Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Time To Market Forecasts: A Comparison Of Two Technology Forecasting Techniques For Predicting U.S. Fighter Jet Introductions From 1944 To 1982, Lane Inman, Timothy R. Anderson, Robert R. Harmon

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since its origin in 2001, technology forecasting using data envelopment analysis (TFDEA) has been tested with a number of applications. This paper uses a previously published technology forecast comparison of U.S. fighter jets between the years 1944 and 1982 to compare TFDEA to basic regression. Both techniques use aircraft introduced between 1944 and 1960 to predict the first flights of those fighters introduced between 1960 and 1982. TFDEA was found to better predict the first flight dates than the forecast using regression. These results indicate that TFDEA may be a powerful new technique for predicting complex technological trends and time …

Effect Of Moisture And Temperature On The Mechanical Properties Of Concrete, Brian Downie

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Concrete is one of the most widely used building materials. Extensive research was accomplished testing concrete properties including but not limited to modulus of elasticity, compressive strength, tensile strength, and Poisson's ratio using modulus of elasticity and strength testing. The research was done under laboratory conditions. The ideal air temperature in the laboratory was between 68 and 71 °F, and the ideal air relative humidity in a laboratory was between 40 and 60 percent. Research was accomplished on properties of concrete during the curing process at extreme temperatures experienced in the developed world, but little on concrete that is already …

A Candidate's Use Of Aggressive Communication And The Electorates' Response: Predicting Presidential Election Outcomes, Matthew Luke Sutton

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this examination is to determine the role of verbal aggression in Presidential debates. Using six types of verbally aggressive messages, coders examined one Presidential debate from nine Presidential elections to determine the amount of verbal aggression used by each candidate. The findings from this examination indicate that there is a pattern for the use of verbal aggression in Presidential debates. Challengers use significantly more verbal aggression than incumbents while five of the nine elections had the winner using less verbally aggressive messages than the loser. Results of this study support the theory that challengers are forced to …

Effect Of Liquid Rheology On Jetting Of Polymer Solutions, Long Han

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Light Emitting Devices (LEDs) containing conjugated polymers are fabricated using ink jet printing. A common problem in the processing of these materials is that the Newtonian viscosity of the polymer solution is not sufficient to describe the jetting performance, because the molecular weights and concentrations employed are such that the resulting solutions are elastic. These differences in fluid elasticity levels cannot be measured using traditional techniques like dynamic mechanical experiments or the first normal stress difference in shear, but they strongly impact the jetting behavior of the liquid. Here, a polystyrene-DECALIN system has been formulated, and the level of elasticity …

Acoustics Of The Human Middle-Ear Air Space, Cara E. Stepp, Susan E. Voss

Engineering: Faculty Publications

The impedance of the middle-ear air space was measured on three human cadaver ears with complete mastoid air-cell systems. Below 500 Hz, the impedance is approximately compliance-like, and at higher frequencies (500-6000 Hz) the impedance magnitude has several (five to nine) extrema. Mechanisms for these extrema are identified and described through circuit models of the middle-ear air space. The measurements demonstrate that the middle-ear air space impedance can affect the middle-ear impedance at the tympanic membrane by as much as 10 dB at frequencies greater than 1000 Hz. Thus, variations in the middle-ear air space impedance that result from variations …

A Novel Evolutionary Global Optimization Algorithm And Its Application In Bioinformatics, Hualin Wang, Okan K. Ersoy

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technical Reports

Gray Code Optimization (GCO) algorithm is a deterministic algorithm based on the Gray code, binary numbers representation. It sometimes suffers from slow convergence and sub-optimal solutions. Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm is used to analyze how the GCO explores the search space. The investigation of how the GCO generates a population indicates that it is similar to generating samples with a mixture Gaussian distribution. The EM algorithm extracts a three components mixture Gaussian model. Based on these findings, a novel stochastic optimization algorithm based on the mixture Gaussian model is proposed. The new Mixture Gaussian Optimization (MGO) algorithm is not only …

Sample-Based Cameras For Fast Accurate Reflections, Voicu Popescu, Elisha Sacks, Chunhui Mei

Department of Computer Science Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Identifying Resources And Options In High-Risk Fire Areas, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet on the biomass resource and market assessment conducted by the North Dakota Forest Service and the Energy & Environmental Research Center. The assessment is intended to reduce fire risk while promoting economically beneficial uses for biomass resources. [This item is an outdated or superseded version and retained for historical purposes only. It may no longer reflect current information, policies, or practices.]

