Digital Commons Network^™

Evolutionary Decomposition Of Complex Design Spaces, Christopher Richard Bonham

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This dissertation investigates the support of conceptual engineering design through the decomposition of multi-dimensional search spaces into regions of high performance. Such decomposition helps the designer identify optimal design directions by the elimination of infeasible or undesirable regions within the search space. Moreover, high levels of interaction between the designer and the model increases overall domain knowledge and significantly reduces uncertainty relating to the design task at hand. The aim of the research is to develop the archetypal Cluster Oriented Genetic Algorithm (COGA) which achieves search space decomposition by using variable mutation (vmCOGA) to promote diverse search and an Adaptive …

A Predictive Fuzzy-Neural Autopilot For The Guidance Of Small Motorised Marine Craft, Ralph Richter

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis investigates the design and evaluation of a control system, that is able to adapt quickly to changes in environment and steering characteristics. This type of controller is particularly suited for applications with wide-ranging working conditions such as those experienced by small motorised craft. A small motorised craft is assumed to be highly agile and prone to disturbances, being thrown off-course very easily when travelling at high speed 'but rather heavy and sluggish at low speeds. Unlike large vessels, the steering characteristics of the craft will change tremendously with a change in forward speed. Any new design of autopilot …

Design Models For Multimedia Learning Environments Based On Interactive Drama, Thomas John Rogers

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Interactive multimedia offers a degree of richness that lies outside the scope of conventional design methods for computer based learning. This research seeks to develop an interdisciplinary approach to design, that recognises the ways in which the combination and integration of different media forms can be exploited to stimulate experiential, intuitive, perceptual, and social/communicative aspects of learning. The goal of the project has been to develop a conceptual design model for the development of multimedia learning environments (MLEs), for humanistic learning applications, by using interactive drama. The models and methods developed though a practical design project have been founded upon …

Leveraging Analysis Operators In Incremental Generation, Deryle W. Lonsdale

Faculty Publications

This paper discusses the integration of an operator-based generation component with a similarly-designed natural-language comprehension system. It begins by sketching the cognitive theory and modeling system that frame both systems. A brief summary of the comprehension system and its characteristics follows, including the relevant operators. The generation system with its own operators and processing stages is then introduced. The degree to which these two systems exhibit shared functionality is then explored, and ongoing work is mentioned.

The Use Of Two Mixture Fractions To Treat Coal Combustion Products In Turbulent Pulverized-Coal Flames, Daniel V. Flores, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

Previous coal combustion models using assumed-shape PDF's to treat turbulence-chemistry interactions have used only one progress variable to treat products from coal reactions. This assumes that the products of all coal reactions have the same composition. However. the composition of the combustion products of coal particles is known to vary with burnout, especially between devclatilization and char oxidation. In this work, two progress variables were implemented which distinguish between the products of devolatilization and those of char oxidation. This new approach requires as input the specified volatile content and elemental release during devolatilization. The values for these parameters were estimated …

Pid Compensation Of Time Delayed Processes: A Survey, Aidan O'Dwyer

Conference papers

An extensive literature exists on the PID compensation of time delayed processes. It is possible to identify themes that are common to many of the available techniques. The intention of the paper is to provide a framework against which the literature may be viewed.

The Treatment Of Essential Voice Tremor With Botulinum Toxin A: A Longitudinal Case Report, Christopher Dromey, Paul Warrick, Jonathan Irish, Lisa Durkin

Faculty Publications

Summary: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of bilateral botulinum toxin injection into the thyroarytenoid (TA) muscles of a patient with essential voice tremor. Acoustic and aerodynamic data were collected weekly over a 16-week period. Flexible nasolaryngoscopy was performed prior to injection and 2, 6, 10, and 16 weeks post injection. Perceptual analyses of the acoustic and nasolaryngoscopic data were performed. A reduction in frequency tremor and, to a lesser extent, amplitude tremor was observed during the 1-10 week period. Estimated laryngeal resistance decreased after injection and was accompanied in perceptual measures by a reduction in …

