Digital Commons Network^™

Boilerplate And Economic Power In Auto Manufacturing Contracts, Omri Ben-Shahar, James J. White

Articles

This Article is structured as follows. Part I compares the terms and conditions in the purchase orders of the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and highlights important differences in the substance of these boilerplate provisions. It argues that these differences cannot be easily reconciled with the prediction that sophisticated parties draft the most efficient boilerplate terms. Part II examines how these forms are drafted, how their terms are negotiated, and how the OEMs guard their terms from erosion. It provides some insight on how tailoring occurs and how the internal organization of a party to a deal affects the terms that …

A Comparative Test Of Brillouin Amplification And Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplification For The Generation Of Millimeter Waves With Low Phase Noise Properties, Markus Junker, Max Ammann, Andreas Schwarzbacher, Jens Klinger, Kai-Utwe Lauterback, Thomas Schneider

Articles

Measurements of phase noise of a 40-GHz carrier signal are presented. The carrier is generated by the amplification of harmonics due to stimulated Brillouin scattering. An analogy to a generation of millimeter waves by an erbium-doped fiber instead of the Brillouin amplifier is investigated and discussed. In our setup, both show a comparable behavior in respect to their noise characteristics.

Quarter-Wave Metal Plate Solar Antenna, S. Shynu, Max Ammann, Brian Norton

Articles

A novel design of a quarter-wave shorted trapezoidal metal plate solar antenna using high efficiency polycrystalline silicon solar cells is presented. Using the DC conductive parts of the cell as RF antenna elements as well as choosing the radiating element to be a small base trapezoid, better coupling between the the feed and shorting plates is ensured and 40.3% size reduction compared to a conventional shorted quarter-wave patch is obtained. The trapezoidal radiating element covers merely 2.7% of the total available illumination area of the solar cell, leaving its efficiency essentially unaffected. The proposed design strategy has been verified by …

Compact Concentric Annular-Ring Patch Antenna For Triple Frequency Operation, Xiulong Bao, Max Ammann

Articles

A novel single-layer, single-feed concentric annular-ring microstrip patch antenna providing triple-frequency operation is proposed and experimentally studied. This is achieved by embedding a small circular patch into a dual stub-loaded concentric annular-ring structure and by employing a cross-slot in the ground plane. The proposed technique can provide triple-band operation and reduce the antenna size by over 50% compared to the conventional annular-ring patch antenna for a given frequency. Experimental results show the proposed antenna to have impedance bandwidths of 6.38, 6.30 and 35% for the three bands, at 1.17, 1.428 and 1.9 GHz, respectively. The proposed structure is capable of …

From L-Shaped Planar Monopoles To A Novel Folded Antenna With Wide Bandwidth, Giuseppe Ruvio, Max Ammann

Articles

A novel folded monopole antenna is investigated numerically and experimentally. The proposed antenna comprises a short folded monopole suitably shaped at the base with two vertical grounding probes. This small antenna is shown to have a fractional impedance bandwidth up to 125% (1.6 GHz to 7.5 GHz) for a 10 dB return loss. An interesting compromise between impedance bandwidth and pattern control is found by tuning a double side bevel at the base of the monopole, the position of the feeding point and its distance from the ground plane. Measurements and simulations are in good agreement and show a dramatic …

All-Fiber Multimode-Interference-Based-Refractometer Sensor:Proposal And Design, Qian Wang, Gerald Farrell

Articles

A novel all-fiber refractometer sensor is proposed, which is based on multimode interference in the multimode fiber core section sandwiched between two single-mode fibers. A wide-angle beam propagation method in the cylindrical coordinate is employed as the modeling tool for simulation and design of the proposed refractometer sensor. The design for a refractometer is presented that shows that the refractometer would have an estimated resolution of 5.4×10−5 for refractive indices from 1.33 to 1.45 and of 3.3×10−5 for refractive indices from 1.38 to 1.45 through the choice of an appropriate length of the multimode fiber core section.

