Digital Commons Network^™

Porting The Sisal Functional Language To Distributed-Memory Multiprocessors, Jui-Yuan Ku

Dissertations

Parallel computing is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in recent years. The sizes of application problems continuously increase for solving real-world problems. Distributed-memory multiprocessors have been regarded as a viable architecture of scalable and economical design for building large scale parallel machines. While these parallel machines can provide computational capabilities, programming such large-scale machines is often very difficult due to many practical issues including parallelization, data distribution, workload distribution, and remote memory latency.

This thesis proposes to solve the programmability and performance issues of distributed-memory machines using the Sisal functional language. The programs written in Sisal will be automatically parallelized, scheduled and …

A Methodology For Solving The Network Toll Design Problem, Mei Chen

Dissertations

Congestion pricing has been regarded as an efficient method to reduce network-wide travel cost. In this dissertation, a methodology for toll design is developed to provide policy-makers with suggestions on both where to charge tolls and how much the tolls should be. As opposed to the traditional approach of marginal social cost pricing, this methodology is capable of dealing with the more realistic case, in which only a small number of links can be tolled. Furthermore, this methodology is expanded to accommodate multiple user groups.

The toll design problem can be formulated using both deterministic and stochastic route choice models. …

Physical And Geotechnical Characterization Of Water Treatment Plant Residuals, Swamy C. Basim

Dissertations

The study of Water Treatment Plant (WTP) residuals is of recent origin and very little information is available in literature regarding these residuals. These waste materials have high solids contents, even in the mechanically dewatered condition, making it difficult to handle. These, along with stringent environmental regulations have forced the water utilities to look for new disposal options for these residuals. For this purpose as well as for evaluating suitable options for the beneficial reuse of residuals, it is essential to characterize WTP residuals.

As the dewatered residuals are plastic, the researcher may be prompted to treat these materials as …

Flame Dynamics In Steady Strained Flows, Zili Huang

Dissertations

In this dissertation, the response of a premixed flame to time-dependent strained flow fields is investigated. Because of the potential application to turbulent combustion modeling, the main focus is on the particular case of a flame in stagnation point flow with an imposed oscillatory strain rate. The flame is modeled as a hydrodynamic discontinuity separating burned from unburned gasses. To complete the formulation of the problem, conditions relating the fluid variables across the flame front are needed, as is a flame speed equation that determines the evolution of the discontinuity. These conditions are derived through asymptotic analysis of the flame …

Dynamical Systems Associated With Particle Flow Models : Theory And Numerical Methods, Roman V. Samulyak

Dissertations

A new class of integro - partial differential equation models is derived for the prediction of granular flow dynamics. These models are obtained using a novel limiting averaging method (inspired by techniques employed in the derivation of infinite-dimensional dynamical systems models) on the Newtonian equations of motion of a many-particle system incorporating widely used inelastic particle-particle force formulas. By using Taylor series expansions, these models can be approximated by a system of partial differential equations of the Navier-Stokes type. Solutions of the new models for granular flows down inclined planes and in vibrating beds are compared with known experimental and …

On Scheduling Input Queued Cell Switches, Shizhao Li

Dissertations

Output-queued switching, though is able to offer high throughput, guaranteed delay and fairness, lacks scalability owing to the speed up problem. Input-queued switching, on the other hand, is scalable, and is thus becoming an attractive alternative. This dissertation presents three approaches toward resolving the major problem encountered in input-queued switching that has prohibited the provision of quality of service guarantees.

First, we proposed a maximum size matching based algorithm, referred to as min-max fair input queueing (MFIQ), which minimizes the additional delay caused by back pressure, and at the same time provides fair service among competing sessions. Like any maximum …

On-Line State And Parameter Estimation In Nonlinear Systems, David A. Haessig

Dissertations

On-line, simultaneous state and parameters estimation in deterministic, nonlinear dynamic systems of known structure is the problem considered. Available methods are few and fall short of user needs in that they are difficult to apply, their applicability is restricted to limited classes of systems, and for some, conditions guaranteeing their convergence don't exist.

The new methods developed herein are placed into two categories: those that involve the use of Riccati equations, and those that do not. Two of the new methods do not use Riccati equations, and each is considered to be a different extension of Friedland' s parameter observer …

Automatic Document Classification And Extraction System (Adoces), Xuhong Li

Dissertations

Document processing is a critical element of office automation. Document image processing begins from the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) phase with complex processing for document classification and extraction. Document classification is a process that classifies an incoming document into a particular predefined document type. Document extraction is a process that extracts information pertinent to the users from the content of a document and assigns the information as the values of the “logical structure” of the document type. Therefore, after document classification and extraction, a paper document will be represented in its digital form instead of its original image file format, …

Optimization Of Urban Traffic Control Strategies By A Network Design Model, Wu Sun

Dissertations

The efficiency of congested urban transportation networks can be improved by implementing appropriate traffic control strategies, such as signal control timing, turning movement control; implementation of one-way traffic policies, lane distribution controls etc.. In this dissertation, the following strategies are addressed: 1) Intersection left turn addition/deletion, 2) Lane designation,. and 3) Signal optimization.

