Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Simulating Information And Communication Applications In Employee Interaction Network Models, Matthew Kanter

Student Research Submissions

Information and communication technology (ICT) use has been identified throughout its development and evolution with the Internet boom as a net positive tool for most employees and organizations in the working world. Only recently have studies regarding employees’ well-being begun to come to the forefront of research regarding these rapidly evolving technologies, however these are important issues to discuss in the context of work-life boundary management, emotional exhaustion, overwhelming stress levels, and moral disengagement among other employee well-being dimensions. To explore how employees’ well being might be influenced by ICT use, this study conducted a quantitative survey and analyzed a …

A Simplified Model For The Intermediate Structure Of Strong Fire Whirls, Forman A. Williams

Progress in Scale Modeling, an International Journal

A model is described for the overall structure of intense fire whirls, based on a spatially evolving vortex, with circulation enhancement driven by the axial acceleration of low-density gas in the core through the axial pressure gradient. The axial acceleration increases the entrainment rate into the core which, through mass conservation, increases the circulation if the angle between the tangential and radial velocity components remains fixed. The two-zone model employs general balance equations for regions inside and outside a cylinder of fixed radius, each inviscid, the inside region being presumed to have a constant density small compared with the (constant) …

Mathematical Modeling Of The Solvent Extraction Of Palm Kernel Oil From Palm Kernel, Omeiza James Momoh James Momoh, David O. Obada

Palestine Technical University Research Journal

The model for the solvent extraction of palm kernel oil from palm kernel was generated for the process at varying particle sizes of palm kernel, temperature of extraction, duration of extraction and mass of palm kernel respectively using Least Square Linear Equation. Petroleum ether was used as solvent to carry out the extraction in a soxhlet apparatus. The percentage oil yield was determined for every extraction carried out. The experimental results obtained showed that percentage oil yield decreases with increase in particle size and mass, but increases with increase in the temperature and duration of extraction. The characterization of the …

Exploring Blockchain Adoption Supply Chains: Opportunities And Challenges, Adrian V. Gheorghe, Omer F. Keskin, Farinaz Sabz Ali Pour

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

In modern supply chains, acquisition often occurs with the involvement of a network of organizations. The resilience, efficiency, and effectiveness of supply networks are crucial for the viability of acquisition. Disruptions in the supply chain require adequate communication infrastructure to ensure resilience. However, supply networks do not have a shared information technology infrastructure that ensures effective communication. Therefore decision-makers seek new methodologies for supply chain management resilience. Blockchain technology offers new decentralization and service delegation methods that can transform supply chains and result in a more flexible, efficient, and effective supply chain. This report presents a framework for the application …

Selective Neural Stimulation By Leveraging Electrophysiological Diversity And Using Alternative Stimulus Waveforms, Bemin Ghobreal

Dissertations

Efforts on finding the principle mechanism for selective neural stimulation have concentrated on segregating the neurons based on their size and other geometric factors. However, neuronal subtypes found in different parts of the nervous system also differ in their electrophysiological properties. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of selective activation of neurons by leveraging the diversity seen in passive and active membrane properties.

Using both a local membrane model and an axon model based on the CRRSS, the diversity of electrophysiological properties is simulated by varying four model parameters (membrane leakage-Gleak and capacitance-Cm, temperature coefficient-Ktemp, …

Relating Spontaneous Activity And Cognitive States Via Neurodynamic Modeling, Matthew Singh

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stimulus-free brain dynamics form the basis of current knowledge concerning functional integration and segregation within the human brain. These relationships are typically described in terms of resting-state brain networks—regions which spontaneously coactivate. However, despite the interest in the anatomical mechanisms and biobehavioral correlates of stimulus-free brain dynamics, little is known regarding the relation between spontaneous brain dynamics and task-evoked activity. In particular, no computational framework has been previously proposed to unite spontaneous and task dynamics under a single, data-driven model. Model development in this domain will provide new insight regarding the mechanisms by which exogeneous stimuli and intrinsic neural circuitry …

