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Object Oriented Program Correctness With Oosiml, José M. Garrido

Faculty Articles

Software reliability depends on program correctness and robustness and these are extremely important in developing high-quality software. Correctness is also essential when considering aspects of software security. However, experience applying these concepts, associated methods, and supporting software with Eiffel and Java have shown that students find some diffculty learning program correctness and in learning the software tools provided. We have developed an experimental language, OOSimL, that includes an assertion notation similar to that of Eiffel but which has much more flexibility, and that provides the same semantics as Java.

The first part of this paper provides an overview of concepts …

Subsidiary Perspective Of Coordination Mechanisms On Localization Decisions, Working Environment, Marketing Engagement And New Product Performance, Firmanzah Firmanzah

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

New product launching (NPL) to the local market by subsidiary managers is a strategic activity, which requires organizational supports from MNC global network. The NPL activity is marked by high level of uncertainty, risk, and market failure. Thus, a headquarter needs to integrate the subsidiary NPL into the global strategy. At the same time, subsidiary managers need to have a certain level of autonomy to ensure that the launching program is adapted to the local specificities. These two pressures have forced the subsidiary managers to take up the roles of ‘boundary spanners’. Good working environment between subsidiaries’ managers and headquarter …

Implementation Of Erosion Control Warranty Specification, Bob G. Mccullouch, Kok Kuan Ng

JTRP Technical Reports

One of the main issues in a warranty specification for erosion control items is how to evaluate performance objectively. This project developed a methodology that uses digital images to measure compliance with defined vegetation cover requirements. It is designed essentially for areas where vegetation (grass) is selected as the erosion control measure. The research was a technical approach to examine the feasibility of using digital photographic analysis. It does not address all issues related to field conditions and as such would require review by interested parties to be complete. For example, how often should sample pictures to taken. Should a …

Risk Management And Assessment Of Upgrading And Standardizing Guardrail, Karen Zhu, Shuo Li

JTRP Technical Reports

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has installed guardrail systems on interstate highways and other highways in accordance with a variety of standards throughout the years. Traffic volume has increased and the posted speeds have been raised on most INDOT’s interstate highways. Consequently, the characteristics of run-off-the-road (ROR) crashes may have changed. In the meantime, material prices have increased considerably and the guardrail maintenance and crash repair costs have increased accordingly. There is no doubt all these changes will not only greatly affect the ROR crash prediction, but also greatly affect the guardrail benefit/cost analysis. This study examined the current …

Updating And Enhancing The Indiana Bridge Management System (Ibms), Kumares C. Sinha, Samuel Labi, Bobby G. Mccullouch, Abhishek Bhargava, Qiang Bai

JTRP Technical Reports

The Indiana Bridge Management System (IBMS) software package, considered one of the few bridge management system software packages in the United States, possesses several unique features such as multiple criteria analysis but has not been used to its full capabilities because of coding language, outmoded operating system, and other software-related problems. Also, the framework lacked certain considerations such as a preventive maintenance component. In addressing this issue, this study reviewed the existing internal logic of IBMS, and updated some of the cost and deterioration models to include preventive maintenance considerations in the decision tree. Also, the IBMS operating system and …

The Impact Of After School Learning Centers On Low Achieving African American Elementary Students, Jorja Lockhart Scott

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of after school learning centers in a rural school district in South Carolina on Measures of Academic Progress achievement scores for low achieving African American elementary students. The researcher collected and analyzed Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test data administered in the Spring of 2008 from the state database and identified 419 African American low achieving fourth and fifth grade students for the study. The Educational Accountability Act of South Carolina requires that schools develop individual academic plans and provide remediation for students in grades three through eight who score Below Basic …

A Web-Based System For Course Instruction And Student Advising, Praveen Danda

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Academic advising plays an important role in student success in college, freshman students who join the universities with certain goals may face difficulties in course selection, whom to contact, and where to get course information. Considering this, each student in the university is assigned an advisor from his/her department who can address student's problems during their academic years in the college. The advisors spend considerable amount of time in analyzing student performance during the semester by viewing the student's grades and transcripts. The rise in student enrollment in engineering majors at West Virginia University is making it increasingly difficult for …

Adsorptive Removal Of Nitrogen From Coal-Based Needle Coke Feedstocks Using Activated Carbon, Sreeja Madala

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A low percentage of nitrogen in needle coke feedstocks is desired for the reduction of puffing during the process of graphitization of needle coke. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the removal of nitrogen species from a coal-based needle coke feedstock, when treated with both commercial activated carbon, Nuchar SA 20 and "coal-derived" activated carbon, WVUAC 900-15. Koppers coal tar distillate (CTD), which has 1.1% wt starting nitrogen content, is selected as the needle coke feedstock. A series of experiments was performed to establish a standard procedure for the removal of nitrogen species. Using the established experimental …