The analogy between the network design problem (NDP) and the optimization of traffic control strategies motivated the formulation of an urban transportation network design problem (UTNDP) to optimize traffic control strategies. An UTNDP is a typical bi-level programming program, where the lower level problem is a User …

Knowledge Management For Texpros, Jianshun Hu

Dissertations

Most of the document processing systems today have applied Al technologies to support their system intelligent behaviors. For the application of Al technologies in such systems, the core problem is how to represent and manage different kinds of knowledge to support their inference engine components' functionalities. In other words, knowledge management has become a critical issue in the document processing systems. In this dissertation, within the scope of the TEXt PROcessing System (TEXPROS), we identify knowledge of various kinds that are applicable in the system. We investigate several problems of managing this knowledge and then develop a knowledge base for …

Development Of Computer Model And Expert System For Pneumatic Fracturing Of Geologic Formations, Brian Michael Sielski

Dissertations

The objective of this study was the development of a new computer program called PF-Model to analyze pneumatic fracturing of geologic formations. Pneumatic fracturing is an in situ remediation process that involves injecting high pressure gas into soil or rock matrices to enhance permeability, as well as to introduce liquid and solid amendments. PF-Model has two principal components: (1) Site Screening, which heuristically evaluates sites with regard to process applicability; and (2) System Design, which uses the numerical solution of a coupled algorithm to generate preliminary design parameters.

Designed as an expert system, the Site Screening component is a high …

Fdtd-Based Full Wave Co-Simulation Model For Hybrid Electromagnetic Systems, Tong Li

Dissertations

In high-frequency ranges, the present electronic design automation software has limited capabilities to model electromagnetic (EM) systems where there are strong field effects influencing their characteristics. In this situation, a full-wave simulation tool is desired for the analysis and design of high-speed and non-linear EM systems. It is necessary to explore the interaction between the field and electronic components during a transient process when field effects are more significant. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique receives growing attention in the area of EM system analysis and simulation due to its simplicity, flexibility and robustness. It is a full-wave simulation method that …

Pattern Discovery In Trees : Algorithms And Applications To Document And Scientific Data Management, Chia-Yo Chang

Dissertations

Ordered, labeled trees are trees in which each node has a label and the left-to-right order of its children (if it has any) is fixed. Such trees have many applications in vision, pattern recognition, molecular biology and natural language processing.

In this dissertation we present algorithms for finding patterns in the ordered labeled trees. Specifically we study the largest approximately common substructure (LACS) problem for such trees. We consider a substructure of a tree T to be a connected subgraph of T. Given two trees T₁, T₂ and an integer d, the LACS problem is to find …

Observers For Discrete-Time Nonlinear Systems, Walter D. Grossman

Dissertations

Observer synthesis for discrete-time nonlinear systems with special applications to parameter estimation is analyzed. Two new types of observers are developed. The first new observer is an adaptation of the Friedland continuous-time parameter estimator to discrete-time systems. The second observer is an adaptation of the continuous-time Gauthier observer to discrete-time systems. By adapting these observers to discrete-time continuous-time parameter estimation problems which were formerly intractable become tractable.

In addition to the two newly developed observers, two observers already described in the literature are analyzed and deficiencies with respect to noise rejection are demonstrated. improved versions of these observers are proposed …

A New-Generation Class Of Parallel Architectures And Their Performance Evaluation, Qian Wang

Dissertations

The development of computers with hundreds or thousands of processors and capability for very high performance is absolutely essential for many computation problems, such as weather modeling, fluid dynamics, and aerodynamics. Several interconnection networks have been proposed for parallel computers. Nevertheless, the majority of them are plagued by rather poor topological properties that result in large memory latencies for DSM (Distributed Shared-Memory) computers. On the other hand, scalable networks with very good topological properties are often impossible to build because of their prohibitively high VLSI (e.g., wiring) complexity. Such a network is the generalized hypercube (GH). The GH supports full-connectivity …

Modeling Controlled Vocabularies Using Oodbs And Multilevel Area Diagrams, Li-Min Liu

Dissertations

A Controlled Vocabulary (CV) is a software system of domain knowledge that consolidates and unifies the terminology of a large application domain. With a common, centralized CV, costly and time-consuming translations can be eliminated between pairs of organizations and pairs of software systems. Unfortunately, the more knowledge we put into a CV, the harder it is to understand and maintain it. In this dissertation, a comprehensive theoretical methodology for modeling CVs using Object-Oriented Database (OODB) technology is presented. We present two methods for representing a semantic network CV as an equivalent OODB, which we call an Object-Oriented Vocabulary Repository (OOVR). …

