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Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Optimisation Of Organic Materials For Laser Applications, Kieran P. Henderson

Masters

This project sets out to investigate the variations of the optical properties of organic conjugated polymers with a view towards understanding the transition from isolated molecule (solution) to the solid state. The polymer poly9p-phenylene vinylene-co-2,5-dioctyloxy-m-phenylene vinylene) (PmPV) is chosen as it is of interest for both light emitting and nanotube composite applications. As a model compound, 2,5-dioctoxy-p-distrylbenzene, termed the trimer, is employed for comparison. The objective are to characterize the effect of the environment, using solvent and concentration dependent studies, on the optical properties of the polymer and to compare the results for the more complex polymeric system to the …

A Differentiated Services Architecture For Quality Of Service Provisioning In Wireless Local Area Networks, Tristan Raimondi

Masters

Currently the issue of Quality of Service (QoS) is a major problem in IP networks due to the growth in multimedia traffic (e.g. voice and video applications) and therefore many mechanisms like IntServ, DiffServ, etc. have been proposed. Since the IEEE 802.11b (or Wi-Fi) standard was approved in 1999, it has gained in popularity to become the leading Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology with millions of such networks deployed worldwide. Wireless networks have a limited capacity (11 Mbits/s in the case of Wi-Fi networks) owing to the limited amount of frequency spectrum available. At any given time there may …

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Novel Liquid Crystal Materials For Their Possible Applications, Minseok Chang

Masters

In this thesis I present four main topics. One is an introduction to liquid crystals and the second is an opto-electronic experimental setup. The third is an investigation of the dynamic properties of dendrimers, which show ferroelectric features. The last one is a research focused on understanding of the structures of two different types of De Vries smectic A liquid crystal phases. All research activities are performed by the hand-made but automatically controlled opto-electronic experimental setup. First, an introduction to liquid crystals is presented in easy language. Mainly there are two kinds of liquid crystals, thermotropic and lyotropic, but I …

The Role Of Information Technology In The Supply Chain, Ronan Mcdonnell, Edward Sweeney, John Kenny

Practitioner Journals

No abstract provided.

The Organisation For Economic Cooperation And Development, Richard Woodward

Articles

This article reviews the role of the OECD, a much cited but little studied institution, in global governance.

Wireless Spatio-Semantic Transactions On Multimedia Datasets, James Carswell, Keith Gardiner, Marco Neumann

Conference papers

Advances in spatially enabled semantic computing can provide situation aware assistance for mobile users. This intelligent and context-aware technology presents the right information at the right time, place and situation by exploiting semantically referenced data for knowledge discovery. The system takes advantage of new metadata standards to enable semantic, user, and device adapted transactions on multimedia datasets. Information accessed in the past and the activities planned by the user, the situation dependencies (e.g. location) of these activities are used to infer future information requirements. The focus of this paper describes an application of the above functionalities for performing mobile context-aware …

Design And Development Of A Respiratory Monitoring Device To Be Used In Conjuction With Mri Scanners, Aidan Mcnally

Masters

The aim of this project was to design and manufacture a respiratory monitoring device that operates in conjunction with MRI scanners to produce higher quality images. The resultant quality of many MRI images depends on how well the patient can control their breathing activity. This research has been successful in designing and manufacturing a device that can be used to teach patients how to hold their breath correctly prior to scanning and also provide them with feedback about their breathing activity during the scan The project involved research into MRI technology and the materials that can still be used in …

Application Of Photopolymer Holographic Gratings, Emilia Mihaylova, Izabela Naydenova, Hosam Sherif, Suzanne Martin, Vincent Toal

Conference Papers

Two optical set-ups for electronic speckle pattern shearing interferometry (ESPSI) using photopolymer diffractive optical elements are presented. Holographic gratings are recorded using an acrylamide based photopolymer material. Since the polymerisation process occurs during recording, the holograms are produced without any development or processing. In both ESPSI systems the photopolymer gratings are used to shear the image. In the first ESPSI system only one grating is used in combination with a sheet of ground glass. The distance between the grating and the ground glass can be used to control the amount of the shear. The sheared images on the ground glass …

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Dit Independent, Issue 4, 1st.-29th. Of February, 2004, Dit:Students Union

DIT Student Union

No abstract provided.

