Digital Commons Network^™

Windows Are Key To Keeping Warm In Winter, Donna Falkenborg

All Current Publications

“With the price of fuel skyrocketing, now is the time to think about energy-saving projects around the house, and the best place to start is with your windows,” advises Leona K. Hawks, Utah State University Extension housing specialist.

Renters, Too, Can Save On Utility Costs, Donna Falkenborg

All Current Publications

“Most energy conservation information is designed for homeowners, even though an increasing number of people are renting,” says Leona K. Hawks, Utah State University Extension housing specialist. “Many renters develop a short-timer mentality and don’t worry much about energy savings. However, utility bills do add up quickly so renters may wish to conserve on their energy use,” she advises.

How To Evaluate An On-Road Remote Sensor, Donald H. Stedman

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

All on-road remote sensors or which we are aware carry out at least a measurement of the CO/CO2 ratio in the exhaust of a passing vehicle. It is possible for an interested party to carry out a quantitative evaluation of the precision of this measurement. This evaluation can be done without going to the expense and complexity of an on-road audit using a vehicle of known emissions (wet gas audit), or a vehicle designed to puff surrogate compressed gas mixtures of known ratios (dry gas audit). The measurement of exhaust CO/CO2 ratio is obtained by estimating the slope of a …

An Investigation Of Residual Stresses Induced By Forming Processes On The Fatigue Resistance Of Automotive Wheels, Patrick James Mcgrath

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The nature and scope of this thesis relates to obtaining an understanding of the way in which sheet metal forming processes affect the residual stresses (plastic deformation) and the fatigue perfomiance of wheel centre discs made of a dual phase steel. Automotive wheels are mainly manufactured from sheet metal plate by forming processes using tools and dies. This manufacturing process is directly concemed with deforming the plate under predominantly applied tensile forces where the component acquires a sfress state which is multi-axiial. This stress state is both complex and difficult to assess from an analytical point of view and thus …

Sharing Health-Care Records Over The Internet, Jane Grimson, Gaye Stephens, Benjamin Jung, William Grimson, Damon Berry, Sebastien Pardon

Articles

Presents a novel approach to sharing electronic health-care records that leverages the Internet and the World Wide Web, developed as part of two European Commission-funded projects, Synapses and SynEx. The approach provides an integrated view of patient data from heterogeneous, distributed information systems and presents it to users electronically. Synapses and SynEx illustrate a generic approach in applying Internet technologies for viewing shared records, integrated with existing health computing environments. Prototypes have been validated in a variety of clinical domains and health-care settings

On-Road Remote Sensing Of Automobile Emissions In The Phoenix Area: Year 2, Sajal S. Pokharel, Gary A. Bishop, Donald H. Stedman

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

The University of Denver conducted a five-day remote sensing study in the Phoenix, AZ area in the fall of 1999. The remote sensor used in this study is capable of measuring the ratios of CO, HC, and NO to CO2 in motor vehicle exhaust. From these ratios, we calculate mass emissions per kg (or gallon) of fuel and the percent concentrations of CO, CO2, HC and NO in motor vehicle exhaust which would be observed by a tailpipe probe, corrected for water and any excess oxygen not involved in combustion. The system used in this study was also configured to …

The Application Of Real-Time Software In The Implementation Of Low-Cost Satellite Return Links, James Tom Slader

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) have evolved to a level where it is feasible for digital modems with relatively low data rates to be implemented entirely with software algorithms. With current technology it is still necessary for analogue processing between the RF input and a low frequency IF but, as DSP technology advances, it will become possible to shift the interface between analogue and digital domains ever closer towards the RF input. The software radio concept is a long-term goal which aims to realise software-based digital modems which are completely flexible in terms of operating frequency, bandwidth, modulation format and source …

