Digital Commons Network^™

Distributed Power Control For Cellular Networks In The Presence Of Channel Uncertainties, Maciej Jan Zawodniok, Q. Shang, Jagannathan Sarangapani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, a novel distributed power control (DPC) scheme for cellular network in the presence of radio channel uncertainties such as path loss, shadowing, and Rayleigh fading is presented. Since these uncertainties can attenuate the received signal strength and can cause variations in the received Signal-to-Interference ratio (SIR), a new DPC scheme, which can estimate the slowly varying channel uncertainty, is proposed so that a target SIR at the receiver can be maintained. Further, the standard assumption of a constant interference during a link's power update used in other works in the literature is relaxed. A CDMA-based cellular network …

Robust Design And Model Validation Of Nonlinear Compliant, Michael S. Baker, Larry Howell, Jonathan W. Walker

Faculty Publications

Although the use of compliance or elastic flexibility in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) helps eliminate friction, wear, and backlash, compliant MEMS are known to be sensitive to variations in material properties and feature geometry, resulting in large uncertainties in performance. This paper proposes an approach for design stage uncertainty analysis, model validation, and robust optimization of nonlinear MEMS to account for critical process uncertainties including residual stress, layer thicknesses, edge bias, and material stiffness. A fully compliant bistable micromechanism (FCBM) is used as an example, demonstrating that the approach can be used to handle complex devices involving nonlinear finite element models. …

Online Payment Gateways Used To Facilitate E-Commerce Transactions And Improve Risk Management, Paul Benjamin Lowry, Taylor Michael Wells, Greg Moody, Sean Lamarc Humpherys, Degan Kettles

Faculty Publications

As online transactions continue to increase and become a significant part of the global economy, the ability to accept payments online becomes more important for businesses. This paper evaluates the literature and provides current information for IS researchers and instructors focusing on electronic commerce. In this paper, we explore the components of e-credit providers (conventional, person-to-person, and third-party) and explain how each system processes a single transaction. We then analyze several market leaders in each segment and summarize the strengths and weaknesses of each company. We provide guidelines for selecting an e-credit provider and highlight the options that apply best …

A Theoretical Model And Empirical Results Linking Website Interactivity And Usability Satisfaction, Paul Benjamin Lowry, Trent Spaulding, Taylor Wells, Greg Moody, Kevin Moffit, Sebastian Madariaga

Faculty Publications

Usability is a key component of websites that are commercially successful. Interactivity has been inconclusively linked to website usability. This study strengthens the theoretical understanding of how interactivity affects usability by measuring user satisfaction—a subconstruct of usability—across bookstore and e-card websites. We build on theoretical models from Liu and Shrum [17] and Khalifa and Liu [15]. Users were asked to perform tasks of varying levels of interactivity at bookstore and e-card websites. Measures were obtained for the user’s expectations of, desires for, and satisfaction with the websites. Results indicate that interactivity is successfully able to increase website satisfaction. Finally, implications …

The Family As A Context For Religious And Spiritual Development In Children And Youth, Chris J. Boyatzis, David C. Dollahite, Loren D. Marks

Faculty Publications

Our chapter addresses how the family promotes or hinders transcendence of the self in children, that is, how the family is a context in which spiritual development occurs. Due to space limitations, our emphasis is on socialization and interaction processes within the family and not on other issues such as psychodynamic processes (e.g., Rizzuto, 1979) or faith development (e.g., Fowler, 1981). There are many motivations to explore family socialization of religious and spiritual development. One, family spirituality and religiosity are linked with many desirable outcomes and inversely with negative outcomes in children and youth. (Other chapters in this volume examine …

Improving Channel Throughput Of Wlans And Ad Hoc Networks Using Explicit Denial Of Requests, Maggie Xiaoyan Cheng, Yadi Ma, Yi Wang

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new Multiple Access Control scheme for wireless ad hoc networks and WLANs is proposed. This scheme uses explicit denial of channel requests and a busy tone to improve channel throughput. Performance analysis shows significant improvement when the network is under heavy traffic load.

Called Up To The Big Leagues: An Examination Of The Factors Affecting The Location Of Minor League Baseball Teams, Michael C. Davis

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study we analyze the factors that determine whether a particular city has a minor league baseball team and the level at which that team competes. Using the generalized ordered logit model we determine that higher population, personal income, and time from nearest Major League Baseball team all have a positive effect on the city's having a minor league baseball team and having one at a higher level. The finding that personal income has a positive effect on the level of the baseball team, combined with past studies suggesting income does not affect minor league baseball attendance, leads us …

Effects Of Facts Devices On A Power System Which Includes A Large Wind Farm, Wei Qiao, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Ronald G. Harley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

International Working Group On Assurance Cases (For Security), S. Guerra, M. Masera, Ann K. Miller, C. B. Weinstock, R. E. Bloomfield