An Investigation Of The Effects Of Subthalamic Nucleus Stimulation On Acoustic Measures Of Voice, Christopher Dromey, Rajeev Kumar, Anthony E. Lang, Andres M. Lozano

Faculty Publications

Summary: Seven patients with Parkinson’s disease were implanted with deep brain stimulators to provide chronic electrical stimulation to the subthalamic nucleus bilaterally. Acoustic recordings and neurologic assessments were undertaken before surgery in the medication-off and medication-on conditions and after surgery with and without electrical stimulation in the medication off and medication-on conditions. The data showed significant improvements in limb motor performance in response to medication before surgery and when the subthalamic nucleus was stimulated after surgery. Six months after surgery, there were small but statistically significant increases in sound pressure level and fundamental frequency variability in response to stimulation in …

The Story Of The Dublin Institute Of Technology, Thomas Duff, Joe Hegarty, Matthew Hussey

Books

The Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) was statutorily established as an autonomous institution on 1 January 1993, under the Dublin Instute of Technology Act (1992). It was constituted from the six higher education colleges of the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee. This book describes the evolution and accomplishments of the Institute from its beginnings 113 years ago, and includes its rapid academic developments over the past thirty years. The DIT is now a multi-level higher education institution with the largest enrolment of all the higher education institutions in the state - about 22,000 (10,500 full-time students, 4,000 apprentices and …

Dit Independent, 1st.-31st. Of January, 2000, Dit:Students Union

DIT Student Union

No abstract provided.

Towards A New Framework For Product Development, Aj Robotham, Tc Mcaloone

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

What Is The New Paradigm In Product Quality?, Aj Robotham, M Guldbrandsen

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

The Market Power Requirement In Antitrust Rule Of Reason Cases: A Rhetorical History, Mark R. Patterson

San Diego Law Review

Under section 1 of the Sherman Act,' on which this Article will focus, a central position for market power has been mandated neither by statute nor by the Supreme Court. Section 1 refers only to "contract[s] ... in restraint of trade,"' language that suggests no market power requirement. Nor has the Supreme Court imposed any general market power requirement under section 1. To be sure, the Court has imposed market power requirements in certain categories of section 1 cases, but they are only those cases in which the plaintiff proceeds under a per se theory.' Indeed, the Court has on …

The Sanctity Of Association: The Corporation And Individualism In American Law, Liam Seamus O'Melinn

San Diego Law Review

American society and law display a deep reverence for the group, as long as it assumes corporate or quasi-corporate form. This reverence is not fleeting; rather, it has deep historical roots. In fact, it was there before the republic came into being and it played a profound role in the founding of the nation. Moreover, these roots are not only traditional, but philosophical and religious as well. This Article explores those roots, with three goals in mind. First, to correct the mistaken notion that American law has historically demonstrated a commitment to the individual at the expense of the group, …

Alternative Liability In Litigation Malpractice Actions: Eradicating The Last Resort Of Scoundrels, Lawrence W. Kessler

San Diego Law Review

The legal malpractice tort, however, has managed to withstand the winds of legal change. Particularly crucial has been the refusal to apply alternative causation doctrines. The refusal to apply causation doctrines that have been embraced in other areas has significant social effects. As a result, the consumers of legal services receive less protection from the courts than do the consumers of products or medical services.

Has Affirmative Action Been Negated? A Closer Look At Public Employment, H Lee Sarokin, Jane K. Babin, Allison H. Goddard

San Diego Law Review

First, this Article argues that affirmative action is right and necessary in certain circumstances. Second, it examines whether affirmative action has survived under current case law. Part II.A reviews the Supreme Court decisions that define the test of strict scrutiny in the public employment context. Part II.B discusses the current focus of the Court's debate on affirmative action. Part III looks at how strict scrutiny analysis and the Supreme Court's precedents are being applied by the lower federal courts. Part IV concludes that more guidance is needed from the Supreme Court on the first prong of the strict scrutiny analysis …

