Digital Commons Network^™

Characterization Of A Hybrid Tracking System, Holly Adams

Theses

Virtual Reality is a completely immersive computer generated environment which allows for user interaction. A computer and associated tracking peripherals are used to generate a realistic scene and update it based on the position and orientation of the user. VR systems are individual in their ability to provide the user with a 360 degree field of view in all orientations. Since it originated over 30 years ago, virtual reality(VR) has suffered from a problem known as lag. Lag is the system's inability to keep up with the user's actions within a virtual environment. Lag occurs for many reasons. Anything from …

Tissue Classification Based On Relaxation Environments, Jordan Guinn

Theses

Since the advent of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging as a sound medical imaging technique there has been a need to classify the tissues in the images created. Typically the radiologist has been responsible for the evaluation of the images produced by the MRI machine. In any given MRI there exists many different types of tissues each with a certain concentration of spin densities. Each one of these tissues has a unique T1 and T2 decay times along with a with a unique spin density. The T2 values are indicative of the structure of the tissue, and if the T2 time …

Task Dependency Of Eye Fixations & The Development Of A Portable Eye Tracker, Jeffrey Cunningham

Theses

This senior research project is easily divisible into two parts. The first part was modeled after work Alfred Yarbus completed over thirty years ago. Yarbus contributed much to our knowledge of eye movements, and is widely quoted. One of Yarbus' results was a dependency between eye movements and the task at hand. In this study his work was replicated using a modern video eye tracker, and task was shown to have a statistically significant effect on eye fixations. The second goal was the development of a comfortable, lightweight video eyetracker. The goal was to have an eyetracker that performs as …

Characterizing The Effect Of Spatial Translations On Jpeg-Compressed Images, Keith Jacoby

Theses

The JPEG Still Image Data Compression Standard is one of the most pervasive digital image compression schemes in use today. JPEG is especially suited to digitized photograph archiving, and lately has grown popular in industry as a standard for handling images on networks and the Internet. The emergence of new applications and image file formats (FlashPix) that use JPEG compression is allowing developers and software users to create applications that retrieve, manipulate, and store images in databases located on the Internet. In most cases, these applications are dealing with JPEG images, or a format that uses JPEG as the compression …

Applications Of The Kubelka-Munk Color Model To Xerographic Images, Kristen Hoffman

Theses

The Kubelka-Munk color model describes the reflectance of a color sample as a function of: an absorption spectrum, K (λ ), a scattering spectrum, S(λ ), the sample thickness, X, and the reflectance spectrum of the substrate or backing, Rp. For xerographic applications, the existing model has been modified to account for 1) the need to model the reflectance of multi-layer color images, as is the case with many xerographic print samples, 2) the need to apply the color model with correction parameters to images measured using bi-directional measurement geometry, and 3) the variation in toner layer thickness that can …

Error Characterization Of The Alpha Residuals Emissivity Extraction Technique, Michael Baglivio

Theses

When dealing with remotely sensed images, a parameter that aids in material identification is its emissivity. By extracting a materials emissivity spectrum, the probability of correctly identifying it greatly increases. The Alpha Residual algorithm was developed for just such a process. The Alpha Residuals emissivity extraction technique was originally developed for six channel Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) data. In dealing with TIMS data, it is known that the error at 300K is 1%. In recent years, detector technology has led to sensors with higher spectral resolution and an increased number of bands. The goal of this project is to …

Modeling The Halftone Image To Determine The Area Fraction Of Ink, Yat-Ming Wong

Theses

Finding the area fraction of ink in a halftone image is an important part of judging the quality of the image produced and the quality of the system that produced it. In order to improve histogram analysis from mere visual judgment, algorithms were constructed to come up with a function that would computationally model a graphical representation of a histogram that could match the histogram of a real halftone pattern. The variables within the model, in turn, gives the desired area fraction of ink value. Two different algorithms were developed. In one, the histogram is treated as two Gaussian functions …

