Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2005

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 15151 - 15180 of 15390

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

The Promise Of Internet Intermediary Liability, Ronald J. Mann, Seth R. Belzley Jan 2005

The Promise Of Internet Intermediary Liability, Ronald J. Mann, Seth R. Belzley

Faculty Scholarship

The Internet has transformed the economics of communication, creating a spirited debate about the proper role of federal, state, and international governments in regulating conduct related to the Internet. Many argue that Internet communications should be entirely self-regulated because such communications cannot or should not be the subject of government regulation. The advocates of that approach would prefer a no-regulation zone around Internet communications, based largely on the unexamined view that Internet activity is fundamentally different in a way that justifies broad regulatory exemption. At the same time, some kinds of activity that the Internet facilitates undisputedly violate widely shared …

Go to article

Attitudes Toward A Presumed Consent Organ Donation System, Lisa Chan, Justin Cottrell, Pamela Denny-Griffith, Debra Roth, Nora Stephany Jan 2005

Attitudes Toward A Presumed Consent Organ Donation System, Lisa Chan, Justin Cottrell, Pamela Denny-Griffith, Debra Roth, Nora Stephany

Loma Linda University Research Reports

Purpose: Obtaining consent for post-mortem organ donation is a complicated process, and the current system for obtaining consent has not been very effective in procuring sufficient transplantable organs for the current demand. A streamlined method of organ procurement, such as presumed consent, is needed to simplify this process and increase the number of available organs for donation. The purpose of this descriptive study was to evaluate the public's attitudes toward a presumed consent system of organ donation. Methods: A convenience sample of275 adults, aged 18 years or older, was recruited from public establishments in California. Subjects were required to understand, …

Go to article

Contract Law, Chee Ho Tham, Pearlie Koh, Pey Woan Lee Jan 2005

Contract Law, Chee Ho Tham, Pearlie Koh, Pey Woan Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The rudimentary principle that a contract is only concluded upon the unconditional acceptance of an offer was applied in Koon Seng Construction Pte Ltd v Siem Seng Hing & Co (Pte) Ltd [2005] SGHC 8, where the alleged contract failed in the absence of an unqualified acceptance.

Go to article

Facing China: Taiwan’S Status As A Separate Customs Territory In The World Trade Organization, Pasha L. Hsieh Jan 2005

Facing China: Taiwan’S Status As A Separate Customs Territory In The World Trade Organization, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

On Nov 11, 2001, in Doha, Qatar, the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) unanimously approved Taiwan's application for WTO membership, just 24 hours after approving China's admission. Taiwan's choice as the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, abbreviated as Chinese Taipei, in the WTO, instead of its official name, Republic of China (PRC), shows its reluctant compromise with political reality. The PRC's claim that accession procedures applying to Taiwan and Hong Kong should be identical erroneous because, under international trade law, the ROC is the automatic government acting on behalf of Taiwan and …

Go to article

Spatial Bioaccumulation Modeling In A Network Of Bayous, Ronaldo Luna, Karen H. Watanabe, Andrew J. Wilding Jan 2005

Spatial Bioaccumulation Modeling In A Network Of Bayous, Ronaldo Luna, Karen H. Watanabe, Andrew J. Wilding

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A software system, Spatial Network Bioaccumulation Model (SNBM), was developed to model the bioaccumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aquatic food webs. The SNBM uses a geographic information system as an engine to: (i) store the spatial representation of input parameters (the data related to the ecosystem), (ii) transfer input and output data to and from the food-web bioaccumulation model, and (iii) display the predicted food-web organism concentrations over a base map of the field site. The bioaccumulation model is a time-dependent, set of first-order ordinary differential equations that are solved numerically. Many sampling locations can be analyzed using …

Go to article

Applying Scenario-Based Design And Claim Analysis To The Design Of A Digital Library Of Geography Examination Resources, Yin-Leng Theng, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh, Ee Peng Lim, Zehua Liu, Ming Yin, Natalie Lee-San Pang, Patricia Bao-Bao Wong Jan 2005

