Digital Commons Network^™

Northeastern Illinois University, 2006-2007 Academic Catalog, Northeastern Illinois University

Course Catalogs

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Tašnintu Ii, ‘Repetition, Teaching’?, Alan Lenzi

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

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Sentencing Guideline Law And Practice In A Post-Booker World: Introduction, Michael Vitiello

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Approaching The Singularity In Gowdy Universes, Bartlett Douglas Edmonds Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

It has been shown that the cosmic censorship conjecture holds for polarized Gowdy spacetimes. In the more general, unpolarized case, however, the question remains open. It is known that cylindrically symmetric dust can collapse to form a naked singularity. Since Gowdy universes comprise gravitational waves that are locally cylindrically symmetric, perhaps these waves can collapse onto a symmetry axis and create a naked singularity. It is known that in the case of cylindrical symmetry, event horizons will not form under gravitational collapse, so the formation of a singularity on the symmetry axis would be a violation of the cosmic censorship …

Argument, Political Friendship And Rhetorical Knowledge: A Review Of Garver's For The Sake Of Argument, Francis J. Mootz Iii

McGeorge School of Law Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Fpga Frequency Domain Based Gps Coarse Acquisition Processor Using Fft, Cyprian D. Sajabi

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The Global Positioning System or GPS is a satellite based technology that has gained widespread use worldwide in civilian and military applications. Direct Sequence Spread spectrum (DSSS) is the method whereby the data transmitted by the satellite and received by user is kept secure, low power and relatively noise-immune. The first step required in the GPS operation is to perform a lock on the incoming signal, both with respect to time synchronization and frequency resolution. Because of the need for reduced time to lock and also reduced hardware, algorithms based in the frequency domain have been developed. These algorithms take …

Design And Evaluation Of A Discrete Wavelet Transform Based Multi-Signal Receiver, Tony Chiang

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General purpose receivers of today are designed with a broad bandwidth so that the receiver can accept a wide range of signal frequencies. These receivers usually accept one signal along with any interference that is included. To increase the signal detection capabilities of the wideband receiver, a design for a receiver that can detect two signals is needed. One of the requirements for this receiver is that the second weak signal needs to be processed in a timely manner so that the receiver can recognize it. To remedy the problem, a module was developed using wavelet-based techniques to remove spurs …

Dissipated Energy At A Bimaterial Crack Tip Under Cyclic Loading, Jeremy S. Daily

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A new theory of fatigue crack growth in ductile solids has recently been proposed based on the total plastic energy dissipation per cycle ahead of the crack. This, and previous energy-based approaches in the literature, suggest that the total plastic dissipation per cycle can be closely correlated with fatigue crack growth rates under mode I loading. The goal of the current research is to extend the dissipated energy approach to steady-state crack growth under mixed-mode I/II loading conditions, with application to cyclic delamination of ductile bimaterial interfaces. Such systems can occur in brazing, soldering, welding, and a variety of layered …

Human-Centered Time-Pressured Decision Making In Dynamic Complex Systems, Subhashini Ganapathy

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Many real-world applications are complex, dynamic, and uncertain. Human operators play an important role in ensuring the safety and in achieving operational effectiveness in such systems. During task performance, both humans and computerized processes bring in varying strengths and limitations. Research on human-centered automation in aviation, satellite ground control, and nuclear power plant control has resulted in broad guidelines on system design involving human and computerized processes in supervisory control. However, problems such as increased human error, lack of situational awareness, and opacity from poorly automated systems remain, particularly in scenarios where human operators must make decisions in time-pressured planning. …

Cognitively-Engineered Multisensor Data Fusion Systems For Military Applications, Amanda Christine Muller

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The fusion of imagery from multiple sensors is a field of research that has been gaining prominence in the scientific community in recent years. The technical aspects of combining multisensory information have been and are currently being studied extensively. However, the cognitive aspects of multisensor data fusion have not received so much attention. Prior research in the field of cognitive engineering has shown that the cognitive aspects of any human-machine system should be taken into consideration in order to achieve systems that are both safe and useful. The goal of this research was to model how humans interpret multisensory data, …

Implementation Of A Multi-Layered Fuzzy Controller On An Fpga, Ajit Paal Singh Khatra