Mechano-Biological Interactions Of Endothelial Cells, Claire Brougham, Karen Coughlan, Valerie Barron, Peter Mchugh

Conference Papers

Atherosclerosis is an ever-increasing cause of morbidity in the western world. Current surgical treatments include bypass grafts and coronary artery stents. However, there is still a need for alternative approaches especially for those who cannot receive conventional therapy. Tissue engineering is one such approach that may hold the key to the repair and regeneration. Tissue engineering is one such approach that may hold the key to the repair and regeneration of coronary arteries. Nevertheless, many questions need to be answered before a vialbe vascular tissie with the inherent properties of native tissue becomes a real contender with the surgical therapies …

Creating The Human Resources For Technology: The Case Of Ireland And The Specific Role Of Dit., Brendan Goldsmith

Conference papers

No abstract available

The Reflective Practitioner: Critical Theory And The Professionalisation Of Pr, Tom Clonan

Articles

The Reflective Practitioner: Critical Theory and the Professionalisation of PR Abstract The purpose of this article is to outline the relevance that critical theory has for the practice of public relations and the professional formation of its practitioners. The article provides an overview of one of the key theoretical perspectives articulated in the political economy approach to communication - that of the relationship between powerful elites in society and media professionals. The author seeks to explore the hypothesised relationships said to exist between power brokers in society and the 'organs of cultural production' - with particular emphasis on media relations. …

Printed Planar Monopole Antenna With Electromagnetically Coupled Elements, Jonathan Evans, Francisco Lerma, Max Ammann

Conference papers

In this paper, the addition of an EM-coupled element to the printed planar monopole antenna is investigated. While remaining simple to construct, modifications to the EM-coupled element are shown to reduce the lower edge frequency of the 10 dB impedance bandwidth by up to ∼19% (280 MHz at 1.5 GHz). The radiation patterns for these antennas are characteristic of monopole antennas - i.e. omnidirectional in the azimuth plane with a at the zenith - and are consistent within +/- 2 dB across their useful impedance bandwidths. By optimizing the feed arrangements on these antennas a 10 dB impedance bandwidth ratio …

Learning Theories And Higher Education, Francis Ashworth, Gabriel Brennan, Kathy Egan, Ron Hamilton, Olalla Sáenz

Level 3

This paper offers a number of materials and resources which may be used as teaching aids for introduction-level courses in learning theories, especially those in higher education. The materials were developed during our participation in a postgraduate diploma module on the psychology of learning and learning theories in 2004, as part of the diploma in third-level learning and teaching at the DIT Learning and Teaching Centre.

The materials include:

• three timeline diagrams illustrating the development of learning theories which locate key thinkers and key ideas in their historic and socio-political contexts
• three summary diagrams of behaviourist, humanist and social learning …

Towards A Computer Assisted Violin Teaching Aid, Derry Fitzgerald, Jane Charles, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

This paper presents a possible approach for developing a violin teaching aid based on violin pedagogy, sound analysis and comparison of beginner and good player recordings. This teaching aid is targeted at students who have difficulty listening attentively to the sounds they produce. It aims to draw their attention to the sound of a fault, offer correction and to train the user's ear to actively listen.

Orchestration Within The Sonification Of Basic Data Sets, Charlie Cullen, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

The use of sonification as a means of representing and analysing data has become a growing field of research in recent years and as such has become a far more accepted means of working with data. Existing work carried out as part of this research has focused primarily on the sonification of DNA/RNA sequences and their subsequent protein structures for the purposes of analysis. This sonification work raised many questions as regards the need for sequences to be set to music in a standard manner so that different strands could be analysed by comparison, and hence the orchestration and instrumentation …

3d Engineering With Prototyping, Jerome Casey, David Copperwhite, Barry Duignan

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Imagineering Cities: Creating Liveable Urban Futures In The 21st Century, John Ratcliffe, Elzbieta Krawczyk

Articles

The 21st century is fast being recognised as the ‘century of cities’. More than half of the world’s population lives in cities now, and the importance of efficient urban land use and ‘smart’ development has become ever greater over recent decades. Cities are the key centres of human activity and the engines of economic growth in the world today. A world which has been drastically transformed by rapid technological change, expanding globalisation, profound cultural shifts and new economic perspectives. One, moreover, bring a whole range of fresh opportunities and challenges. Traditional ways in which cities were planned and managed increasingly …

Electronic Speckle Pattern Shearing Interferometry Using Photopolymer Diffractive Optical Elements For Vibration Measurements, Emilia Mihaylova, Izabela Naydenova, Suzanne Martin, Vincent Toal