Quantifying The Impacts Of Land Use, Management And Climate Change On Water Resources In Missouri River Basin, Arun Bawa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A location-specific evaluation of hydrological landscape responses concerning past and projected climate and land use land cover (LULC) changes can provide a powerful intellectual basis for developing efficient and profitable agroecosystems, and overcoming uncertain and detrimental consequences of LULC and climate shifts. This dissertation assessed the impacts of land use, management, and climate change on water resources in the Missouri River Basin (MRB) through four specific studies that included: (i) to study the responses of leached nutrient concentrations and soil health to winter rye cover crop (CC) under no-till corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation, (ii) to …

Power Loss And Thermal Impedance Modeling Of Multilevel Power Converter With Discontinuous Modulation, Md Mazharul Islam, Md. Ashib Rahman, Md Rabiul Islam

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

The hard switching operation of the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)-based multilevel converters (MLCs) in the transformer less direct integration of renewable power plants produces a considerable amount of switching and conduction power loss. This eventually causes higher junction temperature and lower thermal stability. The third harmonic sixty-degree bus-clamped pulse width modulation (BCPWM) technique demonstrates reduced switching losses and better harmonic spectra. In this paper, an analytical model for calculating the average and the rms currents for the hard switching operation of IGBTs and antiparallel diodes (APDs) is proposed. Furthermore, to calculate the device turn-on and turn-off losses, a discrete …

Performance Of Ballast Influenced By Deformation And Degradation: Laboratory Testing And Numerical Modeling, Buddhima Indraratna, Ngoc Trung Ngo, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

This paper presents a study on the deformation and degradation responses of railway ballast using large-scale laboratory testing and computational modeling approaches. A series of large-scale triaxial tests were carried out to investigate the ballast breakage responses under cyclic train loading subjected to varying frequencies, f=10-40  Hz. The role of recycled rubber energy-absorbing mats (REAMs) on reducing ballast breakage was also examined. Laboratory test results show that the ballast experiences significant degradation (breakage) and deformation, while the inclusion of REAMs can reduce the ballast breakage up to about 35%. Numerical modeling using the coupled discrete-continuum approach [coupled discrete-element method-finite-difference method …

Modeling The Economic Machine Using Bayesian Inference And Statistical Networks, And Optimal Portfolio Construction Using Operations Research, Richard Yang

ENGS 88 Honors Thesis (AB Students)

In this paper, we propose a network-based model to attempt to connect modern macroeconomic theory with real world economic observations and trends. We find that by extending macroeconomic theory with credit leveraging/deleveraging thresholds, we are able to explain economic cycles in addition to long-term growth. Furthermore, we specifically explore the growth-inflation view of the macro economy as a basis for optimal portfolio construction and efficient asset trading. Connecting our network-based macroeconomic model and our optimal portfolio construction algorithm, we create a novel macroeconomic asset-trading framework.

Experimental Investigation And Modeling Of The Transformation Of Illicit Drugs In A Pilot-Scale Sewer System, Jiaying Li, Jianfa Gao, Phong K. Thai, Adam Shypanski, Ludwika Nieradzik, Jochen F. Mueller, Zhiguo Yuan, Guangming Jiang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

In-sewer stability of illicit drug biomarkers has been evaluated by several reactor-based studies, but less has beendone in sewer pipes. Experiments conducted in sewer pipes have advantages over lab-scale reactors in providing more realisticbiomarker stability due to theflow and biological dynamics. This study assessed the transportation and transformation of sevenillicit drug biomarker compounds in a pilot-scale rising main and a gravity sewer pipe. Biomarkers presented diverse stabilitypatterns in the pilot sewers, based on which a drug transformation model was calibrated. This model was subsequently validatedusing transformation data sets from the literature, aiming to demonstrate the predictability of the pilot-based transformationcoefficients …

Dispensing Medical Countermeasures In Public Health Emergencies Via Home Health Agencies And Points Of Distribution, Anna Hudgeons

