Digital Commons Network^™

Multiple Model Control With Intelligent Switching To Ensure Robustness To Process Variations., Peter Cunningham

Theses

One of the most popular approaches for dealing with process that undergo large variations with time, of late, is the multiple model approach. This method has considerable intuitive appeal and has received widespread dissemination in academia. Numerous successful simulations have been reported although few real-time results have been published. The principal contribution of this thesis is the application of the multiple model control scheme in real-time.

A number of practical concepts that enable the use of multiple model control in real-time are discussed. Many of these issues arose when the multiple model control scheme was applied to a laboratory scale …

Brand Development By Small Firms, Aoife Hackett

Theses

The thesis explores the process of developing and managing brands. Particular emphasis is placed on how small enterprises gain recognition and acceptance for brands, the obstacles they encounter and how they surmount these obstacles.

In a review of the literature, brand management strategies and the value of brand loyalty to a business were discussed. Brand equity and measurement and measures of brand equity were also reviewed.

Interviews were conducted with large successful firms to discover arrangements and processes they employ to maintain market support, to extend the coverage or application of their brands to new product versions or new segments, …

Dynamically Biased Radio Frequency Power Amplifier, Tom Twomey

Theses

With the current trend in mobile communications towards more complex modulation schemes to enhance spectral efficiency, the design of RF power amplifiers is the subject of considerable interest and research. The newer more spectrally efficient modulation schemes require a much higher level of linearity due to the non-constant level of their signal envelope. A variable envelope signal would in non-linear amplifiers lead to unacceptable levels of distortion. Linear amplifiers solve this problem at the cost of significant loss of efficiency. With the evolution towards more spectrally efficient modulation schemes, the trade off between linearity and power efficiency has become more …

Performance Evaluation Of Sip Based Services In Umts, Maria Isabel Pous Fenollar

Theses

With ever increasing penetration of IP technologies and the tremendous growth in wireless data traffic, the wireless industry is evolving the mobile core networks towards IP technology. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is specifying an IP Multimedia Core Network Sub-System (IMS) in UMTS Release 5 and Release 6, which is adjunct to the UMTS GPRS core network. This IP-based network will allow mobile operators to provide commonly used Internet applications to wireless user. The UMTS IMS uses the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) defined text based Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), to control a wide range of anticipated IP-based services …

The Relationship Between Marital Satisfaction And Caregiver Burden In Parents Who Care For Adult Children With Development Disabilities, Jujuane M. Easter

Theses

This study examines the relationship between marital satisfaction and caregiver burden in parents of individuals with mental disabilities. Eighteen couples (18 women and 18 men) completed a demographic questionnaire, the Index of Marital Satisfaction (IMS), and the Caregiver's Burden Scale (CBS). It was hypothesized that there would be a negative correlation between marital satisfaction and caregiver burden. The correlations between the IMS scale and CBS scale were calculated for men and women separately. Findings indicate that the correlation for the IMS scale with the CBS scale for men was not statistically significant (.246). Also, the correlation for the IMS scale …

Public Relations For Small Business: A Communication Application To Business Management, Diane J. Morton

Theses

Large corporations and businesses in the public eye employ public relations professionals or commission public relations agencies to manage efforts that protect business reputation and mediate relationships between a business and its publics. To succeed, small businesses need similar relationships with their publics, but many business owners do not dedicate time or resources to public relations functions. Relatively little information is available in the public relations literature specifically for small businesses. The purpose of this thesis is to identify the applicability of corporate public relations functions for small businesses, and to formulate a public relations plan for entrepreneurs and small …

Holding The Line In I Corps: The Unintended Consequences Of Mcnamara's Electronic Fence, Nathaniel R. Helms

Theses

The primary focus of this thesis is the development, implementation, and results of a multi-billion dollar electronic anti-personnel barrier that once divided North and South Vietnam during America's involvement in the Vietnam War, a conflict that pitted the strongest nation on earth against one of the weakest.

United States participation in the Vietnam War lasted from 1959 to 1975 in one degree or another and conservatively cost the world more than two million lives, among them almost 57,000 Americans, two million Vietnamese, 1.5 million Cambodians, several hundred thousand Laotians, and a smaller number of Thais, Filipinos, Australians, New Zealanders, Chinese, …

Rhythm Of Silence, Mary P. Wohler

Theses

This thesis focuses on a fictional depiction of life in the small town of Marion. Illinois in the 1930s and 40s. Each summer throughout my childhood, I spent several weeks visiting my Grandmother, Bertha Kelsey, and Aunt, Dorothy Odum, who live in Marion, Illinois. Spending the balance of the year living in the suburbs of St. Louis, I found Marion a very different world from the one I knew.

This story, in large part, was inspired by my memories of Marion as well as the memories my mother, Rosemary Doerner, has shared with me about growing up in Marion. Any …

Body Image And Quality Of Life: A Comparative Study Between Black And White Females, Chrissy Mitchell

Theses

This research examines the relationship between body image avoidance behaviors and quality of life for black an white females. The subjects in this study included 39 black females and 24 white females in St. Louis County. The ages of participants ranged from 14 to 20 years old. In order to examine the relationship between these two variables the mean, standard deviation, and an independent t-test was performed. There was a strong positive correlation between BIAQ and QOL Importance subscale for Black and White females. A discussion of limitations of this study and implications for future research will be discussed later.

