Digital Commons Network^™

Trampling, Peeling And Nibbling Mussels: An Experimental Assessment Of Mechanical And Predatory Damage To Shells Of Mytilus Trossulus (Mollusca: Mytilidae), Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Shell damage, if properly recognized, can provide information about biotic interactions between molluscs and their predators. However, it can be difficult to distinguish predatory damage from mechanical breakage, thus making interpretation of damaged modern and fossil shells problematic. To establish a clear-cut distinction between antemortem predatory crab damage and ante- and postmortem mechanical damage in Mytilus trossulus shells, a combined field and experimental approach was used. Mussels were exposed to predation by crabs, tumbled-live, tumbled-dead, and trampled. After 100 h of tumbling, live-collected mussel shells were abraded and disarticulated but not otherwise damaged. Eight percent of the dead-collected shells were …

The Practitioner, The Priest, And The Professor: Perspectives On Self-Initiation In The American Neopagan Community, Marty Laubach, Louis Martinie’, Roselinda Clemons

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Research

Initiation is a religious practice that is generally understood as involving socialization and acceptance into a religious community, but American Neopaganism, with its emphasis on individualism and autonomy, has evolved a meaning that challenges that simple understanding. American Neopagan communities are marketplaces of ideas that are comprised of groups and solo practitioners, all in interaction in which they might conduct main holidays together, but not necessarily work together in what they would consider more “serious” practices in which they receive the spirit communications with which they develop the ideas. Among groups, these practices include initiations through which candidates are trained …

Theories Of Learning And Curriculum Design - Key Positionalities And Their Relationships, Tony Cunningham, Julie Gannon, Mary B. Kavanagh, John Greene, Louise Reddy, Laurence Whitson

Articles

One of the challenges academics face when designing pedagogies and curricula is how best to articulate their own positionalities regarding the different ways theories or models of learning inform both the process of design as well as the product. It is difficult to find a text book or design resource that illustrates the relationships between the main theories of learning and how they might inform a coherent approach to programme design in higher education. For that reason we decided to produce this summative guide to learning theories and a chart illustrating their relevance for pedagogies and for curriculum design. The …

Citax: Defining Xml Standards For Data Exchange In The Construction Industry Supply Chain, Alan V. Hore, Roger West

Conference papers

The current methods of ordering, delivering and invoicing of products in the construction industry is enormously inefficient, with vast quantities of paperwork, duplication of effort, scanning, re-keying and resolving mismatches between invoices, delivery dockets and purchase orders. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Construction IT Alliance eXchange (CITAX) project and, in particular, to outline the work carried out-to-date by a special interest group within the project. They are seeking to define a universal set of eXtensible Mark-Up Language (XML) message standards that will allow suppliers and contractors to exchange information with each other in supply chain activity. …

Automating Ornamentation Transcription, Mikel Gainza, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

A novel technique for detecting single and multi-note ornaments is presented. The system detects audio segments by utilising and onset detector based on comb filters (ODCF), which is capable of detecting very close events. In addition, a novel method to remove spurious onsets due to offset events is introduced. The system utilises musical ornamentation theory to decide whether a sequence of audio segments correspond to an ornamentation musical structure. In order to evaluate the results, a database of signals produced by different players using the three different instruments has been utilised. The results represent a step forward towards fully automating …

Shared And Mutual Knowledge In Language Learning, Marty Meinardi

Articles

This article discusses the matter of shared knowledge from the perspective of the different deictic centres of understanding. Difficulties, which may result from a possible lack of a shared knowledge between NSs and NNSs due to differences in language experiences and personal backgrounds, are identified.