Applying Scenario-Based Design And Claim Analysis To The Design Of A Digital Library Of Geography Examination Resources, Yin-Leng Theng, Dion Hoe-Lian Goh, Ee Peng Lim, Zehua Liu, Ming Yin, Natalie Lee-San Pang, Patricia Bao-Bao Wong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper describes the application of Carroll’s scenario-based design and claims analysis as a means of refinement to the initial design of a digital library of geographical resources (GeogDL) to prepare Singapore students to take a national examination in geography. GeogDL is built on top of G-Portal, a digital library providing services over geospatial and georeferenced Web content. Beyond improving the initial design of GeogDL, a main contribution of the paper is making explicit the use of Carroll’s strong theory-based but undercapitalized scenario-based design and claims analysis that inspired recommendations for the refinement of GeogDL. The paper concludes with an …

Go to article

A Multi-Agent Approach For Solving Optimization Problems Involving Expensive Resources, Hoong Chuin Lau, H. Wang Jan 2005

A Multi-Agent Approach For Solving Optimization Problems Involving Expensive Resources, Hoong Chuin Lau, H. Wang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we propose a multi-agent approach for solving a class of optimization problems involving expensive resources, where monolithic local search schemes perform miserably. More specifically, we study the class of bin-packing problems. Under our proposed Fine-Grained Agent System scheme, rational agents work both collaboratively and selfishly based on local search and mimic physics-motivated systems. We apply our approach to a generalization of bin-packing - the Inventory Routing Problem with Time Windows - which is an important logistics problem, and demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of our approach.

Go to article

Residual Life Distributions From Component Degradation Signals: A Bayesian Approach, Nagi Gebraeel, Mark Lawley, Rong Li, Jennifer Ryan Jan 2005

Residual Life Distributions From Component Degradation Signals: A Bayesian Approach, Nagi Gebraeel, Mark Lawley, Rong Li, Jennifer Ryan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Emi Specifics Of Synchronous Dc-Dc Buck Converters, Zhe Li, David Pommerenke Jan 2005

Emi Specifics Of Synchronous Dc-Dc Buck Converters, Zhe Li, David Pommerenke

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

DC-DC buck converter topology is widely used in computers and telecom applications because of its high power efficiency and multiple DC levels. However, EMI can be an issue because of its fast switching characteristics and large currents. This paper addresses the analysis of radiated EMI problems associated with DC-DC buck converters and evaluates the effectiveness of solutions that minimize the reverse recovery of the drain-bulk diode of the synchronous switching MOSFET.

Go to article

A Comparison Of Pso And Backpropagation For Training Rbf Neural Networks For Identification Of A Power System With Statcom, Salman Mohagheghi, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Yamille Del Valle, Ronald G. Harley Jan 2005

A Comparison Of Pso And Backpropagation For Training Rbf Neural Networks For Identification Of A Power System With Statcom, Salman Mohagheghi, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Yamille Del Valle, Ronald G. Harley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Backpropagation algorithm is the most commonly used algorithm for training artificial neural networks. While being a straightforward procedure, it suffers from extensive computations, relatively slow convergence speed and possible divergence for certain conditions. The efficiency of this method as the training algorithm of a radial basis function neural network (RBFN) is compared with that of particle swarm optimization, for neural network based identification of a small power system with a static compensator. The comparison of the two methods is based on the convergence speed and robustness of each method.

Go to article

Analytical Model For The Rectangular Power-Ground Structure Including Radiation Loss, Ji Chen, Todd H. Hubing, Weimin Shi, R. L. Chen Jan 2005

Analytical Model For The Rectangular Power-Ground Structure Including Radiation Loss, Ji Chen, Todd H. Hubing, Weimin Shi, R. L. Chen

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An accurate analytical model to predict via coupling within rectangular power-return plane structures is developed. Loss mechanisms, including radiation loss, dielectric loss, and conductor loss, are considered in this model. The radiation loss is incorporated into a complex propagating wavenumber as an artificial loss mechanism. The quality factors associated with three loss mechanisms are calculated and compared. The effects of radiation loss on input impedances and reflection coefficients are investigated for both high-dielectric-loss and low-dielectric-loss printed circuit boards. Measurements are performed to validate the effectiveness of this model.

