Digital Commons Network^™

Evolutionary Algorithms For Production Scheduling, Pio Fenton

Theses

The permutation with repetition representation is a powerful representation primarily used in the GA-JSSP domain. Recently, attention has shifted from this representation for simple GA and towards JSSP resolution using messy GA. This work returns to the permutation with repetition representation for simple GA with the intention of exploring some previously unexplored aspects. A new 1-point crossover operator is introduced which is shown to be more successful than the current standard operator for this representation. A technique known as morphogenic computation is employed with this representation for the first time and a thorough analysis of its performance is presented. While …

Modeling Design History In A Graphic Design Curriculum, Eunjin Jeong

Theses

Graphic design history can be a valuable resource, contributing to graphic design students' understanding of design theories, and applied to problem solving exploration. According to many graphic design educators, current history courses are too often taught as superficial surveys of graphic style with no examinations of social, cultural, and political contexts, and have little interaction with practical studio courses. It is essential to bridge the gap between graphic design history and practical studio classes to further enhance graphic design education. This thesis will develop a means by which to show the tangible connection between graphic design history and applied problem-solving …

Interactive, Tree-Based Graph Visualization, Andrew Pavlo

Theses

We introduce an interactive graph visualization scheme that allows users to explore graphs by viewing them as a sequence of spanning trees, rather than the entire graph all at once. The user determines which spanning trees are displayed by selecting a vertex from the graph to be the root. Our main contributions are a graph drawing algorithm that generates meaningful representations of graphs using extracted spanning trees, and a graph animation algorithm for creating smooth, continuous transitions between graph drawings. We conduct experiments to measure how well our algorithms visualize graphs and compare them to another visualization scheme.

Efficient Failure Detection For Point-To-Point Communication Networks, Jeremy Dahlgren

Theses

Failure detectors are a necessary component in many distributed applications such as business conference applications or shared distributed resource applications. These applications may rely on a failure detector component for various reasons such as security, resource availability, or performance. In a broadcast environment basic heartbeat protocols can be fast and efficient. Such a protocol becomes inefficient when used in network environments where only point-to-point communication is available since a message needs to be sent to each member in the group where only one was sufficient in a broadcast environment. This thesis investigation focused on failure detector protocols used in point-to-point …

Making Presentations Web Ready, Binil Kurian

Theses

Presenting sound along with slides to convey more information about a presentation is not easy. Capturing the sound is easy, but giving the user random access to the sound bytes to match the slide he is viewing is difficult. If the sound bytes are sliced at the appropriate interval, and a menu is provided so that the user can navigate to any slide he wants, the presentation becomes more effective. Doing this would allow distributing the presentation for a wider audience and also for distribution using high capacity optical media. This project tries to solve this problem in a generic …

Catholics, Curses, And Cousins In A Cracker Box, Kathryn Wallace Iffrig

Theses

In a small sitting room of a mortuary in a rural Missouri town, the author considers the life of her recently departed cousin. Having shared a family home early in their childhood, and despite similar upbringing, their lives had ultimately diverged, with him choosing a path that many would consider self-destructive and bound to lead to an early death.

Contemplating the circumstances of her cousin's death, the author falls into ruminations on their childhood, family, and common experiences they shared during those early years. Considering the disparate paths their lives ultimately took, the author questions the influence of nature versus …

Raster To Vector Conversion: Creating An Unique Handprint Each Time, William Dibacco

Theses

When a person composes a document by hand, there is random variability in what is produced. That is, every letter is different from all others. If the person produces seven a s, none will be the same. This is not true when a computer prints something. When the computer produces seven a s they are all exactly the same. However, even with the variability inherent in a person s handwriting, when two people write something and they are compared side by side, they often appear as different as fonts from two computer families. In fact, if the two were intermixed …

Blessed Are, Jason Martinez

Theses

On the surface this particular novel is a fairly simple one to explain. On the surface this novel is more or less a romance novel. After all, Book One is essentially about a man named Thomas Woods who meets and fall in love with a woman named Rosemary. At first his love is returned in kind, but by the end he has lost his lover to another man, a man unworthy of her tenderness. And Book Two is about more or less the same thing except in this Book the woman's name is Violet, and there is a slight question …

The Process Analysis And Critique Of The Digital Media Project "Cultivating Christian Minds And Character", Susan H. Maynor

Theses

This thesis will focus on the process analysis and critique of the digital media project, "Cultivating Christian Minds and Character," made for Westminster Christian Academy in the summer of 2005. It includes both the actual promotional video production and the written analysis.

