Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Quasi-Dynamic Nonlinear Finite Element Model To Investigate Prosthetic Interface Stresses During Walking For Trans-Tibial Amputees, Xiaohong Jia, Ming Zhang, Xiaobing Li, Winson Lee

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Background. To predict the interface pressure between residual limb and prosthetic socket for trans-tibial amputees during walking. Methods. A quasi-dynamic finite element model was built based on the actual geometry of residual limb, internal bones and socket liner. To simulate the friction/slip boundary conditions between the skin and liner, automated surface-to-surface contact was used. Besides variable external loads and material inertia, the coupling between the large rigid displacement of knee joint and small elastic deformation of residual limb and prosthetic components were also considered. Results. Interface pressure distribution was found to have the same profile during walking. The high pressures …

A Test Of The Transformational Leadership Model: The Case Of Iran, Raed Awamleh, Sohrab Khalili

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

This study tested the transformational leadership theory among managers at functional levels in Iranian oil companies. It examined the effects of transformational and transactional leadership styles satisfaction and self-perceived performance of followers. Self-esteem and leadership disposition (Romance of Leadership) of employees were hypothesized to act as moderators. Data was collected from employees working in the oil industry in Iran. A multiple regression analysis indicated that transformational leadership style and self-esteem were related to job satisfaction and performance. In contrast, transactional leadership and romance of leadership did not show any impact on dependent variables. Proposed moderating variables were also insignificant. Results …

Effects Of Dexamethasone On Posterior Capsule Opacification-Like Changes In A Rat Lens Explant Model, Kylie Mansfield, Anna Cerra, Coral Chamberlain

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Purpose: Many patients whose sight is initially restored by cataract surgery eventually suffer secondary loss of vision because of posterior capsule opacification (PCO; after-cataract), a condition in which lens epithelial cells left behind at surgery become aberrant and migrate into the light path. The aim of this study was to determine whether dexamethasone (DEX), an anti-inflammatory agent widely used before and after cataract surgery, influences the behavior of lens cells under conditions relevant to PCO development.

Methods: An established rat PCO model was used in which explanted epithelial cells attached to the lens capsule are exposed sequentially to TGFβ2 and …

Birth Parents And The Reunification Process: A Study Of The Mendocino County Model, Laura Frame, Amy Conley Wright, Jill Duerr Berrick

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The purpose of this study is to closely examine key services offered by the Mendocino County Family Service Center (MCFSC), in order to better understand the change process for birth parents in the child welfare system, their service needs, and the potential usefulness of the MCFSC model in meeting those needs. In particular, the study sought to examine the role of the Intake and Empowerment groups, to identify the key components of the group interventions that appeared to facilitate a change process for birth parents; and give voice to the experience of birth parents with respect to this change process …

Smoothing With Mixed Model Software, Long Ngo, M P. Wand

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Smoothing methods that use basis functions with penalization can be formulated as fits in a mixed model framework. One of the major benefits is that software for mixed model analysis can be used for smoothing. We illustrate this for several smoothing models such as additive and varying coefficient models for both S-PLUS and SAS software. Code for each of the illustrations is available on the Internet.

On The Transferability Of The Spcal Water Model To Biomolecular Simulation, Alice Glaettli, Chris Oostenbrink, Xavier Daura, Daan Geerke, Haibo Yu, Wilfred Van Gunsteren

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

We investigated the performance of the recently developed SPC/L model for liquid water, as a pure liquid, in binary mixtures with DMSO, and as a solvent model in a peptide folding simulation. Additionally, in order to test the compatibility with the GROMOS biomolecular force field, free energies of hydration of a set of representative compounds were computed. The results are compared to those for the well established SPC water model, which is generally used as a solvent model in conjunction with the GROMOS force field already for more than two decades. It turns out that as a pure liquid and …

Development Of A Simple, Self-Consistent Polarizable Model For Liquid Water, Haibo Yu, Tomas Hansson, Wilfred Van Gunsteren

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

The charge-on-spring method is used to develop a rigid, three-site, polarizable water model, a noniterative and a self-consistent version. In this method, the polarizability is taken into account by a variable separation of charges on selected polarizable centers. One of the pair of polarization charges resides on a polarizable center, while the other one is treated as an additional particle attached to the polarizable center by a parabolic restraint potential. The separation is calculated in response to the instantaneous electric field. We parametrized two models which are based on noniterative and self-consistent versions of the method, respectively. We computed several …

Www Sites Vs. Applications Software: The Dais Model, Lejla Vrazalic, Peter N. Hyland

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Since the advent and widespread use of the Internet, it has become apparent that there are significant differences between applications software and WWW sites which warrant a re-examination of HCI design and evaluation methods. Previous research has identified and documented the factors which differentiate between applications software and WWW sites, however a well defined model of these differences and their origins was not available. This paper defines such a model of Distinguishing Attributes for Informational Sites (DAIS). © 2003 ACM.