Natural Algorithms In Digital Filter Design, Stephen Penberthy Harris

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Digital filters are an important part of Digital Signal Processing (DSP), which plays vital roles within the modern world, but their design is a complex task requiring a great deal of specialised knowledge. An analysis of this design process is presented, which identifies opportunities for the application of optimisation. The Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Simulated Annealing are problem-independent and increasingly popular optimisation techniques. They do not require detailed prior knowledge of the nature of a problem, and are unaffected by a discontinuous search space, unlike traditional methods such as calculus and hill-climbing. Potential applications of these techniques to the filter …

Process-Property-Fabric Architecture Relationships In Fibre-Reinforced Composites, Neil Robert Lewarne Pearce

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The use of fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composite materials is growing at a faster rate than GDP in many countries. An improved understanding of their processing and mechanical behaviour would extend the potential applications of these materials. For unidirectional composites, it is predicted that localised absence of fibres is related to longitudinal compression failure. The use of woven reinforcements permits more effective manufacture than for unidirectional fibres. It has been demonstrated experimentally that compression strengths of woven composites are reduced when fibres are clustered. Summerscales predicted that clustering of fibres would increase the permeability of the reinforcement and hence expedite the …

Controlling The Optical Properties Of A Conjugated Co-Polymer Through Variation Of Backbone Isomerism And The Introduction Of Carbon Nanotubes, A. Dalton, J. Coleman, M. In Het Panhuis, B. Mccarthy, A. Drury, W. Blau, J. Nunzi, Hugh Byrne

Articles

The need to control the formation of weakly emitting species in polymers such as aggregates and excimers, which are normally detrimental to device performance, is illustrated for the example of the polymer poly(m-phenylenevinylene-co-2,5-dioctyloxy-p-phenylenevinylene), using the model compound, 2,5-dioctyloxy-p-distyrylbenzene as a comparison. Two different methods, namely a Homer-Emmons polycondensation in dimethylformamide (DMF) and a Wittig polycondensation in dry toluene, have been used during synthesis resulting in a polymer with a predominantly trans-vinylene backbone and a polymer with a predominantly cis-vinylene backbone, respectively. Photoluminescence and absorption spectroscopy indicate that the polymer forms aggregate species in solution with spectra that are distinctly red-shifted …

A Review Of The Different Methods For Assessing Standing Balance, Jacinta Browne, N. J. O'Hare

Articles

This paper is a review of the balance assessment methods currently used to evaluate standing balance. Most of the presently available instrumentation appears to be more suited to research laboratories than to routine clinical situations. Functional assessments of balance appear to be the quickest test to administer and do not require expensive equipment however only gross changes in balance can be detected making them suitable as a screening tool for identifying subject’s needing more thorough evaluation. Force platforms appear to be most suited balance assessment instrumentation to the clinical situation since it produces a real time display and can detect …

E-Spatial Technology For Spatial Analysis And Decision Making In Web-Based Land Information Management Systems, James Carswell

Articles

In this paper we describe e-SpatialTM technology, comprising an innovative software solution for deploying integrated web-based spatial applications within Oracle 9i Database environments. The two main components of the solution are the iSMARTTM database development technology and the i-SpatialTM Information Server (iSIS). This technology allows Oracle users to build and deploy both spatially enabled and standard Internet applications without requiring any application-specific GIS source code. It can be deployed on any Oracle supported hardware platform and on any device running a Java Virtual Machine, thus providing full support for wireless, PDAs and other mobile devices. In particular, we describe a …

Book Review: Workers' Compensation: Foundations For Reform, By Morley Gunderson And Douglas Hyatt (Eds), Terence G. Ison

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

No abstract provided.

2001 : Faculty Of Tourism And Food , Full - Time Courses, Dublin Institute Of Technology

DIT Publications

Book of full - time courses in the faculty of tourism and food.

Information includes information on eligibility and selection, list of full - time courses, course summary information, student life at DIT etc.

2001 : Part - Time Courses, Dublin Institute Of Technology

DIT Publications

Book consisting of student information on DIT life and details of part - time courses offered in each faculty.

