Digital Commons Network^™

Timeflies: Push-Pull Signal-Function Functional Reactive Programming, Edward Amsden

Theses

Functional Reactive Programming (FRP) is a promising class of abstractions for interactive programs. FRP systems provide values defined at all points in time (behaviors or signals) and values defined at countably many points in time (events) as abstractions. Signal-function FRP is a subclass of FRP which does not provide direct access to time-varying values to the programmer, but instead provides signal functions, which are reactive transformers of signals and events, as first-class objects in the program. All signal-function implementations of FRP to date have utilized demand-driven or "pull-based" evaluation for both events and signals, producing output from the FRP system …

Workforce Planning And Facility Utilization Using A Two-Stage Stochastic Recourse Approach, Anirudha Kulkarni

Theses

Hi-tech manufacturing uses sophisticated and capital intensive processes that require a highly skilled workforce. Fluctuating demand leads to either a shortage of skilled workers that causes unmet demand or an excess of skilled labor that causes worker idleness. This mismatch in the available and required skillsets is a source of potential loss for the organization. This thesis formulates an industry-motivated workforce planning and facility utilization problem as a two-stage stochastic recourse program that considers fluctuating demand over a long planning horizon and includes business and labor rules, e.g., hiring, firing, overtime, cross-training, and shift swapping, that govern the structure of …

Dynamics And Control Of A Single-Line Maneuverable Kite, Christopher Donnelly

Theses

Through simulation, an automated control system for a single-line maneuverable kite is developed for application in kite wind energy production. The kite used in this study is a small, tension-controlled, single-line kite, commonly known as a fighter kite. These kites have a simple design, but flying them requires complex control of line tension and visual input. At low tether tension, the kite is unstable; spinning about the tether. Increasing tension in the tether causes the kite to deform and fly in the direction it was facing. Experienced fliers can produce intricate maneuvers and often participate in competitions with other fliers. …

Analyzing Android Applications For Specifications And Bugs, Danilo Dominguez

Theses

Android has become one of the leader operating systems for smartphones. Moreover, Android has a big community of developers with over 696500 applications on its market. However, given the complexity of the system, bugs are very common on Android applications--such as security vulnerabilities and energy bugs. Normally Android applications are written using the Java programming language. In contrast to most Java applications, Android applications does not have a single entry point (main function). In addition, these applications can use some system calls and receive events from external entities (such as the user) that affect how their control flows. Therefore, a …

Hybrid Life Cycle Assessment Of Low, Mid And High-Rise Multi-Family Dwellings With Development Of Knowledge-Based Uncertainty Bounds, Kimberly Bawden

Theses

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used for decades to study the environmental impacts of the built environment. This study extends work in this area by completing an LCA of the cumulative energy demand (CED) and global warming potential (GWP) of low, mid and high-rise multi-family dwellings. Using a hybrid LCA, this study finds that the CED and GWP for low, mid and high-rise multi-family residences increases from 37, 39, to 42 GJ/m2, and 3.6, 3.8, and 4 tCO2eq/m2 on average, respectively. As with previous studies, the operation phase dominates total life cycle energy, but with smaller share of 77% …

Modern Arabic Calligraphic-Based Logos: The Influence Of Traditional Arabic Calligraphy On Modern Arabic Calligraphic-Based Logo Designs, Amer Alkharoubi

Theses

Calligraphy in the Arabic language is an ancient form of communication and a method of documenting history. The Arabic script started in a very simple form with characters similar to each other. However, through the years, many developments have occurred within this form of communication. These developments were created by several artists and calligraphers, which resulted in generating a variety of styles of scripts with unique treatments.

Since the twentieth century, these traditional calligraphic styles have started to lose their importance, and the use of modern Arabic calligraphy is becoming more dominant, especially in the fields of modern design such …

Math Expression Retrieval Using Symbol Pairs In Layout Trees, David Stalnaker

Theses

We have developed a layout-based math retrieval system by indexing on pairs of symbols in mathematical expressions. Existing approaches to layout-based retrieval include tree edit distance-based matching on MathML trees (Kamali and Tompa, 2013) and longest common subsequence matching in LATEX strings (Kumar et al., 2012). In our work, we compare our new layout-based retrieval method with a math retrieval system built using the conventional text-based retrieval system Lucene (Zanibbi and Yuan, 2011), as such systems are commonly used for math search. We show that the search results returned by our system are scored by participants in a study as …

Movement Of Juvenile Coho Salmon (Onchorynchus Kisutch) And Dolly Varden Char (Salvelinus Malma) In Headwater Rearing Habitat In The Kenai Lowlands Of South-Central Alaska, Kristin Berger

