Digital Commons Network^™

Mobile Messaging In The Pacific Rim, Thomas Asmuth

SWITCH

This article explores the growth of mobile messaging across the Pacific Rim, focusing on how cultural, economic, and infrastructural factors shape its use.

Paper Session Ii: Forensic Scene Documentation Using Mobile Technology, Ibrahim Baggili

Annual ADFSL Conference on Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This paper outlines a framework for integrating forensic scene documentation with mobile technology. Currently there are no set standards for documenting a forensic scene. Nonetheless, there is a conceptual framework that forensic scientists and engineers use that includes note taking, scene sketches, photographs, video, and voice interview recordings. This conceptual framework will be the basis that a mobile forensic scene documentation software system is built on. A mobile software system for documenting a forensic scene may help in standardizing forensic scene documentation by regulating the data collection and documentation processes for various forensic disciplines.

Repair, Inspection And Maintenance Methods Of Steel Bridges, Deepak Koirala

Masters Theses

Transportation infrastructure is the backbone of American commerce & industry at the advent of the 21^st century. Bridges are the key elements of the transportation system of a country. According to National Bridge Inventory 2005, there are approximately six hundred thousand bridges in United States, among them nearly one third of bridges are functionally obsolete. A lack in performance of such structures, with respect to minimum acceptable standards, has direct impact not only on the highway system but also on public safety as well as economic growth. Systematic and well-designed research will provide the most effective approach to the …

A Study On Perceptions Of Civil Engineers Regarding Mandatory Continuing Education, Alee A. Sleymann

Dissertations

This study explored the perceptions of civil engineers regarding continuing professional competency requirements for license renewal. In this study,continuing professional competency is assumed to have a direct relationship to public welfare and safety. The policy of mandatory continuing education was adopted primarily for this reason. Currently, mandatory continuing education is adopted by 29 states as the method of assuring continued professional competency.

Many professionals, however, have not welcomed this mandatory continuing education (MCE) policy. The reason for this opposition is the claimed ineffectiveness of this policy in fostering continued competency. In addition, the regulatory boards and policy advocates have not …

Development Of A Gis Based Infrastructure Replacement Prioritization System; A Case Study, Brian D. Pickard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Maintenance, repair, and replacement of transmission mains and distribution system piping is expected to cost approximately $75 billion over the next two decades to ensure that public water systems are capable of providing the United States with safe drinking water. However, there is a significant gap between the funds available and the projected costs of infrastructure replacement or rehabilitation. Infrastructure Management Systems (IMS) have been developed to assist utilities and decision-makers in determining how to allocate resources for infrastructure. This project utilizes theTampa Water Department (TWD) as a case study to develop a tool for prioritizing infrastructure replacement.

TWD is …

Sensor-Based Computing Techniques For Real-Time Traffic Evacuation Management, Georgiana Hamza-Lup

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The threat of terrorist incidents is higher than ever before and devastating acts, such as the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, have left many concerns about the possibility of future incidents and their potential impact. Unlike some natural disasters that can be anticipated, terrorist attacks are sudden and unexpected. Even if sometimes we do have partial information about a possible attack, it is generally not known exactly where, when, or how an attack will occur. This lack of information posses great challenges on those responsible for security, specifically, on their ability to respond fast, whenever …

Computational Sciences: At The Intersection Of Science And Engineering--Case Study For Academic And Research Programs, Menas Kafatos, Peter Becker, Zafer Boybeyi̇

Turkish Journal of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences

No abstract provided.

Pipeline Inspection Technologies Demonstration Report Final

United States Department of Transportation: Publications

The pipeline infrastructure is a critical element in the energy delivery system across the United States. Its failure can affect both public health and safety directly and indirectly through impacts on the energy supply. The pipeline infrastructure is aging, while at the same time Research & Development (R&D) funding from the pipeline industry to develop technologies to assure its integrity is experiencing budgetary constraints. Total R&D funding is being further reduced through the elimination of programs resulting from restructuring within the government and energy industry.

The Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Pipeline Safety R&D Program mission is to …

Simulation And Continuance Of Operation For The Use Of Transit (Lynx) To Be Used In Emergency Evacuation Incidents, Noor Elmitiny

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The evacuation planning has become an important issue addressed by many research studies and publications aiming to improve the security of the daily life for our public inside the United States of America. The main objective of this research was to address the growing need for evacuation planning using traffic simulation. With increased interests and awareness in emergency evacuation and first responder access to emergencies in public locations (airports, transit stations, ports or stadiums), the traffic simulation can be helpful in orchestrating the traffic flow during emergencies. Related to this issue, Federal Transit Administration has issued a large number of …

Computational Sciences: At The Intersection Of Science And Engineering - Case Study For Academic And Research Programs, Menas Kafatos, P. A. Becker, Z. Boybeyi

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Speed Limit Increase On Crash Rate On Rural Two-Lane Highways In Louisiana, Athira Swarna Jayadevan

LSU Master's Theses

Though the rural two lane roads are the low volume-less traveled roads, the majority of the crashes occur on these roads and the high speed of motor vehicles on these roads is suspected to be one of the main causes for this. This study focused on the development of a methodology to study the impact of a speed limit increase on the crash rate on the rural two lane roads in Louisiana. The Louisiana crash database obtained from the Louisiana Department of Transportation (LADOTD) was used to carry out the analysis. The analysis consisted of the comparison of crash rates …

System Simulations Of Dstrd And Th-Ppm For Ultra Wide Band (Uwb) Wireless Communications, Kevin Phillips

All Volumes (2001-2008)

Following FCC approval of Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) radio rules for commercial applications in 2002, a UWB radio physical layer standard is currently under development within the IEEE 802 LAN/MAN Standard Committee. Although the UWB transmitter and UWB band are spelled out by the FCC, neither UWB signal forms nor modulation schemes are defined by the regulations [1]. This paper illustrates two types of impulse UWB radio modulation systems and their simulation performance. They are direct sequence UWB (DS-UWB) and time modulated (TM- UWB) or so called time hopping UWB (TH-UWB). Unique ways of coding and positioning the impulses, as in …

Theoretical And Experimental Study On Cable Vibration Reduction With A Tmd-Mr Damper, Wenjie Wu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Stay cables are vulnerable to dynamic excitations because of their low intrinsic damping. Excessive cable vibrations cause frequent maintenance and are detrimental to the safety of the entire bridge. Targeting the severe cable vibration problem, in addition to using the existing Magnetorheological (MR) damper, the current study proposes a new type of damper, called the Tuned Mass Damper-Magnetorheological (TMD-MR) damper. Theoretical and experimental investigations for the damper performance on the cable vibration reduction are conducted, which provides the necessary research support for practical implementation. Experiments on the individual MR damper are carried out first to gain some experience on the …

Fiscal Year 2005 Fhwa-536 Report For The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Steven Douglas Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires state transportation agencies to submit a biennial report on local highway finances. The purpose of these reports is to provide FHWA with the data it needs to capture the financing of highway activities at the local level. Based on this information, it can identify trends in revenue, expenditures, investments, and program development, and in turn make decisions about future investments. The report, FHWA-536, asks agencies to report on four areas of local highway finance: 1) disposition of highway-user revenues; 2) revenues used for roads and streets identified by source and funding type; 3) road …

Simulating Discriminatory Profiling, Oscar Neal

Masters Theses

There is a concern that racial profiling is being used to invoke searches and stops in spite of its violation of the fourth amendment. Simulation methods are used to study the correlation test of stops, searches and citations with race, age, and gender. The design uses sensitivity analysis of inputs to determine their relationship to outputs statistics of a police department's citations and stops. Experimental results are than used to verify and predict departmental bias. A simulation program written in Visual Basic is used as a tool to explore simulation techniques. A formulation of simulation uses in studying discriminatory profiling …

Background Radio Frequency Interference Measurements For Wireless Devices In The Electricity Supply Industry, Duane Robinson, Tadeusz A. Wysocki, V. Smith, K. Popovski

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

Incorporation of radio controller units into heavy equipment used in the electricity industry provides numerous advantages including: improved electrical isolation between plant and operator, ability to incorporate an additional remote operator, and reductions in vehicle wiring and hydraulic hoses for equipment control. However, secure operation of vehicles and plant incorporating radio control rely on establishing suitable levels of immunity to possible radio frequency interference. Interference levels in close proximity to high voltage power lines are of special concern to the electricity industry. This paper reports on a preliminary investigation into quantifying the levels of background radio interference at such locations …

