Digital Commons Network^™

Implementation Of Integrated Function Structure And Object-Oriented Design Framework, Qiong Gao

Masters Theses

"The function structure method is commonly used in mechanical product design. Although a function structure allows defining all the functions of the components of a product and their interactions, it does not have an effective architecture for the software design of a mechatronic product. An integrated function structure and object-oriented design framework was recently developed to overcome this disadvantage. In this thesis, the implementation of this framework to design several products in different categories, including an inkjet printer, and electric screwdriver and a vacuum cleaner, is discussed. The design results obtained using the new framework are compared to the design …

Innovative Concrete Bridging Systems For Pedestrian Bridges: Implementation And Monitoring, Kurt Edward Bloch

Masters Theses

"Two precast, prestressed pedestrian bridges were designed for rapid construction in Rolla, MO, utilizing high-strength concrete (HSC) and high-strength self-consolidating concrete (HS-SCC) with a target 28 day compressive strength of 68.9 MPa (10,000 psi) and release compressive strength of 24.1 MPa (3,500 psi). In addition, a glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bar reinforced deck panel system was utilized in one of the two deck panels on each bridge.

Material properties were tested for compression, elastic modulus, modulus of rupture, splitting tensile strength, creep, and shrinkage following ASTM standards. Instrumentation systems within the spandrel beams and precast deck panels were implemented …

Distributed Spatiotemporal Detection For Chemical And Biological Threats Using Human Immune Mechanisms, Yatin Bodas

Masters Theses

"Ubiquitous detection of chemical and biological (CB) threats in an urban environment using widely distributed, low-cost, broad-spectrum sensors carried by public or on vehicles is extremely desirable and pertinent for homeland security. These distributed sensors should interoperate autonomously and adaptively to meet stringent operational and detection performance requirements. This research explores the use of scalable detection methodology, inspired by the human immune mechanisms to meet these challenges. An adaptive spatiotemporal control mechanism is proposed to organize the detection behavior of spatially dispersed sensors using peer-to-peer communication so that a shorter response time, higher probability of detection and lower false alarm …

Characterization Of Geotechnical Variability Based Upon Sampling Frequency Using Monte Carlo Simulation: A Study Of The Kcicon Project, Kerry Allen Magner

Masters Theses

"The geotechnical variability of individual homogeneous isotropic soil units is of interest during the process of determination of adequate geotechnical design parameters for almost all construction projects. In this study, an attempt is made to quantify the effects of sampling frequency (sample size) on the mean, variance, and coefficient of variation of individual geomechanical parameters within a distinct soil type.

In-situ geotechnical sampling data and laboratory testing data from the kcICON project was provided by Terracon Consultants, Inc. (Terracon) of Lenexa, Kansas for analysis within this research project. This soil sampling and laboratory testing was performed by Terracon as part …

Adaptive User Interface For Vehicle Swarm Control, Paul Robinette

Masters Theses

"An algorithm to automatically generate behaviors for robotic vehicles has been created and tested in a laboratory setting. This system is designed to be applied in situations where a large number of robotic vehicles must be controlled by a single operator. The system learns what behaviors the operator typically issues and offers these behaviors to the operator in future missions. This algorithm uses the symbolic clustering method Gram-ART to generate these behaviors. Gram-ART has been shown to be successful at clustering such standard symbolic problems as the mushroom dataset and the Unix commands dataset. The algorithm was tested by having …

Analysis Of Nationwide Intercity Travel Demand On The Us Transportation Network, Tao Li

Masters Theses

"In this thesis, three issues about the intercity travel demand on the US transportation network are addressed. The final one is the estimation of the domestic passengers' delay cost. A scheme is designed by assuming that costs incurred by flight delays relative to the original flight schedules are imposed at passengers' final destination airports. It is applied to estimate the total domestic delay cost of year 2007 and reasonable results arc obtained. The second one is the air travel demand estimation. Two route-based optimization models are proposed to estimate the travel demand based on available data. It is shown that …

Crash Causal Factors: Crash Frequency, Crash Severity And Crash Collision Models, Bhanu Sireesha Javvadi

Masters Theses

"This study examined the variables related to roadway geometry, environmental, driver and traffic factors to identify crash causal factors. It relied on three years of crash data from the Arkansas Highway Transportation Department (AHTD) and analyzed nonjunctions of rural and urban US highway systems. In the first part of this study, negative binomial modeling technique was used to model the frequency of crash occurrence. To further analyze the crash factors this study also analyzed crash severity and collision types. The second part identified the factors responsible for severe crashes and fatalities including using the binary logistic regression modeling technique. The …