Best Practices For Integration Of Iso 14001 Environmental Management Systems Into Small To Medium Size Businesses, Najib Hakim

Theses

Small to Medium size Businesses (SMBs) are now confronted with a new challenge; "Would it be appropriate to implement and incorporate a strategic Environmental Management System (EMS) into their business?" SMBs have to live up to certain environmental responsibilities similar to large corporations. Major corporations are starting to favor suppliers that have a certified ISO 14001 environmental management system, so the question for many SMBs is, "Is it feasible to incorporate such a system?" Industries currently face a certain degree of challenge when it comes to the environment, environmental performance, and demands by society for cleaner, more efficient processes. In …

Effective And Economical Development And Implementation Of Environmental Performance Evaluation In Small And Medium Size Enterprises, Hyunkee Bae

Theses

Nowadays, diverse interested parties - non-governmental organizations (NGOs), regulators, investors, customers, and other stakeholders are demanding more meaningful information about organizations' environmental performances. Regardless of whether or not many companies have a certified Environmental Management System (EMS) inplace, they are becoming increasingly interested in Environmental Performance Evaluation (EPE) as an effective decision-making tool for managing the environmental aspects of their activities, products and services. While large companies have created diverse procedures, methods, and criteria depending on each organization's unique situation, Small and medium size Enterprises (SMEs) typically do not have enough resources to create and develop the evaluation procedures, criteria, …

Ip Telephony: The Total Solution Guide, Todd Wilson

Theses

Voice and telephony services have been viewed as constants for over the past hundred+ years. Picking up the telephone and hearing "dial tone" is something we don't think about, a simple thing in the life that households and organizations' all over the world take for granted. Over the past several decades, Private Branch Exchange (PBX) technology has proved its existence with great staying power. The phrase "five 9s" reliability has been a subject of many conversations pertaining to voice, and as time passes on, the PBX still gams more valuable trust and respect from its' users. It wasn't until approximately …

Effective Packaging-Related Specification Management Software For A Packaging Documentation System, Gregory Cullen

Theses

An extreme amount of time and money is lost when a company utilizes an inadequate packaging documentation system. Problems such as confusion, decreased productivity, inaccurate information, and inefficient time to market arise. Having the right tool (in this case specific software) for the job will successfully provide needed information to flow throughout a packaging documentation system. In investigating the importance of this tool, Duracell will be the company focused on as part of this case study. Duracell's current packaging documentation system consists of a series of internal electronic transfers and physical distribution of packaging specifications. Relevant information is distributed among …

The Direction Of Mobile Evolution Examined Through The Ntt Docomo Strategy, "Mobile Frontier", Akihiro Kakimoto

Theses

NTT DoCoMo is Japan's biggest mobile service provider. They added extra value into cellular phone as "telephone", and contributed to the explosive spread of the mobile phone in Japan. They have still led Japan as a country with the world's largest mobile Internet. The mobile phone now changes our lifestyles or work styles, and has a great influence also on business. In 1997, NTT DoCoMo created the company vision towards the year 2010, "Mobile Frontier". It consists of five concepts, named "MAGIC", and indicates the mobile phone figure in the future as a whole. I regard it as a guideline …

The U.S. M-Business Market: Fad Or The Future, Gary Brennan

Theses

M-Business is information available on any device, anywhere and at anytime, offering businesses in any industry the potential to expand markets, improve their services and reduce costs. The U.S. m-business market is still in its infancy and is a few years away from becoming a growth market. This is due to a few reasons, which are the lack of standards for connectivity and service, no real applications to support the market and the lack of strong encryption to support m-business and e-commerce. M-business is not a fad but a potential new channel for business operations. This thesis will address the …

Interpersonal Communication Training At The Cia, Jerry Fischetti

Theses

The purpose of this research is to present and evaluate an educational intervention strategy developed at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to enhance the interpersonal communication skills of Associate Degree students. Specifically, a class in interpersonal communications with unique behavioral objectives was introduced into the Associate Degree programs in January 2001 to improve the preparation of these students as managers and facilitators in the industry. Utilizing some core concepts of learning theory and the theory of cognitive dissonance, as well as theories of organizational change and resistance to change, an ethnographic study was conducted to assess the extent to …

Cultural Differences And Organizational Leadership: Cultural Difference As Barriers To The Trans-Cultural Application Of The Concept Of Organizational Leadership, Jennifer Matic

Theses

This study examined the impact of cultural differences on the trans-cultural application of the concept of organizational leadership. The significance of four cultural dimensions (power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, and masculinity) (Hofstede, G., 1980) towards the concept of organizational leadership (Rost, J.C, 1991) was discussed and a survey as created to test for cultural differences from a leadership perspective. American and Croatian college students then completed the survey. Results showed cultural similarities for all cultural dimensions with the exception of uncertainty avoidance, which was found to be higher for the American sample than the Croatian. Consequently, it can be said …

