Digital Commons Network^™

An Extended Kalman Filter (Ekf) Approach On Fuzzy System Optimization Problem, Nian Zhang, Donald C. Wunsch

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Optimizing the membership functions of a fuzzy system can be viewed as a system identification problem for a nonlinear dynamic system. Basically, we can view the optimization of fuzzy membership functions as a weighted least-squares minimization problem, where the error vector is the difference between the fuzzy system outputs and the target values for those outputs. The extended Kalman filter algorithm is a good choice to solve this system identification problem, not only because it is a derivative-based algorithm that is suitable to solve the weighted least-squares minimization problem, but also because of its appealing predictor-corrector feature for nonlinear system …

Capacitor Voltage Balancing In Full Binary Combination Schema Flying Capacitor Multilevel Inverters, Keith Corzine, X. Kou

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recently, the full binary combination schema (FBCS) method has been introduced to control the flying capacitor multilevel inverter. This method has the primary advantage that the number of voltage levels can be increased for a given number of semiconductor devices when compared to the conventional control methods. However, due to the difficulty of balancing the capacitors, the new schema requires fixed floating sources to provide the DC voltages. This paper reveals an approach of balancing the capacitors, thus expanding the application fields of FBCS inverters to the family of the flying capacitor multilevel inverters under the condition of choosing a …

Computational Enhancement Of Genetic Algorithm Via Control Device Pre-Selection Mechanism For Power System Reactive Power/Voltage Control, G. Krost, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, G. A. Bakare, U. O. Aliyu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, the application of a novel and computationally enhances genetic algorithm (GA) for solving the reactive power dispatch problem is presented. In order to attain a significant reduction in the computational time of GA, a systematic procedure of reactive power control device pre-selection mechanism is herein proposed to choose a-priori subsets of the available control devices, which maximally influence buses experiencing voltage limit violations. The GA reactive power dispatch module then accesses such judiciously pre-selected control device candidates to determine their optimal settings. A pragmatic scheme aimed at further curtailing the number of the final control actions entertained …

Dual Heuristic Programming Excitation Neurocontrol For Generators In A Multimachine Power System, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Donald C. Wunsch, Ronald G. Harley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The design of nonlinear optimal neurocontrollers that replace the conventional automatic voltage regulators for excitation control of turbogenerators in a multimachine power system is presented in this paper. The neurocontroller design is based on dual heuristic programming (DHP), a powerful adaptive critic technique. The feedback variables are completely based on local measurements from the generators. Simulations on a three-machine power system demonstrate that DHP-based neurocontrol is much more effective than the conventional proportional-integral-derivative control for improving dynamic performance and stability of the power grid under small and large disturbances. This paper also shows how to design optimal multiple neurocontrollers for …

Recent Jewish Immigrants' Communication In Postville, Iowa: A Case Study, Anna I. Levina

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

For this paper the author researched Iowa's immigration history and modern day Postville, a small town that represents a tossed salad of cultural, religious, and linguistic diversities. The author analyzed the current effect of immigration as well as the process of integration and assimilation into the small town through the eyes of its immigrants. The major emphasis is placed on Postville located in northeast Iowa. For 150 years Postville was an all-white, all-Christian farming community of 1,000 souls, most of European ancestry. Today the population of Postville has doubled and of the 2,000 people who reside in Postville almost one …

Method Of Scrapping Steel Structures, G. E. Shapiro, Paul Nicholas Worsey

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A method of breaking up a structure for the recovery of steel as scrap. The structure has steel plates forming a compartment secured to framing in the compartment. The method includes at least partially filling the compartment with a substantially incompressible substance and placing explosive in the substance in the compartment. The explosive is sufficient and adapted on detonation thereof to pressurize the compartment to the extent of causing separation of the plates from the framing. The method further includes detonating the explosive.

An Investigation Of The Concept Of Balance In Children Ages 6–9: Logic And Protologic Identifiable In Making Mobiles, Seon Chun

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This research was conducted to explore children's construction of protologic (foreshadowing of operations) in the context of experience with balance mobiles in a constructivist setting and to explore the usefulness of making mobiles in promoting children's development of the concept of balance.