Go to article

Electromechanical Power Generation For Interplanetary Space Travel Beyond Low Earth Orbit, Badrul H. Chowdhury, Sushant Barave Jan 2005

Electromechanical Power Generation For Interplanetary Space Travel Beyond Low Earth Orbit, Badrul H. Chowdhury, Sushant Barave

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Preliminary results of investigating high frequency power generation using a permanent magnet synchronous machine is presented. The specific application is crew exploration vehicles for space travel beyond low earth orbit.

Go to article

Emi-Debugging Of Complex Systems Using Different Time, Modulation, Stfft And Frequency Domain Signal Analysis Techniques, Zhe Li, David Pommerenke Jan 2005

Emi-Debugging Of Complex Systems Using Different Time, Modulation, Stfft And Frequency Domain Signal Analysis Techniques, Zhe Li, David Pommerenke

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

One faces a difficult situation in EMI debugging if multiple sources radiate at the same frequency, especially, if little details on the EUT are provided. In this paper, we apply and compare a set of signal analysis techniques for identifying radiated emission sources. First, theoretical background of Joint Time-Frequency Analysis (JTFA) is given and an algorithm using Short-Term Fast Fourier Transform (STFFT) approach is applied for the data analysis. STFFT analysis provides an exclusive insight into time-dependent emission processes. Also, narrow span and zero span spectrum analysis are discussed. Special emphasis is given on signals sideband characteristics.

Go to article

Neural Network-Based Control Of Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems In Non-Strict Form, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Zheng Chen, Pingan He Jan 2005

Neural Network-Based Control Of Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems In Non-Strict Form, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Zheng Chen, Pingan He

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A novel reinforcement learning-based adaptive neural network (NN) controller, also referred as the adaptive-critic NN controller, is developed to deliver a desired tracking performance for a class of non-strict feedback nonlinear discrete-time systems in the presence of bounded and unknown disturbances. The adaptive critic NN controller architecture includes a critic NN and two action NNs. The critic NN approximates certain strategic utility function whereas the action neural networks are used to minimize both the strategic utility function and the unknown dynamics estimation errors. The NN weights are tuned online so as to minimize certain performance index. By using gradient descent-based …

Go to article

Economic Growth, Democracy, The Rule Of Law, And China's Future, Miron Mushkat, Roda Mushkat Jan 2005

Economic Growth, Democracy, The Rule Of Law, And China's Future, Miron Mushkat, Roda Mushkat

Fordham International Law Journal

China still relies predominantly on the “rule of man” (as distinct from the rule of law) and is by no means ready to embrace democracy. Its foreign policy stance has not been overly aggressive for some time but China may have not acted, at least consistently and unambiguously so, in a manner that reflects its size and status as a leading regional power. The rapid economic growth it has experienced--a pattern that should remain intact--might thus contribute toward internal relaxation and external moderation. Both the internal and external sides of the picture merit careful consideration. However, this Essay focuses, from …

Go to article

Anisotropic Diffusion Of N-Butane And N-Decane On A Stepped Surface, Shrijay Subramaniyan, Jee-Ching Wang Jan 2005

Anisotropic Diffusion Of N-Butane And N-Decane On A Stepped Surface, Shrijay Subramaniyan, Jee-Ching Wang

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The diffusion of single n-butane and n-decane molecules on a model stepped surface, Pt(655), and on a corresponding flat surface, Pt(111), is investigated using molecular-dynamics simulations and anisotropic united atom model. The surface step on Pt(655) causes the alkane molecules to adsorb on the lower terrace in all-trans conformations with their long molecular axes adjacent and parallel to the step edge, and to diffuse anisotropically along the surface step via a constant wiggly motion without rotation or marked deviation from the parallel adsorption configuration. At relatively high temperatures, the alkane molecules can temporarily break away from the step edge but …

Go to article

Measurement And Prediction Of Pressure Drop In Pneumatic Conveying: Effect Of Particle Characteristics, Mass Loading, And Reynolds Number, Kimberly H. Henthorn, Kinam Park, Jennifer S. Curtis Jan 2005

Measurement And Prediction Of Pressure Drop In Pneumatic Conveying: Effect Of Particle Characteristics, Mass Loading, And Reynolds Number, Kimberly H. Henthorn, Kinam Park, Jennifer S. Curtis