Correction Of Geometric Distortions In Line Scanner Imagery, Peter Kopacz

Theses

A Line Scanner is an electro-optical imaging instrument that remotely senses and collects ground data. Such a sensor is commonly found on airborne or spaceborne platforms. Images acquired by the sensor reflect certain geometric distortions. Some of these distortions are caused by the geometry of the sensor and platform motion. It is desirable to remove geometric distortions from the acquired imagery prior to qualitative or quantitative interpretation. This research focuses on the most significant of these distortions -- roll, tangent, and V/H. A library of C algorithms has been implemented to remove the above mentioned distortions from the imagery. These …

Characterizing Spatial-Spatial-Spectral Mri, Kenneth Brodeur

Theses

Spatial-spatial-spectral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a technique that produces spectral information for every volume element (voxel) in a tomographic image. Servoss and Hornak recently developed a technique for acquiring spatial-spatial-spectral images on a clinical imager. The technique is based on projections through a spatial-spectral domain. Because resolution diminishes with shortened imaging time, it is necessary to determine the optimal imaging time for a desired resolution. The spatial-spectral resolution of this technique was determined using a chemical phantom with well-known spectral and spatial signatures. Resolution was determined as a function of the number of projections. The optimization of spatial resolution …

A Novel Approach To Spectral Mri, Tiffany Fetzner

Theses

The motivation behind this research was to develop and investigate how effective a spatial-spatial-spectral algorithm, combining filtered-backprojection, variable-bandwidth and spatial-spectral imaging techniques would be in extracting spectral information from magnetic resonance images. The technique employed in this research, which combines the fore mentioned imaging techniques is believed to be original. It is known that the chemical shift artifact, in a magnetic resonance image becomes large as bandwidth decreases. A Ramlak filter and an inverse Radon transform was used to apply filtered-backprojection and spatial-spectral research to magnetic resonance imaging. The preliminary work in developing a spatial-spatial-spectral algorithm to extract spectral information …

Applying Continuous Improvement Through Process Management In A Restaurant Environent, Thomas Wappman

Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate how continuous improvement methods can be applied in a restaurant environment through process management. Increased competition in the service marketplace, and more knowledgeable customers has forced many organizations to focus on business re-engineering. Therefore, the ability to develop new systems aimed at the customers' needs has become imperative. This assessment will focus on the service delivery time in four areas of a student-operated restaurant utilizing process management techniques. The four processes that the researchers measured are: 1) promptness of greeting- seating the customer, 2) beverage service, 3) entree service, and 4) check-payout. …

Empowerment: The Challenge For Thai Hotel Industry, Rugee Thuayngarm

Theses

This research study is conducting to evaluate the degree of assessment of the empowerment concept at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit is a green-site hotel for the empowerment concept, which means that the hotel has been operated under empowerment since the hotel was first operated in 1996. It claims to be the first hotel in Thailand employing this concept. The research study carries out opinion and perceptions of front-line service staffs on the actual empowerment practice at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Hotel in three main departments: Front Office, Food and Beverage, and Housekeeping. This will be beneficial …

The Lunar Surface: Visualizing Changes, Chitra Sivanandam

Theses

This research project attempted to create a method of comparison between the imagery from the Lunar Orbiter program (from the mid 1960's) with that of the Clementine mission (of the mid 1990's). The premise behind this research is that if any new surface features developed over the course of the past thirty years, they could be found by doing such a digitial comparison. There are many implication that such research could have on the future. Being that the moon is currently the most thouroughly studied celestial body, the use of doing such a comparison between databases of imagery would prove …

Development Of A Differential Assay To Selectively Measure Α-Amylase Isoenzymes., Miriam O'Connor

Theses

α-Amylase is a heterogeneous polypeptide, primarily found in the Salivary and Pancreatic glands, giving rise to two isoenzymes, namely Salivary- and Pancreatic-type Amylases. Total α-Amylase activity measurements are routinely carried out in hospital laboratories to aid in the diagnosis of diseases of the pancreas and in the investigation of pancreatic function in patients with severe abdominal pains. With the development and wide availability of modem chromogenic oligosaccharide substrates specific for Amylase, assays have become more sensitive, rapid and easier to use.