University Futures: The Direction, Shape And Provision Of Higher Education In The University Of The Future, Arlene Finn, John Ratcliffe, Lorcan Sirr

Reports

The aim of this study is to help create an awareness of the changing milieu within which Higher Education (HE) will operate over coming decades, while concurrently exploring its possible alternative forms. The specific objectives of the study are to review literature relevant to the University of the Future in a global, European and Irish context. We have sought to determine key trends which have the potential to affect the future of Higher Education (and the institutions charged with its delivery), under the headings of Demography, Society, Technology, Governance, Economy and Environment, and to identify different possible formats for the …

Automatic Bar Line Segmentation, Mikel Gainza, Dan Barry, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

A method that segments the audio according to the position of the bar lines is presented. The method detects musical bars that frequently repeat in different parts of a musical piece by using an audio similarity matrix. The position of each bar line is predicted by using prior information about the position of previous bar lines as well as the estimated bar length. The bar line segmentation method does not depend on the presence of percussive instruments to calculate the bar length. In addition, the alignment of the bars allows moderate tempo deviations.

A Brief Introduction To Speech Synthesis And Voice Modification, Alan O'Cinneide, David Dorran, Mikel Gainza

Conference papers

For both engineers and linguists, the computer synthesis of natural speech is an objective that would provide many useful applications to human-computer interaction, including the realm of electro-acoustic music. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the area of speech synthesis by providing an overview of the three main methods of computer speech synthesis; namely concatenative, articulatory and formant syntheses. Some aspects of the current state of the technology are illuminated and the final section will explain the author’s motivation and current research approach to the field of voice modification.

Time Signature Detection By Using A Multi Resolution Audio Similarity Matrix, Mikel Gainza, Eugene Coyle

Conference papers

A method that estimates the time signature of a piece of music is presented. The approach exploits the repetitative structure of most music, where the same musical bar is repeated in different parts of a piece. The method utilised a multi-resolution audio similarity matrix approach, which allows comparisons between longer audio segments (bars) by combining comparisons of shorter segments (fraction of a note). The time signature method only depends on musical structure, and does not depend on the presence of percussive instruments or strong musical accents.

Blind Source Separation And Automatic Transcription Of Music Using Tensor Decompositions, Derry Fitzgerald

Conference papers

Recent advances in the use of tensor decompositions for the analysis of music are described. In particular, the use of such decompositions for sound source separation and the automatic transcription of music are explored.

Exploring The Fate Of No Longer Relevant Spatial Information Using A Modified Sternberg Task, Kirsten Burghardt

School of Psychology Theses

Forgetting, the breakdown of memory, is often associated with inconveniences in everyday life when the car key has been left on the kitchen table or when a phone number will simply not come to mind. However, forgetting has its justified and valued place in cognition. Forgetting allows us to remember the place where we parked our car today, rather than two weeks ago, it enables us to update previously incorrect information in our memory, and It gives us the opportunity to move on from unpleasant past experiences.

Nondestructive Evaluation Of Rc Structures Strengthened With Frp Laminates Containing Near-Surface Defects In The Form Of Delaminations, Mahmut Ekenel, John J. Myers

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are being utilized in a wide range of application areas in structural rehabilitations because these materials are less affected by corrosive environmental conditions and known to provide longer life with less maintenance. However, there are still some concerns about FRP strengthened reinforced concrete (RC) structures, such as the presence of near-surface defects. Currently limited data exists regarding this issue. the presence of near-surface defects in the form of delaminations between the fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) laminate and concrete substrate can significantly affect the structural integrity and stiffness of the structural section. These defects should be …

Implementation Of Static And Semi-Static Versions Of A Bit-Wise Pipelined Dual-Rail Ncl 2s Complement Multiplier, R. Sankar, V. Kadiyala, Ravi Bonam, S. Kumar, S. Mohan, F. Kacani, Waleed K. Al-Assadi, Scott C. Smith

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper focuses on implementing a 2s complement 8x8 dual-rail bit-wise pipelined multiplier using the asynchronous NULL Convention Logic (NCL) paradigm. The design utilizes a Wallace tree for partial product summation, and is implemented and simulated in VHDL, the transistor level, and the physical level, using a 1.8V 0.18,um TSMC CMOS process.The multiplier is realized using both static and semi-static Dualversions of the NCL gates; and these two implementations are compared in terms of area, power, and speed.