Cofiring Biomass With Lignite Coal, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet about a U.S. Department of Energy grant funded feasibility study to test cofiring biomass with lignite in a North Dakota State Penitentiary (NDSP) boiler. Partnership between Energy & Environmental Research Center, North Dakota Department of Commerce Division of Community Services, and NDSP. [This item is an outdated or superseded version and retained for historical purposes only. It may no longer reflect current information, policies, or practices.]

Using Wireless Technology To Facilitate Learning: A Grounded Theory Approach, Hong Sheng, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Wireless technology has advanced significantly in recent years and has shown great potential and promise for use in education. To better understand the use of wireless technology in education, this research adopted a grounded theory approach to explore how students use wireless technology to support and facilitate their learning. We collected data by interviewing students regarding their experience and opinions of using wireless technology for education. The data were analyzed following the procedures of grounded theory: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. By analyzing transcripts from the interviews, concepts and categories were segmented, and linkages between categories were identified. …

Web Browsing And Spyware Intrusion, S. Shukla, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Spyware poses serious privacy and security issues to users of e-commerce and m-commerce [3, 5, 8]. Microsoft claims that half of all computer crashes reported by its customers were caused by spyware and its equivalents. Spyware is also responsible for about 12% of all technical support calls and accounts for the biggest category of customer complaints, according to Dell

News From Hope College, Volume 37.1: August, 2005, Hope College

News from Hope College

No abstract provided.

Naboh System: Gathering Intelligence From Traffic Patterns, Angelica M. Delgado

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Network traffic anomalies are important indicators of problematic traffic over a network. Network activity has patterns associated with it depending on the applications running on the local hosts connected to the network. There are traffic parameters into which network traffic of a local host can be divided: bandwidth usage, number of remote hosts that a local host is connecting to and vice versa, and number of ports used by the local host. This thesis develops a system for detecting and profiling network anomalies by analyzing traffic parameters using intelligent computational techniques. The developed system gathers intelligence by examining only the …

Investigating Nickel Partitioning In A Contaminant Aquifer, Suama Ndengu

Masters Theses

Improved prediction of the transport and bioavailability of metals in contaminated sediments demands a better quantitative understanding of how metals partition between aqueous solutions and mineral phases. This research examines the partitioning of nickel in a contaminated aquifer from Grand Rapids, Ml. Contaminated aquifer sediments were examined using the five step Tessier et al. (1979) operationally defined sequential extraction procedure to determine the solid phase distribution of nickel in the aquifer sediments. Models used to guide remediation efforts at the contaminated site assume that Ni behavior can be predicted based on Ni adsorption onto ferrihydrite (HFO). Although sequential extraction results …

Structure-Activity Relationship Studies On Thioxolone Compounds As Inhibitors Of Human Carbonic Anhydrase Ii, Jared Nyabuto Orwenyo

Masters Theses

Carbonic anhydrase II (CA II) is a zinc metalloenzyme that catalyzes the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide. The role of this reaction in physiology has made it a target of many therapeutic approaches. Most CA II inhibitors currently known are sulfonamide-based and this is the only functional group incorporated into rationally designed CA II inhibitors. Thioxolone (6-hydroxy-1, 3-benzoxathiol-2-one), is a non-sulfonamide that has been found to have CA II inhibitory activity.

Thioxolone and its analogs were studied to evaluate the inhibition activity that can be achieved upon modification of the thioxolone molecule. IC₅₀ values and dissociation constants were determined …

Resistivity, Induced Polarization, And Spontaneous Potential Study Of Part Of The Calvin 28 Oil Field, Cass County Michigan, Eric M. Larsen

Masters Theses

Some hydrocarbon reservoirs have a documented reducing chimney, extending upward to the surface due to diffusion of hydrocarbon volatiles. This effect reportedly reduces the iron in the soil to magnetite and precipitates fine-grained pyrite if there is sufficient sulfur in the system. This study was conducted to test the detectability of the hypothetical chimney, using electrical geophysics in an environment of relatively recent glacial cover, known depth to an underlying petroleum reservoir, and known faulting.

