Digital Commons Network^™

Investigation Of Epoxy Resin Spreading On Glass Surfaces, Haneen Nemer Al-Dahdooh

Theses

The spreading of a small epoxy resin droplet (l.5tL) on a glass surface was examined with the objective of developing a new type of hydrophobic polymer coated glass which has the ability to reduce heat gain inside a building. The study covered three main aspects; the spreading kinetics of epoxy resin on a glass surface, the hydophopicity of the developed polymer-coated glass surface, and the reduction of solar radiation of this surface, As wettability and spreading phenomena arc a fundamental prerequisite for coating, the spreading kinetics of different curing agent concentrations (15:200, 18:200, 21:200) of epoxy resin on the glass …

Assessment Of The Effect Of Desalination Brine Waste On Marine Water Quality In Ruwais Area: A Numerical Modeling Application, Samer Jouda Al Nahhal

Theses

This thesis aims to investigate the fate and transport of the effluents discharged from

The desalination plant as well other facilities located in the Ruwais Industrial Complex

(RIC) in the United Arab Emirates. These effluents are discharged in to the Ruwais

Coastal marine waters. The effluents from the desalination plant are characterized by

warm water with high salinity, whereas one other effluent is characterized by high n

Nutrient loads. The characterization of the Ruwais environment and such effluents are

Addressed through comprehensive field surveys of the Ruwais costal water over one

Full year.

In order to investigate the impacts of …

San Diego Burlesque: Bob Johnston's Famous Hollywood Theatre, Jaye Evangeline Furlonger

Theses

San Diego's Hollywood Theatre, located at 314-316 F Street, was one of the largest ""big time"" burlesque palaces in the nation. Most notably, it was one of the last authentic vestiges for American burlesque entertainment in the twentieth century. The Hollywood was operated independently by charismatic showman Bob Johnston from about 1923 until it closed in 1970. Even though San Diego was still considered a dusty backwater town during most of the Hollywood's run, the theatre was well-known throughout the country for its pretty chorus girls, feature striptease artists, "top bananas" (headlining comics), and spectacular floorshow revues. As Welton Jones, …

A Genetically Evolved Solution To The Firing Squad Problem, Brian J. Tajuddin

Theses

In 1957, J. Myhill presented the firing squad problem. A special case of k-color cellular automata (CA) synchronization, the firing squad problem offers more stringent rules allowing for a provable minimal running time. To date, CA solutions have been found that run in minimal time using as many as sixteen states and as few as six [5]. There have also been arguments against the existence of solutions using only 4 states [11]. Due to the extremely large search space involved with such problems, the existing solutions have all been analytic in nature. We attempt to apply genetic algorithms and genetic …

Query Engine Of Novelty In Video Streams, James Kang

Theses

Prior research on novelty detection has primarily focused on algorithms to "detect" novelty for a given application domain. Effective storage, indexing and retrieval of novel events (beyond detection) are largely ignored as a problem in itself. In light of the recent advances in counter-terrorism efforts and link discovery initiatives, the need for effective data management of novel events assumes apparent importance. Automatically detecting novel events in video data streams is an extremely challenging task. The aim of this thesis is to provide evidence to the fact that the notion of novelty in video as perceived by a human is extremely …

Business Graduate Studies In Croatia: An Exploration Of Educational Needs Of Working Professionals In The City Of Zagreb, Milena Kuznin

Theses

The particular attributes of an "ideal" business graduate program among middle managers in the city of Zagreb, Croatia were investigated. A mixed method of using both survey and indepth interviews was used to determine what specific educational needs the participants had. The results indicate that the majority of participants think the Republic of Croatia needs new business graduate programs designed in a way to develop new skills and deepen the knowledge in the new business economy. More specifically, they need programs offered by a reliable educational institution with expert professors and high face-to-face interaction. The opportunity for "networking" is stressed …

Comparison Of Hyperspectral Imagery Target Detection Algorithm Chains, David C. Grimm

Theses

Detection of a known target in an image has several different approaches. The complexity and number of steps involved in the target detection process makes a comparison of the different possible algorithm chains desirable. Of the different steps involved, some have a more significant impact than others on the final result the ability to find a target in an image. These more important steps often include atmospheric compensation, noise and dimensionality reduction, background characterization, and detection (matched filtering for this research). A brief overview of the algorithms to be compared for each step will be presented.

This research seeks to …

Pltw/Cims Workcell Design, Brett Handley

Theses

Not included.

