Digital Commons Network^™

Thermal Characterization Of Pmma Thin Films On Silica Using Modulated Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Crystal E. Porter, Frank D. Blum

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The number of studies of thin polymer films has increased over recent years as technological processes incorporate the use of nanomaterials. An enhanced understanding of these films would enable us to predict bound-polymer behavior and thus improve the efficiency of processes and the quality of products. This is especially true as the thickness of the films approach molecular dimensions. The glass transition temperature of a polymer is one of the most important properties for characterization because it indicates how the polymer might perform macroscopically. when a polymer is confined, such as one the surface of a substrate, its behavior is …

Dynamics Of Acrylic Coupling Agents At Interfaces Of Composites, Hyoryoon Jo, Frank D. Blum

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Most applications of polymers involve composites, wherein a polymer is used in conjunction with another material, typically a solid fiber or filler. A coupling agent can enhance the adhesion between a polymer matrix and an inorganic filler. Organofunctional silanes, RSiX are often used as coupling agents. The methoxy or ethoxy group, X, can typically be hydrolyzed with water and an acid or a base catalyst in a protic solvent. The silanol groups of a hydrolyzed coupling agent can condense with other silanol groups from a glass surface, while the alkyl group, R, blends physically or bonds chemically to the polymer …

Physical And Technical Bases Of Using Ferromagnetic Resonance In Hexagonal Ferrites For Electromagnetic Compatibility Problems, Marina Koledintseva, Alexander A. Kitaytsev

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Frequency-selective measurement of microwave signal parameters based on application of gyromagnetic converters has proven advantageous for the research of microwave radiation over a wide spectrum (several octaves) in multisignal regime in microwave path and for the solution of a number of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) problems. The measurement frequency band can be enlarged to millimeter-waves with application of monocrystal hexagonal ferrite resonators (HFR) having high internal magnetic fields. Millimeter-wave field interactions with the HFR having alternating resonance frequency are analyzed. This is useful for millimeter-wave signal modulation and demodulation. The analysis is based on the solution of magnetization vector motion equation …

Biological Fixed-Film Systems, Mark W. Fitch, Jeffrey B. Murphy, Stephen S. Sowell

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Microbiological Degradation of Wastewater and its Application using a Fixed-Film Reactor is Reviewed. the Technical and Technological Characteristics, as Well as the Efficiency of Nitrification and Denitrification Processes Were Taken into Consideration. the Review Elucidated the Experimental Measurements of Effective Diffusive Permeabilities and Effective Diffusion Coefficients of Biofilms.

Excitation Of The High-Q-Factor Whispering Gallery Modes In The Hemispherical Dielectric Resonator With The Cylinder Shield, Sergey Kharkovsky, V. V. Kutuzov, A. E. Kogut

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A hollow metal cylinder with a semicircle in the base is used as the shield of a hemispherical dielectric resonator with whispering gallery (WG) modes. It is shown that the spectrum of the WG modes of this resonator is clearer than the spectrum of a similar resonator with a hemispherical shield. It is determined that the high-Q-factor WG modes are excited in the proposed resonator by the coupling slot on the mirror. Their fields are localized in the dielectric. The frequency dependence of the Q-factor value is measured. A good conformity of this experimental dependence with the analytic dependence is …

Natural Treatment And On-Site Processes, Kevin D. White, Joel Gerard Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Natural Treatment Systems, Which is Divided into Land-Treatment, Wetland, Aquatic, Onsite and Small Community, and Phytoremediation Systems, Are Discussed. This Include the Free Water Surface Constructed Wetlands, Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetlands, Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands,ponds, Floating Aquatic Plant Systems, Solar Aquatic Systems, Small Treatment Systems, and In-Ground Disposals.

Fed-Batch Dynamic Optimization Using Generalized Dual Heuristic Programming, Donald C. Wunsch, M. S. Iyer

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Traditionally fed-batch biochemical process optimization and control uses complicated theoretical off-line optimizers, with no online model adaptation or re-optimization. This study demonstrates the applicability, effectiveness, and economic potential of a simple phenomenological model for modeling, and an adaptive critic design, generalized dual heuristic programming, for online re-optimization and control of an aerobic fed-batch fermentor. The results are compared with those obtained using a heuristic random optimizer

Microwave Oscillator With The Shielded Dielectric Resonator, Sergey Kharkovsky, A. E. Kogut, V. K. Komeenkov, V. I. Lutsenko

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A Gunn oscillator with partially shielded hemidisk quasioptical resonator is investigated experimentally in this paper. The investigations of the generation characteristics of oscillations by the semiconductor diode in this resonator are carried out for the different radial co-ordinates of the oscillator active element. The advantages of the investigated oscillator in comparison with the oscillator with an open dielectric resonator are shown