A Mössbauer Spectral Study Of The Gdco₄₋ₓfeₓb Compounds, Fernande Grandjean, Raphäel P. Hermann, Eustachy S. Popiel, Gary J. Long

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

The iron-57 Mössbauer spectra of the GdCo_4-xFe_xB compounds, where x is 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 1, 2, 2.5, and 2.6, have been measured at room temperature and reveal relatively small iron hyperfine fields of approximately 12-18 T, relatively large quadrupole interactions of approximately +0.9 and -1 mm/s, and three very different types of spectra for x=0.10 and 0.15, x=0.25, 1, and 2, and x=2.5 and 2.6. The differences result from both the different easy magnetization directions in these compounds and the different cobalt and/or iron occupancies of the crystallographic 2c and 6i sites. The spectra have …

Multiclass Cancer Classification Using Semisupervised Ellipsoid Artmap And Particle Swarm Optimization With Gene Expression Data, Georgios C. Anagnostopoulos, Donald C. Wunsch, Rui Xu

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

It is crucial for cancer diagnosis and treatment to accurately identify the site of origin of a tumor. with the emergence and rapid advancement of DNA microarray technologies, constructing gene expression profiles for different cancer types has already become a promising means for cancer classification. In addition to research on binary classification such as normal versus tumor samples, which attracts numerous efforts from a variety of disciplines, the discrimination of multiple tumor types is also important. Meanwhile, the selection of genes which are relevant to a certain cancer type not only improves the performance of the classifiers, but also provides …

Optimal Wide Area Controller And State Predictor For A Power System, Salman Mohagheghi, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Ronald G. Harley

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An optimal wide area controller is designed in this paper for a 12-bus power system together with a Static Compensator (STATCOM). The controller provides auxiliary reference signals for the automatic voltage regulators (AVR) of the generators as well as the line voltage controller of the STATCOM in such a way that it improves the damping of the rotor speed deviations of the synchronous machines. Adaptive critic designs theory is used to implement the controller and enable it to provide nonlinear optimal control over the infinite horizon time of the problem and at different operating conditions of the power system. Simulation …

Frequency-Domain Channel Estimation And Equalization For Single Carrier Underwater Acoustic Communications, Y. Rosa Zheng, Chengshan Xiao, T. C. Yang, Wen-Bin Yang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new frequency-domain channel estimation and equalization (FDE) scheme is proposed for single carrier (SC) underwater acoustic communications. The proposed SC-FDE employs a small training signal block for initial channel estimation in the frequency domain and converts the estimated transfer function to a desired DFT (discrete Fourier transform) size for channel equalization of the data blocks. The frequency domain equalizer is designed using the linear minimum mean square error criterion. A new phase coherent detection scheme is also proposed and deployed to combat the phase drift due to the instantaneous Doppler in the underwater channels. The channel transfer functions and …

Evaluation Of Time Independent Rheological Models Applicable To Fresh Self-Compacting Concrete, Dimitri Feys, Ronny Verhoeven, Geert De Schutter

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Self-Compacting Concrete is a New Type of Concrete Which is More Liquid Compared to Traditional Concrete and Which Does Not Need Any Form of External Compaction. as a Result, This Type of Concrete is Suitable for a New Placing Technique: Pumping SCC from the Bottom in the Formwork and Letting It Rise in the Formwork Due to the Applied Pressure. in Order to Understand the Phenomena Occurring during Pumping Operations, the Rheological Properties of SCC Must Be Investigated and Controlled. Tests Have Been Performed with Two Different Rheometers, Which Are Described in This Paper. for the Tattersall MIk-II Rheometer, a …