Westminster Christian Academy, a non-denominational, private, Christian school in West County, produces a promotional video each year for the parents and for various other marketing needs throughout the school year. For the school year 2005-2006, the theme was cultivating Christian minds and character. Having been both a student and a teacher at this institution, it was an honor …

Parent Leadership Initiative, Evanna M. Disalvo

Theses

Parental involvement in urban public schools is a vital part of any strategic plan to improve student achievement and close the achievement gap, but many parents lack the leadership skills that would enable them to spearhead activities that positively affect school or neighborhood climate and support teamwork with teachers and school administration. My project was to familiarize parents with Kouzes and Posner's five practices of exemplary leadership from The Leadership Challenge using family films to demonstrate leadership, give the parents practice in writing SMART objectives to develop a plan of action, and coach them in implementing a project directed at …

Next Generation Heterogenous Telemetry Modules, Pierce Brady

Theses

Remote monitoring is used in many applications within the scientific, industrial and commercial communities. These applications can range from the simple monitoring of wind farm generators to the complex behavioural monitoring of a local fox habitat to the simple but extremely urgent monitoring of water depth for a flood prone river. Each application of remote monitoring requires different aspects of the remote monitoring device, but typically, not all these applications can be implemented, as the technologies required for their construction are extremely large, expensive, energy inefficient, slow and do not meet the constraints for the given application.

However with the …

Enhancing Science Education Through Engaging Visual Content, David Kavanagh

Theses

In recent years a decline in the number of Irish students choosing to study science, at second level and on into third level, has become potentially harmful to the desired creation of a science-based knowledge economy. A primary contributing factor towards this decline is a lack of interest in the subject within the classroom, as was established by The Task Force on the Physical Sciences in 2002.

The primary aim of this Masters research is to investigate the role of visualisation in making the study of science more accessible and engaging to students to counter this decline. To this end …

The Development Of Functional Food Ingredients From Yeast Cell Wall Beta Glucans, Susan Keogh

Theses

The intracellular contents of spent yeast can be used to produce flavours and flavour enhancers. However there still remains after this process, a significant quantity of cell wall material, which makes up 20-25% of the dry weight of yeast biomass. A major component of the yeast cell wall is the polysaccharide P-glucan. This project involved the investigation of the extraction and characterisation of p-glucan as well as its evaluation as a functional food ingredient. A preparation of spent yeast p-glucan was obtained from two types of spent yeast species, Saccharomyces cervisiae (brewers yeast) and Kluyveromyces marxianus (dairy yeast) obtained from …

Quantification Of Mrna Expression Of Her2/Neu, Estrogen Receptors Eralpha And Erbeta, And Progesterone Receptor Using Real-Time Reverse Transcription Pcr In Small Tumor Biopsies, In Human Breast Cancer, Evonne Marie. Mc Cabe

Theses

Early detection is an effective means of reducing cancer mortality. Early detection greatly improves treatment options and the chances for successful treatment. The prognosis for patients with breast cancer is determined by well-established biological features associated with biological aggressiveness, histological grade, tumour size, and nodal involvement. Breast cancer results from multiple genetic abnormalities, and cellular differentiation, tumour growth, and metastatic potential are the end result of these changes. Identification of molecular changes is of considerable value in enhancing the accuracy of prognostic indices, and more importantly, it may indicate various changes as putative targets for therapy. In recent years a …

System Identification Of A Pasteurisation Process: A Comparison Of Direct And Indirect Methods, Niel Canty

Theses

The primary focus of this research is to identify a linear model for a direct steam injection (DSI) pasteurisation process which is a component of a large-scale pilot evaporation process widely used in the dairy industry. The pasteurisation process has been identified as a key component of the evaporation process. The author believes that no previously published work has focused on identifying models for a DSI pasteurisation process which makes this work an original contribution to the area. The pasteurisation process can be modelled as a single-input, single-output (SISO) process with a measurable disturbance. Thus two transfer functions were required …

Ultra Wide Band Radar For People Location And Tracking, Julien Le Kernec

Theses

The development of the UWB radar for people location and tracking was motivated by the need for a location and tracking system that performs well indoor. The objectives of the project are:

1. Conduct literature surveys of Ultra Wide Band and Location & Tracking.

2. Determine which UWB pulse is the most suitable for the UWB radar.

3. Design the concept of the UWB radar based on the literature reviews and the UWB pulse chosen.

4. Build an UWB radar prototype.

5. Measurement and Evaluation of the prototype.

This thesis introduces UWB key historical developments and properties; but also, its …