Using Value Stream Mapping For Cost Modeling, Emily Marie Tucker

Masters Theses

"This thesis presents an effective cost model for the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) process used in additive manufacturing practices. The various factors that influence the total cost of a build on both small and large frame machines are discussed. These attributes, which include labor and overhead rates, material costs, and process times, combine to generate the driving force behind a manufacturer's decision to use the small or large SLS machine for mass production. By developing and evaluating a current state value stream map for the small SLS machine, a financial analysis of the SLS process can be performed. By assigning …

Evaluation Of Variable Speed Limits Using A Genetic Algorithm Approach To Calibrate A Vissim Model, Brian Joseph Schaefer

Masters Theses

"The variable speed limit (VSL) system has been adopted on more and more roadways across the globe as an engineering tool for controlling traffic flow, particularly during congestion situations. An important and fundamental question raised among traffic engineers is: Are the costs of installing and operating variable speed limits really justified? In order to answer this question, this thesis measures the effectiveness of the VSL system applying the VISSIM microscopic simulation model to a non-recurrent congestion situation. For the analysis, a section of interstate was modeled in VISSIM and calibrated so that the simulated results closely reproduce the observed data …

Target Detection And Feature Evaluation Of Airborne Mine Target Images, Deepika Kamakshi Timmavajjula

Masters Theses

"Target segmentation and detection problem is one of the preliminary approaches in analyzing an image. Many edge, region and texture based techniques have been proposed in literature. These techniques often have limitations based on types of image data, kind of segmentation of interest and the problem domain. Mine detection problem dealt with for this thesis has mine target images which have a center target consisting of false alarm or mine patch which has to be detected and features evaluated to evaluate various parameter performances. Thus, segmenting the mine patch becomes the first step of analyzing these images. This thesis is …

Out Of This Stony Rubbish: Echoes Of Ezekiel In T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, Luke J. Rapa

Masters Theses

This essay explores T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land in light of the poet-prophet connection—a connection which was of particular interest to T.S. Eliot himself. I argue that Eliot was aware of the poet-prophet connection early in his youth and that this awareness influenced and informed The Waste Land. I suggest also that Eliot takes up the themes and images of the biblical prophets, and of Ezekiel in particular, as a means to structure the poem, but more importantly, as one way of '‘controlling, or ordering, of giving a shape and a significance to the immense panorama of futility and …

Shifting Borders And Shaded Boundaries: Liminality, Identity, Language, And Place In Jean Toomer's Cane, Kristin Taber

Masters Theses

This thesis locates Jean Toomer’s Cane as Modernist text operating within the context of the Great Migration, pointing out ways in which the text reflects the great sense of anxiety, upheaval, and transformation generated as many members of the African American community left the rural South and moved to urban centers in the North. I analyze various discourses and the shifting balance of power present in the text as the narrative voice awards the most value to the ideologies of the rural and spiritual through contrast with he ideologies of the urban and material. This relationship repeatedly problematizes the text’s …

The Relationship Between The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator And The Dispositional Resistance To Change Scale, Thomas A. Rausch

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to contribute to a better understanding of relationship between resistance to change and personality preference types. A survey was developed and administered to graduate students in the School of Technology at Eastern Illinois University. A total of 33 students responded. The surveys compared levels of resistance to organizational change to Myers Briggs Type Indicator preference types on each indices of personality. Results of this study indicated that the level of resistance to change based upon personality preference types is not significant. Recommendations for practice and recommendations for further research are discussed.

Fraternity Member's Perceptions Of The Benefits And Limitations Of On-Campus, University-Owned Fraternity Housing And Off-Campus, Chapter-Owned Fraternity Housing, Erin Therese Morettes

Masters Theses

This purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of fraternity members in relation to their experience living in off-campus, chapter-owned fraternity housing and on-campus, university-owned fraternity housing. The fraternity resided in an off-campus chapter house for several decades and recently relocated to a housing facility provided by the university. General theme emerging from participants' responses were critically evaluated based on prior research. The findings of this study suggested that the participant's perceived on-campus housing to be an overall better living environment than off-campus housing in the areas of academic success, residential community, and student persistence and engagement. …

Academic Responsibility Among College Football Players, Terry J. Coleman Jr.

Masters Theses

The purpose of the current study was to examine the academic integrity of student athletes. It is a common perception that student athletes are not capable of being committed to their own academic success. From the results, there seemed to be a relationship between being accepted and supported by faculty and advisors, and a positive experience in the classroom. However, the results of the data showed that the junior class football players had a less positive academic experience compared to the :freshman, sophomore, and senior football players.

