Digital Commons Network^™

Characterization Of Pvdf-Hfp-Licf3s03-Zr02 Nanocomposite Polymer Electrolyte Systems, S. Ibrahim, S.A. Hashim Ali, N.S. Mohamed

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

Nanocomposite polymer electrolytes were prepared by incorporating different amounts of zirconium oxide (Zr02) nanofiller to poly(vinylidene fluoride-co exafluoropropylene)-lithium trifluoromethane sulfonate (PVDF-HFP-LiCF3S03). X-ray diffraction (XRD) study has been carried out to investigate the structural features of the electrolyte films while a.c. impedance spectroscopy has been performed to investigate their electrical properties. The conductivity of nanocomposite polymer electrolyte systems is influenced by nanofiller concentration. The increase in conductivity is attributable to the increase in the fraction of amorphous region and the number of charge carriers and vice versa. The highest conductivity obtained is in the order of 10-3 S cm-1 for the …

Conductivity And Dynamic Mechanical Studies Of Pvc/Pema Blend Polymer Electrolytes, N.A. Zakaria, S.Y.S. Yahya, M.I.N. Isa, N.S. Mohamed, R.H.Y. Subban

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

The ionic conductivity and mechanical properties of poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC)/poly (ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA) polymer blends containing LiN(CF3S03h as doping salt has been studied using electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Dynamic Modulus Analysis (DMA) as a function of polymer blend ratios and lithium salt concentration. The film with PVC/PEMA composition of 65 :35 obtained the highest conductivity with good transparency. DMA showed that both the storage modulus (E') and the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the PVC/PEMA is increased with PEMA concentration. In the case of PVC/PEMA-LiN(CF3S02)2 films, the conductivity was found to increase with concentration of salt added with …

Design And Development Of A Marker-Based Augmented Reality System Using Opencv And Opengl, H.J. Yap, Z. Taha, T.H. Eng, J.Y. Chew

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

Augmented reality system generates a composite view for the user. It is a combination of the real scene viewed by the user and a virtual scene generated by the computer. In this paper, a webcam based augmented reality system has been developed using OpenCV and OpenCL. Webcam is used to capture the marker tag and image processing technique is used to obtain the required information such as position and orientation. By using this information, virtual images or objects can be created and "pasted" on the marker tag. OpenCV is used to handle real-time image processing and virtual objects are drawn …

Evaluation Of Corporate Initiatives In Ergonomics: Effectiveness Of Ergonomics Training In An Oil And Gas Refinery Company, Z. Taha, M.Z. Muhammad

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

Corporate initiatives in ergonomics refer to the initiatives taken by corporation to introduce and implement ergonomics program. It is highly desirable in order to achieve optimum performance of productivity and a quality of working life, especially in the increasing competitive global market where the survival of a corporation depends on how it responds to a highly dynamic and complex environment. Somehow, implementing corporate initiatives in ergonomics will not be easy. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to examine the correlation between corporate initiatives towards ergonomics and ergonomics training effectiveness. A Sociotechnical System (STS) as an open system approach on …

Fibre Reinforced Polymer Concrete Structures – Opportunities And Concerns, N.A. Mat Noor, H. Mohamed

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

In the civil engineering industry, deterioration of concrete structures is one of the major concerns in the construction field nowadays. Some of the earlier degradation of structures may caused by design or construction defects where in some cases a lower grade concrete has been supplied during constructions. Therefore, retrofitting of those defect reinforced concrete structures and also strengthening of insufficient capacity concrete structural elements has inevitably become an important activities in civil engineering. Instead of the old approach to demolish and reconstruct the buildings, structural repair and rehabilitation of reinforced concrete structures is becoming an ideal option for all deteriorated …

Forced Merger And Efficiency In Malaysian Banking, M.Z. Abd Karim, M.R. Bos Abdullah, S.G. Chan

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

This paper examine whether the so-called forced consolidation of the banking industry in Malaysia have increase the competitiveness of the Malaysian banks by analyzing the impact of mergers on bank efficiency. To achieve the objective, the study analyzed the performance of banks before and after the merger by estimating both cost and profit efficiency scores. The results show that only two out of the ten banks show significant improvement in the efficiency level after the merger. The results also indicate no significance difference in the efficiency level between the anchor banks and the target banks. The results suggest that the …

Low Cost Head Tracking System For A Desktop-Based Vr System Using Webcam, Hwa Jen Yap, Zahari Taha, Sock Wee Ng, Jouh Yeong Chew

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

With the advancement of computer technology, vision-based system has found various applications ranging from video surveillance, object recognition, industrial defect inspection and autonomous robots. The fundamental part for many computer vision tasks is object detection. This paper discusses the development of a low cost head tracking system for a Desktop-based VR System using a webcam. OpenCv' OpenGL and C/C++ are employed as the development tools for video acquisition, face detection and a virtual environment. At the first stage, a video stream of the webcam is captured. The face is detected by using the Haar-like feature method. Then, a computer vision …