Voronoi Cells, Fractal Dimensions And Fibre Composites, J. Summerscales, F. J. Guild, N. R.L. Pearce, P. M. Russell

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Smart Growth And Other Infirmities Of Land Use Controls, Bernard H. Siegan

San Diego Law Review

The great lesson of our time is that the forces of production, conservation, and creativity exist principally in the marketplace and not in government. To be sure, private entrepreneurs act largely in their own self-interest, but probably no more so than government officials, and their endeavors in the economic area are much more beneficial to the public.

Teaching Effectiveness In An Introductory High School Honors Physics Course As Measured By The Force Concept Inventory, April Crawford Moore

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Of importance to many teachers is that students emerge from a course of study with an acceptable level of comprehension of the subject matter presented and that students' course grades reflect that understanding. The primary question of this research was, "How effective in promoting comprehension of Newtonian concepts is this teacher's use of selected interactive strategies?" Secondary questions were: 1. What modifications to instruction, if any, have to be made for implementation of interactive-engagement strategies? 2. Following instruction in mechanics, which misconceptions probed by the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) are retained by students, and which misconceptions are corrected? 3. How …

An Optimal Control Based Treatment Strategy For Parturient Paresis Using Neural Networks, Radhakant Padhi, S. N. Balakrishnan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An optimal online feedback treatment strategy is developed for the parturient paresis of cows, based on nonlinear optimal control theory. A limitation in the development of an existing mathematical model for calcium homeostasis is addressed and the model is extended to incorporate control inputs. An optimal feedback controller is synthesized for the nonlinear system using neural networks. Though the main aim of this paper is to solve the biomedical control problem, the methodology presented in this paper is a general computational tool, which can be applied to solve a fairly general class nonlinear optimal control problems.

The Design And Analysis Of An Analog Ratio Spectrum Circuit, Liping Deng, John G. Harris

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The ratio spectrum (RS) is a novel method for signal analysis that has been successfully demonstrated for speech recognition and coding applications. In this paper, an improved RS circuit with an adaptive tenth-order Butterworth low-pass filter has been designed. We also present the first convergence analysis of the ratio spectrum. We derive linearized convergence expressions for the RS and compare the theoretical predictions to circuit simulations. © 2001 IEEE.

Design And Implementation Of A Biologically Realistic Olfactory Cortex In Analog Vlsi, Jose C. Principe, Vitor G. Tavares, John G. Harris, Walter J. Freeman

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper reviews the problem of translating signals into symbols preserving maximally the information contained in the signal time structure. In this context, we motivate the use of nonconvergent dynamics for the signal to symbol translator. We then describe a biologically realistic model of the olfactory system proposed by Walter Freeman that has locally stable dynamics but is globally chaotic. We show how we can discretize Freemans model using digital signal processing techniques, providing an alternative to the more conventional Runge-Kutta integration. This analysis leads to a direct mixed signal {analog amplitude/discrete time) implementation of the dynamical building block that …

Machine Learning In Euchre: A Comparison Of Techniques, Michael J. Holmes

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study compares the effectiveness of inductive and analytical learning techniques for a specific type of problem. The set of problems has a large number of parameter combinations as inputs, and a small set of possible output solutions. The card game, Euchre, was the basis for research. Four algorithms were used for comparison. Two were variants of induction using decision tree learning, and the other two used variants of explanation-based learning, an analytical approach. The example data were gathered from human players, along with one set of random, "noisy" data. These data were then used as training sets for the …

Dynamics Of The Fragmentation Of D2 By Fast Protons And Slow Highly Charged Xe26+, I. Ali, Robert D. Dubois, C. L. Cocke, S. Hagmann, C. R. Feeler, Ronald E. Olson

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

Using recoil-ion momentum spectroscopy, combined with a multihit detector system, the full momentum vectors of both fragment ions produced by fragmentation of D₂ by fast 50-kV protons and slow (9.56–0.191 keV/u) keV/u! Xe²⁶⁺ ions have been measured. The data are kinematically complete and make it possible to separate the laboratory momentum of the center of mass of the molecule from the momentum of each fragment in the center-of-mass system of the molecule. Using this separation, we find that, for higher collision velocities, the overall reaction can be described as double-electron capture, followed in a second and separate step …

