-phase and five-phase brushless dc motors is compared for inverter single phase failures. Brushless dc motors are conventionally configured as three-phase motors, however a five-phase brushless dc motor can produce more torque after a single phase failure. To allow equitable comparison of these two systems an "equivalent" basis is established. The "equivalent" systems will be equal with respect to physical size, dc supply voltage, dc supply current, rated power, and rated torque. After a failure in the inverter the three-phase and five-phase systems have different abilities to produce torque. Two types of …

Facilitated Communication As A Reasonable Job Accommodation : The Opinions Of Speech-Language Pathologists, Amy Lanman

Masters Theses

In this study three research questions were addressed in order to gain a clearer understanding of facilitated communication and its potential as a reasonable job accommodation. Previous studies on facilitated communication have produced conflicting results. Two opinions have been formed. The first is in support of the communication method, affirming that it can be used as a valid method for persons with neuromuscular and communication disabilities in facilitating the communication process. The other opinion is opposed to the facilitated communication process and maintains that it is jeopardized by facilitator authorship. This study attempted to clarify the potential success of facilitated …

The Development Of A Tms320c4x Serial Communications Board, Robert Earl Leugers

Masters Theses

This thesis presents the development of a circuit board which converts the bidirectional bit-parallel communications port data bus of the Texas Instruments TMS320C4x family of digital signal processors into a high speed bit-serial data bus. The usual method of interconnecting Texas Instruments TMS320C4x digital signal processors is by ribbon cables connected to parallel communications ports. The cables are cumbersome and do not allow reliable data communications over distances greater than one meter. The board overcomes this limitation by using a Cypress CY7B923 Hotlink transmitter to convert from eight bit parallel to ten bits serial using an internal 8B/10B data encoder. …

Craniometric Sex Estimation Using A Finite Mixture Missing Data Model, Ashley Hyatt Mckeown

Masters Theses

Accurate estimation of sex from human skeletal material is crucial for generating inferences regarding prehistoric populations. Metric approaches to sex assessment can provide an objective evaluation of skeletal material. However, commonly used procedures such as discriminant analysis require a reference sample or training set which may not be an appropriate analogy for prehistoric samples with differing levels of sexual dimorphism and/or overall size. Additionally, since most statistical analyses are developed for cases with a complete data set, such methods are hindered by unobservable measurements. This thesis tests the utility of applying finite mixture analysis, a form of cluster analysis that …

Analytical Investigation Of Evaporation Effects Of Water Ingested In An Axial-Flow Compressor, Thomas James Miller

Masters Theses

The problem of water ingestion into gas turbine engines installed on an aircraft is known to have serious consequences. Reducing the stall margin, changes in component efficiencies, blade and casing wall clearance problems, combustor and after-burner flame-out are but a few of these problems [1,2], To study this problem, an analytical model (AFCWWI FORTRAN CODE) to simulate the thermodynamics of water evaporation in an axial-flow compressor, using idealized assumptions and conditions, was developed by Curtis Stephen Mashbum. The simulated compressor represents a compressor that was mounted on a constant speed compressor test rig, fitted with a bell mouth inlet, and …

Experimental Study Of Effects Of Discrete Jets On Tip Vortex Attenuation, Charles Scott Matthewson

Masters Theses

An experimental study of the effects of destabilizing the tip vortices from a model wing and a model rotor using perturbations introduced by discrete jets located at the tips was conducted. A study on a fixed wing was conducted in a water tunnel using hydrogen bubble flow visualization for qualitative observations. Results of steady spanwise blowing indicated increased flow unsteadiness, as well as decreased tangential velocities and a displaced vortex core. Pulsed injection at selected frequencies increased the unsteadiness in the flow, resulting in a wake flow with no observable vortex core. This preliminary study offers the potential for continued …

A Shortest Common Supersequence Approach To Error Correcting Parsing With Regular Grammars, Eric Wright Richardson

Masters Theses

We are concerned with those problems where information can be encoded as strings, and classes of information can be modeled by regular grammars. When the string encoding is imperfect, it may be that classification is impossible unless some form of error correction is used. To handle this situation, we study the Lyon parser which is an error correcting modification of the Earley parser for context-free grammars. In particular, we simplify this parser from working with context-free grammars to working only with regular grammars. Once simplified, we try different approaches to reducing the number of deletion edits to the string.