High Breakdown Strength, Multilayer Ceramics For Compact Pulsed Power Applications, Wayne Huebner, Brian L. Gilmore, Shi C. Zhang, Mike L. Krogh, B. C. Schultz, R. C. Pate, L. F. Rinehart, J. M. Lundstrom

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Advanced ceramics are being developed for use in large area, high voltage devices in order to achieve high specific energy densities (greater than 10^6/ J/m^3/) and physical size reduction. Initial materials based on slip cast TiO2 exhibited a high bulk breakdown strength (BDS greater than 300 kV/cm) and high permittivity with low dispersion (epsilon approximately equal to 100). However, strong area and thickness dependencies were noted. To increase the BDS, multilayer dielectric compositions are being developed based on glass/TiO2 composites. The addition of glass increases the density (approximately equal to 99.8% theoretical), forms a continuous grain boundary phase, and also …

Measurement Of The Dielectric Strength Of Titanium Dioxide Ceramics, Wayne Huebner, J. M. Lundstrom, L. F. Rinehart, R. C. Pate, T. L. Smith, Mike L. Krogh

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Titanium dioxide ceramics (TiO2) are candidate materials for high energy density pulsed power devices. Experiments to quantify the dielectric strength of TiO2 have been performed on a limited number of unoptimized samples. A high voltage test set was constructed to test the titanium dioxide. All samples had a relative dielectric constant of 100, all samples were of 3 mm nominal thickness, and all tests were performed in water dielectric to reduce the effect of the triple point field enhancement at the electrode edge. Both single layer and laminated samples were tested and the breakdown field strengths were recorded. Voltage risetimes …

1-Hydroxyethyl-2,2′-Biimidazole, Geng Lin, Harvest L. Collier, Russell G. Baughman

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The two imidazole rings in the title compound, C₈H₁₀N₄O, are almost coplanar, having an angle of 2.3 (2)° about the C-C bond connecting the rings. the conformation adopted is such that the nitrogen substituents (-H and -CH₂CH₂OH) are in a trans orientation. the molecules are connected by intermolecular O-H. . .O and N-H. . .N hydrogen bonds to yield an arrangement of pairs of molecules reminiscent of side-by-side stacks of crinkled ribbon.

Nuclear Fuel Pellet Inspection Using Artificial Neural Networks, Shahla Keyvan, Xiaolong Song, Mark Kelly

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Nuclear fuel must be of high quality before being placed into service in a reactor. Fuel vendors currently use manual inspection for quality control of fabricated nuclear fuel pellets. In order to reduce workers' exposure to radiation and increase the inspection accuracy and speed, the feasibility of automation of fuel pellet inspection using artificial neural networks (ANNs) is studied in this paper. Three kinds of neural network architectures are examined for evaluation of the ANN performance in proper classification of good versus bad pellets. Two supervised neural networks, back-propagation and fuzzy ARTMAP, and one unsupervised neural network called ART2-A are …

Avoparcin, A New Macrocyclic Antibiotic Chiral Run Buffer Additive For Capillary Electrophoresis, K. Helen Ekborg-Ott, Gina A. Zientara, Jeffrey M. Schneiderheinze, Kyung Gahm, Daniel W. Armstrong

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Avoparcin, like vancomycin, teicoplanin, and ristocetin A, belongs to the family of macrocyclic glycopeptide antibiotics. These antibiotics have all been used as effective chiral selectors for capillary electrophoresis (CE), thin-layer chromatography (TLC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The present work focuses on avoparcin, which has been shown to be an excellent chiral selector for the CE enantioseparation of many N-blocked amino acids, as well as several anti-inflammatory drugs of pharmaceutical importance. The use of avoparcin as a chiral run buffer additive in CE is discussed, as well as the effects of changing experimental parameters, like avoparcin concentration, pH, organic modifiers, …

Separation Of Enantiomers By Capillary Electrophoresis Using Pentosan Polysulfate, Xiande Wang, Jauh Tzuoh Lee, Daniel W. Armstrong

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Pentosan polysulfate, a semisynthetic polysaccharide, was employed as a chiral un buffer additive in capillary electrophoresis. Twenty-eight racemic analytes were resolved. The separations were successful only at low pH when the analytes were significantly protonated. This suggests that ionic interactions were the dominant associative interactions between the anionic pentosan polysulfate and the positively charged analytes. Compared to other linear, carbohydrate-based chiral selectors (i.e., chondroitin sulfates, heparin and dextran sulfate) pentosan polysulfate has some characteristics common of anionic polysaccharides; yet it has several differences in its structure and properties which account for its unusual enantioselectivity. The effects of pH, concentration of …