Masyarakat Muslim Di Negara Brunei Darussalam: Kajian Mengenai Isu Dan Cabaran Dalam Pemikiran Islam Era Globalisasi, Wan Zailan Kamaruddin Wan Ali

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

Negara Brunei Darussalam has stated that it applies Melayu Islam Beraja as slogan and motto. The position and importance of Islam is understood as it is considered the official religion of the state. The status of Islam as clearly stated in the Constitution of Negara Brunei Darussalam (NBD) shows that its position is highly regarded by muslim society in Brunei. This article aims to study the major and minor issues related to Islam and the challenges towards Islam in the current situation. The findings are very important because it can be used as comparison to other countries in the region. …

The Mediating Role Of Export-Oriented Japanese Foreign Direct Investment In China, C.C. Yong, S.Y. Yew, P.L. Teh

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

Since the early nineties, China has become the largest destination of Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI). Observing this trend, we have analyzed whether Japanese FDI did promote exports from China to the rest of the world, and more importantly, whether this is a strategy adopted by Japanese multinationals to penetrate not only the Chinese market but also the global market. Our analysis takes into account, not only the direct effects of FDI on exports, but also the indirect effects, by examining the mediating role of export oriented Japanese FDI in China from 1998 to 2007 through panel analysis. The study …

The Significant Of Iranian Domes: Analysis Of Morphology And Typologies, M. Ashkan, Y. Ahmad

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

Persian master builders had been innovated an architectural form which had an imperishable effect on the world architecture: surmounting a dome on squinches. This paper analyzes the distinct types of Persian domes that widely appeared since the beginning through into the late Islamic in Iran. It starts with a historical study of the Persian dome origin, types, and evolutions. By analytic reviewing examples of such domes, then the paper suggests their formal constitutions and stylistic attributes. Finally, and based on the above, the morphological and typological forms of Persian domes have been presented and decoded. Analytical analysis of Persian domical …

Virtual R&D Teams In Small And Medium Enterprises: A Literature Review, N. Ale Ebrahim, S. Ahmed, Z. Taha

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the driving engine behind economic growth. While SMEs play a critical role in generating employment and supporting trade, they face numerous challenges, the prominent among them are the need to respond to fasting time-to-market, low-cost and rapid solutions to complex organizational problems. Towards that end, research and development (R & D) aspect deserves particular attention to promote and facilitate the operations of SMEs. Virtual R & D team could be a viable option. However, literature shows that virtual R & D teaming in SMEs is still at its infancy. This article provides a comprehensive …

The Current Situation Of The People With Mental Illness In The Traditional Healer Centers In Sudan, E.A. Sorketti, M.H. Habil

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

In Sudan traditional healing is the most prevalent method for the treatment of mentally sick people mostly due to lack of economic resources, inaccessibility of medical services, and lack of awareness among the population and the high prices of psychiatric services. Now University of Malaya, the leading research institute in Malaysia, is conducting a research in this area of mental health in Sudan, trying to explore more in this area of mental health and traditional healing.

Managing The Mission Through Times Of Adversity: What Leads To Reliable Nonprofit Performance?, Kathleen Roche

Student Scholarship

During times of severe economic adversity, nonprofit organizations must carry out their charitable missions to ever-growing and needier constituencies despite endowment erosion, dwindling contributions, reduced staff, and severe funding cuts. The literature tells us little about what nonprofit organizations and managers actually do to survive economic crises. In depth interviews with leaders of a wide range of U.S. nonprofit organizations compared and contrasted crisis management experiences, revealing that, regardless of size and operation tenure, those best situated to emerge from severe and sudden revenue loss had energized, outwardly focused leaders and actively engaged boards, many volunteers, greatly extended hours of …

Post-Decision Surprise: How Bankers Manage The Unexpected, Ronald W. Eastburn

Student Scholarship

The literature is silent about the occurrence and impact of unexpected results of managerial decisions in the financial services industry – a sector whose executives’ decisions have nonetheless “surprised” us unrelentingly in recent years. Building on prior work on High Reliability Organizations and the collective mindfulness that guides them, we sought to generate a grounded theory about why surprise outcomes of bankers’ decisions occur and how executives make sense of them. Semi-structured interviews with 23 high ranking U.S. banking executives yielding over 50 narrative accounts of decisions gone awry revealed that bankers are not skilled in detecting and managing the …

Stakeholder Influence Strategies: Mobilizing For Collaboration, David Graham Hyatt