We …

Traumatic Brain Injury And My Family, Jane A. Traylor

Masters Theses

This is a qualitative narrative study which looks at the effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury on the family, from an autobiographical viewpoint. My sister, at age nineteen, suffered a severe Traumatic Brain Injury which changed not only her life but the lives of everyone in my family. I relate the immediate effects of the trauma along with the long term rehabilitation process that followed, with emphasis on her re-entry to the home and our family’s unpreparedness for that transition. Eight and one-half years later, my family continues to bear the consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury due to the lack …

A Receiver Model For Improved Target Detection Under High Clutter Conditions For Radar Guided Missiles, Robert Alan Weddle

Masters Theses

A receiver model for improved target detection under high clutter conditions for radar guided missiles is developed. Within this paper, a typical receiver model is developed and evaluated to illustrate the problem that exists with this type of receiver. Test stimuli are used to evaluate the receiver model. An improvement is proposed for the receiver which eliminates the need for a limiter function. The improved receiver is evaluated using the same test stimuli. A comparison is made between the two receiver models to point out the improvements.

An Examination Of The Potential Effectiveness Of Local Environmental Protection : A Case Study Of Wetlands And Road-Building, Belinda Jo Wooddiel

Masters Theses

This study examines the effects of the regulatory and decision-making processes on local environmental protection by exploring the case study of the Turkey Creek Wetlands, a development/environmental decision in Knoxville, Tennessee. This case study involves the proposal for a road through the largest, high quality wetland in Knox County, which is located in a congested, high-growth area of the county. The primary influences on the case study from the regulatory process are a lack of responsibility at the local level, which results in a lack of public awareness that the decision was made, as well as a lack of potential …

Studying The Effects Of Media Advocacy : A Case Study Of Three Transmission Line Sitings, Rebecca J. Akers

Masters Theses

This thesis explores how a citizen activist group used media advocacy to affect public policy changes within an organization. It is suggested that citizen activist groups become frustrated with normal lines of communications within an organization because they are experiencing one-way, or asymmetrical communications. As a result, these groups may seek other avenues to communicate their messages and to influence the agenda of an organization. The goal of this thesis is to document the effectiveness of media advocacy as a tool for citizen activism as used by a citizen group in a middle Tennessee community. While the group did not …

Libel In Cyberspace : Federal Judges & The Internet, Teresa Louise Conaway

Masters Theses

This purpose of this study was two-fold: First, to study the intersection of the American law of defamation with the new medium, cyberspace. Specifically, what liability do providers of internet access risk for defamatory content posted by others? In addition to examining the current law of defamation and how its been applied to cases of online libel, this study surveys the relevant professional literature. second, to study the familiarity of federal trial judges with the internet and World wide web. The results of a survey administered to a sample of sitting federal trial judges are presented and discussed. The study …

An Analysis Of The German Sturm Und Drang Movement And Its Influence On Works By Haydn And Mozart Of The 1770s, Ann Riesbeck Diclemente

Masters Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the German Sturm und Drang literary movement of the late eighteenth century and its relevance to musical composition of that time period as well as its significance to historical musicology as a factor in the transition from Classicism to Romanticism. Definitions and stylistic characteristics of musical Sturm und Drang and the research of music historians past and present regarding origins and interpretations are investigated, resulting in the presentation of a great diversity of academic views over the last century. An analysis of Sturm und Drang elements found in Haydn's Symphony No. 44 …

Kirkpatrick's Level Three Evaluation Applied To A Maintenance Apprenticeship Training Program, J. David Collier

Masters Theses

As American business and industry prepare to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, units within organizations will come under ever-increasing scrutiny to demonstrate their value to the parent organization. Training and human resource development departments will be under increased pressure to direct their efforts toward meeting the goals, objectives, or desired outcomes of their parent organizations. Professionals in the human resource development field will be expected to provide managers and other decision makers with data to assist in the decision-making process concerning human resource development programs. The purposes of this study were to measure the effectiveness of a maintenance …

Converting Circle-Packing Algorithms To Work On The Maspar-2, Dennis M. Depp

Masters Theses

Ken Stephenson has created a computer program, CirclePack©, that utilizes a sequential iterative approach to approximate a packing label for a given cp-complex. In this paper the author explains the migration of this algorithm to a parallel computer, the MasPar MP-2. The author explores three different algorithms, a binary search, a monotone binary search and a Newton's method algorithm. Two variables within the algorithms, factor and iterations, are adjusted to attempt to find the most efficient combination of variable for a particular algorithm. To best utilize the MasPar, the author utilized the physical connections between each node to impose a …

A Probabilistic Assessment Of Dilemma And Option Zone Problems, Jennifer Harper Ogle

Masters Theses

The Institute of Transportation Engineers currently recommends that the phase-change interval of a traffic signal be set using a constant approach speed equal to the 85^th percentile approach speed, a constant deceleration of 10 ft/sec², and a constant reaction time of 1 second. Previous studies have shown that drivers do not all travel at the same speed and decelerate at the same rate, nor do they possess the same reaction time. In fact, the practice of using the 85^th percentile approach speed in itself denounces the idea that all drivers would approach an intersection at a …