Analysis Of Strain And Intermixing In Single-Layer Ge/Si Quantum Dots Using Polarized Raman Spectroscopy, Anna Baranov, A. V. Federov, Tatiana Perova, R. A. Moore, V. Yam, D. Bouchier, V. Le Thanh, Kevin Berwick

Articles

The built-in strain and composition of as-grown and Si-capped single layers of Ge∕Si dots grown at various temperatures (460–800 °C) are studied by a comparative analysis of the Ge-Ge and Si-Ge modes in the polarized Raman spectra of the dots. A pronounced reduction of the strain and Ge content in the dots after deposition of the cap layer at low temperatures is observed, indicating that strain-induced Si diffusion from the cap layer is occurring. For large dots grown at 700–800 °C the observations are in agreement with a model of the Ge∕Si dot consisting of a Si-rich boundary region and …

Design Of One-Dimensional Composite Photonic Crystals With An Extended Photonic Band Gap, Vladimir Tolmachev, Kevin Berwick

Articles

A technique for photonic band gap (PBG) extension based on mixing photonic crystals with different lattice constants or filling factors is suggested. For the design of photonic crystals with maximal PBG extension the gap map imposition method is utilized. Gap maps for composite photonic crystals based on Si-air structures are calculated and used to predict optimal structures for fabrication.

Fta And The City: Imagineering Sustainable Urban Development, John Ratcliffe, Elzbieta Krawczyk, Ruth Kelly

Articles

This paper argues that urban planners and policy-makers lack an effective future-oriented approach enabling them to comprehend current complexity, anticipate impending change and shape a preferred future condition. In doing so it: - reviews the performance of contemporary city planning; - examines the need to chart and navigate the city technosphere by reference to city capital; - explores ways in which planning can benefit from a futures studies approach; - describes generally how futures-oriented thinking can produce effective city prospective; and, - poses specifically a number of questions regarding the concept of the intelligent city’. The paper concludes by calling …

An Explicit Scheme For Multifluid Magnetohydrodynamics, Stephen O'Sullivan, Turlough Downes

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When modelling astrophysical fluid flows, it is often appropriate to discard the canonical magnetohydrodynamic approximation, thereby freeing the magnetic field to diffuse with respect to the bulk velocity field. As a consequence, however, the induction equation can become problematic to solve via standard explicit techniques. In particular, the Hall diffusion term admits fast-moving whistler waves which can impose a vanishing time-step limit.Within an explicit differencing framework, a multifluid scheme for weakly ionized plasmas is presented which relies upon a new approach to integrating the induction equation efficiently. The first component of this approach is a relatively unknown method of accelerating …

Inverse Scattering Transform For The Camassa-Holm Equation, Adrian Constantin, Vladimir Gerdjikov, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

An Inverse Scattering Method is developed for the Camassa-Holm equation. As an illustration of our approach the solutions corresponding to the reflectionless potentials are constructed in terms of the scattering data. The main difference with respect to the standard Inverse Scattering Transform lies in the fact that we have a weighted spectral problem. We therefore have to develop different asymptotic expansions.

Including Embodied Energy Considerations At The Conceptual Stage Of Building Design, Y. Yohanis, Brian Norton

Articles

Elevated operating temperatures reduce the solar to electrical conversion efficiency of building integrated photovoltaic devices (BIPV). Phase change materials (PCM) can be used to passively limit this temperature rise although their effectiveness is limited by their low thermal conductivities and by crystallization segregation during solidification. This paper presents an experimental evaluation of the effects of convection and crystalline segregation in a PCM as a function of efficiency of heat transfer within the finned PV/PCM system. The thermal performances of bulk PCM with crystallization segregation for different internal fin arrangements are presented. It is noted that the addition of internal fins …

Latcrit X Afterword: Beyond The First Decade: A Forward-Looking History Of Latcrit Theory, Community And Praxis, Berta Hernandez-Truyol, Angela Harris, Francisco Valdes

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No abstract provided.

The Locus Of Corporate Scienter, Patricia S. Abril, Ann M. Olazabal

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No abstract provided.

Implementation Of Image Processing Approach To Translation Of Asl Finger-Spelling To Digital Text, Divya Mandloi, Kanthi Sarella, Chance Glenn

Articles

The present analysis is the phase one of a broader project, the Sign2 Project, which is focused on a complete technological approach to the translation of American Sign Language (ASL) finger-spelling to digital audio and/or text. The methodology adopted in this analysis employs a grayscale image processing technique. We will describe the latest results as well as future enhancements to the system. This paper will also discuss the application of the approach to the telecommunication Industry.