The Brandeis Legacy, Mary Murphy Schroeder

San Diego Law Review

Louis Brandeis was the greatest lawyer of the early twentieth century, and perhaps of the entire century. He was brilliant, driven, charismatic, and absolutely devoted to improving the lives of the common people of the United States. Put in more contemporary terms, he was committed to the notion that technological and economic advances should not widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots. His causes were the environment, citizenship, freedom of expression, quality of life in the workplace, protection against increasing power wielded by large corporations, and protection of individual privacy. All were issues that emerged at the beginning …

Toward A Theory Of Regulatory Takings For Intellectual Property: The Path Left Open After College Savings V. Florida Prepaid, Shubha Ghosh

San Diego Law Review

This Article argues that an infringement of intellectual property rights by a state government constitutes a regulatory taking, requiring compensation to the intellectual property owner. The regulatory takings doctrine is a controversial one. Almost everyone agrees that if a state government physically takes property from its citizens, the government should compensate the owners. Nevertheless, the proposition that state regulation of its citizens' property requires compensation is not as easy to endorse. All regulation affects property in some way, either by reducing its value or by limiting its use. A requirement of compensation could potentially cripple the functioning of state governments. …

Theory Minimalism, Stanley Fish

San Diego Law Review

We must begin with a sense of what theory is, and I shall derive mine from a question Herbert Wechsler often put to his students. "Ask yourself," he would say, "'Would I reach the same result if the substantive interests were otherwise?"" The challenge of the question is to the student who has determined where the right lies in a disputed matter, and who now must demonstrate that, even if every circumstantial particular of the case were varied-if the plaintiff were a woman instead of a man, if the object of hate speech was a descendant of someone who came …

Retribution In Criminal Theory, Douglas N. Husak

San Diego Law Review

I will focus on three separate but intimately related dimensions of what I have identified as Moore's central theme. In Part H, I examine his views

about the data from which a theory of the criminal law is to be constructed. In Part I, I discuss his account of the rationale of punishment. In Part IV, I scrutinize his defense of legal moralism as a theory of legislative aim. I express general misgivings about the extraordinarily central place Moore affords retribution in his account of the criminal law as it exists today. I want to stress at the outset, however, …

Dropping Slugs In The Celestial Jukebox: Congressional Enabling Of Digital Music Piracy Short-Changes Copyright Holders

San Diego Law Review

In response to the myriad new methods of copying that are emerging from the ongoing digital revolution, Congress has enacted several amendments to copyright law.' These statutes have sought to protect copyright holders in the digital age without chilling the development of new technologies or interfering with consumer access to copyrighted works. Specifically, the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 ("AHRA") recognized the tremendous potential for piracy created by consumer access to digital audio recording devices. The purpose of the AHRA is not only to prevent infringing acts, but also to compensate copyright holders for the inevitable instances of illicit …

An Analysis Of California's Common And Statutory Law Dealing With Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail: An Argument For Revision, Calvin Whang

San Diego Law Review

This Comment will examine the law governing unsolicited commercial electronic mail in California. Part II details the growth of the Internet and unsolicited commercial electronic mail. Part III examines the law of trespass to chattel as applied to unsolicited commercial electronic mail in California. Part IV examines recent legislative efforts to regulate spam in California. Part V analyzes the implications of the new unsolicited electronic mail legislation in California. Finally, Part VI details some suggested revisions to the California statute dealing with unsolicited commercial electronic mail.

Limaria Hians (Mollusca: Limacea): A Neglected Reef-Forming Keystone Species, J. M. Hall-Spencer, P. G. Moore

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

1. The case is made for recognition of the marine bivalve Limaria hians as a reef-forming species, which plays a key architectural role in certain benthic communities around the United Kingdom and Ireland. 2. This species uses byssal threads to construct nests that can coalesce to form reefs that cover hectares of seabed, contain multiple conspecifies and bind sediment. In so doing, L. hians modifies physical, chemical and biological processes at the sediment-water interface. 3. Such nests support a high diversity of associated organisms in coarse-grade sediments (19 species of algae and 265 species of invertebrates from six discrete nests …