Theses

Patterns of juvenile salmonid movement in natal streams provide insight into factors driving movement and ways to develop proactive conservation practices for wild salmon populations. This work expands on years of ongoing investigations for a comprehensive understanding of landscape and habitat characteristics important for salmon success. This study ties into an existing model for headwater streams in the Kenai Lowlands which predicts the presence of juvenile coho salmon and Dolly Varden by age-class based on catchment topography, wetland geomorphology, water chemistry, substrate composition, channel morphology, and macroinvertebrate and fish communities (King et al. 2012). We tagged nearly 1,000 juvenile coho …

Spatial Heterodyne Spectroscopy: Modeling And Interferogram Processing, Cara Perkins

Theses

This work presents a radiometric model of a spatial heterodyne spectrometer (SHS) and a corresponding interferogram-processing algorithm for the calculation of calibrated spectral radiance measurements. The SHS relies on Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (FTS) principles, and shares design similarities with the Michelson Interferometer. The advantages of the SHS design, including the lack of moving parts, high throughput, and instantaneous spectral measurements, make it suitable as a field-deployable instrument. Operating in the long-wave infrared (LWIR), the imaging SHS design example included provides the capability of performing chemical detection based on reflectance and emissivity properties of surfaces of organic compounds. This LWIR SHS …

My Art, My World, My Piano, Wen-Hua Chen

Theses

The topic for this thesis is how Taiwanese and Western cultures have influenced me both as an artist and an individual. In my thesis, I paint Taiwanese floral patterns. Along with a number of paintings and prints, the most complex work involves painting on a piano. The watercolor paintings are in grid format to demonstrate the concept of pattern, and the piano has a single large peony on top and other decorations on the sides. My research focuses upon the art of Taiwanese culture. I choose Taiwanese floral patterns as my subject matter because of their variety of elements, and …

The Abundance And Biodiversity Of Arthropods In Biofuel Crops: Insects And Arachnids In Corn, Switchgrass And Native Mixed Grass Prairie Fields, Caitlin Kempski

Theses

Concerns about fossil fuel prices and harmful effects have prompted research and investment in biofuel development. Biofuels have the potential to provide a stable fuel source that reduces carbon emissions. However, the ecological impacts of different crop choices should be examined. Arthropod communities in corn and switchgrass monocultures and mixed grass prairie polycultures were examined to determine the impact of the crop choice on the arthropod communities. Results show that, when compared to corn and switchgrass fields, mixed grass prairie fields had higher values for arthropod biomass, number, size, the number of orders present, the number of individuals in each …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Mental Workload Demands Of Mrap Vehicle Drivers Using Physiological, Subjective, And Performance Assessments, Elizabeth Khol

Theses

United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Operators and vehicle Commanders are specially trained United States military Warfighters that have the demanding task of operating or working onboard Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All Terrain Vehicles (M-ATVs). Their missions encounter significant mental demands resulting from fatigue, highly stressful situations, and interactions with Government Furnished Equipment (GFE). Excessive mental demands can be the primary factor leading to compromised vehicle communication, missed improvised explosive device (IED) detection, and increased incidents of vehicle roll-over. Research has demonstrated the consequences of mental overloading including increased errors, performance decrements, distraction, cognitive tunneling and inadequate time to …

Improved Economic Feasibility Of Green Energy And Fuel Production Through Wastewater Based Microalgae Growth, Cole Adams

Theses

A growing concern of the impacts from carbon emitting fuels has lead to the development of potentially carbon natural biofuels in the form of biodiesel, bioethanol, and biogas. Unfortunately, first generation sources such as corn, palm, and soy, have not been able to meet the needs of an environmental friendly fuel. In response, microalgae have been proposed by many as an alternative, with the potential to overcome many of the limitations of the first generation sources. Biofuel production from microalgae, however, has not been economically competitive with other petroleum based fuel, and has environmental issues of its own. The viability …

A Framework For Realistic Modeling And Display Of Object Surface Appearance, Benjamin Darling

Theses

With advances in screen and video hardware technology, the type of content presented on computers has progressed from text and simple shapes to high-resolution photographs, photorealistic renderings, and high-definition video. At the same time, there have been significant advances in the area of content capture, with the development of devices and methods for creating rich digital representations of real-world objects. Unlike photo or video capture, which provide a fixed record of the light in a scene, these new technologies provide information on the underlying properties of the objects, allowing their appearance to be simulated for novel lighting and viewing conditions. …

Analysis Of Compressive Sensing For Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Applications, Maria Busuioceanu