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The uses of Autonomous Mobile robots range from the teleoperated Sojourner on the Mars Pathfinder mission to cleaning robots in the Paris Metro. They have overtaken tasks which are too difficult or dangerous to perform or require the repetition of the same procedure over and over again and can become dull for a human to perform. The objective of this thesis is to develop and implement a multilayered fuzzy controller on an FPGA for the navigational control of an autonomous mobile robot (AMR). The navigational algorithm assists the robot in navigating through complex environments of passages and hallways. The FPGA …

Direct Digital Frequency Synthesizer Implementation Using A High Speed Rom Alternative In Ibm 0.13u Technology, Matthew R. Gerald

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The direct digital synthesizer is a method of signal generation with many benefits. DDS designs are able to switch frequencies very quickly and also tune precisely to many different frequencies with the use of a constant operating frequency. There is a need for a low power, high speed DDS in the form an ASIC design. One major bottleneck in common DDS systems is the slow access time of a ROM. There is also a need for a high speed ROM alternative. This thesis delivers a high speed ASIC Direct Digital Synthesizer which operates at a 1 GHz operating frequency. This …

A Comparison Of Agent-Based Optimization Approaches Applied To The Weapons To Targets Assignment Planning Problem, Hitesh Deepak Soneji

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Real-world complex optimization problems are difficult to solve. Agent-based optimization approaches have proved useful in solving a wide variety of problems including optimization problems. Agent-based techniques can be used in military planning for solving allocation problems such as the weapons to targets assignment problem. Classical methods like linear programming (LP) have been used for solving weapons to targets assignment problems. LP approaches provide optimal solutions quickly, but in real-time planning when there are minor changes to input, LP exhibits widely varied solutions. This can be a problem in practice. This research study considers two agent-based optimization approaches, the Stable Marriage …

A Study Of The Impact Of Hardware Design Choices On The System Impulse Response Of A Signal-Level Radar Simulation, Kelly Renee Feirstine

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The main goal of this research is to study the effect of hardware design choices at the signal-level of an end-to-end radar system. An implementation of waveform diversity concepts, or the use of various waveforms in both transmit and receive is employed. An end-to-end Matlab simulation is developed such that the system impulse response to hardware imperfections and waveform parameters such as bandwidth and frequency channel spacing can be analyzed. Multiple frequency channels as well as multiple pulses are also considered in the research.

All hardware components are nonlinear to some degree. The nonlinearities of the hardware give rise to …

Characterizing Battlefield Human Decision Making With Value Focused Thinking And Reliability Modeling, Fawaz Al-Karaeen

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Military officers and soldiers in combat are faced with complex, time-critical decision problems. The battlefield, or combat, environment involves decisive operations under unpredictable and rapidly changing conditions. Decisions in battlefields take place under uncertain, time constrained conditions and in a tactical environment. A battlefield decision maker encounters a dynamic information environment. During combat, individuals gather and consider information from a variety of sources to determine what information is reliable and useful, and what information is not. There is a clear correlation between the decision making process and the value of information feeding that process. This research examines a decision making …

Electronic Properties Of Silicon-Based Nanostructures, Gian Giacomo Guzman-Verri

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We have developed a new unifying tight-binding theory that can account for the electronic properties of recently proposed Si-based nanostructures, namely, Si graphene-like sheets and Si nanotubes. We considered the sp²s* and sp³ models up to first- and second-nearest neighbors, respectively. Our results show that the corresponding Si nanotubes follow the so-called Hamada's rule. Comparison to a recent ab initio calculation is made.