Disappearing User Interface In Ubiquitous Computing: A Pointing And Gesture Sensing System Using An Ultrasonic And Radio Frequency Location Technology, Stephania Yimana Kigadye

Theses

Weiser’s [1] vision of ubiquitous computing presents a different paradigm of computing which attempts to push computers into the background towards invisibility. Therefore “new concepts for human-computer interaction have to be developed when envisioning ubiquitous computing scenarios [1]. Instead of a single screen-based user interface (UI), humans will interact with a number of devices that are distributed and interconnected. These eomputers range from highly personal and mobile applianees to systems that are integrated in everyday environments and are more or less invisible.”[7] As this project suggests, a disappearing user interface in ubiquitous computing can be designed as a gesture recognition …

Molecular Epidemiology Of Antibiotic Resistant Salmonella Enterica Strains From Different Animal And Human Sources In Ireland, David George Lee

Theses

In this study, 176 isolates of Salmonella were collected from different laboratories in Ireland. All isolates were confirmed to be of the genus Salmonella by performing bacteriological and biochemical tests. Briefly, all isolates were cultured onto XLD agar after which pure cultures were verified and stocked at this institute. Definitive identification was carried out using the API 20-E system and a separate urease test was also performed on all isolates. After confirmation of the genus, all isolates were prepared for antibiotic susceptibility testing and r-types were determined using sixteen antibiotics. Depending on the antibiotic resistance profiles, isolates were selected for …

Zero Effluent Stretch Target (Zest), Orla O'Connor

Theses

The goals of this project were to assess the viability of avoiding water use and of “cascading” water uses, i.e. using outlet water from one process in another activity, possibly with some purification, including the upgrading of the final effluent stream for internal reuse. Water use has been inventoried at FMC Biopolymer, Cork. Avoidance and reduction measures were identified that could reduce water consumption from 49m /hr to 19 m /hr (a reduction in excess of 60%), with an annual saving in excess of €350,000. These projects were assessed for feasibility and implementation. Potential streams that could be subject to …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Personal And Professional Responses Of Recently Assigned Secondary Religious Education Teachers To Curriculum Demands, Chris B. Hackett

Theses

This research is a longitudinal study, conducted in Catholic schools of Perth and its environs. From 1998 to 1999, recently appointed secondary Religious Education teachers were surveyed and interviewed, and re-interviewed eighteen months later. Initially, a comprehensive survey of three dioceses in Western Australia was conducted and formed a contextual database for the study. The database acted as the foundation for the selection of a purposive sample of teachers for the first round of interviews. Follow-up interviews with this sample cohort were carried out the following year. The research design used in this study assisted the development of a representative, …

Xpoint: Xml, Css, And Html-Based Presentation Graphics System, Sudhanshu Sood

Theses

Graphical Power Point presentations, when converted to Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) have a defined graphical format, and are not portable to other browsers. Xpoint is an ongoing development work by Dr. Schreiner. It is a simple presentation graphical system [1]. The presentation is specified in Extensible Markup Language (XML) and is converted to well navigable HTML for browsing, appearance is controlled using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). The presentation can also be converted to Portable Document Format (PDF) format which provides more flexibility. The project will extend the styles and capabilities of the existing Xpoint graphical presentation system. XML presentation …

Event Driven Dynamic Web Pages, Kan Yi

Theses

Web technologies are among the most rapid developing areas. They continue to evolve from HTML, DHTML, JavaScript to CGI, ASP, JSP, Servlet. However the life of web developers is still not so easy as traditional GUI programmer. The web developers should very clear about communications between browsers and web servers, which puts a great burden on the web developers. In the project, an Event Driven Model is extended to web servers based on Servlet technology. With this Event Driven Model, the web developers are totally transparent to the communication details. The development of web pages becomes similar as GUI programming, …

Object-Oriented Lr(1) Parser Generation, Christopher Luckett

Theses

The LR parser has been around for a long time, and its workings, especially with respect to table compaction and use of the lookahead sets, have puzzled students who are new to the area of study. The aim of this project therefore is to provide an object oriented approach and discoverable algorithm to ease the difficulty of mastering these concepts. This will be accomplished by distributing the table interpreter across objects whose inter-relationships create an analogue to the state table. Hopefully this will provide a greater degree of readability and ease of trace throughout the parser generation process.