Wireless Sensor Networks In Underground Structures, Derrick Morgan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

With the growing interest in developing a system capable of monitoring the health of an underground structure, the research and design of such a system is a logical step. The objective of the research performed was to take that step and develop a system capable of monitoring the health of an underground structure. In order to initiate the process, requirements of the system or network to be developed were set so that the research and design would have some guidance.;The research that followed from the requirements led to the selection of a wireless network which utilizes the Zigbee protocol. Various …

Significance Of Design Context And Rationale In Long Term Retention Of Data, Samrat Sarovar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mechanical Engineering Design is said to be both; science and art. In the process of designing mechanical systems or components, decisions are typically made to conceptualize, synthesize, and ultimately define the final configuration of a mechanical system or component, through an iterative process that involves design, analysis, performance assessment and experimental validation tasks. In the process, a plethora of engineering methods, analytical tools and technical data are used to yield a final design. Typically, the final design is documented, but in most cases, much (if not all) rationale that led to the final configuration is left undocumented and eventually lost. …

Stability Of Carbon Dioxide And Methane Hydrates In Water In Presence Of Small Driving Forces Using Md Simulations, Venkata S. Vedam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Gas hydrates are a potential source of energy as a large fraction of natural gas worldwide is stored in the form of gas hydrates. Methane hydrates are widely distributed in sediments along the continental margins and contain more energy than all other fossil fuel reserves in the world. However, methane is also a potential greenhouse gas which could play a major role in global climate change. Accurately characterizing the stability of methane and CO 2 hydrates in water can help us understand their effects on earth's environment and also the feasibility of long term CO2 sequestration in the sediments under …

Design Of A Test Stand For Alternate Fuel And Ignition Systems Testing, Patrick Wildfire

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There is a growing interest in improving engine versatility through the capacity to run on more than one fuel. To aid in this effort, ongoing research is being conducted to investigate a novel system using microwave plasma ignition designed with the goal of allowing spark ignited engines to run on multiple fuels. To accomplish the testing of this system, it was necessary to design and fabricate a test stand including an engine and instrumentation capable of measuring the performance of the ignition system within the environment of a running engine, and capable of testing this system on multiple fuels. It …

Characterization Of A Soil Bacterial Community And Biphenyl Dioxygenase Genes Involved In The Degradation Of Individual Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congeners, Paola Correa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are widespread, toxic, and persistent contaminants that threaten the environment and human health. PCBs represent a class of 209 congeners characterized by different degree of chlorination and substitution patterns. PCBs are known to be slowly degraded by the activity of soil microbes.;The general objective of this research was to investigate the effect of individual PCB congeners on the bacterial community and aerobic metabolism of PCBs in soil, for this reason three specific aims were pursuit.;The first specific aim was to test the hypothesis that exposure to individual PCB congeners results in different soil microbial community profiles, as …

Immunity-Based Detection, Identification, And Evaluation Of Aircraft Sub-System Failures, Hever Y. Moncayo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis describes the design, development, and flight-simulation testing of an integrated Artificial Immune System (AIS) for detection, identification, and evaluation of a wide variety of sensor, actuator, propulsion, and structural failures/damages including the prediction of the achievable states and other limitations on performance and handling qualities. The AIS scheme achieves high detection rate and low number of false alarms for all the failure categories considered. Data collected using a motion-based flight simulator are used to define the self for an extended sub-region of the flight envelope. The NASA IFCS F-15 research aircraft model is used and represents a supersonic …

Properties Of A Dehydroalanine Analog Of Glutathione: A Reactive Electrophilic Busulfan Metabolite, Cody J. Peer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Gamma-Glutamyldehydroalanylglycine (EdAG) is a dethiolated, electrophilic metabolite of glutathione (GSH) derived from the Phase II conjugation of GSH with busulfan catalyzed by glutathione S-transferase (GST). It was demonstrated in this dissertation that EdAG could be successfully synthesized and shown to be a metabolite of busulfan from in vitro metabolism by enzymes in human liver cytosol. The electrophilic EdAG was reactive toward the cellular thiols cysteine and glutathione (GSH), and toward cysteine residues in reduced bovine insulin B-chain and bovine serum albumin in vitro , as well. EdAG was demonstrated to be a reversible noncompetitive inhibitor of GSTs, specifically GSTA1-1 at …

Interaction Of Nickel-Based Sofc Anodes With Trace Contaminants From Coal-Derived Synthesis Gas, Gregory Allen Hackett

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

New and efficient methods of producing electrical energy from natural resources have become an important topic for researchers. Integrated gasification and fuel cell (IGFC) systems offer a fuel-flexible, high-efficiency method of energy generation. Specifically, in coal gasification processes, coal can be changed into a high-quality gaseous fuel suitable for feeding solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). However, trace species found in coal synthesis gas (syngas) may have a deleterious effect on the performance of nickel-based SOFC anodes. Generally, the cost of removing these species down to parts per million (ppm) levels is high.;The purpose of this research is to determine the …