Effectiveness Of Preflighting Software In A Design Workflow, Gregory S. Zolan

Theses

The variables that can potentially impact the print quality of a digital file have necessitated the additional workflow step of "preflighting." Preflighting is a process by which all elements of a digital file are checked to ensure that they will properly work in a production workflow. This enables problems to be fixed as early as possible in the workflow and not hold up the printing process. Preflighting was originally a manual process, but can now be handled by software.

The effectiveness and accuracy of preflighting software was tested by creating files to include common errors, such as fonts not embedded …

What Prospective College Students Say Matters During The College Selection Process, Kari L. Steger

Theses

For most prospective college students, selecting a college is a highly involved, lengthy process. While past research has examined how high school students determine their college choice subsets and what information sources they use most during the college selection process, further research is needed to determine the most effective means of reaching prospective students. The current study employs focus group research to examine students' college selection processes to gain a better understanding of the types of information students seek during their college selection process, the media they use to find it, and the people whose guidance they seek when making …

Deployment Experiments For Ballooning On Mars (Debom), Aimee Nicolette Lemieux

Theses

One mode of planetary research involves balloons. They are relatively low cost, cover more area than a rover, obtain better resolution than an orbiter, and can collect data about the atmosphere [2]. From the study of their atmospheres, scientists believe that six planets and one moon of Saturn (Titan) can support balloon flights. According to scientists, Mars atmosphere may present the fewest challenges, allowing for a quicker timeline in using balloons [2]. At NASA's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), experimental research has been conducted on one meter model Montgolfiere, Paraballoons, and Para-Montgolfiere balloons. The balloons were constructed of thin (0.6 mil), …

An Online Guide For Traveling In Southern Spain Using Gui Design And Actionscripting, Yun-Ju Peng

Theses

My project is a personal travel experience website as well as a traveling aid for those who are interested in southern Spain, including Cordoba, Seville and Granada. To differentiate it from the traditional media, I've created an online travel book with many movies, flamenco guitar music, attractive Spain photos and other interesting features for users to enjoy. With user-friendly interface and appealing parts, my thesis enables users to experience how and what southern Spain looks like. The users can not only flip the pages, jump to a specific page directly by clicking the part they want, they can also play …

An Evaluation Of A Multigrid Algorithm Error Spike Correction Method, Erika L. Mcmichael

Theses

This study is an evaluation of a method of improving the multigrid process by cor recting error spikes which are generated when moving from a coarser to finer level. The correction method was tested on nine one-dimensional problems governed by second order differential equations. Tests were performed with an accomodative, full approximation scheme, full multi-grid algorithm.

Results indicate that appropriate implementation of the correction can increase so lution accuracy. Accuracy was increased in 75% of cases in which a single correction was applied to a point in the central portion of the grid. Single corrections performed on points with error …

Novel Vlsi Architecture For Quantization And Variable Length Coding For H-264/Avc Video Compression Standard, Suneetha Kosaraju

Theses

Integrated multimedia systems process text, graphics, and other discrete media such as digital audio and video streams. In an uncompressed state, graphics, audio and video data, especially moving pictures, require large transmission and storage capacities which can be very expensive. Hence video compression has become a key component of any multimedia system or application. The ITU (International Telecommunications Union) and MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) have combined efforts to put together the next generation of video compression standard, the H.264/MPEG-4 PartlO/AVC, which was finalized in 2003. The H.264/AVC uses significantly improved and computationally intensive compression techniques to maximize performance. H.264/AVC …

Development Of Control Algorithm And A Simulation Tool For Self-Assembly Of Microsystems Based On Swarm Technology, Siddharth Mestry

Theses

"Chunxel" Technology is a novel concept of constructing 3-dimensional structures using a group of intelligent, autonomous, and cooperating micro robots. Chunxels are small robotic modules, cubical in shape, which are immersed in a tank containing a viscous fluid. The chunxels are propelled by the electromagnetic forces created by passing direct current through a set of large coils placed on each face of the tank and small coils embedded in the micro device. The chunxels follow a set of rules which mimic a swarm behavior and selfassemble in the liquid to form a 3-D structure. Swarm behavior is a dynamic problem …

Breeding Contempt, Amanda C. Lee

Theses

The thesis describes the artist's sculptural exhibition, Breeding Contempt, a body of work that explores the artist's struggle for individuation and creative empowerment, against the restrictions of a dysfunctional environment. The author details how she incorporates her life experiences into the thematic basis of this artwork, as well as the techniques used in the making of the sculptures.