Is The Technology Acceptance Model A Valid Model Of User Satisfaction Of Information Technology In Environments Where Usage Is Mandatory?, Dave Mather, Peter Caputi, Rohan Jayasuriya

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

The validity of the two models based on the extended Technology Acceptance Model (Venkatesh and Davies, 2000) in predicting user satisfaction of an incident reporting system in a mandated setting was tested using 84 employees from a large manufacturing company. The models differed in how the construct, subjective norm was represented. Although the results indicated that both models fitted the data, the anticipated relationship between subjective norms and user satisfaction was not supported. Furthermore, some of the antecedent factors did not predict perceived usefulness as anticipated.

Internationalisation Process: Revisiting The Uppsala Model In The Asian Context, J Rajendren Pandian, Ah Ba Sim

Faculty of Commerce - Papers (Archive)

The Uppsala model of the intemationalisation process in terms of gradual incremental steps had been widely adopted in empirical research, particularly in the context of western multinational firms. We revisited this model in the context of Asian multinational firms. Examining case studies of Asian MNEs from Taiwan and Singapore in the textile and electronics industries, we found variations in the process postulated by the Uppsala model, and seek to explain them in terms of proactive actions and absorptive capacity perspective. Future research and limitations are also indicated.

A Test Of The Renewable Resources Model Of Multiple Gains And Multiple Losses, Sandra C. Jones

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Eight choice scenarios were used to test Linville and Fischer's (1991) Renewable Resources Model, which predicts that people will prefer to separate multiple gains over time and also to separate multiple losses over time, the latter prediction being contrary to Kahneman and Tversky's (1979) Prospect Theory. The Renewable Resources Model was tested under conditions that, theoretically, should enhance the dual separation outcomes. However, in seven of the eight choice scenarios, complete reversals of these outcomes were observed B that is, the participants in the experiments preferred to combine multiple gains and to combine multiple losses. Explanations of these unexpected results …

Does The Model Matter For Greg Estimation? A Business Survey Example, Dan Hedlin, Hannah Falvey, Raymond Chambers, Phillip Kokic

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Although asymptotically design-unbiased, GREG estimators may produce bad estimates. The article examines the behaviour of GREG estimators when the underlying models are misspecified. It shows how an efficient GREG estimator was found for a business survey that posed some problems. The work involved data exploration in several steps, combined with analyses of g-weights, residuals and standard regression diagnostics. We discuss two diagnostics for whether a GREG estimate is reasonable or not. A common justification for the use of GREG estimators is that, being asymptotically design unbiased, they are relatively robust to model choice. However, we show that the property of …

Wiener Model Identification And Predictive Control For Dual Composition Control Of A Distillation Column, H H J Bloemen, C T. Chou, T J J Van Den Boom, V Verdult, M Verhaegen, T C. Backx

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The benefits of using the Wiener model based identification and control methodology presented in this paper, compared to linear techniques, are demonstrated for dual composition control of a moderate-high purity distillation column simulation model. An identification experiment design is presented which enables one to identify both the low and high gain directions of the distillation column, properties which are important for control and hard to identify in a conventional identification experiment setup as is demonstrated in the paper. Data from the proposed experiment design is used for indirect closed-loop identification of both a linear and a Wiener model, which shows …

A Physical Model For The Hard X-Ray Background, R J. Wilman, A C. Fabian, Paul E J Nulsen

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

We combine a semi-analytic galaxy formation model with a prescription for the obscured growth of massive black holes, to reproduce the hard X-ray background (XRB), the local 2–10 keV active galactic nuclei (AGN) luminosity function and the source counts, including recent Chandra results. The model also complies with constraints on the AGN contribution to the far-infrared and submillimetre backgrounds.

The comoving density of luminous AGN [L(2-10keV) > 10⁴⁴ erg s^-1, in the unabsorbed rest-frame] in the model declines sharply since z=2, mimicking the observed evolution of the quasar population. The abundance of lower luminosity AGN simultaneously increases, and …

A Three-Dimensional Numerical Model Of The Response Of The Australian North West Shelf To Tropical Cyclones, Song-Ping Zhu, Jorg Imberger

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

A three-dimensional barotropic and baroclinic model is developed to simulate currents and temperature changes induced by tropical cyclones traversing the continental shelf and slope region of the Australian North West Shelf. The model is based on a layered, explicit, finite difference formulation using the nonlinear primitive equations with an embedded entrainment scheme; a mixed-surface-layer interface is defined, which is allowed to shift from one interface to another, depending on the strength of a storm. The model has been tested by simulating the currents and temperature changes induced by tropical cyclones Orson and Ian. The modelled currents and temperatures agreed well …

Relative Accuracy Of A Neighbour Method For Field Trials, W J. Lill, A C. Gleeson, Brian R. Cullis

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Two scries of simulation experiments were used to investigate the accuracy of treatment and variance estimation with a neighbour analysis of field trials proposed by Gleeson & Cullis (1987). The first series examined the accuracy of residual maximum likelihood (REML) estimation of seven theoretical error models applicable to field trials. REML estimation provided accurate estimates of the variance parameters, but the Ftest of treatments was slightly biased upward (to +2·4%) for first differences models and slightly biased downwards (to –1·4%) for second differences models. The second series of simulations, based on 19 uniformity data sets, illustrated that treatment effects were …