The Calvin 28 oil field, in Cass County Michigan, is a middle Devonian domal field where reservoir rocks are draped over the central uplift block …

Factors Contributing To Student Retention And Attrition At Sitting Bull College Between 2001-2004, Laurel A. Vermillion

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which selected factors (i.e., student funding, lack of adequate academic preparation, personal commitment, family support, child care issues, transportation problems, and job conflict, and other factors that students identify) contribute to the student retention and attrition at a single mid-western Tribal College.

A total of 782 survey questionnaires were mailed to former (including stop-outs, dropouts, and graduates) and current Sitting Bull College (SBC) students. These surveyed students were chosen from the SBC student enrollment data beginning spring semester 2001 through spring semester 2004.

The eighteen-item retention survey was developed …

The Effects Of Contextual Factors On Dyadic Everyday Problem Solving In Adulthood, Tara L. Neely

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The present study examined individual and dyadic everyday problem solving in 45 younger, middle-aged, and older adult married couples. The goal of the study was to investigate the effects of age, gender, collaboration, marital characteristics, and basic cognition on everyday problem-solving. Two research questions were addressed. First, were there group differences across three phases of problem solving? Second, what was the frequency of individual change, and which factors predicted improvement, stability, or decline? When addressing the first question, there was a significant four-way interaction, F (4, 78) = 2.83, p < .05, eta = .12, between participant age, gender, problem-solving condition, and problem-solving phase, emphasizing the multidimensionality of everyday cognition. When addressing the second question, a larger percentage of individuals who collaborated reliably improved compared to individuals who worked alone. Furthermore, basic cognitive abilities, education, and marital factors significantly accounted for individual reliable change in everyday problem solving.

Refinement Of Numerical Models And Parametric Study Of Sofc Stack Performance, Andrew C. Burt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The presence of multiple air and fuel channels per fuel cell and the need to combine many cells in series result in complex steady-state temperature distributions within Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) stacks. Flow distribution in these channels, when non-uniform, has a significant effect on cell and stack performance. Large SOFC stacks are very difficult to model using full 3-D CFD codes because of the resource requirements needed to solve for the many scales involved. Studies have shown that implementations based on Reduced Order Methods (ROM), if calibrated appropriately, can provide simulations of stacks consisting of more than 20 cells …

Exploring Differences In Level Of Involvement, Educational Outcomes, And Satisfaction Of Resident Students And Commuter Students At A Rural Community College, Richard Wayne Layman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Because the vast majority of community colleges were founded to serve commuter students who live within a local and regional area, student residential housing at two-year institutions has been seen as unnecessary. However, an increasing number of community colleges are opening student resident housing. In contrast to all the research available about the impact at four-year institutions of residence (resident students and commuter students), the literature review revealed there has been little research on resident students and commuter students on community college campuses (Murrell, 1998).;This study can be characterized as a preliminary investigation into whether resident students' and commuter students' …

Critical Issues For Predicting Worker Exposure To Gaseous Contaminants In A Wind Tunnel, Jun Li

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this study, three dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are used to investigate the distribution and level of contaminant concentrations in the breathing zone of a worker when airborne contaminants are released within an arm's-length in front of the worker who has his back to the airflow. The main goals were to numerically evaluate the effect of different factors on the worker exposure and to recommend a turbulence model preferable for this type of simulation. These factors include the body shape, the heat flux from the body, the ventilation intensity, the free stream turbulence, and the unsteadiness. The comparison …

Differences Among Standardized Test Scores Due To Factors Of Internet Access At Home And Family Affluence, Steve Macho

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to examine differences among the standardized test scores of students due to factors of Internet access at home, household income, and the highest level of education attained by mother, father or guardian. If students with Internet access at home have a different academic standing, is it the result of the Internet connection or confounding factors of family affluence?;The San Miguel GEAR UP program at New Mexico Highlands University, located in Las Vegas, New Mexico had existent data on program participants for Internet access at home, household income, highest level of education in the household, …