Interview, Stacy Finkelstein

Theses

By means of digital imaging tools, specifically Adobe Photoshop, my art work uses painterly references to explore diverse themes. Using painting as a filter, my work explores the tradition of landscape in painting and photography, panorama suburbia through a photographic lens and surrealist art. The convergence of these ideas is captured in the constructed digital images that comprise my thesis work.

The interview format is the beginning of my progression into performance art, where I am exploring more avant-garde avenues of artistic representation that seeks to eliminate the viewer.

Renewable Portfolio Standard: An Analysis Of Design And Implementation Issues, Tigran Parvanyan

Theses

The Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a policy tool that requires a certain percentage of renewable energy to be included in the portfolio of electricity resources serving a state or a country. The main purpose of an RPS is to foster the development of renewable energy market, increase the energy security by reducing the dependence on the imported energy sources (oil, etc.), and, to provide environmental benefits from using more renewable energy. There are different approaches to the design and implementation of RPS in different states in U.S. and the degree of achieving a success of the policy differs also, …

Polyaniline Nanotubes: Catalysis And Their Conversion To Carbon Nanotubes, Stephen Paquette

Theses

Polyaniline nanotubes, first synthesized by Parasarathy and Martin in 1994, have been studied extensively in recent years.[1] The study of these nanodimensional particles has been oriented mostly toward an attempt to understand the electrical and magnetic properties surrounding these semi-one dimensional objects and also toward applications for their utilization.[2] The ability to produce these nano-particles chemically but, without a template was first discovered by Wan in 1999.[3] The use of chemical oxidants often produces undesirable byproducts during the reaction. Therefore, we have used this as a launching point in order to first mirror this template-less synthesis in our lab and …

An Historical Retrospective On The Origin Of And Changes To The Worker's Compensation Insurance Industry, Gary Eure

Theses

Workers' compensation insurance companies have been at the vanguard of workplace safety initiatives maintaining laboratories, training facilities, intern programs, and hierarchical structures. Up until the late 1980's, risk control services were provided to clients as a customer service, with the costs hidden in the premiums. Many companies estimated 4-5 percent of the premium amount was devoted to risk control departments. The late 1980s brought about a change that some attribute to a misapplication of Deming's Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy. Insurance companies tried to make the move to accountability, thinking that it would drive customer service to a "Deming" level …

Effective Knowledge Management (Km) Strategy Within A Business Organization, Brian L. Roeder

Theses

A cohesive Knowledge Management (KM) strategy is found at the cornerstone of every successful business enterprise's overall business strategy. The full benefit of this strategy can only be achieved through a dynamic, technology-enabled framework that encourages best and better practices to capture the outputs of human innovation and creative knowledge. Competitive pressures and technological convergence, most prevalent in high technology business sectors, have demonstrated the critical need for an information strategy that can harness and discern the continual amass of intellectual property. The continual accumulation of information and knowledge critical to the sustained viability of many business organizations, presents significant …

Integration Of Micromachined Thermal Thermal Shear Stress Sensors With Microchannels - Design, Fabrication And Testing, Vinod Dilip Kulkarni

Theses

Rochester Institute of Technology, 2005 Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-96) "The emerging picture of microvascular flow strongly suggests that local gradients in shear rate along the arteriole walls play an integral role in the ability of a microvascular network to regulate and modify blood flow. The methods to estimate shear stress from approximations of the velocity profiles determined by in vivo particle tracking experiments in the hamster and computational simulation are limited by assumptions made about the flow and experimental techniques. Right now, our ability to relate wall shear stress in microvessels to corresponding biological function is limited by our …

An Advanced Specular And Diffuse Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function Target Model For A Synthetic Aperture Ground Penetrating Radar, Robert M. Kapfer

Theses

Specific radars that are designed to radiate electromagnetic (EM) energy into the ground for the purpose of detecting and identifying underground targets are called ground penetrating radars (GPR). High resolution three-dimensional images of the underground environment can be produced using a bistatic, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing technique. Information pertaining to the underground scenario can be extracted from the three-dimensional images through methodical post data analysis.

