Digital Commons Network^™

An Integrated Simulation Model Development Environment For Slam Ii Using Object-Oriented Paradigm, Rizvan Erol

Masters Theses

An integrated simulation model development environment was implemented to assist the modeler by automating certain activities of simulation modeling. The system included interactive model definition, experimental design, automatic simulation program generation in SLAM II. Object-oriented paradigm at software development stage was extensively used to conceptualize the structure, and rules of the SLAM II language in order to generate efficient, and modular program code. The present system targeted modeling of various probabilistic inventory control system problems. The remarkable advantages of the system were rapid model development time, and achieving reliable program code without requiring any knowledge in SLAM II. Object-oriented programming …

Examination Of Community Mental Health Services For Persons With Serious Mental Illness: A Descriptive Study Of 31 Counties In Michigan, Pamela C. Werner

Masters Theses

Thirty-one out of 55 Community Mental Health Boards participated in a survey conducted by the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Michigan. This study examined a number of variables in the questionnaire using a product-moment correlational analysis.

Results indicated that family and consumer input is modestly correlated with comprehensive service delivery and staff/consumer education and training. Budget and the active number of mentally ill cases had a low correlation with comprehensive service delivery and staff/consumer education and training. Interagency collaboration was modestly correlated with program evaluation, and comprehensive services available to consumers. Weaknesses were noted in the management structure of …

Improved Global Routing Using ⋋-Geometry, Surendra Burman

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Synthesis Of Symmetric And "Mixed-Ligand" Homocyclopentadienyl Ruthenocenes, John Adjeiku Amanfu

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Study Of Ground-Water Quality In A Priority Agricultural And Livestock Watershed, Cass County, Michigan, Matthew Alan Stuk

Masters Theses

A study of ground-water contamination in a shallow, sandy, glacial drift aquifer was performed in a watershed dominated by swine feedlots and crop fields in Cass County, Michigan. Monitoring wells were installed and sampled to study the flow pattern, chemistry, and contamination of ground water.

Results of chemical analyses show contamination from fertilizers and other soil-applied chemicals as well as the infiltration of breakdown products from pig waste. Shallow wells in impacted areas show potassium and nitrate from the breakdown of fertilizers, calcium from field application of lime, and additional nitrate from pig waste. Elevated calcium, potassium, and nitrate concentrations …

Evaluation Of Operating Parameters For Tank Rinsing Systems, Jesse L. Davis

Masters Theses

An experimental apparatus was designed to quantify the effectiveness of commercially available tank rinse nozzles to adequately clean residues from inner surfaces of sprayer reservoirs. A laboratory scale test stand was constructed to perform two specific functions: 1) provide mounting and support for typical sprayer tank mounting brackets; and 2) house two independent fluid delivery systems.

A multi-position frame was designed to accept mounting brackets for four tank sizes. Design considerations included rapid and easy exchange of various tanks and still provide support for the mass of tank and fluid. Two fluid delivery systems were designed and assembled to facilitate …

Georgian Worldview: Its Definition, History, And Influence On The Material World Of Thomas Jefferson, Madison Scott Shumate

Masters Theses

The research of this thesis has been that of two directions. The first of these attempted to both define and expand that ideological concept known as the Georgian Worldview. By referencing the opinions of current authority and by examining the very origins of this concept's many attributes this thesis would suggest that the term "Georgian" encompasses far more than symmetry in architecture alone. With this said, however, it must yet be acknowledged that architecture, and particularly the balanced and refined Palladian examples of the eighteenth century, often represented the most clearly recognizable material manifestation of this particular pervasive mind set. …

Spatial Analysis Of An East Tennessee Plantation Houselot, Susan C. Andrews

Masters Theses

Houselot patterning studies have become important in historical archaeology. Usually these studies involve an artifact distributional analysis of plowed contexts, or a labor intensive program of surface collection and small unit excavations over often what are large areas. The research in this thesis has focused on some alternative field methods that were tested on an unplowed plantation houselot in East Tennessee. In an effort to discern houselot use patterns including activity areas, and how these patterns changed over time, a program of bucket auger sampling was instituted that would provide coordinate and artifactual data suitable for creating frequency distribution maps. …

An Efficient Over-The-Cell Routing Algorithm For High Performance Circuits, Sivakumar Natarajan

Masters Theses

In this thesis, we present a three-layer and a two-layer over-the-cell (OTC) channel routing algorithm (WILMA3 and WILMA2 respectively) for high speed circuits. This router not only minimizes the channel height by using over-the-cell areas but also achieves the net’s timing requirements.