Technical Efficiency Of Farmers In Ethiopia: A Stochastic Production Frontier Approach, Askal Ayalew Ali

Masters Theses

This study is to investigate the farmer's efficiency in Ethiopia. The stochastic production function is applied to estimate the technical efficiency of farmers. Using 2006 survey data conducted by the World Bank in collaboration with Ethiopian Economic Policy Research Institute, shows that farmers produce under the production frontier, and the average technical efficiency of the farmers is 62.4 percent. Variation in efficiency comes from many factors, however, this study focuses on extension program participation, education, and land ownership. Lack of extension program and education cause inefficiencies of 59.8 percent and 60.21 percent respectively. Land ownership is found to have mixed …

Rhetorical Grammar And You: A Study Of First-Year Composition Papers, Kristi Mcduffie

Masters Theses

Traditional grammar instruction prescribes that you should be used only to address the actual reader of the text in academic writing; even the direct address is to be used sparingly. Yet an examination of published writing in a variety of genres shows that experienced writers use you in a variety of ways-to refer to the writer, a third person, anyone, and to illustrate a hypothetical, habitual, or proverbial situation, and more. Based on previous scholarship and published examples, I create categories of the referents and functions of you that are used today in spoken and written English. Then, I apply …

Frederick Douglass: The Man, His Words And His Legacy As A Master Rhetorician, Tameka Lashean Johnson

Masters Theses

This thesis offers a synthesis of existing research regarding not only Frederick Douglass· literacy in the slave narrative genre. but also an Aristotelian analysis of his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself (1845). Dougiass' challenge is to reach an audience not only of abolitionists, but also of free blacks who are more grounded in the vernacular tradition than equal to his own considerable skills in rhetorical literary construction.

My research addresses the problem that existing research inadequately considers the degree to which Douglass uses his awareness of the audience and employs rhetoric in …

You're Not Really Black Unless You've Been Shot-- Or So Says Black Urban Fiction, Erin A. Talley

Masters Theses

This essay seeks to identify the injurious and hedonistic patterns that emerge from contemporary black urban fiction, reinforcing negative stereotypes. This essay comments on codes that establish a sense of authenticity as well as trends of isolationism and essentialist narratives published as the unsuccessful progeny of didactic novels written to highlight conditions in underrepresented minority communities. Through a critical examination of earlier literary movements, this essay proposes that contemporary black urban literature grows less culturally conscious and less aesthetically aware in its pursuit of commercial success than the African American canonical texts that grounded cultural realism and literary experimentation.

Performance, Spectacle, Text: The Court Masques Of Samuel Daniel, Donica Martin Miller

Masters Theses

This thesis is an examination of two early seventeenth century court masques commissioned by Queen Anna and composed by the court poet and playwright, Samuel Daniel. The thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter presents a brief history of the court masque as a genre and examines the context of each of Daniel's masques. The second and third chapters focus on The Vision of the Twelve Goddesses and Tethys' Festival in relation to the dancers, costumes, sets and politics surrounding the performances. By exploring the political events behind the composition of each masque, readers may gain a more …

Influential Factors Contributing To Compliance And/Or Non-Compliance With The Gluten-Free Diet For Celiac Disease Individuals, Jill Barnes

Masters Theses

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the influential factors of compliance and/or non-compliance with the gluten-free diet (GFD) for celiac disease (CD) individuals.

Methods: The data collection instrument was a self-developed survey using kwiksurveys.com. The data were collected via online survey distribution to CD support group facilitators in nine Midwestern states. CD support group facilitators assisted snowball sampling by distributing the online survey to other members of the support groups. Qualitative data from survey question 12 was reviewed for themes and patterns and discussed in a narrative form. Statistical analysis of the data was done using SPSS …

Food Selection Trends And Requirements Of Students Participating In The National School Lunch Program, Patrick Ona

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine if students that participated in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) were receiving an excessive or inadequate amount of macronutrients and micronutrients set by SMI nutrient standards and 2005 Dietary Guidelines. There were four research objectives regarding food selection trends, School Meals Initiative (SMI), 2005 Dietary Guidelines, and competitive foods. The researcher hypothesized the food selections by school-aged children would not meet the SMI nutrient standards and 2005 Dietary Guidelines.