Bug Tracking For Improving Software Reliability, Sriram Gadupudi

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Bug Tracking for Improving Software Reliability (BTS) is an automated system that can be useful to employees and the managers in any functional organization. Bug Tracking System gives the facility to define the tasks in the organization and also allows the managers to track the bugs spent by the employee for that particular task. A report generation facility is supported in BTS that allows the managers to analyze which are those skills by employee are utilized and those which are not utilized. This tool can help managers for Bug estimation per project or application. This tool helps employees to document …

Pcost.Com: Project Communication & Organization System, Sharon K. Drews

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Project management is a function in all business organizations and very active in the academic setting. Management of project management can be a challenge. The market has been responsive in the development of tools to assist with project management. There are many products to choose from to integrate into your organization and keep your projects and project team members on track. Often, the question is not getting a system but rather which system to embrace. The focus for this project is identifying a project management tool for the small group of eight participants or less. For the ultimate small group …

The Vision And The Blueprint: High Speed Rail In The United States And Launching High-Speed Rail In The U.S.: High-Speed Rail Sessions From Apta´S Annual Meeting, October 6, 2009 , Mti Report S-09-03, Mineta Transportation Institute

Mineta Transportation Institute

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) held its annual meeting in Orlando, Florida on October 4–7, 2009, including special sessions on high-speed rail. This e-book is the edited proceedings of two sessions, "The Vision and the Blueprint: High Speed Rail in the United States," and "Launching High-Speed Rail in the U.S.," which were held on October 6. Introducing the first session, "The Vision and the Blueprint: High Speed Rail in the United States," was Dale Muellerleile, senior vice president and national director for transit engineering for HDR Engineering. Moderator for this session was Rod Diridon, Sr., chair, APTA High Speed …

A Study On Gas Penetration And Fingering Behavior In Injection Molding Of Polymer And Powder Metal Feedstock, Edna I. Orozco

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The effect of processing variables on the level of gas penetration in parts fabricated by gas-assisted injection molding from two different materials was compared. The materials used were polypropylene and stainless steel powder metal/thermoplastic feedstock. Software simulation and physical experiments were conducted. Taguchi analysis was used to reduce the number of experiment trials and to find the optimum processing conditions. Four different variables were changed using nine different combinations. The processing variables are the pressure, the delay time before gas is injected, the temperature of the material injected, and the amount of the material injected. The results showed that the …

S2st: A Relational Rdf Database Management System, Anthony T. Piazza

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The explosive growth of RDF data on the Semantic Web drives the need for novel database systems that can efficiently store and query large RDF datasets. To achieve good performance and scalability of query processing, most existing RDF storage systems use a relational database management system as a backend to manage RDF data. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of a Relational RDF Database Management System. Our main research contributions are: (1) We propose a formal model of a Relational RDF Database Management System (RRDBMS), (2) We propose generic algorithms for schema, data and query mapping, (3) …

The Influence Of Departmental Affiliation And Pedagogical Training On Faculty Adoption Of Innovative Pedagogical Methods In Georgia Technical Colleges, Linda G. Grisham

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This quantitative study used factorial design and survey research to examine the influence of departmental affiliation and pedagogical training on full-time faculty members’ (n = 2193) working in the Technical College System of Georgia. The tool for data collections was a web-survey instrument, modified with permission from the Faculty Survey on Teaching, Learning and Assessment” (Matney, 2001).

Two independent variables (departmental affiliation and level of pedagogical training in active learning practices) and three dependent variables (participation in the scholarship of teaching and learning, introduction of new teaching techniques, and active learning practices) were measured by responses on a 5-point Likert-scale. …

Rattle: A Data Mining Gui For R, Graham J. Williams

The R Journal

Data mining delivers insights, pat terns, and descriptive and predictive models from the large amounts of data available today in many organisations. The data miner draws heavily on methodologies, techniques and algorithms from statistics, machine learning, and computer science. R increasingly provides a powerful platform for data mining. However, scripting and programming is sometimes a challenge for data analysts moving into data mining. The Rattle package provides a graphical user interface specifically for data mining using R. It also provides a stepping stone toward using R as a programming language for data analysis.

Expression Artifact With Retroviral Vectors Based On Pbmn, Yoshitaka Fukunaga, Robert A. Svoboda, Ronald Cerny, Keith R. Johnson, Margaret J. Wheelock

Ronald Cerny Publications

While characterizing various splice forms of p120 catenin, we observed what appeared to be a novel posttranslational modification of p120, resulting in a higher molecular weight form that was dependent on the splicing pattern. Further investigation revealed the higher molecular weight form to be a fusion protein between sequences encoded by the retroviral vector and p120. We found that the publicly available sequence of the vector we used does not agree with the experimental sequence. We caution other investigators to be aware of this potential artifact.