Theoretical models and proof-of-concept designs are used to validate and advance deep GPR research and development efforts. The theoretical modeling of a deep GPR system is a lucrative method to obtain realistic deep GPR …

Built-In-Self-Test Of Rf Front-End Circuitry, Anand Gopalan

Theses

Fuelled by the ever increasing demand for wireless products and the advent of deep submicron CMOS, RF ICs have become fairly commonplace in the semiconductor market. This has given rise to a new breed of Systems-On-Chip (SOCs) with RF front-ends tightly integrated along with digital, analog and mixed signal circuitry. However, the reliability of the integrated RF front-end continues to be a matter of significant concern and considerable research. A major challenge to the reliability of RF ICs is the fact that their performance is also severely degraded by wide tolerances in on-chip passives and package parasitics, in addition to …

Critting The Crit In The Education Of Architects: From Bauhaus To Bolton Street, Patrick Flynn

Theses

This investigative study is concerned with examining the current methods of assessment of architecture students in the system known as the “crit” and the associated methods of giving students feedback on their designs in a public forum. The aim of the research is to identify the main weaknesses of the crit system and to explore alternatives which perhaps would have more sustainable and transparent methods of assessment and feedback. Personal motivation for the research sprang from concerns regarding both the effectiveness of the crit from the pedagogical perspective of student learning and from concerns about it as a transparent and …

Salmonella Infection Among Farm Animals In Al Ain, United Arab Emirates., Dalal Saeed Saeed Mansour Al Kaabi

Theses

Salmonellosis is considered one of the most economically significant diseases, affecting man and different animals. The disease affects all ages of domesticated and wild living animals. Salmonellosis manifests a variety of clinical signs such as diarrhea, abortion, arthritis and respiratory problems. The natural habitat of Salmonella species is the intestinal tract of most animal species. Carrier animals represent a continuous source of shedding the bacteria in the surrounding environment. Salmonella infection among animals and then to man causing public health hazard.

In this study, a total of 882 samples were collected from different animal species in Al Ain area of …

Thermal And Mechanical Properties Of Polyethylene-Polypropylene Blends, Rania Omar Akkad

Theses

The thermal and mechanical characteristics of thermally treated and untreated pure polyethylene (PE), pure polypropylene (PP) and their blends were investigated. Injection-moulded samples containing 100:00,75:25,50:50,25:75 and 00:100 weight percentage of PE:PP, were prepared and thermally treated at 100°C for 0, 2, 4, 7, 14 days. The treated samples were subjected to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG & DTG), infrared spectral analysis (IR) and tensile tests in order to study the effect of thermal treatment and blending ratios on their thermal and mechanical properties. The results indicate that addition of PE causes the melting temperature (T_m) of PP …

Evaluation Of Errors In National Energy Forecasts, Denys Sakva

Theses

Energy forecasts are widely used by the U.S. government, politicians, think tanks, and utility companies. While short-term forecasts were reasonably accurate, medium and long-range forecasts have almost always been highly erroneous. In the U.S. many energy policy decisions are driven by Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) forecasts prepared by Energy Information Association (EIA). This thesis evaluates accuracy of AEO reports from 1982 to 2003. Parameters evaluated are: total energy consumption, energy consumption by sector, sector specific parameters, and major model assumptions. Error decomposition and regression analysis are used to appraise accuracy of forecasts. I found that often underlying parameters used to …

Silicon-On-Insulator Waveguide Structures For Electro-Optic Applications, Christopher Harvey

Theses

Silicon based photonic devices have been demonstrated by industrial leaders in the microelectronic industry. The need for system integration has pushed the development of silicon as a photonic material to new levels. This report presents details on a silicon-on-insulator waveguide structure based on a metal Bragg reflection diffraction grating, which utilizes a change in refractive index caused by a carrier change to induce optical modulation. The motivation of the device was for use as an electrically controlled optical modulator operating in the near infrared region; an optically controlled device has been demonstrated in previous work. This study has thoroughly examined …

Policy Options To Enhance Technology Diffusion: Modeling The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Potential Of Solid-State Lighting, Amanda Slocum

Theses

Solid-state lighting (SSL) is an emerging technology that is projected to provide substantial energy savings over conventional lighting sources by 2025. There is a growing concern over the consequences of climate change, largely attributed to anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2; a greenhouse gas) from fossil fuel combustion. Currently fossil-fuel combustion accounts for 70% of electricity produced in the U.S., and end-use lighting applications alone consume approximately one-fifth of this electricity. Therefore, replacing conventional lighting sources with energy-efficient SSL has the potential to significantly reduce electricity consumption which can in turn reduce CO2 emissions. However, previous research has shown there …