Robust And Efficient Localization Techniques For Cellular And Wireless Sensor Networks, Haseebulla M. Khan

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Localization in wireless networks refers to a collection of tasks that, collectively, determines the location of a mobile user, striving to hide the effects of mobility from the user and/or application. Localization has become an important issue and has drawn considerable attention, as many applications including E-911, cargo tracking, locating patients, location-sensitive billing, etc., require knowledge of the location of user/objects. It was realized, quite a while back, that extending emergency 911-like services (E-911) to continually growing mobile population is one of the extremely important localization applications. The bulk of the proposed solutions to emergency location management in wireless environments …

Acuta Enews November 2005, Vol. 34, No. 11

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

Despite Court Ruling, IRS Will Continue to Assess Tax............... Jeri A. Semer, CAE, ACUTA Executive Dir.

From ACUTA Headquarters: Upcoming ACUTA Surveys............... Jeri A. Semer, CAE, ACUTA Executiver Dir.

ACUTA Directory to Go Online

Tech Talk: WMM Adds Touch of Class to Wireless Networking................ Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

FYI: Useful Information from the Campus.................... Student Monitor

Web Tip: Pop-Up Blockers................ Aaron Fuehrer, ACUTA Information Technology Mgr.

Info Links.......................... Randy Hayes, University of Northern Iowa

ACUTA Online Press Room

Board Report............. Riny Ledgerwood, San Diego State Univ., ACUTA Secretary/Treasurer

DC Update............ Whitney Johnson, Retired, No. Michigan Univ.

Welcome …

Development, Deployment, And Evaluation Of A Remote Monitoring System And A Virtual Weigh Station, Joseph D. Crabtree, David Q. Hunsucker, Jennifer R. Walton

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

In order to extend commercial vehicle enforcement coverage to routes that are not monitored by fixed weigh stations, Kentucky has developed and implemented a Remote Monitoring System (RMS) and a Virtual Weigh Station (VWS). The RMS captures images of passing trucks (from the side) and transmits those images to a nearby weigh station. Station personnel can view the images, read the USDOT number, and check the number against Kentucky’s Clearinghouse of motor carrier data. When a problem is detected with the carrier’s registration, taxes, or safety record, an officer can be dispatched to intercept the truck, perform the necessary checks, …

Outsourcing Of Kytc Project Delivery Functions, Donn E. Hancher, April Brenneman, Robin Meagher, Paul M. Goodrum

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The rise in daily travelers on highways due to population growth, and higher quality and service expectations of the public, are putting increased demands on DOTs today. These demands, combined with decreasing staff sizes and changing resources, are causing DOTs to investigate alternative methods for accomplishing their essential functions. A major option is to contract out more of their work to external parties, commonly called “outsourcing .” The purpose of this project was to evaluate the potential effectiveness, benefits, concerns and implementation requirements of outsourcing by the Kentucky Department of Highways.

This report looks at current outsourcing practices in other …

Evaluation Of Methods To Limit The Time Taken To Investigate Crash Sites, Jennifer R. Walton, Monica L. Barrett, Kenneth R. Agent

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Highway crashes have significant direct and indirect costs associated with them. Substantial sources of indirect costs are the congestion and delays that result from lane blockages or road closures while the crash is being investigated and the site cleared. In many cases, vehicles could be moved and roadways reopened very quickly, but this does not occur because of the need (or perceived need) to conduct a detailed investigation of the crash scene. The objective of this study was to identify opportunities to reduce the time required to investigate and clear crash scenes. This project includes a review of state and …

Ronan Point Apartment Tower Collapse And Its Effect On Building Codes, Cynthia Pearson, Norbert Delatte

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In the early morning hours of May 16, 1968, the occupant of apartment 90 on the 18th floor of the 22-story Ronan Point apartment tower, in London, lit a match to brew her morning cup of tea. The resulting gas explosion initiated a partial collapse of the structure that killed four people and injured 17 (one of whom subsequently died). On investigation, the apartment tower was found to be deeply flawed in both design and construction. The existing building codes were found to be inadequate for ensuring the safety and integrity of high-rise precast concrete apartment buildings. The Larsen–Nielson building …