Modeling Of Metal-Ferroelectric-Insulator-Semiconductor Structures Based On Langmuir–Blodgett Copolymer Films, Timothy J. Reece, Stephen Ducharme

Stephen Ducharme Publications

Among the ferroelectric thin films used in field-effect transistor devices; the ferroelectric copolymer of polyvinylidene fluoride PVDF –CH2–CF2–, with trifluoroethylene TrFE –CHF–CF2–, has distinct advantages, including low dielectric constant, low processing temperature, low cost, and compatibility with organic semiconductors. The operation of a metal-ferroelectric insulatorsemiconductor structure with PVDF-TrFE as the ferroelectric layer was analyzed and optimized by numerical solution of the Miller and McWhorter model. A model device consisting of 20 nm PVDF/TrFE on a 10-nm-thick high-k dielectric buffer exhibits a memory window of 5 V with an operating voltage of 15 V. The operating voltage can be reduced to …

A Qualitative Study Of High-Reputation Plant Managers: Political Skill And Successful Outcomes, Anne D. Smith, Donde Ashmos Plowman, Dennis Duchon, Amber M. Quinn

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

There has been little systematic study of what plant managers actually do on a day-to-day basis that accounts for their success in achieving organizational outcomes. In our field interviews and observations of high-reputation plant managers from 11 manufacturing plants, we found that effective political skill enabled them to influence subordinates in ways that contributed positively to organizational outcomes. Political skill is an interpersonal style that combines social astuteness with the ability to relate well, and otherwise demonstrate situationally appropriate behavior in an engaging way that inspires confidence, trust, and genuiness [Ferris, G.R., Perrewé, P.L., Anthony, W.P., Gilmore, D.C., 2000. Political …

What Makes Strategy Making Across The Sales-Marketing Interface More Successful?, Avinash Malshe, Ravipreet S. Sohi

Department of Marketing: Faculty Publications

Extant research on marketing strategy making (MSM) lacks process-based theoretical frameworks that elucidate how marketing strategies are made when sales and marketing functions are involved in the process. Using a grounded theory approach and data collected from (a) 58 depth interviews with sales and marketing professionals and (b) a focus group with 11 marketing professionals, we propose that MSM within the sales-marketing interface is a three-stage, multifaceted process that consists of Groundwork, Transfer and Follow-up stages. Our process-based model explicates the specific activities at each stage that are needed to develop and execute marketing strategies successfully, the sequence in which …

Using Electronic Faculty Course Portfolios To Showcase Classroom Practices And Student Learning, Paul Savory, Amy M. Goodburn

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Faculty course portfolios are a valuable medium for documenting and making visible the serious intellectual work of teaching. Developing a faculty course portfolio follows the same process one uses to explore a research question. Faculty members inquire, analyze, and document their teaching practices and the resulting student learning and then make the results accessible for use, review, and assessment by one’s peers. In this article, we introduce four types of electronic course portfolios that sponsor different forms of inquiry into student learning. We highlight the major components of each type, offer advice in developing them, and share examples of each. …

Settlement Of Reinforced Subgrades Under Dynamic Loading, V. K. Puri, S. Kumar, B. M. Das, Shamsher Prakash, B. Yeo

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Model tests were conducted in the laboratory to study the settlement behavior of small size footing resting on geogrid reinforced sand layer and subjected to dynamic loads. Tests were conducted by first subjecting the footing to an initial sustained static load and then superimposing additional predetermined dynamic loads. the frequency of dynamic load was kept at 1 Hz which was well below the resonant frequency of the system. based on the observed test results, the nature of variation of the permanent settlement of the foundation with intensity of static loading and the amplitude of cyclic load are presented in this …

Electrical-Thermal Co-Analysis For Power Delivery Networks In 3d System Integration, Jianyong Xie, Daehyun Chung, Madhavan Swaminathan, Michael Mcallister, Alina Deutsch, Lijun Jiang, Barry J. Rubin

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, an electrical-thermal co-analysis method for power delivery networks in 3D system integration is proposed. For electrical analysis, temperature-dependent electrical resistivity of conductors is taken into account. For thermal analysis, Joule heating effect due to the current flowing through conductors is considered. The proposed co-analysis method is carried out using Rgen and ChipJoule of IBM EIP Tool Suite. An example of 3D integration system including stacked chips, power delivery network, glass-ceramic substrate, through-silicon vias, controlled collapse chip connections (C4s), underfill material, and TIM is analyzed using the proposed method. The simulation results show that the temperature effect on …