Neural Network Controller Development And Implementation For Spark Ignition Engines With High Egr Levels, Jonathan B. Vance, Atmika Singh, Brian C. Kaul, Jagannathan Sarangapani, J. A. Drallmeier

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Past research has shown substantial reductions in the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) concentrations by using 10% -25% exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in spark ignition (SI) engines (see Dudek and Sain, 1989). However, under high EGR levels, the engine exhibits strong cyclic dispersion in heat release which may lead to instability and unsatisfactory performance preventing commercial engines to operate with high EGR levels. A neural network (NN)-based output feedback controller is developed to reduce cyclic variation in the heat release under high levels of EGR even when the engine dynamics are unknown by using fuel as the control input. A separate …

Visual Traffic Movement Counts At Intersection For Origin-Destination (O-D) Trip Table Estimation, S. Lee, Hojong Baik, J. Park

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Origin-destination (O-D) trip table is necessary information for transportation planning and traffic impact study. However, current O-D estimations rely on estimated directional traffic counts at intersections, which obviously diminish reliability in the table. A video-based vehicle tracking system that utilizes wide view-angle lenses has been studied [26] to provide accurate direction traffic counts. The system expands the area covered by a single camera and uses a particle filtering method to handle environmental changes as well as geometric distortion caused by those lenses. This paper shows tracking capability of the system and also shows how to incorporate the directional traffic counts …

Adaptive Power Control Protocol With Hardware Implementation For Wireless Sensor And Rfid Reader Networks, Kainan Cha, Jagannathan Sarangapani, David Pommerenke

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The development and deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems render a novel distributed sensor network which enhances visibility into manufacturing processes. In RFID systems, the detection range and read rates will suffer from interference among high-power reading devices. This problem grows severely and degrades system performance in dense RFID networks. Consequently, medium access protocols (MAC) protocols are needed for such networks to assess and provide access to the channel so that tags can be read accurately. In this paper, we investigate a suite of feasible power control schemes to ensure overall coverage area of the system while maintaining a …

Design Of An Fpga Logic Element For Implementing Asynchronous Null Convention Logic Circuits, Scott C. Smith

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Two versions of a reconfigurable logic element are developed for use in constructing afield-programmable gate array NULL convention logic (NCL) field-programmable gate array (FPGA): one with extra embedded registration capability, which requires additional area, and one without. Both versions can be configured as any of the 27 fundamental NCL gates, including resettable and inverting variations, and both can utilize embedded registration for gates with three or fewer inputs; however, only the version with the additional embedded registration capability can utilize embedded registration with four-input gates. These two approaches are compared with each other and with an existing approach, showing that …

The Role Of Spirituality In Women's Leadership At Community Colleges, Carol L. Hedberg

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This qualitative research study examined the role of women's leadership in Iowa community colleges. Administrative leaders from community college settings, recommended by their presidents, wrote narratives about effective leadership traits and from these narratives, four women leaders were selected and later interviewed. Key thematic categories were developed from the written and verbal narratives. The resulting data set was then analyzed by a comparative case study approach. Emerging thematic categories were interpreted through the lens of four primary research questions addressing the relationship between gender, spirituality, and authentic leadership.

A plethora of issues surfaced from the data. Issues of gender and …

Hydro-Nexrad Radar-Rainfall Estimation Algorithm Development, Testing And Evaluation, Witold F. Krajewski, Bong Chul Seo, Anton Kruger, Piotr Domaszczynski, Gabriele Villarini, Charles Gunyon

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Hydro-NEXRAD radar-rainfall estimation algorithms involve three main components: 1) preprocessing, 2) rain rate, and 3) rainfall accumulation. The preprocessing algorithm performs the quality control of reflectivity volume data and generates a hybrid scan. That is, reflectivity values for each azimuth and range bin are assigned from the several lowest elevation angles. It optionally estimates an azimuth-dependent vertical reflectivity profile and performs a correction for range effects. The rain rate algorithm converts the corrected reflectivity to rainfall intensity. The user can specify any power-law type empirical relationship between reflectivity and rainfall intensity. The last step of rainfall estimation is to …