Double-Talk Robust Fast Converging Algorithms For Network Echo Cancellation, T. Gansler, Steven L. Grant, J. Benesty, M. M. Sondhi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Echo cancelers which cover longer impulse responses (greater than or equal to 64 ms) are desirable. Long responses create a need for more rapidly converging algorithms in order to meet the specifications for network echo cancelers devised by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union). In general, faster convergence implies a higher sensitivity to near-end disturbances, especially "double-talk". Recently, a fast converging algorithm called proportionate NLMS (normalized least mean squares) algorithm (PNLMS) has been proposed. This algorithm exploits the sparseness of the echo path. In this paper we propose a method for making the PNLMS algorithm more robust against double-talk. The slower …

Climbing Fibre Purkinje Cell Twins Are Found, Donald C. Wunsch, Witali L. Dunin-Barkowski, S. N. Markin, L. N. Podladchikova

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

At the IJCNN'93 in Nagoya we have pronounced a challenging goal: to get activity patterns of airs of Purkinje cells(PC), controlled with the same climbing fiber (CF), - a CF PC Twins problem Here, for the first time in cerebral studies, CF PC twins have been identified and studied. Several important features of the CF PC Twins activity are demonstrated: (1) High constancy of conduction time of impulses of cells of inferior olives to the targetted PCs, (2) a relatively high failure rate (0.05-0.18) of impulse propagation into terminal branches of CF, (3) a salient difference in complex Spikes(CS) - …

The Display Of Photographic-Quality Images On The Web: A Comparison Of Two Technologies, Chiang S. Jao, Daniel B. Hier, Steven U. Brint

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Downloading Medical Images on the Web Creates Certain Compromises. the Tradeoff is between Higher Resolution and Faster Download Times. as Resolution Increases, Download Times Increase. High-resolution (Photographic Quality) Electronic Images Can Potentially Play a Key Role in Medical Education and Patient Care. on the Internet, Images Are Typically Formatted as Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) or the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) Flies. However, These Formats Are Associated with Considerable Data Loss in Both Color Depth and Image Resolution. Furthermore, These Images Are Available in a Single Resolution and Have No Capability of Allowing the User to Adjust Resolution as Needed. …

Social Class Depiction In Selected Award-Winning Children's Narrative Fiction, Edward L. Starkenburg

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This qualitative content analysis was designed to meet the following three objectives: to build an awareness of the depiction of social class in children's literature, to bolster the literature base on this depiction, and to better inform those who work with children's literature of its content in order to facilitate knowledgeable decisions regarding the selection and discussion of this literature. Eisner's (1991) connoisseurship and criticism heuristic guided the research throughout the data gathering as well as the inductive and deductive analyses of that data. The results of the study facilitate understanding and discerning social class in future experiences with children's …

Perceptions Of Iowa High School Principals On The Relationship Of Leadership, School Size, And Socioeconomic Level To School Culture, Kevin Wayne Fiene

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

American society is changing. Consequently, public schools are being called to change as well. Previous reform efforts have failed to bring about substantive change and improvement. Current reform efforts are calling for the changing of school culture. What factors influence school culture? What role does leadership, school size, and socioeconomic levels play in developing school culture?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of leadership, school size, and socioeconomic level to school culture utilizing the Competing Values Framework. The Competing Values Framework provided four ideal culture types and eight leadership roles. Culture types included group, developmental, rational …

Yusef Komunyakaa: Questioning Traditional Metaphors Of Light And Darkness, Katarzyna Jakubiak

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The theory of language promoted by cognitive linguistics points to metaphor as the crucial element of language and thought: a mode of thinking which determines our perception of reality. Stressing the importance of metaphor in our everyday life, George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, and Mark Turner state that the nature of poetic metaphors is the same as the nature of conventional metaphors which appear in "standard" language. Creating poetic metaphors, poets simply explore "conventional" metaphors, using four major strategies: expanding, elaborating, composing, and questioning. Focusing on questioning as the main strategy through which American "multicultural" literatures can undermine basic Western concepts …

Predictive Head Tracking For Virtual Reality, Donald C. Wunsch, Emad W. Saad, T. P. Caudell

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In virtual reality (VR), head movement is tracked through inertial and optical sensors. Computation and communication times result in delays between measurements and updating of the new frame in the head mounted display(HMD). These delays result in problems, including motion sickness. We use recurrent and time delay neural networks to predict the head location and use it to calculate the new frame. A predictability analysis is used in designing the prediction system

Teacher Receptivity To System Wide Change: The Introduction Of Student Outcome Statements In Secondary Schools In Western Australia, Rose Moroz

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The study has three aims. One is to investigate teachers’ receptivity to the use of Student Outcome Statements in Western Australian government secondary schools. The dependent variable is receptivity towards the use of Student Outcome Statements and is measured in four aspects: Overall Feelings, Attitudes, Behaviour Intentions and Behaviour. Two is to investigate the relationships between receptivity, as the dependent variable and ten independent variables: non-monetary cost benefits, alleviation of fears and concerns, significant other support, feelings compared to the previous system, shared goals (shared teaching goals and cohesiveness), collaboration (team teaching, involvement in decision making and teacher collaboration) and …

Crosslinguistic Influence In The Speech Of Hungarian-English Bilinguals, Valerie Kollmann

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The study is written in an attempt to report on factors that affect language transfer between Hungarian and English and on the extent 1.1 and 1.2 lexical elements are integrated into the speech in either language. An attempt is made to classify the functions of the integrated lexical elements. Furthermore, it is hypothesised that transfer could be interpreted as a production strategy. Data collection included a questionnaire and audio recording of interviews and observations of eleven bilingual participants involved in problem solving tasks.