Using A 2-D Simulation Program To Support Interactive Learning Of 3-D Vehicle Dynamics, George Sutherland

Articles

The author has developed an undergraduate course to introduce students to the basic principles of land vehicle dynamics. Many students, though they are intrinsically interested in the subject, have difficulty grasping the physical principles needed to enable a sufficient understanding of the subject to support their aspirations of making informed vehicle design decisions. An intriguing potentially useful fact is that the computer gaming world has developed widely available very sophisticated vehicle computer models with realistic human driver interfaces. However, while very entertaining, these computer games are not suitable for helping undergraduate engineering students understand the basic principles needed for land …

Harnessing And Sharing The Benefits Of State-Sponsored Research: Intellectual Property Rights And Data Sharing In California's Stem Cell Initiative, Rebecca S. Eisenberg, Arti K. Rai

Articles

This Article discusses data sharing in California's stem cell initiative against the background of other data sharing efforts and in light of the competing interests that CIRM is directed to balance. We begin by considering how IP law affects data sharing. We then assess the strategic considerations that guide the IP and data policies and strategies of federal, state, and private research sponsors. With this background, we discuss four specific sets of issues that public sponsors of data-rich research, including CIRM, are likely to confront: (1) how to motivate researchers to contribute data; (2) who should have access to the …

Photopolymer Diffractive Optical Elements In Electronic Speckle Pattern Shearing Interferometry, Emilia Mihaylova, Izabela Naydenova, Barry Duignan, Suzanne Martin, Vincent Toal

Articles

In this paper we present an electronic speckle pattern shearing interferometer using a photopolymer diffractive optical element in the form of a holographic grating, in combination with a ground glass to shear the images. The sheared images on the ground glass are further imaged onto a CCD camera. The distance between the grating and the ground glass can be used to control the shear and to vary the sensitivity of the system. The direction of sensitivity is easily controlled by rotation of the diffraction grating around its normal. Introducing photopolymer holographic gratings in ESPSI gives the advantage of using high …

Effect Of Calcium Lactate And Heat-Shock On Texture In Fresh-Cut Lettuce During Storage, Ana Belen Martin-Diana, Daniel Rico, Jesus Maria Frias, Gary Henehan, Jemina Mulcahy, J. Barat, Catherine Barry-Ryan

Articles

Textural and microstructural changes in fresh-cut lettuce were analysed over 12 days storage. The vegetable was treated with 120 ppm chlorine and with 15 g/L calcium lactate at room temperature (18–20 °C) and at 50 °C (heat-shock). Texturometer analysis showed that samples washed with calcium lactate had significantly (p > 0.05) higher crispness values than samples washed with chlorine. However the use of 50 °C treatment (heat-shock) gave better textural properties at the end of storage and significantly retarded the softening process, being in agreement with the sensorial results. Cryo-SEM micrographs showed a loss of turgor (shrinkage) of the tissue cells …

Horseradish And Soybean Peroxidases: Comparable Tools For Alternative Niches?, Barry Ryan, CiaráN Fagan, Neil Carolan

Articles

Horseradish and soybean peroxidases (HRP and SBP, respectively) are useful biotechnological tools. HRP is often termed the classical plant heme peroxidase, and although it has been studied for decades our understanding has deepened since its cloning and subsequent expression, which has enabled numerous mutational and protein engineering studies. SBP, however, has been neglected until recently; despite offering a real alternative to HRP that actually outperforms it in terms of stability. SBP is now used in numerous biotechnological applications, including biosensors. Review of both is timely. This article summarises and discusses the main insights into the structure and mechanism of HRP, …

What We Know, And What We Should Know About American Trial Trends, Margo Schlanger

Articles

More than a few people noticed that the American court system was seeing ever fewer trials before Marc Galanter named the phenomenon.' But until Galanter mobilized lawyers2 and scholars to look systematically at the issue, inquiry was both piecemeal and sparse. Over the past three years, in contrast, Galanter's research 3 and his idea entrepreneurship, crystallized in the "Vanishing Trial" label, has spawned if not a huge literature at least a substantial one. We have now gotten the benefit of sustained scholarly inquiry by researchers of many stripes. Their work has been largely, though not entirely, empirical, and so we …

Attention Driven Reference Resolution In Multimodal Contexts, John D. Kelleher

Articles

In recent years a a number of psycholinguistic experiments have pointed to the interaction between language and vision. In particular, the interaction between visual attention and linguistic reference. In parallel with this, several theories of discourse have attempted to provide an account of the relationship between types of referential expressions on the one hand and the degree of mental activation on the other. Building on both of these traditions, this paper describes an attention based approach to visually situated reference resolution. The framework uses the relationship between referential form and preferred mode of interpretation as a basis for a weighted …

Giving It Away : Free Technology Transfer To The Irish Sme Sector, Peter Kavanagh, Andy Maguire, James J. Casey

Articles

One of Europe’s major weaknesses lies in its inferiority in terms of transforming the results of technological research and skills into innovations and competitive advantages. (European Commission, 1995, p. 8.)