We have implemented our routers in C on SUN Sparc 1+ workstation and tested it on MCNC benchmarks Primary I and II. Experimental results show that WILMA3 can achieve results which are 72% better (on the average) than the conventional two layer channel router, 61% better than two layer over-the-cell router and 51% better than three layer greedy …

Eztex: A Graphical User Interface System For Latex, Ravi K. Kosaraju

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Interest Group Influence On U.S. Congressional Committees: A Case Study Of The United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement, Laurel L. Hoffman

Masters Theses

The impact of special interests on Congress has long been a matter for concern. A content analysis of testimony presented at 14 Congressional committee hearings on the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement revealed that three broad categories of witnesses participated: business, government, and non-business. Total testimony for business and government were comparable, while non-business had fewer witnesses and less testimony. Government supplied more testimony in oral form, which was interpreted as a higher degree of participation than written testimony, predominantly supplied by business. There was little evidence of lobbying coalitions as measured by crossreferencing; witnesses rarely referred to anything but …

The Effect Of Varying Weightload Intensities On Biceps Curl Technique, Jeffrey C. Gailhouse

Masters Theses

This study described biomechanical deviations from proper biceps curl technique specifically in the shoulder, trunk, body and knee angles, that occurred in response to varying intensities of an individual's 1 RM (repetition maximum). Ten college age males participated in the study. Subjects were required to perform one repetition at 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% and 100% of his 1 RM. The only differentiating factor was the order in which the five intensities were performed. Condition order was randomized to minimize bias. Movement was filmed with a high-speed motion picture camera, digitized and then analyzed with computer software.

The findings indicated that …

Identification And Characterization Of Possible Multiple Binding Sites For ((3)H)8-Oh-Dpat In The Hippocampus, Dawna Lea Evans

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Laser Doppler Velocimetry Research Of The Blowby Gas Characteristics In An Internal Combustion Engine, Mark Kevin Coffill

Masters Theses

The project was designed to measure a reciprocating engine fluid flow (blowby gases past the piston rings) using a laser doppler velocimeter (LDV). Blowby gases were obtained by introducing compressed air into an engine cylinder (piston held at TDC) to simulate engine combustion pressures. Beginning the proposed research included starting an LDV/reciprocating engine laboratory at Western Michigan University and determining the limits of the measurement devices (LDV system in particular).

The limitations which were found in the LDV system only allowed for limited results of in cylinder optical measurements. The results obtained were for cylinder pressures below 0.6 kPa gauge …

A Study Of The Effects Of Polyacrylates On Water Retention And Binder Migration Tendencies Of Coatings, Wichan Charoenkitsupat

Masters Theses

Five commercial polyacrylate samples were used to study their effects on viscosity, water holding, and binder migration under non-pressure conditions. The polyacrylates used were different in acid level, degree of crosslinking, and type of polymer (copolymer and terpolymer). A series of coatings was prepared using a number two clay and three styrene-butadiene latexes of similar particle size and T⋁g but different degrees of carboxylation, then the polyacrylates were added at several levels. The coatings were evaluated for rheological properties, water loss rate and binder migration. The results show that with increasing amounts of polyacrylates, the viscosity increased and the water …

An Arbitrary Matching Training Supplement To The Avc Discrimination Test, Charles P. Buller

Masters Theses

Kerr, Meyerson and Flora (1977) devised a series of small learning tasks that could be used to assess developmentally disabled individuals on the typical tasks to be performed in a school setting or sheltered workshop and required only very simple equipment. Davine (1990) suggested that there may be transitional skills between AVC levels IV and V not found by Kerr et al. Davine looked at four experimental steps designed to test this notion. The results of this study were inconclusive. Wilson (1991) tested the same notion by devising a series of nonidentity matching tasks which were generally found to be …

The Effect Of Vestibular Stimulation On Expressive Language Of Pre-Schoolers With Down Syndrome, Tiffany Bergo

Masters Theses

Effects of vestibular stimulation, when presented prior to language therapy, on expressive language abilities in pre-school children with Down syndrome were examined. Two subjects participated; one subject completed the study. Vestibular stimulation was therapist- and child-initiated and provided by various types of equipment. The subject's expressive language use (verbal and non-verbal) was videotaped during fifteen minutes of language therapy across a six-week, eleven-session period.