The statement of the problem is (a) Can constructivist principles of cognitive development be used to understand children's progress in the course of educational activities involving balance? If so, how? What does the progressive construction of notions about balance look like in children's behaviors? and (b) Does children's understanding of balance improve after experimenting with making mobiles?

The …

Design And Evaluation Of A Pdf Print Estimating System, Mengtsung Tai

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This research consisted of designing and evaluating portable document format (PDF) print estimating system to commercial systems. Taking into account functionality, reliability, standardization, and integration, the conventional design method (Pressman, 1997) was used to develop the print estimating system. Considering the printer's viewpoint, added features make the system function online and offline and compatible with all common computer platforms. After the system was developed, experts and entry-level users evaluated the system for software usability (Nielsen, 2000; Shneiderman, 1998). A total of 26 experts and 38 entry-level users responded to 14 questions about usability in a personal interview survey. Statistical analysis …

Factors Associated With The Decision Not To Become 7–12 Principals By Those Holding The License, Gail Moorman Behrens

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to find out from educators who held the requisite credentials to be a secondary principal, but were not serving in that position, why fewer licensed educators are choosing to apply for secondary principal positions. This investigation was initiated because a shortage of qualified secondary principals in the state of Iowa had been indicated.

Four research questions were utilized with a quantitative research approach. A survey instrument was mailed to a sample of Iowa educators holding the Iowa 7-12 principal license but not serving 7-12 principal positions. The final sample included 131 responses which represented …

Culture From Chaos: The Formation Of Social Norms From The Dynamic Self-Organization Of Individuals' Attitudes And Behavior, Jerry G. Cullum

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Top-down models of culture provide a useful although limited understanding of cultural content, formation, and change. Previous theorizing using bottom-up models help to explain why cultures exist and explain some of their content. Dynamic social impact theory (DSIT; Latane, 1996) expands on previous bottom-up models by proposing a concise mechanism for cultural content transmission and the dynamic outcome of this process. Furthermore, the catastrophe theory of attitudes (Latane & Nowak, 1994) suggests that the level of involvement of an issue will modify attitude change and therefore modify DSIT's predictions. The present study expanded on previous research to offer a more …

Power System Basics For Business Professionals In Our Industry, G. Gross, Peter W. Sauer, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The rapid changes in the business aspects of the electricity industry are making it necessary for engineers to communicate more frequently and more effectively with nontechnical people. With the heightened interest in electric power and energy systems, a broad range of "nonpower" people has expressed a need for a primer on power engineering fundamentals presented in a nontechnical manner. In response, the IEEE Power Engineering Society sponsored the preparation of such a course targeted towards the "business professional." The first offering of this course was in July 2002 as part of the IEEE PES Summer Meeting in Chicago. Power System …

Rate-Based End-To-End Congestion Control Of Multimedia Traffic In Packet Switched Networks, Mingsheng Peng, S. R. Subramanya, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes an explicit rate-based end-to-end congestion control mechanism to alleviate congestion of multimedia traffic in packet switched networks such as the Internet. The congestion is controlled by adjusting the transmission rates of the sources in response to the feedback information from destination such as the buffer occupancy, packet arrival rate and service rate at the outgoing link, so that a desired quality of service (QoS) can be met. The QoS is defined in terms of packet loss ratio, transmission delay, power, and network utilization. Comparison studies demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme over New-Reno TCP (a variant …

To Read Or Not To Read: The Usefulness Of Informed Consent, Natasha E. Webb, Elizabeth D. Taylor

Modern Psychological Studies

Informed consent is an important ethical factor for medicine, psychology, and other needed disciplines. It is necessary for participants to understand an intended research project or procedure in which they plan to take part. This study examined the usefulness of informed consent by administering such a form prior to an irrelevant questionnaire. A simple task was inserted into the reading, which allowed assessment of whether participants actually read the form. Results obtained through the experiment supported the hypothesis that the majority of the participants would not read the consent form. While less than half of each sex actually read the …