Towards Better Utilization Of Nexrad Data In Hydrology: An Overview Of Hydro-Nexrad, Witold F. Krajewski, Anton Kruger, Ramon Lawrence, James A. Smith, A. Allen Bradley, Matthias Steiner, Mary Lynn Baeck, Mohan K. Ramamurthy, Jeffrey Weber, Stephen A. Delgreco, Bong Chul Seo, Piotr Domaszczynski, Charles Gunyon, Radoslaw Goska

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

With a very modest investment in computer hardware and the open-source local data manger (LDM) software from UCAR's Unidata Program Center, an individual researcher can receive a variety of NEXRAD Level III gridded rainfall products, and the unprocessed Level II data in real-time from most NEXRAD radars. Additionally, the National Climatic Data Center has vast archives of these products and Level II data. Still, significant obstacles remain in order to unlock the full potential of the data. One set of obstacles is related to effective management of multi-terabyte data sets: storing, compressing, and backing up. A second set of obstacles, …

Quiet, Do Not Disturb: Prying Open The Door To Examine Our Worlds Of Testing And Assessment, Amma Akrofi, Carole Janisch, Mellinee Lesley, Robin Griffith, Xiaoming Liu

Essays in Education

Teacher educators recount their personal experiences related to testing and assessment. Through the examination of these experiences stemming from collegial conversations, the individuals have come to better understand the issues and challenges their university students, preservice and inservice teachers, will face in their classroom settings. Along with theory and research, the realities encountered by these individuals become “course capital.” The content of their current and future university literacy courses and assessment courses reflects their renewed emphasis on responsive and child-centered instruction as opposed to the untoward focus on testing.

The Impact Of External, Socially Synthetic Forces, Such As Mass Media, Video Games, And The Internet On Human Behavior, George Stanley Reeley Jr.

Essays in Education

This essay explores the controversial hypothesis of reciprocal determinism, a subset of the Social Cognitive Theory developed by Albert Bandura, Ph.D. The hypothesis suggests that external forces likely influence the behavior of an individual, and in turn, the individual reshapes (reciprocally) society in an escalading cycle of manipulation and modification. Diverse perspectives are gathered from seminal books and peer-reviewed journals in an attempt to substantiate or conceivably refute the notion that mass media, the Internet, video games, and other forms of one-way and interactive technology may be stirring aggressive behavior (by way of modeling), as well as desensitizing children and …

Effects Of Identity On Public-Organization Relationships: A Case Study Of Student-University Relations, Nadezhda Olegovna Bocharova

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The study tested the applicability of identification theory for diagnosing relationship quality between organizations and their publics in PR. A survey was posted on-line in a mid-Western university; 377 students of all classifications filled out the questionnaire. Factor analysis produced one-dimensional identification scale and three-dimensional relationship scale: reciprocity, commitment, and exchange. There were significant positive correlations between identity, reciprocity, and commitment, whereas exchange part of relationship negatively related to the above dimensions. Discussion of student publics was developed along with analysis of factors related to university life. Analysis of variance revealed that identity, reciprocity, and commitment decline with tenure in …

An Analysis Of Students' Perceptions Of Online Multimedia Tutorials To Assist Classroom Instruction, Alex A. Goerdt

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Multimedia has become the new learning environment. As technology advances and becomes more prominent, traditional education needs to adapt and utilize all the benefits that can be achieved with computer-assisted instruction. Awareness of students' attitudes toward multimedia-based education is critical in the evaluation of multimedia courses and development of multimedia-based curriculum. The purpose of this study was to examine students' perceptions of multimedia-based instruction. Educational institutions are faced with the challenges of delivering valuable training options to meet the varying needs of students and staff; computer technology has become and will continually be integrated into the classroom to make learning …