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Critical systems are aptly named - from electric power to water and gas to the telephone system and the Internet, they're all critical to some aspect of our daily lives. We''re a networked society and as such, it's important to both know whether critical systems are trustworthy and be able to communicate, review, and debate the level of trust achieved in them. In the safety domain, explicit safety cases are increasingly required by law, regulations, and standards. In this article, we outline what a small, international group of experts, spanning various disciplines in safety, security, reliability, and critical infrastructure, been …

Nanoporous Zeolite Thin Film-Based Fiber Intrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometric Sensor For Detection Of Dissolved Organics In Water, Ning Liu, Juan Hui, Cunqiang Sun, Junhang Dong, Luzheng Zhang, Hai Xiao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A fiber optic intrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric (IFPI) chemical sensor was developed by fine-polishing a thin layer of polycrystalline nanoporous MFI zeolite synthesized on the cleaved endface of a single mode fiber. The sensor operated by monitoring the optical thickness changes of the zeolite thin film caused by the adsorption of organic molecules into the zeolite channels. The optical thickness of the zeolite thin film was measured by white light interferometry. Using methanol, 2-propanol, and toluene as the model chemicals, it was demonstrated that the zeolite IPFI sensor could detect dissolved organics in water with high sensitivity.

Measuring Tongue Movements During Speech: Adaptation Of A Magnetic Jaw-Tracking System, Christopher Dromey, Shawn Nissen, Petrea Nohr, Samuel G. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

The purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether measurements of tongue movement during speech could be obtained with an electronic device originally designed to record jaw movements via a magnetized pellet. The findings indicated that the system allowed basic quantification of tongue movements in a straightforward manner. The primary advantages of this system are that no distracting wires are attached to the pellet, and it is much less costly than other systems used for this purpose. Its main disadvantages are that it is unable to track multiple tongue fleshpoints simultaneously, lacks an anatomically based coordinate system, and the …

“Scientific Explorers: A Review Of Literature On Lewis And Clark’S Ethnography, Botany, And Zoology.”, Jay H. Buckley, Julie Harris Adams

Faculty Publications

WHEN MERIWETHER LEWIS and William Clark returned to St. Louis in 1806, they had just completed a difficult and dangerous two-and-a-half-year journey through the West. Citizens of St. Louis hailed them as heroes, celebrating the captains as courageous explorers, expert frontiersmen, and skilled military leaders. But when Lewis and Clark embarked on their journey in 1804 to explore the Missouri and Columbia rivers and find a viable waterway to the Pacific, plus examine the possibilities for a potentially lucrative fur trade, they carried another important commission from President Thomas Jefferson: to describe in detail the natural world through which they …

“The Natives" In The Rocky Mountain Fur Trade, Jay H. Buckley

Faculty Publications

In March of 1824 a small group of trappers, using information obtained from the Crow Indians, rediscovered and crossed over a broad mountain pass at the southern end of the Wind River Mountains. This event would help shape the course of history in the American West.

Patterns Of Habitat Use By Bats Along A Riparian Corridor In Northern Utah, Duke S. Rogers, Mark C. Belk, Malinda W. González, Brent L. Coleman

Faculty Publications

We examined patterns of habitat use within a community of bats along the Provo River in Heber Valley, Utah. The landscape was divided into 5 habitat categories: riparian forest, wetland, agricultural field, edge, and a habitat restoration site. We used Anabat II bat detectors to record the number of echolocation calls per night within each habitat type as an index of bat activity. Echolocation calls were classified into foraging guilds based on acoustic traits, and we analyzed activity by entire community and by the 4 guilds related to habitat type and environmental variables. Activity was not significantly related to moon …

Designing And Modeling Of A New Continuous Steelmaking Process, Jörg Peter

Doctoral Dissertations

"Continuous steel production has the potential to lower the cost of steelmaking as compared to current batch operations. However, experiences from past attempts to develop and commercialize continuous steelmaking processes show that there are several engineering hurdles to overcome. The objective of this research was the development of a fully continuous steelmaking process that would incorporate the lessons from past experiences, address the foreseen challenges, and meet the requirements to justify the possible replacement of the current EAF-LMF steelmaking route.