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper reports the effect of Reynolds number, mass loading, and particle shape and size on pressure drop in a vertical gas-solids pneumatic conveying line. We isolate the effect of one variable while holding all others constant. A commonly used pressure drop correlation and a state-of-the-art multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are then assessed by comparing their predictions to experimental data. Deficiencies in the models and the correlation are identified, and possible modifications are proposed. The most notable deficiency is the inability of both the experimental correlation and the CFD model to accurately predict the pressure drop for gas-solids …

Go to article

Deuterium Nmr Studies Of Segmental Dynamics Of Anopore-Adsorbed Poly(Methyl Acrylate), Macduff O. Okuom, Frank D. Blum Jan 2005

Deuterium Nmr Studies Of Segmental Dynamics Of Anopore-Adsorbed Poly(Methyl Acrylate), Macduff O. Okuom, Frank D. Blum

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Studies of segmental dynamics of polymers at interfaces provide a basis for understanding the properties of composite materials. Interfacial phenomena in multi-phase systems need to be understood as devices made from multi-phase polymeric systems become smaller. Various techniques have been used to investigate interfacial polymers at the air-polymer-solid interface; for example, ellipsometry,1 X-ray,2 and neutron reflectometry.3 These techniques typically characterize the structure (often the thickness) of the polymer layer and are normally used to determine the glass-transition temperature (Tg) through a break in the thicknesstemperature curve. There have been a few reports where the dynamics of polymers at the surface-air …

Go to article

Aggregate Gradation Optimization -- Literature Search, David Newton Richardson Jan 2005

Aggregate Gradation Optimization -- Literature Search, David Newton Richardson

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Fuzzy Pso: A Generalization Of Particle Swarm Optimization, S. Abdelshahid, Donald C. Wunsch, Ashraf M. Abdelbar Jan 2005

Fuzzy Pso: A Generalization Of Particle Swarm Optimization, S. Abdelshahid, Donald C. Wunsch, Ashraf M. Abdelbar

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In standard particle swarm optimization (PSO), the best particle in each neighborhood exerts its influence over other particles in the neighborhood. In this paper, we propose fuzzy PSO, a generalization which differs from standard PSO in the following respect: charisma is defined to be a fuzzy variable, and more than one particle in each neighborhood can have a non-zero degree of charisma, and, consequently, is allowed to influence others to a degree that depends on its charisma. We evaluate our model on the weighted maximum satisfiability (maxsat) problem, comparing performance to standard PSO and to Walk-Sat.

Go to article

Improving The Performance Of Particle Swarm Optimization Using Adaptive Critics Designs, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Sheetal Doctor Jan 2005

Improving The Performance Of Particle Swarm Optimization Using Adaptive Critics Designs, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Sheetal Doctor

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Swarm intelligence algorithms are based on natural behaviors. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a stochastic search and optimization tool. Changes in the PSO parameters, namely the inertia weight and the cognitive and social acceleration constants, affect the performance of the search process. This paper presents a novel method to dynamically change the values of these parameters during the search. Adaptive critic design (ACD) has been applied for dynamically changing the values of the PSO parameters.

Go to article

Manpower Development: Industry And Educators Need To Work Together, Peter W. Sauer, Mani Venkata, Mariesa Crow Jan 2005

Manpower Development: Industry And Educators Need To Work Together, Peter W. Sauer, Mani Venkata, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Negative Reinforcement And Backtrack-Points For Recurrent Neural Networks For Cost-Based Abduction, Donald C. Wunsch, Ashraf M. Abdelbar, M. A. El-Hemaly, Emad A. M. Andrews Jan 2005

Negative Reinforcement And Backtrack-Points For Recurrent Neural Networks For Cost-Based Abduction, Donald C. Wunsch, Ashraf M. Abdelbar, M. A. El-Hemaly, Emad A. M. Andrews

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Abduction is the process of proceeding from data describing a set of observations or events, to a set of hypotheses which best explains or accounts for the data. Cost-based abduction (CKA) is an AI formalism in which evidence to be explained is treated as a goal to be proven, proofs have costs based on how much needs to be assumed to complete the proof, and the set of assumptions needed to complete the least-cost proof are taken as the best explanation for the given evidence. In this paper, we introduce two techniques for improving the performance of high order recurrent …