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A major concern regarding emergency preparedness on the state government level involves the handling and dispensing of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) of medicinal supplies. Each state is required to update and maintain a plan of action for dispensing SNS materials that would effectively provide care to the state’s population in times of distress. This research evaluates a state’s ability to dispense an adequate amount of medicine to her population in a timely manner, specifically after it has been received by the state government. Although simulation modeling has previously been utilized to replicate the dispensing process at pre-designated points of …

Micromechanics-Based Investigation Of Fouled Ballast Using Large-Scale Triaxial Tests And Discrete Element Modeling, Ngoc Trung Ngo, Buddhima Indraratna, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Railway ballast comprises unbounded discrete grains that are often used to form a load-bearing platform for tracks. Ballast degradation as trains pass over the tracks and infiltration of external fines including slurried (pumped) fine subgrade soils are two of the main reasons for ballast fouling. Fouling causes tracks to settle and also reduces the load-bearing capacity, which is associated with a reduction in internal friction and increased lateral spreading of the ballast layer. This paper presents a study of mobilized friction angle, volumetric behavior, and associated evolutions of contact and fabric anisotropy of fouled ballast subjected to monotonic triaxial loading …

Orthogonal Polynomial-Based Nonlinearity Modeling And Mitigation For Led Communications, Weikang Zhao, Qinghua Guo, Jun Tong, Jiangtao Xi, Yanguang Yu, Pingjuan Niu, Xiaohong Sun

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The light-emitting diode (LED) is the major source of nonlinearity in LED communications, and the nonlinearity needs to be effectively modeled and thereby mitigated through predistortion or postdistortion to avoid degradation of communication performance. A memory polynomial is often used for LED nonlinearity modeling and mitigation in the literature. However, the estimation of memory polynomial coefficients suffers from numerical instability, resulting in inaccurate modeling and poor performance in nonlinearity mitigation. In this paper, we propose an orthogonal polynomial-based nonlinearity modeling and mitigation technique for LED communications with pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) signaling and show that the proposed technique significantly outperforms …

Modeling And Identification Of A Realistic Spiking Neural Network And Musculoskeletal Model Of The Human Arm, And An Application To The Stretch Reflex, Manish Sreenivasa, Ko Ayusawa, Yoshihiko Nakamura

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

This study develops a multi-level neuromuscular model consisting of topological pools of spiking motor, sensory and interneurons controlling a bi-muscular model of the human arm. The spiking output of motor neuron pools were used to drive muscle actions and skeletal movement via neuromuscular junctions. Feedback information from muscle spindles were relayed via monosynaptic excitatory and disynaptic inhibitory connections, to simulate spinal afferent pathways. Subject-specific model parameters were identified from human experiments by using inverse dynamics computations and optimization methods. The identified neuromuscular model was used to simulate the biceps stretch reflex and the results were compared to an independent dataset. …

Modeling Behaviour Of Railway Ballast In Prismoidal Apparatus Using Discrete Element Method, Gino O. Calderon Vizcarra, Sanjay Nimbalkar, Michele Dal Toe Casagrande

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This article presents the results of numerical simulations of loading tests conducted on coarse particles that simulate railroad ballast. The objective of this study was to evaluate the deformation of ballast under vertical loading and to study the influence of the two different particle size distributions. One of them was according to particle size distribution recommended by Indraratna and co-workers in the past as an improvement to Australian Standard and the other was prepared in accordance with Brazilian standard. The discrete element method offers a new means of studying the response characteristics of railway ballast. The basic idea of discrete …

Panic That Spreads Sociobehavioral Contagion In Pedestrian Evacuations, Terra Elzie, Erika Frydenlund, Andrew J. Collins, R. Michael Robinson

VMASC Publications

Crowds are a part of everyday public life, from stadiums and arenas to school hallways. Occasionally, pushing within the crowd spontaneously escalates to crushing behavior, resulting in injuries and even death. The rarity and unpredictability of these incidents provides few options to collect data for research on the prediction and prevention of hazardous emergent behaviors in crowds. This study takes a close look at the way states of agitation, such as panic, can spread through crowds. Group composition—mainly family groups composed of members with differing mobility levels—plays an important role in the spread of agitation through the crowd, ultimately affecting …