A Formal Language Approach For Detecting Texture Paths And Patterns In Images, Prithviraj S. Patil

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This Master thesis considers the use of formal languages representation for image processing, especially texture patterns and determining texture paths in them. The texture paths are detected and extracted by using image processing techniques, such as image segmentation to isolate regions of interest, and then the extraction of repeating textures. The detection of the texture blocks is obtained by recursively using 27 X 27, 9 X 9, and 3 X 3 windows. Predefined repeating texture patterns are also searched for in each of the sets. For each set of texture blocks with similar or same characteristics, curve fitting techniques are …

Exploration Of Iron And Cobalt Core-Shell Nanoparticles Via Thermal And Microwave Polyol Synthesis, Hope M. Klukovich

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Thermal and microwave polyol methods were investigated in the synthesis of various iron and cobalt core-shell nanoparticles. The reaction involved 1 mmol of an Fe⁺² or Co⁺² salt, bis-acetylacetanato [(Acac)2] iron (II), cobalt (Acac)2 or iron (II) acetate along with 1 mmol of a surfactant capping agent. The salt was reduced with 2 mmol of a 1,2 diol. When 1,2-hexadecanediol solid was used as a reducing agent, it was dissolved along with the metal salt and capping agent in octyl ether. When 1,2-hexanediol liquid was used as the reducing agent, it was also the solvent, and octyl ether …

Feasibility Analysis Of The Strontium Ratio Obtained From Pennsylvanian Chondricthian Dentary, Cullen John Erbacher

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This research was undertaken to determine the amount of time between transgressive and regressive sequences. One of the methods used to determine the amount of missing time in an unconformity is the 87Sr / 86Sr ratio. The 87Sr / 86Sr ratio will be high around brackish and freshwater environments while it will be lower in open marine conditions. Limestones and their constituent parts are susceptible to diagenetic processes that can contaminate or obliterate isotope values contained within the rocks. The purpose of this research was to discover if reliable isotope information could be pulled from Pennsylvanian aged shark teeth. Nine …

Simulation And Analysis Of Rfid Localization Algorithms, Zubin Shah

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Radio frequency identification (RFID) based localization systems provide a unique approach to localize mobile entities equipped with RFID readers or tagged with RFID tags. UHF RFID systems using passive tags are a good choice considering their cost, reading range, and reliability. With global acceptance and deployment of UHF RFID systems using passive tags for tracking and identification, virtually everything around us can be tagged with small and low-cost passive RFID tags. This thesis describes a Monte Carlo Localization based algorithm to localize a mobile RFID reader within a tagged environment. A software tool is developed to validate this localization process, …

Models Of Disordered Media And Predictions Of Associated Hydraulic Conductivity, L. Aaron Blank Jr.

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In the late 20th century there was a spill of Technetium in eastern Washington State at the US Department of Energy Hanford site. Resulting contamination of water supplies would raise serious health issues for local residents. Therefore, the ability to predict how these contaminants move through the soil is of great interest. The main contribution to contaminant transport arises from being carried along by flowing water. An important control on the movement of the water through the medium is the hydraulic conductivity, K, which defines the ease of water flow for a given pressure difference (analogous to the electrical conductivity). …

Specification For Visual Requirements Of Work-Centered Software Systems, James Robert Knapp

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Work-centered software systems function as inherent work-aiding systems. Based on the design concept for a work-centered support system (WCSS), these software systems support user tasks and goals through both direct and indirect aiding methods within the interface client. In order to ensure the coherent development and delivery of work-centered software products, WCSS visual interface requirements must be specified in order to capture the cognitive and work-aiding aspects of the user interface design. Without the ability to specify such original requirements, the probability of creating an accurate and effective work-centered software system is significantly reduced. A new visual requirements specification language …

Coronary Heart Disease Risk Stratification In Full-Time Miami Valley Hospital Employees, Vicki K. Streng

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Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States (American Heart Association, 2005). The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the results of a twelve-week exercise program on coronary heart disease risk factors in full-time hospital employees. Methods: The participants were given cardiovascular, weight training, and flexibility recommendations to follow during a twelve-week period. The main heart disease risk factors measured before and after the completion of the exercise program were blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and body mass index. The information was put into the Framingham Heart Score to estimate the participants’ 10-year risk of developing …

Robust Estimation Of Reliability In The Presence Of Multiple Failure Modes, Phani R. Adduri

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In structural design, every component or system needs to be tested to ascertain that it satisfies the desired safety levels. Due to the uncertainties associated with the operating conditions, design parameters, and material systems, this task becomes complex and expensive. Typically these uncertainties are defined using random, interval or fuzzy variables, depending on the information available. Analyzing components or systems in the presence of these different forms of uncertainty increases the computational cost considerably due to the iterative nature of these algorithms. Therefore, one of the objectives of this research was to develop methodologies that can efficiently handle multiple forms …