Towards A New Theory Of Personal Teaching Efficacy: The Development And Testing Of A New Model And Scale Using Teachers And Student Teachers Participating In A Reflective Practitioner Model Practicum, Jan Shields Edd

Dissertations

Research shows that teachers' sense of efficacy is a central mediator of teacher effectiveness and is related to student achievement. Generally, the results have been interpreted using a two-factor model of teacher efficacy. However, most researchers consider teachers' sense of efficacy to be a multidimensional construct with many underlying factors. This study introduces a new theory of personal teaching efficacy which proposes that personal teaching efficacy is best explained from a volitional perspective. The first purpose of the study was to reconceptualize the personal teaching efficacy construct and develop a model and scale. As a result of factor analysis techniques, …

Crossing The Line: Experiences Of The Formerly Homeless Living Past Homelessness, Susan Marie Bennett Dnsc, Msn, Fnp, Rn, Cs

Dissertations

This grounded theory study explored the experiences of formerly homeless individuals and families who have moved from homelessness into stable housing. This was an ethnographic study and involved the researcher staying in an east coast shelter where some of the formerly homeless participants had become staff members and reside. Data analysis was informed by dimensional analysis. Moving out of homelessness was the studies perspective. Findings of the study revealed the following dimensions that related the formerly homeless's experiences: (a)reacting to circumstances, or how they became homeless; (b)surviving as homeless, or how they lived while homeless; (c)crossing the fine, or what …

The Relationship Of Principal Leadership Styles And School-Site Conditions To Stress Levels Of Elementary School Teachers, Mark Nicholas Remy Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if principal leadership styles and school-site conditions were associated with elementary teachers' stress levels. The study focused on the relationship between the independent variables of principal leadership styles and school-site conditions and the dependent variables of teacher stress levels. A survey composed of the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ), Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI) and a demographic information sheet was administered to 585 teachers from 28 elementary schools. Tins study was conducted in the San Diego Unified School District during the 1998–1999 school year. The LBDQ measured two dimensions of leadership: Consideration and …

The Field Study Of A Training Transfer Enhancement Process And Its Effect On Transfer Of Training, Andrew W. Bowne

Dissertations

Transfer of training is defined as the degree to which trainees apply, in their jobs, the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they gained in training. Research regarding transfer of training has called training effectiveness into question. For example, Baldwin and Ford (1988) reported average transfer rates typically in the 10% range.

The study tested the effectiveness of particular procedures and tools intended to enhance transfer of training. These transfer enhancing tools were employed by an experimental group of trainees’ supervisors (who received training from the researcher in the application of the tools) before a half-day problem-solving training workshop for their employees …

Relationships Between Leader Characteristics, Planned Change And Organizational Culture In A Dynamic Manufacturing Environment, Matthew Chodkowski

Dissertations

The new economic era has been marked by profound global change. In response, researchers and practitioners have called for a rethinking of the conventional concepts of leadership, change, and organizational culture to improve our competitiveness in this turbulent world market. This study investigated the relationships between leader style, leader behavior, leadership paradigm, leader knowledge of change, organizational culture potency, and planned change efficacy in a manufacturing company implementing a high performance work system change initiative. This study intended to contribute to the reconceptualization of the leadership construct and the explication of the leadership-culture-change linkage.

Six hundred and eighty-nine subjects representing …

Devolution Of Power Through Shared Decision Making, Jean Deboer Schmeichel

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the devolution of power as it is expressed by the extent of teacher involvement in shared decision making. Extent of both actual and desired involvement and the differences between them were investigated. Teachers were considered adequately empowered when there was no difference between the actual and desired results. The survey Teacher DecisionMaking Instrument {TDI), developed and validated by Dr. Donna L. Ferrara, was administered to K-12 teachers in a public school district in southeast Michigan.

The larger context of this study is the reform initiative called site-based management (SBM). Seen as an …

The Relationship Between Selected Environmental Variables And Attrition, Persistence, And Academic Success Of Majority And Minority College Students, Carole J. Woolford-Hunt

Dissertations

Research indicates that college student persistence, attrition, and success is related to the student’s ability to gain academic and social integration into the university community. This theory has guided researchers to explore either the academic or social factors that promote integration. Under the umbrella of social integration exists the underresearched category of environmental factors.

The overall purpose of this study was to identify selected environmental factors that affect minority and majority students’ persistence and success rates in a Midwestern state-run university. The environmental variables of size of college within a larger university, residential versus nonresidential nature of colleges within a …

Determining Cutoff Scores For The Mmpi-2 Substance Abuse Scales For An Inmate Population, Barbara A. Johnston

Dissertations

The current research project examined the psychometric properties of the substance abuse scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Second Edition (MMPI-2) with an inmate population. The scales of interest included the MacAndrews Alcoholism Scale Revised (MAC-R), the Addiction Potential Scale (APS) and the Addiction Acknowledgement Scale (AAS).