Inside Unlv, Erin O'Donnell, Diane Russell, Carol C. Harter

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

Manufacture And Testing Of An Activation Foil Package For Use In Afids, Warren E. Kimmel

Theses and Dissertations

This study used simulation and experiment to design and test foil packets for use in the Activation Foil Integrated Detection System (AFIDS). The initial plan to activate foil packets outside with the pulse reactor at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) was not possible due to WSMR not having safety approval to take the reactor outside. As an alternative, the concept of using liquid nitrous oxide inside a reactor to simulate large volumes of air was investigated. Simulation using the Standardized Computer Analyses for Licensing Evaluation (SCALE) program was used to select ten foils to be included in the foil packet. …

Acuta Enews March 2005, Vol. 34, No. 3

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

From ACUTA Headquarters............................ Jeri A. Semer, CAE, ACUTA Executive Director

Did You See the Post?

Nominate for ACUTA Board of Directors

Tech Talk: Holographic Storage................... Kevin Tanzillo, Dux Public Relations

Abandoned Cable May take Unexpected Bite.................. Frank Bisbee, www.wireville.com

Board Report.................... Carmine Piscopo, Providence College

ACUTA Member Sites to See

Web Tip: Questions, Anyone?....................... Aaron Fuehrer, ACUTA Computer Svcs. Mgr.

DC Update..................... Whitney Johnson, Retired, Northern Michigan Univ.

Welcome New Members

ACUTA Online Press Room

Review Of Traffic Provisions Of Krs/Kar And Kentucky Drivers Manual, Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

No abstract provided.

A Qualitative Study Of Industry And Air Force Commodity Council Processes, Robert J. Irvine

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to compare industry and Air Force commodity council processes. More specifically, this research used a survey to gather strategic sourcing philosophies and procedures (with respect to small business participation in procurement strategies) from successful industry firms. Industry source selection documentation, applicable government contracting guidelines, and a literature review of strategic sourcing materials were also reviewed. The current Air Force commodity council process and associated historical documents were then studied using a business process modeling tool. It was determined that the Air Force process differs from industry in how small business participation is addressed, the …

Acuta Enews January 2005, Vol. 34, No. 1

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

From ACUTA Headquarters.............. Jeri A. Semer, CAE, ACUTA Executive Director

Universal Service Update................... Brad Gillen, Wiley, Rein & Fielding

Tech Talk: Quantum Cryptography............... Kevin Tanzillo, Dux Public Relations

Thanks to 2004 Event Sponsors

Emergency Notification Systems

Directories Are in the Mail

Board Report............. Carmine Piscopo, Providence College

DC Update............... Whitney Johnson, Retired, Northern Michigan Univ.

Web Tip: Membership Logos.................. Aaron Fuehrer, ACUTA Computer Svcs. Mgr.

Governors Highway Safety Associations And Transportation Planning: Exploratory Factor Analysis And Structural Equation Modeling, Sudeshna Mitra, Simon Washington, Eric Dumbaugh, Micael D. Meyer

Civil and Environmental Engineering

The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 mandated the consideration of safety in the regional transportation planning process. As part of National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 8-44, "Incorporating Safety into the Transportation Planning Process," we conducted a telephone survey to assess safety-related activities and expertise at Governors Highway Safety Associations (GHSAs), and GHSA relationships with metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and state departments of transportation (DOTs). The survey results were combined with statewide crash data to enable exploratory modeling of the relationship between GHSA policies and programs and statewide safety. The modeling objective was to illuminate current hurdles …

Indoor Geo-Location And Tracking Of Mobile Autonomous Robot, Mahesh Ramamurthy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The field of robotics has always been one of fascination right from the day of Terminator. Even though we still do not have robots that can actually replicate human action and intelligence, progress is being made in the right direction. Robotic applications range from defense to civilian, in public safety and fire fighting. With the increase in urban-warfare robot tracking inside buildings and in cities form a very important application. The numerous applications range from munitions tracking to replacing soldiers for reconnaissance information. Fire fighters use robots for survey of the affected area. Tracking robots has been limited to the …