Results of this study indicate that expressive language use increased or improved across many parameters during the vestibular stimulation phase of the study. The subject displayed greatest gains in the use of multiple word utterances and …

Pargal: A Package For Parallel Graph Algorithms, Winston Anand-Kumar

Masters Theses

In this thesis, we have considered three graph problems namely, spanning forest problem, connected component problem and minimum cost spanning forest problem. Standard methods to solve these problems using sequential algorithms by various authors are presented for each problem. Efficient parallel algorithms for these problems have also been presented by various authors; however, most of these solutions demands a need for large number of processors, which immediately increases the cost of the hardware and in most of the cases it seems not very practical.

We present efficient solutions for the three problems on a hypercube parallel computer using p processors. …

Use Of Geology And Petrophysics In The Characterization Of St. Peter Sandstone Reservoirs, Rusli Bin Adam

Masters Theses

Core samples and petrophysical data from three reservoir intervals within the Middle Ordovician St. Peter Sandstone in the Michigan basin were utilized to assess the reservoir performance. Each reservoir interval coincides with major sedimentary facies which are in gradational contact with one another vertically and laterally throughout the basin. Reservoirs in the lower portions of the formation (reservoir type 1) are dominated by meso-intercrystalline porosity. This predominantly quartz cemented reservoir rock type is characterized by low porosity with high permeability, moderate pore apertures, and moderate irreducible water saturation. Reservoirs at the top of the formation (reservoir type 3) are dominated …

A Computer Simulation Of The Rotary Vacuum Filter Brown Stock Washing System Using Distribution Sampling, Edison G. Yiu

Masters Theses

A probabilistic model was utilized to simulate the brown stock washing system's error due to process variability and measurement noise. Mass balances of the washing system were performed using distribution sampling. This model relies on a nonlinear relationship between displacement and dilution, which permitted the generation of displacement ratio based upon wash liquor ratio. Experimental trials were performed on a pilotscale rotary vacuum single-stage washer. Nonlinear first-order relationship appears to characterize a pilotscale washer adequately. Differences were observed between the means and standard deviations of the measured results compared to the simulation output. Future work is needed to identify the …

A Study Of The Effects Of Pigment Size And Shape On Binder Migration, Hee Jong Yang

Masters Theses

The effects of pigment size and shape on coating structure and binder migration has been investigated. Clays and ground calcium carbonates of different particle size distributions were used in coatings with 15 pph SB latex.

Coatings were applied to Mylar and a special Tyvek using a wire wound rod. The coatings were dried slowly under ambient conditions, and using hot air immediately or after having been allowed to reach immobilization through penetration into the Tyvek. The dried coatings were evaluated for water holding, relative pore size and migration using the UV technique to measure the increase in SB latex at …

An Arbitrary Matching Training Supplement To The Avc Discrimination Test, Charles P. Butler

Masters Theses

Kerr, Meyerson and Flora (1977) devised a series of small learning tasks that could be used to assess developmentally disabled individuals on the typical tasks to be performed in a school setting or sheltered workshop and required only very simple equipment. Davine (1990) suggested that there may be transitional skills between AVC levels IV and V not found by Kerr et al. Davine looked at four experimental steps designed to test this notion. The results of this study were inconclusive. Wilson (1991) tested the same notion by devising a series of non identity matching tasks which were generally found to …

A Morphometric Study Of Sex Differences In Fetal Ilia, Susan Marie Cera Holcomb

Masters Theses

Considerable debate has concentrated on whether human fetal skeletal remains exhibit sexual dimorphism. Most attention has focused on the greater sciatic notch of the ilium, since it is a gross morphological characteristic with known sex differences in the adult and is easily seen in fetal skeletal remains. Previous traditional morphometric analyses of the fetal sciatic notch have, however, led to ambiguous results. The purpose of this study is to determine whether differences between the sexes can be discerned when modern morphometric techniques are applied.

Photographs of the ventral side of 133 fetal ilia of known age and sex from the …

Ergonomic Design Considerations For The Prevention Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome In A Research Environment, Laura Jill Knight

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research study was to examine existing problems, analyze possible solutions, and recommend feasible corrective measures to improve the work facility at Martin Marietta Energy Systems Biology Division, Building 9210, with respect to carpal tunnel syndrome occurrences. The research involved many site visits, observations of the work being performed, reviews of pre-existing recommendations, and employee interviews. Each job was also researched interactively, by performing either a task or a portion thereof for a substantial time period.