Differential Amylase Isoenzyme assays ware developed to distinguish isoenzyme levels. Several methods were developed for isoenzyme determination. Of these. …

Microscale And Nanoscale Testing Of Materials Using Scanning Probe Technologies, Mark Phelan

Theses

Understanding solid surfaces and their properties is of crucial importance for many sectors of industry. This interest stems from the fact that solid surfaces are the working interface between a solid material and its environment and in many cases it is this interface which determines both the suitability and life span of a mechanical component. Furthermore the modification of surface properties using coatings and multi-layered materials has grown significantly, particularly in the case of data storage, optics and microelectronics. The demands of these and other sectors have provided the impetus for the development of material testing techniques applicable to coatings …

Virtual Reality Modelling Of A Cnc Machine, Damian O'Sullivan

Theses

The increasing importance of training and upgrading skills has led to the use of new interactive technologies in the development of more effective training tools. Previous techniques for training Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine operators, while excellent for their time, varied from brief inexpensive tutorials to expensive on the job training. A CNC machine uses a computer to perform the functions of the machine using a part program stored in the memory of the computer. This thesis describes a Virtual Reality (VR) model of a CNC milling machine, implemented within a VR environment representing a CNC workshop. Its development and …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Study Of Droplet Formation In A Piezo Inkjet Printhead, With Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer Verification, Joel Boccio

Theses

This study involves the use of the CFD code, FLUENT, to predict the formation of droplets in a piezo inkjet printhead. Specifically, the velocity and diameter of the droplets formed is to be determined. There have been no solutions to such a problem using FLUENT and its capability to handle such a problem is assessed. Measurements of the actual droplet size and velocity are obtained using a Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer, PDPA. This has been established as a non-intrusive method of simultaneously measuring diameter and velocity of droplet distributions on the order of microns in size. These measurements were compared …

Modeling The Mtf And Noise Characteristics Of Complex Image Formation Systems, Brian Bleeze

Theses

The intent of this research was to model sensor degradation effects using an image chain applied to a synthetic radiance image. The model is relatively basic so that many types of sensors can be modeled. The sensor effects were applied in the frequency domain by cascading modulation transfer functions (MTF) and phase transfer functions (PTF) from the different stages of the image chain. The stages consist of the optical transfer function due to the aperture effects of the optical system. Noise due to photon arrival, the signal loss due to the transmission of the optics, the MTF due to the …

Implementation Of The Wavelet-Galerkin Method For Boundary Value Problems, Adam Scheider

Theses

The objective of this work is to develop a systematic method of implementing the Wavelet-Galerkin method for approximating solutions of differential equations. The beginning of this project included understanding what a wavelet is, and then becoming familiar with some of the applications. The Wavelet-Galerkin method, as applied in this paper, does not use a wavelet at all. In actuality, it uses the wavelet's scaling function. The distinction between the two will be given in the following sections of this paper. The sections of this thesis will include defining wavelets and their scaling functions. This will give the reader valued insight …

Analysis Of Rochester Institute Of Technology's United Way Campaign, Cheryl Lund

Theses

The United Way is an organization that exists for the purpose of helping people in need and bringing about positive social outcomes for the public good. Raising sufficient funds through donations continues to be a challenge in the face of decreasing public assistance, and increased cynicism in the United Way caused by the United Way scandal of 1992. The general downward trend of donations to non-profit organizations is reflected in the donations to the Rochester Institute of Technology's United Way campaign. In the past, employee participation in RIT's United Way campaign was 73%, which has been decreasing throughout the years …

Service Management Case Study: Registrar's Office Reorganization, Patricia Nelson

Theses

This case study documents the reorganization of the RIT Registrar's Office which was a successful attempt to improve customer service, enhance staff satisfaction, and keep pace with computer technology. Reporting structure, work distribution, empowerment, team building, and training are analyzed. Quality customer service, costs and benefits of service quality, managing for quality and productivity, managing supply and demand, networks, staff development, and team concepts are discussed relative to their applications in reengineering a team of 12 people. Findings are documented with team maturation ratings, an experiential team building summary, customer focus group input, and benchmarking results. It is concluded that …

Hospitality Education In New Orleans - A Case Study, Diana Clark

Theses

This case study documents the conceptualization, design and development, implementation and future strategies for the Hospitality Education Initiative in New Orleans. We will examine the strategic alliances developed between the public and private sector organizations and their contribution to the initiative. We will discuss the role of high schools and post secondary institutions, and the development of a hospitality education career path for the local students. We will define the involvement of the employer and business partner, and their relationship with the educational institutions to achieve the goal of well trained and work ready employees for the hospitality industry in …