Theses

Compressive Sensing (CS) systems capture data with fewer measurements than traditional sensors assuming that imagery is redundant and compressible in the spectral and spatial dimensions. This thesis utilizes a model of the Coded Aperture Snapshot Spectral Imager-Dual Disperser (CASSI-DD) to simulate CS measurements from traditionally sensed HyMap images. A novel reconstruction algorithm that combines spectral smoothing and spatial total variation (TV) is used to create high resolution hyperspectral imagery from the simulated CS measurements. This research examines the effect of the number of measurements, which corresponds to the percentage of physical data sampled, on the quality of simulated CS data …

Understanding And Modeling The Synchronization Cost In The Gpu Architecture, Letendre James

Theses

Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) have been growing more and more popu- lar being used for general purpose computations. GPUs are massively paral- lel processors which make them a much more ideal fit for many algorithms than the CPU is. The drawback to using a GPU to do a computation is that they are much less efficient at running algorithms with more complex con- trol flow. This has led to them being used as part of a heterogeneous system, usually consisting of a CPU and a GPU although other types of processors could be added. Models of GPUs are important in …

Artist Material Brdf Database For Computer Graphics Rendering, Justin Ashbaugh

Theses

The primary goal of this thesis was to create a physical library of artist material samples. This collection provides necessary data for the development of a gonio-imaging system for use in museums to more accurately document their collections. A sample set was produced consisting of 25 panels and containing nearly 600 unique samples. Selected materials are representative of those commonly used by artists both past and present. These take into account the variability in visual appearance resulting from the materials and application techniques used. Five attributes of variability were identified including medium, color, substrate, application technique and overcoat. Combinations of …

Usefulness Of Teaching Security Awareness For Middle School Students, Hani Alhejaili

Theses

Technology and the Internet bring many benefits to students. Studies show that technology and the available online resources encourage inquiry and support student success in schools. However, there are many threats to middle school students as a result of the misuse of technology. I believe that teaching security awareness for middle school students through an online interactive program is essential for reducing the risks that could affect them. The online interactive program should be multilingual, completely visual, continually updating, and suitable for both students and their families. Since many efforts have been made to minimize the risks, it has become …

Current Sensing Feedback For Humanoid Stability, Matthew Decapua

Theses

For humanoid robots to function in changing environments, they must be able to maintain balance similar to human beings. At present, humanoids recover from pushes by the use of either the ankles or hips and a rigid body. This method has been proven to work, but causes excessive strain on the joints of the robot and does not maximize on the capabilities of a humanlike body. The focus of this paper is to enable advanced dynamic balancing through torque classification and balance improving positional changes. For the robot to be able to balance dynamically, external torques must be determined accurately. …

Perceptions, Kathleen Ogden

Theses

My intentions are to create a series of sculptural vessels that consist of complementary forms, which through comparison develop a conversation of contrast and balance. The contrasting elements will help to create the visual disparity that can be associated with duality. This concept will be explored through employing formal issues of sculpture such as, form, color, surface, space, and composition. All of the sculptures in the thesis exhibition will be groups of contrasting vessels relating to the interaction of opposing human personalities. These sculptures will be arranged in a specific manner to exemplify their relationship. Starting with wheel thrown forms, …

Rethinking The Digital Media Library For Rit's The Wallace Center, April Younglove

Articles

In 2012, the Digital Preservation Team at Rochester Institute of Technology's The Wallace Center undertook an assessment of its Institutional Repository, the Digital Media Library. The Digital Preservation Team looked at the repository's current performance and requirements for ensuring its future success, and then examined four different philosophical approaches to configuring an IR that are in use by research institutions today: All-in-one, Archival, Researcher-centric and Subject. The team also compared open source vs. in-house repository providers and services including DSpace, Digital Commons, IR+, and Discovery Garden. A decision was made to move from the open source software DSpace to the …

A Test Setup For Characterizing High-Temperature Thermoelectric Modules, Satchit Mahajan

Theses

With the tremendous growth in demand for energy resources, there is a growing need to adopt alternative energy technologies, including ones that tap renewable energy sources as well as use non-renewable sources more efficiently. Thermoelectric energy generation is one such emerging technology. Thermoelectrics can convert waste heat from various sources--significantly, many industrial processes as well as vehicles--directly into electrical power. Thermoelectric devices can generate power when a temperature difference is applied across them. Major barriers to mainstream adoption of thermoelectric devices are their low efficiency and high cost. These are mostly limited by the properties of the constituent materials of …

Hawa, Arzouma Kompaore

Theses

The graduate thesis film Hawa is a 29-minute drama about an immigrant African couple in the grip of their "American-dream" and mutual disillusion. When Hawa realizes having a baby is no longer a priority for her husband, she starts questioning the meaning of their ten years of marriage and, most importantly, what is in it for her. She eventually finds herself caught between the old Hawa, the typical African woman swearing by her husband's name, and a new Hawa, westernized and independent. The film was shot on the Red One MX camera in 4K with Zeiss lenses, and edited entirely …