Go to article

Neural Network -Based Nearly Optimal Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman Solution For Affine Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Zheng Chen Jan 2005

Neural Network -Based Nearly Optimal Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman Solution For Affine Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems, Jagannathan Sarangapani, Zheng Chen

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, we consider the use of nonlinear networks towards obtaining nearly optimal solutions to the control of nonlinear discrete-time systems. The method is based on least-squares successive approximation solution of the Generalized Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation. Since successive approximation using the GHJB has not been applied for nonlinear discrete-time systems, the proposed recursive method solves the GHJB equation in discrete-time on a well-defined region of attraction. The definition of GHJB, Pre-Hamiltonian function, HJB equation and method of updating the control function for the affine nonlinear discrete time systems are proposed. A neural network is used to approximate the GHJB …

Go to article

Neural Networks Based Non-Uniform Scalar Quantizer Design With Particle Swarm Optimization, Wenwei Zha, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy Jan 2005

Neural Networks Based Non-Uniform Scalar Quantizer Design With Particle Swarm Optimization, Wenwei Zha, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Quantization is a crucial link in the process of digital speech communication. Non-uniform quantizer such as the logarithm quantizers are commonly used in practice. In this paper, a companding non-uniform quantizer is designed using two neural networks to perform the nonlinear transformation. Particle swarm optimization is applied to find the weights of neural networks such that the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is maximized. Simulation results on different speech samples are presented and the proposed quantizer design is compared with the logarithm quantizer for bit rates ranging from 3 to 8.

Go to article

Optimal Dynamic Neurocontrol Of A Gate-Controlled Series Capacitor In A Multi-Machine Power System, Swakshar Ray, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Edson H. Watanabe, F. D. De Jesus Jan 2005

Optimal Dynamic Neurocontrol Of A Gate-Controlled Series Capacitor In A Multi-Machine Power System, Swakshar Ray, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Edson H. Watanabe, F. D. De Jesus

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the design of an optimal dynamic neurocontroller for a new type of FACTS device - the gate controlled series capacitor (GCSC) incorporated in a multi-machine power system. The optimal neurocontroller is developed based on the heuristic dynamic programming (HDP) approach. In addition, a dynamic identifier/model and controller structure using the recurrent neural network trained with backpropagation through time (BPTT) is employed. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the dynamic neurocontroller and its performance is compared with that of the conventional PI controller under small and large disturbances.

Go to article

The Discourse Beneath: Emotional Epistemology In Legal Deliberation And Negotiation, Erin Ryan Jan 2005

The Discourse Beneath: Emotional Epistemology In Legal Deliberation And Negotiation, Erin Ryan

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Onset Conditions For Equatorial Spread F Determined During Equis Ii, D. L. Hysell, M. F. Larsen, C. M. Swenson, Aroh Barjatya, T. F. Wheeler, M. F. Sarango, Et.Al Jan 2005

Onset Conditions For Equatorial Spread F Determined During Equis Ii, D. L. Hysell, M. F. Larsen, C. M. Swenson, Aroh Barjatya, T. F. Wheeler, M. F. Sarango, Et.Al

Publications

An investigation into the dynamics and layer structure of the postsunset ionosphere prior to the onset of equatorial spread F (ESF) took place during the NASA EQUIS II campaign on Kwajalein Atoll on August 7 and 15, 2004. On both nights, an instrumented rocket measured plasma number density and vector electric fields to an apogee of about 450 km. Two chemical release rockets were launched both nights to measure lower thermospheric wind profiles. The Altair UHF/VHF radar was used to monitor coherent and incoherent scatter. In both experiments, strong plasma shear flow was detected. Periodic, patchy bottom-type scattering layers were …

Go to article

Beyond Breimhorst: Appropriate Accommodation Of Students With Learning Disabilities On The Sat, Nancy Leong Jan 2005

Beyond Breimhorst: Appropriate Accommodation Of Students With Learning Disabilities On The Sat, Nancy Leong

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Market Failure And Non-Standard Contracting: How The Ghost Of Perfect Competition Still Haunts Antitrust, Alan J. Meese Jan 2005

Market Failure And Non-Standard Contracting: How The Ghost Of Perfect Competition Still Haunts Antitrust, Alan J. Meese

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Go to article

First Prev Next Last