Technology transfer is a key aspect of economic development and research administration. These concerns are shared equally between academia and industry on both sides of the Atlantic. As technology is developed at a greater rate, concerns about the technology transfer will heighten. This article focuses on technology transfer in Ireland, particularly in the SME (Small and Medium size Enterprises, under 250 employees) sector. As the main Lisbon Objective has not …

What Is Rehnquist Federalism?, Marci A. Hamilton

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No abstract provided.

Orientalism And Religion In The Romantic Era-Rammohan Ray’S Vedanta(S), Amit Ray

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Abstract:

This chapter examines how Raja Rammohan Ray utilized Vedanta philosophy as a strategic response to colonial critiques of Hinduism during the early nineteenth century. Ray emerged as a pivotal figure who navigated between British orientalist discourse and Indian religious reform, employing Advaita Vedanta to counter accusations of idolatry and polytheism leveled against Hindu practices. The analysis demonstrates how Ray's translations of the Upanishads and his promotion of Vedantic monotheism served dual purposes: defending indigenous civilization against missionary attacks while accommodating European notions of rational religion. Ray's approach involved significant textual interventions, including rendering the neuter brahman as masculine "God" …

Rodrigo's Roundelay: Hernandez V. Texas And The Interest-Convergence Dilemma, Richard Delgado

Articles

In this chronicle Rodrigo meets with his mentor before a party and the two discuss celebratory jurisprudence Their discussion focuses on Hernandez v Texas as a milestone for Latino civil rights After discussing the historical background against which the Supreme Court decided the case they conclude that the groundbreaking decision arrived as a result of concerns in high circles over Latin American communism and peoples movements and the risk of the same in the United States

Developing A More Holistic Approach To Water Management In The United States, William L. Andreen

Articles

Americans have generally treated water just like land and other natural resources as a commodity for human use manipulation and degradation Little thought or significance at least until relatively recently was attached to the adverse environmental impact of reduced stream flows and the damage caused by hydrologic modifications such as dams and by various development activities that disrupt and pollute aquatic habitats The United States therefore faces the difficult challenge of trying at a late date to bring together three separate but inextricably connected disciplines one focusing on water use one on water quality and yet another focusing on development …

Planar Antennas, Zhi Ning Cheng, Max Ammann, Xianming Qing, Xuan Hui Wu, T. S.P. See, A. Cai

Articles

This article reviews the state of the art in broadband antennas for emerging UWB applications and addresses the important issues of the broadband antenna design for UWB applications. First, a variety of planar monopoles with finite ground planes are reviewed. Next, the roll antennas with enhanced radiation performance are outlined. After that, the planar antennas printed on PCBs are described. A directional antipodal Vivaldi antenna is also presented for UWB applications. Last, a UWB antenna for wearable applications is exemplified

Compact Annular-Ring Embedded Circular Patch Antenna With Cross-Slot Ground Plane For Circular Polarisation, Xiulong Bao, Max Ammann

Articles

A dual-frequency dual-circularly polarised patch antenna with wide beamwidth is proposed. The two-layer structure comprises circular patches with offset circular slots connected to rectangular slots. They provide orthogonal perturbations realising RHCP and LHCP for the lower and upper bands, respectively. The wide beamwidth is realised by extending the substrate beyond the groundplane. Measurements show a maximum beamwidth of 180deg and gains of 3.9 and 0.5 dBic for zenith and 10deg elevation, respectively, for the upper band. The measured beamwidth for the low band is 130deg with a maximum gain of 3.9 and -0.7 dBic for zenith and 10deg elevation, respectively. …

Using Sketches And Knowledge Bases For Geo-Spatial Image Retrieval, Michela Bertolotto, James Carswell, E Mcloughlin, D O'Sullivan, C Wilson

Articles

This paper presents research in the field of knowledge management for geo-spatial imagery including scanned aerial photos and satellite images. We have developed a web-based system that allows users to query a database of images not only using metadata, but also drawing sketches of configurations of objects they are interested in as well as inputting textual descriptions of their intended task. Our system integrates case-based reasoning techniques to form a knowledge base from previously issued queries that can be exploited to improve future query processing and to build organizational memory through experience capture. The effective design and implementation of a …