Student Scholarship

Environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) increasingly use cross- sector collaborative relationships to influence the behavior of business organizations in support of their mission and interests. Whereas existing stakeholder literature tends to portray ENGO–business relationships as adversarial, with an emphasis on the extent to which an ENGO can influence a firm through power relations or behavioral characteristics, these parties actually rely on collaboration to achieve their mutual goals. From a stakeholder perspective, how do ENGOs that seek collaborative engagement achieve legitimacy with their potential firm partners? Qualitative research involving 14 ENGOs reveals at least three mechanisms: creating corporate engagement units, networks, or …

A Longitudinal Study Of The Outcomes From Participation In Wilderness Adventure Education Programs, Jason Phillip Cummings

Master's Theses

The results from this study suggest that participants of wilderness adventure education programs offered by Outward Bound and the National Outdoor Leadership School felt challenged by many of the experiences from their programs. Interactions with their group helped in dealing with the challenges presented by the experience. The development of hard skills gave participants a confidence in their abilities to survive and feel safe in these wilderness environments, which allowed them to relax and enjoy the experience, develop new perspectives, become motivated and inspired, and develop a sense of independence. Participants developed a sense of growth and maturity from their …

Evaluating Head Gestures For Panning 2-D Spatial Information, Matthew O. Derry

Master's Theses

New, often free, spatial information applications such as mapping tools, topological imaging, and geographic information systems are becoming increasingly available to the average computer user. These systems, which were once available only to government, scholastic, and corporate institutions with highly skilled operators, are driving a need for new and innovative ways for the average user to navigate and control spatial information intuitively, accurately, and efficiently. Gestures provide a method of control that is well suited to navigating the large datasets often associated with spatial information applications. Several different types of gestures and different applications that navigate spatial data are examined. …

Latent Semantic Web Service Discovery And Composition Framework, (Winnie) Yuki Yick

Master's Theses

A web service is a software system that supports interoperable machine to machine interaction over the network. It can be any kind of service provided on the web that can exchange data between applications. In simple terms, it is any program that is callable by another program across the web using standard protocols. Web services are special because they are independent of the platform, programming language, and model design. In current web applications, more businesses are gradually publishing their business as services over the web. This growing number of web services available within an organization and on the Web raises …

Arroyo Toad (Anaxyrus Californicus) Life History, Population Status, Population Threats, And Habitat Assessment Of Conditions At Fort Hunter Liggett, Monterey County, California, Jacquelyn Petrasich Hancock

Master's Theses

The arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus) is a federally endangered species found on Fort Hunter Liggett, Monterey County, California. The species was discovered in 1996 and was determined to occupy 26.7 km of the San Antonio River from approximately 2.4 km northwest of the San Antonio Mission de Padua, to the river delta above the San Antonio Reservoir. The construction of the San Antonio Reservoir dam in 1963 isolated this northern population of arroyo toads. Through time, the Fort Hunter Liggett landscape has changed drastically. The land was heavily grazed by cattle until 1991, which considerably reduced vegetation in riparian areas. …

The Effect Of Embryo Biopsy And Vitrification On The Development Potential Of Equine Embryos, Richard O. Gearhart

Master's Theses

This study investigated the development potential of equine embryos in vitro after biopsy and vitrification. Twenty embryos were obtained from Quarter Horse, Thoroughbred, and mix-breed light mares between three and ten years old. The twenty embryos were divided into a biopsy (n=10) and control group (n=10). The biopsy group underwent microaspiration biopsy using a micromanipulator to obtain a small tissue sample from the embryo. Both groups were then vitrified using a commercially available technique originally described by Carnevale (2006) at Colorado State \ University.

All 20 embryos were cultured in DMEM/Hams F-12 medium under oil at 37°C in 5% CO2 …

An Assessment Of Indoor Infiltration Parameters For Black Carbon From Residential Wood Combustion And The Spectral Dependence Of Light Absorption For Organic Carbon, Christopher John Malejan

Master's Theses

Black carbon, a proxy for woodsmoke was measured indoors and outdoors for an occupied residence in Cambria, CA during the winter months of 2009. The purpose was to investigate the infiltration parameters: air exchange rate, deposition rate, and penetration factor. The second part of this study investigated the light absorption properties of organic carbon from residential wood combustion, the dominant fraction of woodsmoke.

To assess woodsmoke variation, a study conducted parallel to the one presented in this thesis (Ward, 2009), a grid array of personal emission monitors (PEMS) and aethalometers were placed in a small area, approximately one square kilometer, …

Changing Portrayals Of Captain James Cook In Hawaiian Education, Christopher Aaron Straub

Master's Theses

This paper covers the portrayals of Captain James Cook within Hawaiian education. It begins by providing a backdrop to early European portrayals of Captain Cook and then proceeds to investigate how these portrayals changed as they were incorporated into Hawaiian textbooks. The paper then continues to illustrate the changes made in Cook’s portrayal within Hawaiian textbooks and how these changes coincide with the prevailing interests of the eras in which the authors wrote them.