A total of 80 subjects were administered the MMPI-2 which resulted in 73 valid profiles. Of the valid profiles, 54 were chemically dependent and 19 were nonchemically dependent inmates. There were no differences between groups in regard to sociodemographic variables.

The data analyses indicated that the AAS and APS are efficient and …

The Effects Of A Combination Of Feedback, Goals, And Consequences On The Performance Of Four Small Businesses, Timothy V. Nolan

Dissertations

Performance measurement approaches such as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) offer a format for attending to a few performance metrics rather than several different performance indicators. While the BSC approach offers a nice format for tracking performance, it does not provide a conceptual framework for improving performance. That framework can be found in Behavioral Systems Analysis. The Total Performance System emphasizes the importance of internal and external feedback in improving performance. Several studies have investigated feedback interventions in organizational settings. The intervention found to be most effective is a combination of feedback, goals, and consequences. The purpose of the current study …

Educational Affirmations For Healthy Self-Esteem- An Exploratory Factor Analysis, Kaye L. Centers

Dissertations

This investigation explored the underlying constructs of Clarke’s Educational Affirmations, a set of 54 statements designed to support the development of healthy self-esteem and the accomplishment of the developmental tasks of the psychosocial stages theorized by Erikson. The Preliminary Educational Affirmations Scale (PEAS), a transformed version of the Educational Affirmations, was devised and administered to 520 community college students. A principal components factor analysis of the results indicates the presence of two main factors that accounted for 28% of the total variance in the data, and offers partial support for the hypothesized factors of worthiness (Being) and competence (Doing).

The …

The Muggletonians: A People Apart, Juleen Audrey Eichinger

Dissertations

Muggletonians were followers of John Reeve and Lodowick Muggleton, seventeenth-century London tailors who believed that they were the last two witnesses of the Spirit described in Revelation 11:3. A dizzying array of religious and political groups flowered for a time in mid-seventeenth-century England, inspired by the establishment of the Church of England and the continental Reformation in prior centuries, and unleashed by the collapse of the English monarchy in 1640. Muggletonians were long considered to be heretics or lunatics, one example of the many religious eccentrics and fanatics who flourished in England during this period.

The opportunity now exists to …

Judicial Decision Making Under Michigan Sentencing Guidelines, Abel E. Ekpunobi

Dissertations

Many states and the federal judiciary have adopted sentencing guidelines as a mechanism of sentencing reform. This study used the bounded rationality model to investigate judicial decision-making under Michigan Sentencing Guidelines, and the effectiveness o f the guidelines in reducing or eliminating sentencing disparities — situations in which legally similar defendants receive dissimilar sentences.

A statistical and comparative analysis of a database sample of felony cases (n = 20,834), sentenced in four different-sized Michigan counties from 1992 through 1997, was examined with logistic and linear regression models. Logistic regression results indicate a significant association (p < .05) between incarceration and some legal and extralegal variables. Legal variables, such as prior felony convictions, sentencing guideline scores, offense type/severity, the defendant’s relationship with the criminal justice system, and extralegal variables, such as the defendant’s race and gender, year and county of sentencing, are important predictors of sentencing outcomes. Linear regression results indicate a significant association (p < .05) between the minimum term of imprisonment and prior felony convictions, sentencing guidelines and offense type/ severity, but not with extralegal variables. These results suggest that judicial decision-making remains a human/“bounded rationality” process.

The findings of this study …

Indoor/Outdoor: Poems, Jeffrey Greer

Dissertations

The poems in this manuscript can be sorted into two distinct, but compatible, categories. First, a series of narrative poems attempt to challenge Edgar Allen Poe’s dictum that an American poet cannot successfully write a poem longer than 100 lines. These poems approach coherent subjects through disjunctive forms. There is non-linear and linear movement in these poems that meander along in an attempt to capture a witnessed scene along with the action of making sense of that witnessing. There is a process of breaking the familiar and coherent down into something strange, then reconstituting it again into something newer and …

An Analysis Of Parental And Peer Attachment And Its Determinant Factors: A Test Of Attachment Theory On Malaysian Students At American Universities, Noriah Mohd. Ishak

Dissertations

This study examined the quality of parental and peer attachments among Malaysian students studying at universities in the midwestern region of the United States. The study was conducted in two phases. Two hundred and two students (106 male, 96 female) participated in the first phase of the study, and 8 students (4 male, and 4 female) participated in the second phase of the study. Phase One employed a cross-sectional quantitative design using a self-administered questionnaire [the Inventory of Parental and Peer Attachment (IPPA) developed by Armsden and Greenberg (1987)] and revised by the researcher. This instrument has 53 items that …