Estimating The Water Quality Condition Of River And Lake Water In The Midwestern United States From Its Spectral Characteristics, Jing Tan

Open Access Dissertations

This study focuses on developing/calibrating remote sensing algorithms for water quality retrieval in Midwestern rivers and lakes. In the first part of this study, the spectral measurements collected using a hand-held spectrometer as well as water quality observations for the Wabash River and its tributary the Tippecanoe River in Indiana were used to develop empirical models for the retrieval of chlorophyll (chl) and total suspended solids (TSS). A method for removing sky and sun glint from field spectra for turbid inland waters was developed and tested. Empirical models were then developed using a subset of the field measurements with the …

Stochastic Modeling And Optimization Of Multi-Plant Capacity Planning Problem, Anoop Verma, Nagesh Shukla, S.K Tyagi, Nishikant Mishra

Nagesh Shukla

n this paper the problem of capacity planning under risk from demand and price/cost uncertainty of the finished products is addressed. The deterministic model is extended into a two-stage stochastic model with fixed recourse by means of various expected levels of demand as random. A recourse penalty is also included in the objective for both shortage and surplus in the finished products. The model is analyzed to quantify the risk using Markowitz mean-variance model.

Membrane Biological Reactors: Theory, Modeling, Design, Management And Applications To Wastewater Reuse, Faisal Hai, Kazou Yamamoto, Chung-Hak Lee

Faisal I Hai

Membrane Biological Reactors: Theory, Modeling, Design, Management and Applications to Wastewater Reuse comprehensively covers the salient features and emerging issues associated with the MBR technology. The book provides thorough coverage starting from biological aspects and fundamentals of membranes, via modeling and design concepts, to practitioners’ perspective and good application examples. Membrane Biological Reactors focuses on all the relevant emerging issues raised by including the latest research from renowned experts in the field. It is a valuable reference to the academic and professional community and suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology.

Interdisciplinary Modeling For Water-Related Issues Graduate Course, Laurel Saito, Alexander Fernald, Timothy Link

All ECSTATIC Materials

The science and management of aquatic ecosystems is inherently interdisciplinary, with issues associated with hydrology, atmospheric science, water quality, geochemistry, sociology, economics, environmental science, and ecology. Addressing water resources issues in any one discipline invariably involves effects that concern other disciplines, and attempts to address one issue often have consequences that exacerbate existing issues or concerns, or create new ones (Jørgensen et al. 1992; Lackey et al. 1975; Straskraba 1994) due to the strongly interactive nature of key processes (Christensen et al. 1996). Thus, research and management of aquatic ecosystems must be interdisciplinary to be most effective, but such truly …

Detecting, Modeling, And Predicting User Temporal Intention, Hany M. Salaheldeen

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

The content of social media has grown exponentially in the recent years and its role has evolved from narrating life events to actually shaping them. Unfortunately, content posted and shared in social networks is vulnerable and prone to loss or change, rendering the context associated with it (a tweet, post, status, or others) meaningless. There is an inherent value in maintaining the consistency of such social records as in some cases they take over the task of being the first draft of history as collections of these social posts narrate the pulse of the street during historic events, protest, riots, …

Modeling Secondary Particle Tracks Generated By High-Energy Protons In Water, Francisco Blanco, Antonio Munoz, Diego T. Almeida, F. Ferreira Da Silva, Paulo Limao-Vieira, Alexey Verkhovtsev, L Ellis-Gibbings, K Krupa, A Traore, G Garcia

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

We present interaction probability data of low-energy secondary electrons and positrons produced due to the proton impact. The probability distribution functions serve as input data for the Low Energy Particle Track Simulation (LEPTS) approach which allows one to include the effect of low-energy species in medical applications of radiation and in ion-beam cancer therapy, in particular.