Ethnographic Descriptions Of English Corners In Shanghai, Gary Jones

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study explored the phenomenon of English Comers (EC) in Shanghai. These are informal communities formed for the purpose of practising English. In 1978, just after the death of Mao Ze Dong and the fall of the 'gang of four', many eager Chinese people gathered together to practise their oral English in the Shanghai People's Park. Many of these were old men and had been educated in English at missionary schools in Shanghai in the early 20th century. Today we see many successors to such groups in the ECs which meet in different locations throughout the city and which comprise …

A Historical Geography Of The Bayswater Wetlands, Anna Ciuppa

Theses : Honours

This study examines the loss of 80-90% of wetlands in the City of Bayswater within the Perth Metropolitan Region. As a geographical study of wetlands it is largely concerned with the value of those wetlands to the local community, as well as to the flora and fauna species diversity of the City of Bayswater. The City of Bayswater is a sub-catchment of the Swan-Avon River system. It is approximately 5 kilometres from the Perth Central Business District. In its pristine state the Bayswater catchment would have been a landscape of swamps and lakes that supported prolific birdlife, frogs, native …

Facilitating Second Language Acquisition (Sla) Through Computer-Mediated Communication (Cmc) In An English For Civil Engineering (Ece) Environment, Masputeriah Hamzah

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study explores the application of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in an English for Civil Engineering (ECE) learning setting. The aim is to examine the interactional opportunities present in the computer-mediated environment for evidence of conditions deemed facilitative of second language acquisition, based on the tenets prescribed by the Interaction Hypothesis. This theory emphasizes the importance of interaction in language learning and the necessity for learners to have access to meaningful and comprehensible input. It is based on the premise that acquisition will occur through interaction where learners arc provided opportunities to negotiate meaning in order to develop mutual understanding. In …

Ellipsis In Science And Technology Textbooks In English: Implications For Thai Students, Sripen Srestasathiern

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This is an analytical study which attempted to investigate Thai students' ability to interpret elliptical sentences and to recover and recognise ellipted elements in a science and technology context in English. Students' awareness, understanding, perceptions, problems and strategies in relation to ellipsis were also examined. The subjects for the study were 60 first year students from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology North Bangkok (KMITNB) who had enrolled in two compulsory English courses in KMITNB, Bangkok, Thailand. The instruments for this study were three 20 item ellipsis tests based on 5 ellipsis types classified by Quirk, et al. (1985). Items of …

Identification And Realisation Of The Benefits Of Participating In An Electronic Marketplace : An Interpretive Evaluation Approach, Rosemary Stockdale

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Electronic marketplaces have proliferated as use of the Internet has become widespread in business. A rapid growth in the number of marketplaces, followed by a period of stringent consolidation, as market makers develop a greater understanding of effective business models, has resulted in a climate of uncertainty and confusion. As with many aspects of e-commerce the drive towards participation is fuelled less by strategy planning than by a fear of lagging behind competitors or losing first mover advantage. In this climate of uncertainty organisations often bypass effective evaluation of the benefits that can be realised from participation in e-marketplaces, thereby …

Delayed Discharges From An Adult Intensive Care Unit (Icu), Teresa Williams

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Introduction - Maximising efficient and effective use of resources without compromising quality of care is essential in the current healthcare climate. Intensive care unit services are one of the most resource intensive and therefore expensive services within a hospital. Because intensive care unit services comprise a significant portion of hospital costs and resources, appropriate utilisation of intensive care units is imperative. The occurrence of delayed discharges and the reason for the delays is important as they impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of intensive care unit services. Patients who no longer need intensive care unit care block beds for impending …

An Exploration Of The Influence Of The Acculturation Process On An Artist's Practice And The Implications For Education, Julie Brewin

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This Creative Arts Project investigates the relationship between expression in the visual arts and the process of acculturation. The focus of the study is my personal negotiation of this process. The descriptive study is about engagement with the organic world and its past and present dialogues within the ongoing process of acculturation. I have explored the connection between nature, culture and art using a phenomenological research method. The propositions that we do not see things as they are; we see things as we are (Talmud), and that as visual artists we are the 'architects of our own experience', (Eisner, 2001) …

Scratching Protest: A Study Of Graffiti As Communication In Universities In Thailand, Sirach Lapyai