The design of the new process consists of five interconnected vessels. Preheated scrap would be continuously charged, melted, and superheated …

The Importance Of Using Time Domain To Analyze The Effect Of Decoupling Capacitor Performance On Printed Circuit Boards, Bruce Archambeault, Jay Diepenbrock, Samuel Connor, Liang Xue, Giuseppe Selli

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper demonstrates the importance of using the time domain to properly analyze decoupling capacitor performance on printed circuit boards as well as ASIC packages, etc. Frequency domain analysis is too limited unless the phase information is used along with the magnitude information. the time domain analysis combines the magnitude and phase information to allow a more accurate analysis of decoupling capacitor distance, decoupling capacitor value, and the effects of connection inductance. the impact of connection inductance is extremely important, and it needs to be included in any decoupling capacitor analysis, since this inductance can easily overshadow low plane impedance …

The Application Of Model Checking For Securing E-Commerce Transactions, Bonnie Anderson, James V. Hansen, Paul Benjamin Lowry, Scott L. Summers

Faculty Publications

As firms become progressively more dependent on Internet-based information systems, they are increasingly vulnerable to defects in those systems. These defects can lead to errors, undetected fraud, and malicious intrusion. Information system errors can be catastrophic, whether they occur in market transactions, banking, air traffic control, and so forth. Resulting damages can include lost revenue, lost data, lost trust, and increased costs.

Consequently, effective design of e-business processes is essential to avoid defects that can otherwise lead to errors, fraud, and intrusion. Whereas carefully designed e-business protocols can perform effectively within most expected situations, assuring correct processing under all circumstances …

Prevalence And Determinants Of Asthma In Adult Male Leather Tannery Workers In Karachi, Pakistan: A Cross Sectional Study, Khurram Shahzad, Saeed Akhtar, Sadia Mahmud

Community Health Sciences

Background: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and to identify some risk factors of adult asthma in male leather tannery workers in Karachi, Pakistan.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted from August 2003 to March 2004 on leather tannery workers of Karachi, Pakistan. Data were collected from 641 workers engaged in 95 different tanneries in Korangi industrial area selected as sample of convenience. Face to face interviews were performed using a structured pre-tested questionnaire by trained data collectors.
Results: Prevalence of adult asthma was 10.8% (69/641) in this study population. The prevalence of perceived work-related asthma was 5.3% …

Pharmaceutical Research: Paradox, Challenge Or Dilemma?, Abdul Latif Sheikh

Community Health Sciences

A great deal of pharmaceutical research is nowadays carried out in developing countries such as Pakistan. Is it, however, beneficial for the country and the participants, often the poorly educated and illiterate? Pharmaceutical research in Pakistan can bring benefits to both patients and country. Promotion of good clinical practice and the development of national guidelines are advocated. Government and industry both have a role to play to maintain the right balance.

Psycho-Social Consequences Of Secondary Infertility In Karachi., Neelofar Sami, Tazeen Saeed Ali

Community Health Sciences

OBJECTIVE:

To explore the experiences of social consequences among women suffering from secondary infertility.

METHODS:

Descriptive case series of 400 women with secondary infertility attending tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.

RESULTS:

More than two thirds (67.7%) of women stated that their inability to give live births or give birth to sons had resulted in marital dissonance. The respondents had been threatened for divorce (20%), husband's remarrying (38%) or to be returned to their parent's home (26%) by their in laws or husbands. Majority (68%) of the women threatened did not have any live births. However, those who had live …

Living With Globalization: A Menace Or A Chance?, Fauziah Rabbani, Babar T Shaikh, Sarah Wamala

Community Health Sciences

No abstract provided.

Gateway, The Murray State News, January 1, 2006, The Murray State News

Murray State University Collection

No abstract provided.

Faculty Senate Minutes 2005 - 2006, Missouri University Of Science And Technology Faculty Senate

Minutes & Agendas

No abstract provided.

Forecasting Using The Mahalanobis-Taguchi System In The Presence Of Collinearity, Elizabeth A. Cudney, Kenneth M. Ragsdell

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Mahalanobis Taguchi System is a diagnosis and forecasting method for multivariate data. Mahalanobis distance is a measure based on correlations between the variables and different patterns that can be identified and analyzed with respect to a base or reference group. the issue of multicollinearity is not adequately addressed in the MTS method. in cases where strong relationships exist between variables, the correlation matrix becomes almost singular, and the inverse matrix is not accurate. Multicollinearity can be handled by utilizing the adjoint matrix of the correlation matrix and Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization. This paper presents a case study of the MTS methodology …

Unifying Value Methodology And Robust Design To Achieve Design For Six Sigma, Vivek K. Jikar, Elizabeth A. Cudney, Kenneth M. Ragsdell, Chuck T. Hui

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The concept of product or system function is considered as described in the Taguchi System of Quality Engineering. the importance of transfer functions is also discussed, and a review of conventional value analysis techniques is given. This paper proposes a combination of the principles of robust design and value methodology to enable on-target functionality and direct cost allocation early in the product development process. the discussion on integration of value analysis principles in robust design methodology is provided considering the six-sigma environment. Copyright © 2006 SAE International.

Small Is Healthy: A Guide To Promoting Health In Small Schools, Pat Pridmore, Tashmin Kassam-Khamis

Books

No abstract provided.