The Study Of Artificial Space And Metaphysical, Jong-Pil Pyun

Theses

This documentation will describe a journey of abstract art in glass. The process of each of the steps and the aesthetic concerns therein will be narrated in the following interpretation. The purpose of the MFA thesis is to investigate both artificial, negative and positive space and to exemplify metaphysical energy in glass sculpture. My aes thetic intention for the sculpture is to create dynamic, active, and energetic move ment in geometric forms which are symbolic of living creatures. This will be done by employing graphic images of centuries old Korean geometrical patterns. Historical research has allowed me to push traditional …

Design Characteristics Unique To The Flexographic Printing Process, Barry Lee

Theses

The flexographic printing process has been used for package printing applications since the late 1800's. Recent improvements in the flexographic technology have enabled flexographic printers to compete in new market areas that have historically been served by roto-gravure or offset lithographic printing. Occurring simultaneously with the flexographic printing improvements has been the infusion of personal computer-based graphic design capabilities. Designers can optimize quality only when they understand the strengths and weaknesses of the printing process that will be used to mass produce their design. Desktop design capabilities and the need for flexographic print quality to match or exceed lithographic and …

Replacing A Corrugated Carton With A Multiwall Paper Bag For Food Wraps, Dianne Heiler

Theses

The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of replacing a corrugated container with a multiwall paper bag for the packaging of food wraps used in the "Quick - Serve" foodservice industry. The study was limited to one specific restaurant chain and for only one size of food wraps. Laboratory testing was used to compare the performance attributes of both package systems. This study will provide a model for quantifying package source reduction when comparing a rigid package design to a flexible one. The results show that, indeed, a multiwall paper bag is a feasible alternative to a …

Beyond Buttons: Explorations In Creative Storytelling, Dominic Amatore

Theses

None provided.

Development Of A Geothermal Heat Pump Test Facility, Chris Collins

Theses

Current environmental concerns have led to large scale research and development in the area of alternative energy supplies. The alternative energy system of interest in this study is the heat pump. Heat pumps extract heat from a variety of sources such as air, water and the earth, upgrade and transmit it to the required location. The aim of this thesis is to develop mathematical and experimental models to evaluate the performance of a heat pump which uses the earth as its thermal source. These models will then form the basis of design aids for installers sizing closed loop collection systems …

Changing Policies Regarding Advertising In Taiwan & Their Impacts, Li-Tzu Yang

Theses

Mass media is not only an important tool to develop social change but also a condition to ensure democracy's continued development. Before the lifting of martial law, newspaper publication was controlled by the KMT Party. This situation meant that the mass media had no freedom and could not decide for themselves what to publish. After the lifting of martial law, Taiwan experienced great changes in politics, economics, society and culture. These huge change were reflected in mass media before and after martial law and are the purpose of this research analysis. Specifically, the role advertising played before the lifting of …

A Study Of Aeration Effects On Direct Acting Hydraulic Valve Train Systems, Deborah Green

Theses

The amount of research in the area of mass transfer of air as a bubble in hydraulic fluid or lubricant is very limited. There are only a few studies on the interaction of oils with air, especially knowledge of air solubility of the oil and diffusivity of dissolved air in oil, namely aeration. This paper will study the effect of aeration on a direct acting hydraulic valve lifter system in an internal combustion engine. Aeration is, primarily, influenced by hydrodynamic factors such as, design features of the oil system and the physicochemical characteristics of the oil. The direct acting hydraulic …

The Relationship Between Attributional Style, Self-Concept, And Class Placement In Students With And Without Learning Disabilities, Lynette Ship

Theses

The current investigation was conducted to examine the relationship between attributional style, self-concept, and class placement in students with and without learning disabilities. Subjects included both students with and without learning disabilities from third, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms. The students who participated in the study were involved in either general or full inclusion programs. Students classified with learning disabilities in the general education program were pulled out for resource room services, while those in the full inclusive programs did not receive pull out services. All students were given the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale. …