A Neutron Diffraction Study Of The Deuterium Site Occupancy In Nd5fe17d15.5, Z. Chu, William B. Yelon, R. K. Murakami, P. S.M. Da Silva, V. Villas-Boas, F. P. Missell

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The intermetallic compound Nd₅Fe₁₇ has potentially important magnetic properties and is being investigated as a possible permanent magnetic material. As with many other rare-earth transition metal compounds, this phase can absorb significant quantities of H(D) and lesser amounts of N. Gravimetric measurement indicate that ∼14-16H(D) atoms can be absorbed per formula unit leading to roughly a 20% increase in saturation magnetization and Curie temperature. We have carried out powder neutron diffraction studies to determine the location of D atoms in a sample of Nd₅Fe₁₇ containing approximately 15.5D/f.u. The large, complex unit cell of Nd …

Reorganizing Web Sites Based On User Access Patterns, Yongjian Fu, Mario Creado, Chunhua Ju

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, an approach for reorganizing Web sites based on user access patterns is proposed. The approach consists of three steps: preprocessing, page classification, and site reorganization. In preprocessing, pages on a Web site are processed to create an internal representation of the site, and page access information of its users is extracted from its server log. In page classification, the Web pages on the site are classified into two categories, index pages and content pages, based on the page access information. After the pages are classified, in site reorganization, the Web site is examined to find better ways …

Performance Evaluation Of Hybrid Coding Of Images Using Wavelet Transform And Predictive Coding, S. R. Subramanya, Chaman Sabharwal

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Image compression techniques are necessary for the storage of huge amounts of digital images using reasonable amounts of space, and for their transmission with limited bandwidth. Several techniques such as predictive coding, transform coding, subband coding, wavelet coding, and vector quantization have been used in image coding. While each technique has some advantages, most practical systems use hybrid techniques which incorporate more than one scheme. They combine the advantages of the individual schemes and enhance the coding effectiveness. This paper proposes and evaluates a hybrid coding scheme for images using wavelet transforms and predictive coding. The performance evaluation is done …

Workstation Clusters For Parallel Computing, J. Stone, Fikret Erçal

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

Workstation clusters have become an increasingly popular alternative to traditional parallel supercomputers for many workloads requiring high performance computing. The use of parallel computing for scientific simulations has increased tremendously in the last ten years, and parallel implementations of scientific simulation codes are now in widespread use. There are two dominant parallel hardware/software architectures in use today: distributed memory, and shared memory. Systems implementing shared memory provide cooperating processes with a shared memory address space that can be accessed by all processors. In shared memory systems, parallel processing occurs through the use of shared data structures, or through emulation of …

A Novel Morphological Operator To Calculate Euler Number, Zhao Zhang, Randy Hays Moss, William V. Stoecker

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper introduces a novel morphological operator to calculate the Euler number for binary images. The operator is based on the condition of eight-connectedness for foreground and four-connectedness for background. It is significantly faster than the previous operators. The morphological operations used in border detection are discussed

A Statistical Solution To A Text Decoding Challenge Problem, Xindi Cai, Rui Xu, Donald C. Wunsch, V. A. Samaranayake

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Given an encoded unknown text message in the form of a three dimensional spatial series generated by the use of four smooth nonlinear functions, we use a method based on simple statistical reasoning to pick up samples for rebuilding the four functions. The estimated functions are then used to decode the sequence. The experimental results show that our method gives a nearly perfect decoding, enabling us to submit a 100% accurate solution to the IJCNN challenge problem

Application Of Geophysical, Hydrogeologic L And Gis Techniques For Investigation Of Groundwater Resources In The Al Dhaid Area, Uae, Mohamed Mustafa Mohamed Al Mulla

Theses

No abstract provided.