Computational Study Of Ring-Cusp Magnet Configurations That Provide Maximum Electron Confinement, Taiwo A. Ogunjobi

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Enhancing the confinement of primary electrons within the plasma in a discharge chamber of an ion thruster improves plasma ionization and consequently the thruster's performance. This work computationally calculates the location, position, and orientation of the permanent magnets that provide a ring-cusp magnetic field that maximizes electron confinement in an axi-symmetric cylindrical aluminum-wall discharge chamber. Small samarium cobalt magnets are circumferentially arranged in a ring around the front, side, or back wall of the chamber. The generated ring-cusp magnetic field for any specified magnet configuration is calculated using MAXWELL2D, a two dimensional electromagnetic field simulation computer code. For various magnet …

Pyrrole Carboxamides As Potential Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors, Nishrin Ismailbhai Marketwala

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Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are metalloenzymes that catalyze the reversible interconversion of CO2 and bicarbonate. We recently initiated a screen of a broad range of indoles and pyrroles possessing acyl-, carboxyl-, amido-, sulfonyl-, sulfamyl- and oxime- functionalities as potential inhibitors of á-CA II isozyme. As slight inhibition was observed in the case of 2-carboxamido-1-(phenylsulfonyl)pyrrole, and aware that pyrrole carboxamide derived sulfonamides had been previously demonstrated to possess CA inhibition, we sought to prepare a series of 1-(phenylsulfonyl)pyrrole-2-carboxamides but lacking a sulfonamide moiety to ascertain if the activity in our case might be due to a hitherto unrecognized pyrrole pharmacophore. To this …

Geostatistical Characterization Of Heterogeneity In The Aberjona River Aquifer, Woburn, Massachusetts, James Ralph Damico

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Ground water flow and contaminant transport patterns are largely controlled by the distribution of high- and low-permeability sediments. Therefore, an accurate description of the aquifer architecture is paramount to producing a representative ground water model. Models of contaminant fate and transport in the aquifer near Woburn, Massachusetts, have previously been created by others using a deterministic approach. As a complement to these prior studies, the proportions, geometry, and juxtaposition of the different lithofacies of the aquifer were statistically characterized for developing stochastic models for the aquifer system. The descriptions of lithology from boreholes were separated into eleven categories based primarily …

A Field Programmable Gate Array Architecture For Two-Dimensional Partial Reconfiguration, Fei Wang

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Reconfigurable machines can accelerate many applications by adapting to their needs through hardware reconfiguration. Partial reconfiguration allows the reconfiguration of a portion of a chip while the rest of the chip is busy working on tasks. Operating system models have been proposed for partially reconfigurable machines to handle the scheduling and placement of tasks. They are called OS4RC in this dissertation. The main goal of this research is to address some problems that come from the gap between OS4RC and existing chip architectures and the gap between OS4RC models and practical applications. Some existing OS4RC models are based on an …

Active Regulation Of Speed During A Simulated Low-Altitude Flight Task: Altitude Matters!, April M. Bennett

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This study examined active regulation of speed during a low-altitude flight task as a function of global optical flow rate, speed, and the presence or absence of a concurrent altitude disturbance. The results showed that altitude clearly had an impact on speed control; specifically, control of speed was much more difficult when altitude disturbances were present. Even in the no altitude disturbance conditions, performance tended to be best at lower altitudes. Consistent with previous research, the results suggest that speed and altitude changes have additive effects on speed judgments. This is inconsistent with the simple global optical flow rate hypothesis …

Topology Optimization Of Engine Exhaust-Washed Structures, Mark A. Haney

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Aircraft structure subjected to elevated temperature and acoustic loading present a challenging design environment. Thermal stress in a structural component has typically been alleviated by allowing thermal expansion. However, very little work has been done which directly addresses the situation where such a prescription is not possible. When a structural component has failed due to thermally-induced tensile stresses, the answer to the question of how best to stiffen the structure is far from trivial. In this work, we demonstrate that conventional stiffening techniques, for example, those which add material to the thickness of a failing panel, may actually increase the …