Upon each visit, workers were approached and spoken with, and all expressed great enthusiasm and interest in the research being performed. …

A Microcomputer-Based Sensing System For Measuring The Erosive Disposition Of Clay And Silt Sized Soil Particles, Ghulam Sarwar. Buller

Masters Theses

Accurate knowledge of particle size distribution plays an important role in controlling soil erosion from farm lands, construction sites, tropical areas, channel beds, and forest lands. The concept of the vortical particle size distribution system (VPSDS) was developed by Burcham (1989) for determining particle size and concentration in soil-water mixtures on a real-time or near real-time basis. The VPSDS has three main components; (1) the VPSDS vortex chamber and sensing zone, (2) a laser light detection system, and (3) the data acquisition and control system.

Experiments were developed to determine relationships between the output of the VPSDS (voltage) and actual …

The Relationships Of Selected Classifications Of Area Farm Management Specialists With Selected Personal, Financial, And Farm Operation Characteristics Of Tennessee Manage Program Participants And Their Rating Of Their Perceived Usefulness And Effectiveness Of Extension Financial Management Information, Edward M. Burns

Masters Theses

The major purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between selected characteristics and usefulness and effectiveness perception ratings of the MANAGE participants in areas of perceived less effective area specialists with those characteristics and perceptions of participants in areas of perceived more effective area specialists. Data were collected through a mail survey which was part of a national assessment of farm financial educational programs. The survey was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of Extension financial management programs; the reasons producers used the Extension Service for financial management information and assistance; and types of financial management assistance and information …

Drought Resistance Strategies Of Four Native Ornamental Perennials : Echinacea Purpurea L., Rudbeckia Fulgida L. Var. Sullivantii, Monarda Didyma L., And Helianthus Angustifolius L., Douglas Scott. Chapman

Masters Theses

Plant responses to water stress operate In conjunction with coinciding plant characteristics. These response-characteristic combinations have been termed "strategies." We characterized and compared the drought resistance strategies (avoidance vs. tolerance) of four native ornamental perennials, purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida var. Sullivantii), bee-balm (Monarda didyma), and swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius), after assessing stomatal behavior, dehydration tolerance and leaf osmotic adjustment (δΨ_π100) following water withholding from plants growing in a greenhouse. In the stomatal behavior experiment, leaf water potential (Ψ_L), leaf turgor potential (Ψ_p) …

Sweet Potato (Ipomoea Batatas Lam.) Dehydration By Osmotic Concentration And Tray Drying, Jacqueline De Simone

Masters Theses

The feasibility of osmotic concentration and subsequent air drying of osmotically concentrated sweet potato was demonstrated. Diced sweet potatoes were contacted with 50%, 60%, and 70% (w/w) sucrose-water solutions at three temperatures (20, 30, 40°C) . The moisture loss and solute uptake during osmotic contacting were monitored and modeled using an exponential equation. The parameters of the equation for moisture loss and solute uptake were estimated using non linear regression.

Osmotically concentrated (OC) diced sweet potato was air-dried in a tray dryer. The air drying characteristic of (OC) sweet potato was compared with that of the fresh sweet potato. Fresh …

Dogwood Anthracnose : Light Intensity And Drought Stress As Predisposition Factors And Heat Treatments As A Therapeutic Control Measure, Dan K. Erbaugh

Masters Theses

Light intensity and drought stress were studied as predisposition factors for dogwood anthracnose. Two-year-old potted dogwood trees (Cornus florida L.) were placed in one of the following light treatments on July 17, 1991: 100, 50, 10, or 2% ambient light. Trees in 100% light were set in plots in full sunlight. Trees in the other three light treatments were placed in tents constructed of 50% light transmission cloth, 10% light transmission cloth, or 2% light transmission cloth. In June of 1992, trees from each light treatment were inoculated with Discula destructiva Redlin sp. Nov., the causal agent of dogwood …

The Effects Of Peach Tree Density And Training System On Tree Growth, Yield And Light Distribution, Eldon Gwynne. Evans

Masters Theses

‘Redhaven' peach trees on Lovell rootstocks were established In 1985 to compare the effects of production systems of various training systems and tree densities on tree growth, yield and light penetration. Trees were established in nonsupported systems of open vase, perpendicular Y, and central leader at tree densities from 299 to 1794 trees/ha. Trees were also established in Tatura Trellis and Palmette Trellis at 897 trees/ha and MIA Trellis at 1196 trees/ha. Growth differences were evident by the second growing season. Trunk diameters in 1991 were asymptotically smaller as tree density increased from 299 to 1794 trees/ha. Trunk diameters of …