Framing Analysis, News Values And Newspaper Coverage Of The North American Free Trade Agreement, Robert Curtis Hayes

Masters Theses

The relationship between framing analysis research, news values and the North American Free Trade Agreement are examined through a content analysis method of research. The analysis is designed to explore the ways news frames develop and become manifest within newspaper texts. The news value of proximity was introduced to the study by considering the geographic location of the nine North American border city newspapers that contribute to the sample of 400 articles. To test the frames, the ratification of NAFTA by the U.S. House of Representatives is the focal point for the sample of 400 articles. The articles were coded …

Kingship In The Poetry Of The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Steven P. Harthorn

Masters Theses

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle contains among its prose entries several poems which appear between the years 936 and 1104. Almost all of these poems are united by the theme of kingship, which dominates the Chronicle as a whole but receives even closer attention in the poetry. The Chronicle-poems display various attitudes about the kingship: some highly favorable, others critical, and many mixed in their opinions. In this manner, they maintain thematic continuity with the rest of the Chronicle, but amplify its values through rhetorically heightened expression. The plan of this study is as follows. First, we shall briefly consider …

Effectiveness Of Bending-Torsional Vibration Damping Using A Piezoactuator, Lumin Jiang

Masters Theses

This study investigates the effectiveness of bending and torsional vibration damping in thin walled beams using piezoactuators. This project consist of three major parts: an experimental study, a numerical study and a theoretical study. A closed cross-section composite beam with induced piezoelements was fabricated. The effectiveness of piezoelements in bending and torsional vibration damping was tested. Flat beam response to piezoactuation was studied using COSMOS/M finite element software. That study made it possible to understand better the behavior of beams piezoactuated in bending and torsion. Application of Heaviside and Delta functions to model simple piezoactuated beam response is presented.

Investigation Of Various Shaping Methods For The Development Of A Fully-Monolithic Cmos Constant-Fraction Discriminator, Robert Gentry Jackson

Masters Theses

In this work the design of a constant-fraction discriminator (CFD) fabricated in the Orbit Semiconductor l.2-Jl n-well CMOS process is presented. This timing pick-off circuit is designed for use in the readout electronics of the Lead-Scintillator subsystem of the Pioneering High Eenergy Nuclear Ion eXperiment (PHENIX) Electromagnetic Calorimeter at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The design was driven by stringent requirements including low power consumption, small area, arrayable, low cost and a fully integratable shaping network. Various integratable CFD shaping methods are investigated, and the candidate methods chosen for fabrication were the distributed R-C delay-line shaping, lumped-element R-C shaping …

An Ecological Assessment Of Wetland Mitigation Projects In East Tennessee, Kim Pilarski

Masters Theses

Federal wetland protection regulations stipulate that developers who destroy natural wetlands are required to construct mitigation or replacement wetlands. Despite the frequency of wetland mitigation, few studies have evaluated the ability of mitigated wetlands to mimic the ecological function and community composition of natural wetlands. Fewer still compare mitigation sites with existing natural wetlands in the same ecological region.

Studies from other freshwater habitats suggest that comparisons of the ratios of functional feeding groups (FFGs) of benthic macroinvertebrates (i.e., shredders, scrapers, collectors, predators) may provide useful information about the ability of mitigated wetlands to mimic the ecological functions of natural …

Characteristics Of Wheat Sourdough Starters, Dough And Bread As Affected By Storage Temperature And Age Of Starter, Laura Clement Kaley Basilio

Masters Theses

While interest in and consumption of sourdough bread has increased in the United States, research on sourdough starters and bread in this country has not kept pace. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of storage temperature (4°C or 30°C) and starter age (over 38 days) on properties of sourdough starter, dough and bread. The starters (S4, S30) and dough (D4, D30) were evaluated for pH, acid value (AV) and populations of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeast. Bread was baked on Days 8, 22 and 36 (Weeks 1, 3 and 5, respectively). Bread (B4, B30) was …

Closing The Loop : Accounting For Development's Hidden Environmental Costs, Chad Matthew Hellwinckel

Masters Theses

The existence of pollution externalities hinders the market from signaling the true costs of transactions within the economy. Several authors have theoretically modeled the flow of materials and value between the human economy and the environment, but to date empirical input-output models have failed to fully account for pollution externalities. Regional development organizations have not included environmental costs in their decision making process because information on emissions is hard to find and value.