Rotation Compatibility Approach To Moment Redistribution For Design And Rating Of Steel I -Girders, Jennifer E. Righman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Moment redistribution refers to the design practice where the inherent ductility of continuous-span steel bridge structures is acknowledged and consideration for the redistribution of the large negative bending moments at interior supports to the less heavily stressed positive bending regions is provided. One of the key assumptions made in moment redistribution procedures is that members have sufficient ductility to sustain a given moment capacity throughout the level of rotation required for redistribution moments to develop. However, there is presently no explicit verification that this assumption is satisfied. Instead, it is assumed that sufficient ductility can be obtained by: (1) limiting …

Overenforcement, Alex Stein, Richard Bierschbach

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Effectiveness Of A Motion-Activated Laser Hazing Systemfor Repelling Captive Canada Geese, Scott J. Werner, Larry Clark

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Effective management techniques are needed to disperse Canada geese (Branta canadensis) and reduce the human–wildlife conflicts associated with high population densities. We evaluated the effectiveness of a motion-activated laser hazing system for repelling captive Canada geese. The system decreased occupancy of 8 pairs of geese on the treated subplot by 83% during habituation trials. When an additional pair of geese were added to the experiment, occupancy of the treated subplot decreased .92% during each of the 20 nights of the extended habituation test. Avoidance (conditioned during the test) remained ,80% of pretreatment levels during the 2 days immediately following the …

Overenforcement, Richard A. Bierschbach, Alex Stein

Articles

Overenforcement of the law is widespread but underinvestigated. Overenforcement occurs when the total sanction, both legal and extralegal, suffered by the violator of a legal rule exceeds the amount optimal for deterrence. Overenforcement sometimes generates overdeterrence that cannot be remedied through the adjustment of substantive liability standards or penalties in light of operational and expressive constraints. When that happens, the legal system can counteract the effects of overenforcement by adjusting evidentiary or procedural rules to make liability less likely. This framework, which we call the overenforcement paradigm, illuminates previously unnoticed features of various evidentiary and procedural arrangements. It also provides …

Diagnosing And Ameliorating Problem Soils : Decision Tree On How To Diagnose And Ameliorate Problem Soils, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Agriculture reports

Most cropping paddocks in Western Australia have lower yielding areas within paddocks that perform poorly in most years. If the agronomy and management are good, the poor yields are usually due to soil-related problems. Some of these problems can be corrected or reduced by adopting certain proven practices. However, it is important to identify and quantify the problem so that decisions can be made on whether amelioration is possible and economically feasible. The objective is to provide a simploe decision tool for farmers and advisers to use in identifying and quantifying soil problems in agricultural soils in Western Australia. It …

Elementary Cellular Automata, Fractal Dimensions And Mutual Information., Naomi Kochi

Student Work

We explore a quantitative description of Wolfram's classification of elementary cellular automata based on fractal dimensions. We find the· fractal dimension to be a global measure in classifying elementary cellular automata independent of initial conditions. On the other hand, the results of our analysis of rules in Class 3 numerically confirm the existence of a wide range of dynamics among rules in Class 3. The main reason for this is due to the fact that the rules with the Sierpinski structure in Class 3 have the capacity to behave like rules in Class 2 depending on their initial conditions. Furthermore, …

Nonlinear Multiregressions Based On Choquet Integral For Data With Both Numerical And Categorical Attributes., Jin Hui

Student Work

Based on generalized Choquet integrals with respect to signed fuzzy measures, a model of nonlinear multiregression that can catch the interaction among predictive attributes toward the objective attribute can be established. In this model, some predictive attributes are numerical while the others are categorical. A numericalization technique is adopted to project each state of a categorical attribute that has more than two states to a multi-dimensional space optimally through a genetic algorithm, in which some regression coefficients are determined from data. To reduce the complexity of the genetic algorithm, the other regression coefficients such as the values of the signed …

A Simple Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry System Using Holographic Optical Elements, Guntaka Tulasi Sridhar Reddy

Doctoral

The aim of the work reported in this thesis is to develop a simple electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) system by combining holographic optical element technology with speckly interferometry. A holographic optical element is used in an ESPI system instead of the lenses, mirrors, beam splitters and beam combiners which are usually required in a conventional system. The final ESPI system consists only of a single holographic element, laser and CCD camera. Many currently available systems are complicated and consist of expensive optics that can be difficult to align. Even the simplest require several conventional optical elements to manipulate the …