Conference Papers

Electronic speckle pattern shearing interferometry (ESPSI) is superior to Electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) when strain distribution, arising from object deformation or vibration, need to be measured. This is because shearography provides data directly related to the spatial derivatives of the displacement. Further development of ESPSI systems could be beneficial for wider application to the measurement of mechanical characteristics of vibrating objects. Two electronic speckle pattern shearing interferometers (ESPSI) suitable for vibration measurements are presented. In both ESPSI systems photopolymer holographic gratings are used to shear the images and to control the size of the shear. The holographic gratings are …

Using Information Technology To Enhance Control Engineering Education: Some Experiences, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

In the past decade, the use of computer based design and analysis tools, such as MATLAB/SIMULINK, has revolutionised practice in Control Engineering. Concepts that were previously only understandable after sustained mathematical analysis or experimental work may now be readily simulated on the computer. Over the past four years, the author has experimented with the use of MATLAB/SIMULINK, in the lecture and laboratory environment, with degree and taught masters students in control engineering at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). It has been found that the tool helps to increase student understanding of challenging topics, to act as motivation to further exploration …

Harmonic Distortion Caused By Ev Battery Chargers In The Distribution Systems Network And Its Remedy, Malabika Basu, Kevin Gaughan, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

An effective way to minimise harmonic pollution in power systems is by careful design of the equipment connected to them. It is important for designers of equipment associated with emerging technologies to be aware of the potential impact of their designs on power system quality. One such upcoming technology is electric vehicle (EV) battery charging which may contribute to high harmonic distortion in the power system during the charging period. The literature notes total harmonic distortion of up to 50%. These findings are the impetus behind the present paper, where an EV battery charger has been designed, with an inherent …

Enhancing Process Performance Through Automatic Control, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

The proportional integral derivative (PID) controller is the most dominant form of automatic controller in industrial use today. With this technique, it is necessary to adjust the controller parameters according to the nature of the process. Thus, for effective control of a pasteurisation process, for example, specific values need to be chosen for the P, I and D parameters, which will be different for the values required to control, for example, a distillation column. This tailoring of controller to process is known as controller tuning.

Microstructural Analysis Of Varistors Prepared From Nanosize Zno, Suresh Pillai, Declan Mccormack, John Kelly, Ramesh Raghavendra

Articles

No abstract provided.

Microwave Induced Preparation Of A-Axis Oriented Double-Ended Needle-Shaped Zno Microparticles, Suresh Pillai, John Kelly, Graeme Watson, Deirdre Ledwith

Articles

Microwave irradiation of solutions of Zn(NO₃)₂ and urea provides a straightforward route to a-axis oriented crystals of needle-like morphology.

Low-Temperature Crystallization Of Sol–Gel Processed Pb0.5ba0.5tio3: Powders And Oriented Thin Films, Suresh Pillai, Stacey Boland, Sossina Haile

Articles

A novel sol– gel process suitable for depositing thin-film lead
barium titanate has been developed. X-ray diffraction analysis
showed perovskite phase crystallization to occur at a temperature
as low as 400°C with single-phase Pb0.5Ba0.5TiO3 (PBT)
resulting at a temperature as low as 500°C. Small concentrations
of barium carbonate were evident by X-ray diffraction at
400°C, and indications of minor, carbonate-containing phases
were evident by FTIR at 600°C. Deposition of the sol by spin
coating on single-crystal and thin-film MgO on silicon resulted
in highly oriented PBT films after calcination at 600°C. Mixed
(100)/(001) films were obtained on single-crystal MgO,
whereas …

Tradition Versus Technology: Careers Fairs In The 21st Century, Christiane Brennan, Margaret Daly, Eileen Fitzpatrick, Edward Sweeney

Articles

The traditional methods of graduate recruitment do not adequately meet the needs of the changing profile of students and graduates. As industry becomes internationalized, the needs of employers are also changing. Graduate recruitment is in response to short term needs and varying levels of experience are required. A case study method was used in Technological University Dublin to evaluate effectiveness of a virtual careers fair in providing greater access to job opportunities for students and graduates. Access by employers to potential employees was also measured. Findings showed that while access improved, other issues requiring attention emerged.

Where Does Ap(E)L Fit In Higher Education, Anne Murphy

Level 3

On an EU policy level the paper acknowledges the impact on thinking about AP(E)L as a result of the agreement of common European principles for validation of non-formal and in-formal learning in 2004 at the Dublin Conference during Ireland’s presidency of the EU (note 1).This conference also addressed the possible areas of agreement across vocational education and training (VET) and higher education (HE) on contiguous issues such as a common European Qualification Framework, common arrangements for credit transfer and common arrangements for quality assurance. Additionally, the paper is written contemporaneously with the introduction of such mechanisms as the …