This project develops and uses an input-output model of the East Tennessee economy in conjunction with sectoral pollution output data, a toxic risk index, and sectoral abatement …

Food Habits Of Young-Of-Year Striped Bass In Association With Other Gamefish In Norris Reservoir, Tennessee, Bradford E. Tarbert

Masters Theses

Of the 135,401 striped bass young-of-year (y-o-y) fingerlings stocked at four study sites in Norris Reservoir in 1995, only 106 were recaptured using electrofishing, gill nets and seines. Food habit analysis was performed on all striped bass; a representative sample of largemouth (n=93) and smallmouth (n=22) bass y-o-y were also examined for food items ingested. Midge and mayfly larvae, copepods, and Daphnia lumholtzi were the dominant food items found in fish less than 7 cm in length. On reaching 7 cm in length, y-o-y striped bass preyed primarily on larval shad (Dorosoma spp.). Striped bass attained this length approximately …

Soil Water Movement Along A Loess And Alluvium Interface In West Tennessee, Holly Ann Carter

Masters Theses

Ongoing water quality research at the University of Tennessee Ames Plantation Agricultural Experiment Station in west Tennessee, has provided opportunity to examine the factors affecting soil water movement, for applications in determining the fate of agricultural chemicals. This research was to create a high intensity, order one soil survey map of the research plot, and to examine the effects of soil morphology on the direction of soil water movement.

In order to establish general morphology of the research area, four soil cores equally spaced in a 15.24 meter linear transect were taken with a Giddings-S-M hydraulic probe using a 7.62 …

The Effect Of University Characteristics On The Bicycle Transportation Mode And Helmet Usage, Carlton C. Urban

Masters Theses

By performing a statistical analysis on data collected from the Internet, this study sought to determine if designated characteristics of a university actually affect the bicycle transportation mode and helmet usage on college campuses. The focus group for this research experience involved bicycle commuters affiliated with universities in the United States. Through the establishment of a World Wide Web home page and on-line survey, the author obtained data concerning estimated bicycle and helmet usage percentages, and campus characteristic data from bicyclist responses. The Internet was used as an innovative approach to collecting data. Essentially the participant would simply locate the …

Factors Regulating The Synthesis And Secretion Of Corticosteroid-Binding Globulin (Cbg) In The Young Pig, Jeonghoon Heo

Masters Theses

This study examined the in vitro production of corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) by liver collected from pigs at various ages following birth, the effects of various hormone treatments on the in vitro hepatic release of CBG, and the relationship between the hormone effects and postnatal development. Liver was collected from pigs (n=20) immediately following euthanasia on 3, 10, 20, 30 or 40 days of age. Liver slices (200 mg) were incubated for 12 and 24 hours with either cortisol (10^-7 M), estradiol (10^-8 M), progesterone (10^-7 M), or thyroxine (10^-7 M) prepared in 0.5% ethanol. A single …

The Adoption Of Sustainable Agriculture In West Tennessee Under The Federal Agriculture Improvement And Reform Act Of 1996 : Economic And Environmental Implications, Stephen Paul Slinsky

Masters Theses

West Tennessee has accrued some of the nation's highest annual soil losses (per acre) due to soil erosion (United States Department of Agriculture, 1994). In 1995, more than two-thirds of the acreage planted to crops in Tennessee employed some type of conservation tillage (Tennessee Agricultural Statistics Service, 1995). This level of conservation tillage is more than a twenty percent increase in acreage that used some type of conservation tillage in 1990 (Tennessee Agricultural Statistics Service, 1995).

While erosion is the predominant environmental issue facing West Tennessee, other negative environmental externalities from agricultural production exist. Externalities like the contamination of groundwater …

Regulation Of Retinol-Binding Protein Secretion And Expression In The Ovine Conceptus And Uterus By Retinoids And Steroids, Wendy G. Jacobs

Masters Theses

During early pregnancy in sheep, implantation occurs relatively late and fetal-maternal interactions are critical to maintenance of pregnancy, embryonic survival and development. Reproductive processes are mediated in part by conceptus secretory proteins and uterine proteins. Vitamin A (retinol) plays a role in reproductive processes and must be present in precise amounts for normal embryonic development. Most retinol is stored in the liver and transported bound to retinol-binding protein (RBP). Within the liver, the levels of RBP are regulated by retinoid status. Previous studies have suggested that placental RBP may be secreted in an apo- form by the conceptus in order …

Long Term Production Of Genetically Transformed Somatic Embryos Of Orchardgrass (Dactylis Glomerata) In Suspension Culture, Jennifer Lea Nash

Masters Theses

Orchardgrass is the only Gramineae species whose somatic embryos progress to a fully mature (germinable) stage within one liquid medium. As embryos mature, the scutellar epidermis begins to dedifferentiate and cells are sloughed off. These cells divide and form new embryos creating a cyclic regeneration system. Genetic transformation of these cells provides the opportunity to mass produce transformed embryos. In this study, somatic embryos removed from leaves were transformed via microprojectile bombardment with a gene construct containing both the uidA gene coding for expression of the bar gene which inactivates phosphinothricin (PPT), the active ingredient in herbicides such as …