Modal Logic In Computer Science, Leigh Lambert

Theses

Modal logic is a widely applicable method of reasoning for many areas of computer science. These areas include artificial intelligence, database theory, distributed systems, program verification, and cryptography theory. Modal logic operators contain propositional logic operators, such as conjunction and negation, and operators that can have the following meanings: "it is necessary that," "after a program has terminated," "an agent knows or believes that," "it is always the case that," etc. Computer scientists have examined the difficulty of problems in modal logic, such as satisfiability. Satisfiability determines whether a formula in a given logic is satisfiable. The complexity of satisfiability …

The Effects Of Focused Deterrence On Gang Homicide: An Evaluation Of Rochester's Ceasefire Program, Christopher Delaney

Theses

In the late 1990’s, a problem-oriented policing initiative in Boston, “Operation: Ceasefire”, achieved significant reductions in youth homicide by focusing on gang behavior. The program was driven by a concept known as “Focused Deterrence”. Gang members are typically frequent offenders for whom general deterrence mechanisms have little effect. Additionally, the social norms of gangs often encourage offending behavior, making typical attempts to deter futile. Focused deterrence attempts to modify individual behavior and group norms with a credible and severe threat of collective punishment for an individual offending behavior. In “Operation Ceasefire”, when a gang member committed a homicide, his gang …

From Mother To Sister: The Development In The Understanding Of Mission In The Life And Writings Of St Thérèse Of Lisieux And Its Contemporary Relevance, Michelle Jones

Theses

This dissertation analyses the development in the understanding of mission in the life and writings of St Thérèse of Lisieux and considers its contemporary significance. The thesis is that Thérèse progressed from a ‘mother missiology’ to a ‘sister missiology.’ This missiological evolution is intrinsically united to Thérèse’s transcendence of the faith-categories of her era.

Initially, with her Catholic contemporaries, Thérèse regarded it as her duty to ‘mother’ unbelievers into divine life. This ‘mother missiology’ gradually became ‘sister missiology’ as two movements of grace, namely the emergence of the ‘little way’ and Thérèse’s intensifying union with Jesus, the kenotic Christ, took …

An Exploratory Study Of: Designers' Finishing Knowledge And The Communication Flow Between Designers And Finishing Professionals, Melissa A. Lyon

Theses

Several fundamental questions about graphic designers' print finishing knowledge motivated this thesis. Is there a gap in knowledge between the fields of finishing and design? What do designers actually know about finishing? Is this knowledge enough to enable them to communicate well with printers/finishers and design printed pieces efficiently so finishing runs smoothly? What happens when mistakes are made due to a lack of education and communication? If designers do need to know more information about finishing, what are the most important concepts? Are there any resources now that designers can use to learn more about finishing? Do printers/finishers have …

Shopping Motivations And Their Influence On Shopping Experience In Australia And Indonesia, Tjong Budisantoso

Theses

The main focus of this study is on motivation. In particular, the study aims to investigate the relationship between the in-store experience of shoppers and their motivation for shopping. The in-store experience as defined in this study includes the perception of store atmosphere and cognitive responses. Another interest of the study is to test the relationship between cognitive responses and store atmosphere in two different countries. Lastly, this study explores the relationship between in-store experience and store patronage satisfaction, which in turn can influence shoppers’ repatronage intention. All the hypotheses in this study have been tested in Perth, Australia and …

E-Learning In The Corporate Sector: A Case Study In The Oil And Gas Industry, Frank Bate

Theses

This research examined the implementation of an e-learning tool at Apache Energy, an oil and gas company operating in Western Australia. The e-learning tool was developed to help facilitate an understanding of site safety at an oil and gas facility characterised by an increasingly contracted workforce. The study’s research questions were formulated to describe and explain the implementation, looking particularly at relationships between the design of the e-learning tool, the way in which it was implemented, and the outcomes that emerged. The study adopted an interpretive-case study approach focusing on 256 contractors who engaged with the e-learning tool at a …

A Philosophical Inquiry Into The Development Of The Notion Of Kalos Kagathos From Homer To Aristotle, Geoffrey Coad

Theses

In this thesis, I shall attempt to show that the Greeks believed in the ideal of a marriage between the beautiful and the good. This important philosophical ideal rests upon the premise that beauty depends upon function, behaviour and the intention of the agent. It is the anti-modernist position. This notion known to the ancient Greeks as kalos kagathos, which dates back to the times of Homer, seems to have been forgotten in our times. This study will trace the development of this ideal from Homer to Aristotle. This world view differs from the one we have come to understand …