On The Question Of Effective Sample Size In Network Modeling: An Asymptotic Inquiry, Pavel N. Krivitsky, Eric D. Kolaczyk

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The modeling and analysis of networks and network data has seen an explosion of interest in recent years and represents an exciting direction for potential growth in statistics. Despite the already substantial amount of work done in this area to date by researchers from various disciplines, however, there remain many questions of a decidedly foundational nature - natural analogues of standard questions already posed and addressed in more classical areas of statistics - that have yet to even be posed, much less addressed. Here we raise and consider one such question in connection with network modeling. Specifically, we ask, "Given …

Long-Term Functionality Of Rural Water Services In Developing Countries: A System Dynamics Approach To Understanding The Dynamic Interaction Of Causal Factors, Jeffrey P. Walters, Amy N. Javernick-Will

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Research has shown that sustainability of rural water infrastructure in developing countries is largely affected by the dynamic and systemic interactions of technical, social, financial, institutional, and environmental factors that can lead to premature water system failure. This research employs systems dynamic modeling, which uses feedback mechanisms to understand how these factors interact dynamically to influence long-term rural water system functionality. To do this, the research first identified and aggregated key factors from literature, then asked water sector experts to indicate the polarity and strength between factors through Delphi and cross impact survey questionnaires, and finally used system dynamics modeling …

Modeling And Current Control Strategy For A Medium-Voltage Cascaded Multilevel Statcom With Lcl Filter, Xuehua Zhao, Liping Shi, Libing Chen, Zhenglong Xia, A R. Bendre

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM a.k.a. SVG) is widely used to regulate dynamic reactive power and to solve dynamic voltage stability problems. Modeling shows that a cascaded STATCOM, which is composed of several cascaded H-bridges, not only has strong coupling characteristics when an LCL filter is added but it is also a non-linear, multivariable system. Therefore, its practical design and application are difficult to mplement. In this paper an internal decoupling control algorithm is introduced to provide independent control of the active and reactive currents. Decoupling control algorithms are proposed, and models and simulation of the decoupling are provided. We …

Modeling Minimum Transport Boundary For Fluidized Dense-Phase Pneumatic Conveying Systems, G Setia, Soumya Suddha Mallick, Renhu Pan, Peter W. Wypych

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

For the reliable design of fluidized dense-phase pneumatic conveying systems, it is of paramount importance to accurately estimate blockage conditions or the minimum transport boundary. Existing empirical models for the fluidized dense-phase conveying of fine powders are either based on a limited number of products and pipelines or have not been tested for their accuracy and stability over a wide range of scale-up conditions. In this paper, based on the test results of 22 different powders conveyed through 38 pipelines, a unified model for the minimum transport boundary has been developed that represents gas Froude number as a function of …

An Efficient Background Modeling Approach Based On Vehicle Detection, Jia-Yan Wang, Limei Song, Jiangtao Xi, Qinghua Guo

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The existing Gaussian Mixture Model(GMM) which is widely used in vehicle detection suffers inefficiency in detecting foreground image during the model phase, because it needs quite a long time to blend the shadows in the background. In order to overcome this problem, an improved method is proposed in this paper. First of all, each frame is divided into several areas(A, B, C and D), Where area A, B, C and D are decided by the frequency and the scale of the vehicle access. For each area, different new learning rate including weight, mean and variance is applied to accelerate the …

Modeling Of Thin Strip Profile During Cold Rolling On Roll Crossing And Shifting Mill, A Aljabri, Z Y. Jiang, D B. Wei, X D. Wang, H Tibar

Abdulrahman Daifullah Aljabri

Strip profile control in cold rolling of thin strip is a difficult and challenge problem found in industry. Currently using the novel type of strip rolling mill, such as the work roll crossing and shifting is the one of the main methods to control the strip profile quality in cold rolling. In this paper, 3-D finite element simulation models of the thin strip profile in cold rolling for the work roll crossing and shifting system were successfully developed. The strip profile and edge drop are discussed considering both crossing angle and shifting value of the work rolls. The research shows …

Fema Region Iii Coastal Flood Study - Hampton Roads Adaptation Forum, Robin Danforth

March 28, 2014: Addressing Current and Future Vulnerability through Floodplain Management

No abstract provided.