When Traditional Advocacy Goes High-Tech, Teresa Carroll

Theses

This thesis defines the essentials of activism and gives examples of online technology that can assist grassroots organizations in promoting positive change within their communities. I discuss existing online technologies that make it possible for grassroots organizations to enhance the traditional (non-Internet-based) approaches to activism. Online activism is a growing trend among non-profit organizations. Several online awards are given to organizations that have noticeably pursued online pursuit of electronic advocacy. From making telephone calls to organizing demonstrations, grassroots groups can begin saving money, time, and human resources. The Internet frees people from physical barriers and borders. I have investigated current …

Pictures Maps Shadows, Leslie Grant

Theses

Graduate students Leslie Grant (RIT) and Alex Terzich (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities) collaborated on the production of a small book of photographs, a proposed atlas, and an architectural intervention focusing on salt mining in Livingston County, New York. Their work was based on interdisciplinary research, the interdependence of theory and practice, and an acknowledgment of the viewer as key to meaning production in art and architecture. Grant's work describes the overall scope of the thesis work, and concentrates on her work on the book of photography.

A Framework To Assess The Value Of Web Services, Robert Campbell

Theses

Large organizations often begin to adopt new software technologies prior to establishing appropriate value frameworks. This approach may produce sub-optimal investment decisions and technology adoption rates, and introduce excessive risk. In this thesis, a value-based framework is developed for assessing the impact of Web Services technology investments on business systems development. The value factors included in the framework are data management, application development and deployment, system integration, and response time to market opportunities.

Workplace Violence Prevention And Systems Management, Megan Ahn

Theses

Violence in the workplace has become a major concern to labor, business, and government. In the past ten years, between 600 and 1000 work related deaths have been attributed to homicide. The repercussions of non-fatal aggression and violence in the workplace are not yet clear. What is clear is that all organizations are at some degree of risk and that regulatory and legal requirements dictate that preventive action be taken to protect employees, other stakeholders and the public from workplace violence. This thesis posits that by using a systems management approach along with the techniques of quality management, instances of …

A Review Of The Endocrine Disrupting Properties Of The Organochlorine Pesticides, And A Critique And Comparison Of The Laws And Regulations Governing Their Usage In The United States And The European Union., Kent Mitchell

Theses

Introduction to the effects of organochlorine based pesticides on the immune system so as to better understand the importance of governmental restrictions put on their usage

A Search Into Time, History, And Relevance: Clay/ Steel/ Fiberglass, Brad Spencer

Theses

Not provided.

Animal Kingdom "Re-Creation", Rattapol Chaiyarat

Theses

Not provided.

The Integration Of Si-Based Resonant Interband, Stephen Sudirgo

Theses

eports the first demonstration of the integration of CMOS and Si/SiGe resonant interband tunnel diode (RITD). In Si-based material, recent breakthrough in Si/SiGe RITD grown using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) made the integration with CMOS possible. The resultant devices enabled the realization of RITD CMOS circuitry, and a NMOS-RITD MOBILE latch was demonstrated in Si, all enabling digital and ternary circuit design for density storage

Experimental Study Of Heat Transfer From A Moving And Evaporating Meniscus On A Heated Surface, Wai Keat Kuan

Theses

A stable meniscus is formed between a needle dispensing water over a heated circular face of a rotating copper block. The needle is offset from the axis of rotation and thus forms a moving meniscus. The water flow rate, heater surface temperature and the speed of rotation are controlled to provide a stable meniscus with complete evaporation of water without any meniscus break-up. The experimental heat transfer rate is compared with the transient heat conduction model. The results indicate that the transient heat conduction plays a major role in the heat transfer process from a moving meniscus. The study provides …

Photo Binge, Colette Fu

Theses

Not Included

The Natural Center, Brian Frus

Theses

Not Included

The Broadband Impact: Asymmetric Regulations Restrict Growth, Brent P. Thurn

Theses

Though the growth of broadband has increased dramatically in the last decade, asymmetric government regulations are impeding its continued growth. The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has placed additional regulations on advanced telecommunications capability services (broadband). This report will show that asymmetric government regulations have limited the future growth of broadband by local exchange carriers (LECs1). Broadband technology has had a significant impact on today's Internet culture because it has changed the way that we work and use the Internet as a means for communicating. Most of the broadband regulations only apply to the telephone incumbents as compared to cable, satellite, …

Image Processing Techniques To Separate Linear And Curvilinear Features In Textures, Bhavani Pidaparthi

Theses

Varied image processing techniques have been developed to extract or detect linear features from images. However, these techniques are targeted at extracting or detecting linear features, and it has been shown in an existing technique that the Fourier transform can be used in conjunction with the polar transformation to essentially lift or separate linear features from the background image. Extracting or detecting linear features in images involves locating these features in the image while separating or lifting them involves separating them from the background image such that we get two images: one image containing the linear features and the other …