Component Technologies And Their Impact Upon Software Development, Andrew David Phippen

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Software development is beset with problems relating to development productivity, resulting in projects delivered late and over budget. While the term software engineering was first introduced in the late sixties, its current state reflects no other engineering discipline. Component-orientation has been proposed as a technique to address the problems of development productivity and much industrial literature extols the benefits of a component-oriented approach to software development. This research programme assesses the use of component technologies within industrial software development. From this assessment, consideration is given to how organisations can best adopt such techniques. Initial work focuses upon the nature of …

Modelling, Testing And Design, Of A Surface Piercing Propeller Drive, Peter Kevin Dyson

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Surface Piercing Propellers (SPPs) are used for high speed vessels in order to avoid the high appendage drag and cavitation problems associated with conventional propellers. The set of forces to which they are subjected is far more complex and demanding than conventional propellers. Not only are the forces much increased, but each goes through large transients as successive blades pass through the water. This project has endeavoured to improve the techniques and data available to the designer, giving more confidence in the design of the shaft and bearing system. Performance data has been measured on model propellers including both mean …

Composite And Comprehensive Multimedia Electronic Health Care Records, Nichola Jane Salmons

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The thesis considers the issue of multimedia data utilisation within modem health care delivery and the consequent need for an appropriate patient records system. The discussions centre upon the deployment and utilisation of IT systems, and paper-based patient records within health care establishments (HCEs), and the resultant problems, such as data duplication, inconsistency, unavailability and loss. Electronic Health Care Records (EHCRs) are put forward as a means of obviating the problems defined, and effectively supporting the future development of care provision in a coherent manner. The thesis identifies the barriers to further development of EHCRs with respect to clinical data …

Exploring And Exploiting Models Of The Fitness Landscape: A Case Against Evolutionary Optimization, Jonathan Paul Moore

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

In recent years, the theories of natural selection and biological evolution have proved popular metaphors for understanding and solving optimization problems in engineering design. This thesis identifies some fundamental problems associated with this use of such metaphors. Key objections are the failure of evolutionary optimization techniques to represent explicitly the goal of the optimization process, and poor use of knowledge developed during the process. It is also suggested that convergent behaviour of an optimization algorithm is an undesirable quality if the algorithm is to be applied to multimodal problems. An alternative approach to optimization is suggested, based on the explicit …

Developing Marketing Competence And Managing In Networks: A Strategic Approach, Aidan O'Driscoll, David Carson, Audrey Gilmore

Articles

Two important domains of scholarly investigation over the last decade, competency development and networks, share important common ground. These domains are also comprehended gainfully in terms of their wider strategic underpinning. This paper first contends that competence is considered best in terms of the particular strategy–structure–shared values constellation of a firm. This enables competence, including marketing competence, to be understood in terms of competency deepening (within the conventional marketing function), broadening (marketing activity which must be shared and co-managed with other parts of the firm), and of partnering (essentially, the ability to manage alliances, networks and relationships between the firm …

Electronic Control Of Torque Ripple In Brushless Motors, Peter Franz Kocybik

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Brushless motors are increasingly popular because of their high power density, torque to inertia ratio and high efficiency. However an operational characteristic is the occurrence of torque ripple at low speeds. For demanding direct drive applications like machine tools, robot arms or aerospace applications it is necessary to reduce the level of torque ripple. This thesis presents an in depth investigation into the production and nature of torque ripple in brushless machines. Different torque ripple reduction strategies are evaluated and one reduction strategy using Park's transform as a tool is identified as the promising strategy. The unified machine theory is …

Performance Characteristics Of A Low-Cost, Field-Deployable Miniature Ccd Spectrometer., S. Coles, M. Nimmo, P. J. Worsfold

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Miniature spectrometers incorporating array detectors are becoming a viable, low-cost option for field and process deployments. The performance characteristics of one such instrument are reported and compared with those of a conventional benchtop instrument. The parameters investigated were wavelength repeatability, photometric linearity, instrumental noise (photometric precision) and instrumental drift.