Using The Contrast Ratio Method And Achromatic Transmission Densitometry As A Substitute For Status A Transmission Densitometry With The Photographic Activity Test For Enclosure Materials, Ishtar Laguna Monroy

Theses

The discontinuation of conventional photographic spot-reading transmission densitometers -including the widely adopted X-Rite model 310- due to the rapid decrease in demand for analogic photographic laboratory work has had a broadly felt effect in the conservation community. In the cultural heritage conservation field, instruments like the X-Rite 310 are widely used, specifically in the performance of the Photographic Activity Test (PAT) for the preservation of photographic materials. In the present research, five possible alternate metrics were investigated as substitutes for the increasingly unavailable spot reading transmission densitometers in Status-A readings as mandated by the current PAT. The analyzed metrics were: …

Understanding And Modeling The Synchronization Cost In The Gpu Architecture, James Letendre

Theses

Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) have been growing more and more popu- lar being used for general purpose computations. GPUs are massively paral- lel processors which make them a much more ideal fit for many algorithms than the CPU is. The drawback to using a GPU to do a computation is that they are much less efficient at running algorithms with more complex con- trol flow. This has led to them being used as part of a heterogeneous system, usually consisting of a CPU and a GPU although other types of processors could be added. Models of GPUs are important in …

Design Genealogy, Casey Kelly

Theses

The importance of understanding and sharing graphic design history is under-appreciated. A few observations were taken into consideration regarding the sharing of design history information. Formats include content that is often text-dense and overwhelming. While great design history resources do exist, there is opportunity to develop a method for sharing design history that addresses these observations.

The Design Genealogy thesis project provides opportunity for the discovery of connections among designers and their work through a memorable, fun, and engaging learning experience. Its flexible format attempts to provoke inspiration, foster investigation, strengthen the retention of information, and encourage an eagerness to …

How Online Learning Can Benefit Deaf And Heard Of Hearing People, Matthew Bilowus

Theses

Online learning can be used for those who are not able to physically attend classes. Rapid expansion of online tools and technologies make online learning more available. Testing was done in applications of Online Learning classes for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students at the collegiate level. Experiments show that interactivity and responsiveness of the instructor plays an important role in Online Learning as applied to Deaf and Hard of Hearing students.

Dual Orientation Of The Outer Membrane Lipoprotein P6 Of Nontypeable Haemophilus Influenzae, Lea V. Michel, Joy Snyder, Rachel Schmidt, Jennnifer Milillo, Kyle Grimaldi, Breanna Kalmeta, M. Nadeem Khan, Sharad Sharma, Leslie Kate Wright, Michael E. Pichichero

Articles

The majority of outer membrane (OM) lipoproteins in Gram-negative bacteria are tethered to the membrane via an attached lipid moiety and oriented facing in toward the periplasmic space; a few lipoproteins have been shown to be surface exposed. The outer membrane lipoprotein P6 from the Gram-negative pathogenic bacterium nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is surface exposed and a leading vaccine candidate for prevention of NTHi infections. However, we recently found that P6 is not a transmembrane protein as previously thought (L. V. Michel, B. Kalmeta, M. McCreary, J. Snyder, P. Craig, M. E. Pichichero, Vaccine 29:1624–1627, 2011). Here we pursued studies …

Human Figure Of Furniture, Keun Park

Theses

My thesis draws inspiration from three distinct sources - the functional aspect of an object providing sensual experience, the sculptural quality produced by a personal aesthetic and technical consideration from the maker's perspective. My creative process involves finding a balance between these three considerations. The choice of wood as the primary material plays a decisive role in providing the sensual experience and visual effect for the work. Smooth wooden surfaces provide sensory enjoyment and warmth, especially on types of furniture that involve intimate body contact such as a chair, bench, or even stair railing. This kind of distinctly human interaction …

Evaluation And Improvement Of The Workflow Of Digital Imaging Of Fine Art Reproduction In Museums, Jun Jiang

Theses

Fine arts refer to a broad spectrum of art formats, ie~painting, calligraphy, photography, architecture, and so forth. Fine art reproductions are to create surrogates of the original artwork that are able to faithfully deliver the aesthetics and feelings of the original. Traditionally, reproductions of fine art are made in the form of catalogs, postcards or books by museums, libraries, archives, and so on (hereafter called museums for simplicity). With the widespread adoption of digital archiving in museums, more and more artwork is reproduced to be viewed on a display. For example, artwork collections are made available through museum websites and …