The study was a cross-section observational study that used a self-developed observation checklist. Quantitative data was gathered over the course of 5 …

The Relative Age Effect In Junior College Baseball, Thomas C. Beals

Masters Theses

Previous research has suggested that older athletes within age groupings are often perceived to be more talented simply due to advanced maturity. This perception leads to biased selection to higher levels of competition and skewed participation rates favoring the oldest participants among groups. This resulting skewed distribution is termed Relative Age Effect (RAE). While RAE has been studied in various sports and multiple settings, college athletics has not been extensively studied. In addition, athletic organizations associated with academic institutions often group their participants according to their academic status, not strictly by age. This factor, termed Academic Timing, can result in …

Beautiful Torment: Interpreting Dissonance And Text-Painting In Selected Sacred Choral Works Of William Byrd And Carlo Gesualdo, Janet M. Mccumber

Masters Theses

The end of the sixteenth century was filled with social, religious, and political turmoil; and yet, the musical atmosphere in England and Italy was conducive to new ideas in text-setting and chromatic inflection that had not been seen in previous eras. This thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach in looking at two late sixteenth-century composers, William Byrd and Carlo Gesualdo, and describes their personal and political sufferings and how these torments may have affected their compositional styles.

Brief explorations of England and Catholicism in the time of the Protestant Reformation, the Mannerist movement in the arts, the movement toward chromaticism in …

Abdominal Muscle Activation And Caloric Expenditure: Ab Circle Versus Traditional Exercise Modalities, Maranda Rehg

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare the activation of the rectus abdominis, external oblique abdominis, lower abdominal stabilizers, and lumbar erector spinae during performance of traditional exercises (i.e. abdominal crunch, side bridge, and quadruped) versus the Ab Circle device. The caloric expenditure during an absolute work level on a treadmill versus the Ab Circle was also investigated. Twelve volunteers (6 men, 6 women) between the ages of19 and 37 were recruited to participate in this study. Prior to the experiment, subjects attended one familiarization session during which demographic information (age, height, body mass) was recorded and body fat …

Triad Fantasy: Score And Analysis, Wayne A. Buck

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Computer-Assisted And Peer-Partner Practice In Treble-Staff Note Recognition, Pammala K. Goodenough

Masters Theses

This study compared the effectiveness of computer-assisted practice and peer-partner practice in treble-staff note recognition. Six 3rd-grade classes participated in 3 sessions, each including a 2-minute pre-test, a lesson on treble staff notes, a 10-minute practice drill, and a 2-minute post-test. During practice, half the students used the online Note Trainer from Ricci Adams ' Musictheory. net to practice identifying notes, while the other half practiced with a partner using flashcards of the notes of the treble staff. Results showed the computer students averaged over twice as many correct answers as the peer practice group at the end of the …

Childe Rowland: Fairy Tale To Tone Poem: An Original Composition And Analysis, David Trent Mason

Masters Theses

My thesis project is an orchestral tone poem on the fairy tale "Childe Rowland," and an analysis of the piece. In this document, I discuss the history and evolution of program music, as well as analyze my composition. In the analysis, I examine form, programmatic elements, harmonic structure, melodic structure, and rhythm and meter. In the form analysis, I show leitmotifs I created to represent characters and places, discuss motives and figures, and illustrate the form of the piece in graphs. To examine the programmatic aspects of the composition, I discuss the function of each leitmotif. Techniques such as thematic …

Halfway Around The World In 33 Days: The Creation Of Short Videos, Tasha Brown

Masters Theses

This project reports on the development and execution of a series of webisodes to promote study abroad through the discussion of pre-production, production, and post-production phases of video production. The target countries were New Zealand and Australia. The pre­production phase includes a review of previous research on study abroad with an emphasis on the issues and tactics used to encourage students to venture overseas. It also includes a summary report of qualitative and quantitative research conducted to identify specific Eastern Illinois University student's concerns about study abroad. The production section summarizes the actual fieldwork for this project. The post-production section …

Ready, Set, Grow!: Planting The Seeds For A Targeted Networking Approach For Rural Businesses In Clark County, Illinois, Nora L. Swalls

Masters Theses

The purpose of this creative thesis consisted of starting a targeted networking approach for businesses in Clark County, Illinois. A plan was designed and the first activity was accomplished by having a "Clark County Business Networking Dinner" which involved a complimentary meal, focus group discussions, a guest speaker and representatives from local, regional and state resources. The focus group discussion provided me and Community and Economic Development leaders with information regarding the specific needs and concerns of area businesses. After assessing the information provided from the focus groups at the dinner an educational follow-up workshop called "Ready, Set, GROW!" was …