Notions Of Justice Through Drama, Elvira Sammut

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This paper explores and describes the lived-experience of a group of 16-year-old girls in a drama class designed to heighten awareness of values of social justice. The students involved are experienced drama students, with a good knowledge of the theory of role-play and play-making, as well as, sound dramatic skills and techniques. The lived-experience provided the source for the research study that used film as a medium to inculcate notions of justice and equity in the classroom through self-devised drama. Phenomenological research was conducted with a group of seventeen Year II drama students. The students took part in a series …

The World-Swimmers, Patrick L. West

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis has two main parts. The first comprises a collection of nineteen short stories, entitled The World-Swimmers. The second takes the form of an exegesis, 'Framing Fictions & Fictional Friendships,' which provides a critical commentary on the collection, and on the nexus of text and context. The stories vary in length from approximately 1,000 to over 4,000 words. Various writing styles are used to develop fictional explorations of a range of themes, which include: the relationship between the natural and the human worlds, the imbrication of local place and international space, obsession, entrapment, and desire. However, perhaps the most …

Astride Two Worlds: The Chinese Response To Changing Citizenship In Western Australia (1901-1973), Tian M. Cai

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Citizenship is central to understanding the nature of Chinese migrants and their relationships within the social and political environment in Australia. Utilising the concept of citizenship can be a new way to interpret the human experience of the Chinese survival in Australia and to show that a historical balance can be found between the Australian social environment on the one side and the Chinese experience in Australia on the other. How the Chinese community reacted to the changing issues in citizenship and attitudes towards Asian immigration become the focus of the thesis. This research is designed to ask how Chinese …

Fourth World Consumer Culture: Emerging Consumer Cultures In Remote Aboriginal Communities Of North-Western Australia, Ronald George Groves

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Over the two centuries since the arrival of European settlers in Australia, the material culture and lifestyle of the indigenous Aboriginal people of Australia has undergone dramatic change. Based on qualitative fieldwork in three remote Aboriginal communities in north-western Australia, this study examines the emergence of unique consumer cultures that appear to differ significantly from mainstream Australia and indeed from other societies. The study finds that the impact of non-indigenous goods and external cultural values upon these communities has been significant. However, although anthropologists feared some fifty years ago that Aboriginal cultural values and traditions had been destroyed, this study …

Enhancing The Auditor's Fraud Detection Ability: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Maria Krambia Kapardis

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

A contemporary issue of concern to both external auditors and financial statement users is fraud-detection by auditors. The ability of auditors to detect material irregularities, including fraud, should be enhanced to enable them to apply "reasonable skill and care" in carrying out the audit. Such proficiency in fraud detection is needed if the profession is to avoid costly litigation, ever-increasing indemnity insurance and erosion of the profession's credibility. The thesis maintains that such enhancement can be achieved if auditors both utilise knowledge about the aetiology of fraud in psychology, sociology and criminology as well as by synthesising a broad range …

The Measurement Of Classroom Music Learning Using An Outcomes Framework In Western Australian Schools, Beverley J. Pascoe

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study addresses the problem of a lack of reliable and systematic methodology for evaluating progress in classroom music, using an outcomes framework, in primary and secondary schools in Western Australia. An innovative range of assessment tasks was developed for use at system, school or classroom level in order to develop a Music Achievement Scale, so that in the future, meaningful reporting of student outcomes in music, in relation to The Arts Student Outcome Statements (Education Department of Western Australia, 1996), can occur. Music tasks were tested with a representative sample of 2191 government primary school students from Years 3 …

Urban Aboriginal Children In Sport: Experiences, Perceptions And Sense Of Self, Cheryl S. Kickett-Tucker

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The purpose of this study was to describe the sense of self for a group of urban Western Australian Aboriginal children through analysing their perspectives and experiences in school sport and physical education. A symbolic interaction inquiry paradigm complemented with qualitative data collection methods was utilised. Informal conversational interviews and nonparticipant observations were employed. Interviews were conducted with participants and those whom they reported as their significant others. Participants were also observed in the school sport setting during physical education classes and intra and inter school sport competitions. Eight Western Australian Aboriginal children who resided in an urban suburb of …