A Neural Network Approach To Border Gateway Protocol Peer Failure Detection And Prediction, Cory B. White

Master's Theses

The size and speed of computer networks continue to expand at a rapid pace, as do the corresponding errors, failures, and faults inherent within such extensive networks. This thesis introduces a novel approach to interface Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) computer networks with neural networks to learn the precursor connectivity patterns that emerge prior to a node failure. Details of the design and construction of a framework that utilizes neural networks to learn and monitor BGP connection states as a means of detecting and predicting BGP peer node failure are presented. Moreover, this framework is used to monitor a BGP network …

Design And Performance Of Load Bearing Shear Walls Made From Composite Rice Straw Blocks, Kevin Robert Camann

Master's Theses

Although rice straw and other grains have been used in building since pre-history, in the past two decades, there has been a move to utilize this rapidly renewable, locally available, agricultural byproduct as part of the sustainable construction movement. Up to this point, this has been done by simply stacking up the full straw bales. Stak Block, invented by Oryzatech, Inc., is a modular, interlocking block made of a composite of rice straw and binding agent that serves as an evolution in straw construction. This study investigates the feasibility of using these Stak Blocks as a structural system. The report …

The War Powers Resolution: Reassessing The Constitutional Balance Of Power, Kasey Elizabeth Cable

Master's Theses

This thesis is an analysis of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and the impact it held on the role of Congress and the President in entering war. More specifically, this thesis takes a look at President Richard M. Nixon’s influence on the 93rd Congress’s decision to pass the War Powers Resolution after multiple failed attempts at similar legislation. Through a major domestic policy blunder, the Watergate break-in, and a foreign policy disaster, the on-going war in Vietnam, opposition to Nixon’s presidential conduct united both the House and the Senate and resulted in legislation that would attempt to restore the …

Outcomes Associated With Outward Bound And Nols Programs: A Means-End Study, Daniel Thomas Pronsolino

Master's Theses

Outward Bound and the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) are two of the United State’s largest providers of outdoor education and adventure recreation programs. While many studies have examined the outcomes of the different organizations individually, there is very little comparative research. This study compared the attributes, consequences, and values obtained by 510 participants of courses 14 days or longer in the Rocky Mountain region during the summer of 2006.

Means-end theory was used to analyze data obtained from participants through personal interviews. Means-end theory links the physical objects or services, the means, with the outcomes and the personal values …

But Not In Vain: The Civil Rights Movement In San Luis Obispo, California 1947–1969, Joshua M. Harmon

Master's Theses

Civil rights have long been an important focus of historical scholarship. As the United States continues to grapple with issues of racism and the complicated legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, it is imperative that a variety of perspectives are incorporated into scholarship on the subject. Traditional scholarship on the subject has focused on the large organizations, individuals, marches, and activities that have come to characterize the Civil Rights movement. This study seeks to integrate the perspectives of a case study population, African Americans in San Luis Obispo, California, to assess the ways in which African Americans away from large …

Russian Magical Realism And Pelevin As Its Exponent, Alexandra Berlina

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Russian Magical Realism and Pelevin as Its Exponent" Alexandra Berlina seeks to enrich magical realism studies as a field of comparative literature and culture by showing that, although largely ignored in scholarship, such a thing as Russian magical realism exists and provides an interesting field for analysis. First, Berlina provides an overview of relevant scholarly works on the genre, tracing mentions (as well as striking omissions) of Russian influence, followed by a discussion of the few publications which deal with Russian magical realism, concentrating on Erika Haber's The Myth of the Non-Russian. Berlina then discusses Viktor Pelevin …

Necropolitics And Contemporary Hungarian Literature And Cinema, Ryan Michael Kehoe

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "Necropolitics and Contemporary Hungarian Literature and Cinema" Ryan Michael discusses aspects of the concept of necropower (Mbembe) applied to contemporary Hungarian literature and cinema. Kehoe argues that his analysis provides models of postcolonial "aesthetic acts" that disrupt, destabilize, and ultimately subvert the global regimes to which Achille Mbembe refers. Accordingly, Hungary's status as a postcolony is discussed within the context of Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek's and David Chioni Moore's contention that the parameters of postcolonial cultural analysis need to be expanded to account for Central and East Europe's transition out of the Soviet sphere of influence. Further, …

A Talk Show In Hungary And The Question Of "Proper Distance", Lajos Császi

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "A Talk Show in Hungary and the Question of 'proper distance'" Lajos Császi discusses the phenomenon of the talk show in its specific post-communist Hungarian context. During the past few years, Hungarian commercial television programs have been the target of frequent ideological attacks. At the same time, they have become increasingly popular among audiences. In my study I focus on the "Mónika" talk show, one of the most popular programs. Analyzing this new media phenomenon, I attempt to combine the political-economic and the socio-cultural perspectives of tabloid media, which are often opposed to each other. I ask …