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examines the production of campus graffiti as an alternative communication channel and opportunity for Thai students in three universities in three different parts in Thailand. The writing of graffiti is deemed an illegal activity in Thailand, which makes its prevalence on the Thai university campus an intriguing issue. To understand why Thai university students so readily indulge in an illegal activity this thesis investigates student graffiti through an analysis of graffiti as anonymous resistance from students to authoritarian power exercised on campus and as an escape from sociocultural taboos and cultural oppressions that Thai society places on youth …

High Frequency Pure Tone Audiometry And High Frequency Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions: A Correlational Analysis, Kimberly J. Lavoie

Dissertations and Theses

Previous studies show that pure tone thresholds are strongly correlated with distortion product otoacoustic emission amplitudes when evaluating the frequency range from 1 to 8 kHz (Avan & Bonfils, 1993). Little is known about correlations between these two measures at higher frequencies from 9-16 kHz. This study compared pure tone thresholds and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) in this high frequency range for 29 normal hearing subjects ages 18-30. Pure tone thresholds were obtained at 250-16 kHz and distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) 2,211-17,675 were measured in the same ears. DPOAE amplitudes were measured using a constant F1/F2 ratio of …

High Above, Ivan Davis

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Shot In The Dark Near Tragedy Follows Snollygoster Parade, Meredith Jones-Gray

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How Shall We Worship?, Lilianne Douhkan

Faculty Publications

"What is the right form of worship? Is there only one correct form or style? Have worship forms changed over time? Who decides which form or format is appropriate? Setting aside personal opinions and preferences, we need to discover the answer from God's Word."

Not For The Faint Of Heart: The Social Construction Of Oregon Charter Schools, Anthony Dean Valley

Dissertations and Theses

Over the past two decades, pressure to both reform public education and provide educational choices for families has led to the creation of charter schools. Charter schools are based on the premise of operational autonomy in exchange for accountability for agreed upon results. Their appeal is widespread, with over 2,000 charter schools opening in the United States since 1990.

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study is to describe the process of initiating a charter school. Eight key informants representing five Oregon charter schools were included in the study. These key informants were directly involved in the formation of their …

Photo Binge, Colette Fu

Theses

Not Included

The Relationship Of Attitude, Social Influence, And Self -Efficacy To Diabetes Type Ii Outcomes, Autumn Lee Keefer-Ward

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the Attitude-Social Influence-Self Efficacy model and its relationship to Type II diabetes outcomes. One hundred-twelve adults ages 55–75 with Type II diabetes were recruited from a physician's office in West Central Indiana. Participants completed instruments that assessed (a) attitude, (b) social influence of the physician, (c) diabetes-specific self-efficacy, and (d) diabetes-specific quality of life. A measurement of metabolic control was also obtained. Multiple regressions were performed using (a) quality of life, and (b) metabolic control as criterion variables. Only one subscale of the self-efficacy variable scale, Managing the Psychosocial Aspects of Diabetes, …

Image And Illustration In Jean Fouquet's "Grandes Chroniques De France", Erik Inglis

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This article studies the miniatures that Jean Fouquet painted for a mid-fifteenth-century copy of the Grandes Chroniques de France. I argue that the contextual interpretation of illuminated historical manuscripts must begin by determining how specific events were selected for illustration. In Fouquet's Grandes Chroniques, the choice of subjects is more closely related to the preexisting structure of the text than to the manuscript's immediate political context, indicating that his pictures were more important as images than as illustrations of specific events. Having distinguished image from illustration, I then discuss how his images contributed to the book's persuasive visual appeal, mining …

Un Voyage Vers Une Photographie Feminine: The Gender Politics Of Body And Space, Panizza Ruth Allmark

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In 1999 I embarked on a photographic journey to various cities around the world. The photographs produced are the results of my critical attention as a woman and a feminist to the issues concerning gender, travel and landscape aesthetics. This dissertation is an analysis of my documentary photographs. I am interested in ways in which my photographs correspond with the French feminist theories of Helene Cixous and Lucy Irigaray on ecriture feminine. Their work on the politics of the body has been influential in my journey towards a photographie feminine. 'Moreover, I also incorporate the feminist work of …