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2012

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Transparent And Crack-Free Silica Aerogels, Kalyan Ram Athmuri Jan 2012

Transparent And Crack-Free Silica Aerogels, Kalyan Ram Athmuri

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

The process of making silica aerogels has been studied in detail over the past two decades due to its usage in a wide range of low end applications such as thermal insulators, supercapacitors etc., as well as high end applications like particle physics, space explorations. These applications call for control over the properties of aerogels, such as their transparency, density, porosity, pore size, and integrity. However, despite all the past research, controlling properties of aerogels is still not a fully developed science, a lot more research needs to be done. The literature on silica aerogels does not cover the study …

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Electrical Performance Analysis Of A Novel Embedded Chip Technology, Ferdous Sarwar Jan 2012

Electrical Performance Analysis Of A Novel Embedded Chip Technology, Ferdous Sarwar

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Recently ultra-thin embedded die technology gained much attention for their reduced footprint, light weight, conformality and three-dimensional assembly capabilities. The traditional flexible circuit fabrication process showed its limitations to meet the demand for increasing packaging density. The embedded die technology can be successfully utilized to develop flexible printed circuits that will satisfy the demand for reliable and high density packaging. With a tremendous application potential in wearable and disposable electronics, the reliability of the flexible embedded die package is of paramount importance. Presented is the author's contribution to the novel fabrication process for flexible packages with ultrathin (below 50 µm) …

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The Effect Of Stress On Task Capacity And Situational Awareness, Reza Ul Karim Jan 2012

The Effect Of Stress On Task Capacity And Situational Awareness, Reza Ul Karim

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

In today’s industry, many occupations require manpower resources to include both labor and cognitive resources. As the technology is rapidly changing and businesses are becoming more dependent on cognitive performance, it is essential to find any effect physical stress might have on task performance. Situational awareness is also becoming an integral part of human task performance. It is critical for many operations to design systems such that the effects of physical stress, however minute, on task performance and situational awareness are considered. The test methodology developed here measures the effect of stress on cognitive task performance as a result of …

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Impact Of Integrating Zone Bypass Conveyor On The Performance Of A Pick-To-Light Order Picking System, Xia Xu Jan 2012

Impact Of Integrating Zone Bypass Conveyor On The Performance Of A Pick-To-Light Order Picking System, Xia Xu

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

This thesis investigates the impact of integrating Zone Bypass (ZBP) conveyor to a Pick-To-Light (PTL) order picking system. This integration results in a new system (PTL+Z), which could be helpful to achieve higher levels of productivity in warehousing operations. Two options have been proposed to improve the current PTL system productivity. One is to adapt the ZBP conveyor, which will help each order to bypass unnecessary zones with nothing to pick. Another one is to better plan stock keeping units (SKU) assignment by applying level loading assignment. Mathematical models are developed to evaluate system throughput of PTL system with random …

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Increasing Population, Decreasing Food Supply, Heather Bredeson Jan 2012

Increasing Population, Decreasing Food Supply, Heather Bredeson

Architecture Theses

This project focuses on urban sprawl and how it is decreasing agricultural land and the world’s food supply. The typology is a 10,250 square foot urban greenhouse, a 6,800 square foot restaurant and a culinary arts school, and a 45,000 square foot park and community gardens in downtown Fargo, North Dakota. The guiding idea is to incorporate greenhouses in the city and slow urban sprawl to help lessen the demand on the world’s food supply. The meaning of my research is to introduce the concept of growing one’s own garden in an urban setting. It is important to maintain and …

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Developing A Dialectic, Brittany Greenwood Jan 2012

Developing A Dialectic, Brittany Greenwood

Architecture Theses

This project, titled Developing a Dialectic, began as an analysis of the tangible evidence of time within a built environment, specifically the changing paths on which we experience our cities and the objects and spaces that become void of use. The exploration of unused space will produce a denser urban environment, building upon valuable space and bridging gaps between old and new construction. The site chosen is the previous path of the Northern Pacific Railway over the Red River between Grand Forks, ND and East Grand Forks, MN. A lone pivot pier is all that remains today of this railway, …

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Genome Mapping And Molecular Markers For Ascochyta Blight Resistance In Pea (Pisum Sativum L.), Andre Luis Rodrigues Miranda Jan 2012

Genome Mapping And Molecular Markers For Ascochyta Blight Resistance In Pea (Pisum Sativum L.), Andre Luis Rodrigues Miranda

Plant Sciences

Ascochyta blight is the most common disease of economic importance in peas (Pisum sativum L.) in North Dakota. Selection based on molecular markers would greatly facilitate identification of resistant varieties. A mapping population comprised of 394 F7-derived recombinant inbred line (RILs) and derived from the cross `Lifter'/'Radley' was developed to study resistance to Ascochyta blight. A genetic map was developed based on 179 loci including SSR, RAPD, and CAPS markers, distributed on seven linkage groups. Phenotyping for reaction to Ascochyta blight was carried out under greenhouse and field conditions. Five replicate plants were scored using a 0 to 5 scale, …

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Item Development And Scoring For Japanese Oral Proficiency Testing, Deryle W. Lonsdale, Hitokazu Matsushita Jan 2012

Item Development And Scoring For Japanese Oral Proficiency Testing, Deryle W. Lonsdale, Hitokazu Matsushita

Faculty Publications

This study introduces and evaluates a computerized approach to measuring Japanese L2 oral proficiency. We present a testing and scoring method that uses a type of structured speech called elicited imitation (EI) to evaluate accuracy of speech productions. Several types of language resources and toolkits are required to develop, administer, and score responses to this test. First, we present a corpus-based test item creation method to produce EI items with targeted linguistic features in a principled and efficient manner. Second, we sketch how we are able to bootstrap a small learner speech corpus to generate a significantly large corpus of …

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Prediction Of Tar And Light Gas During Pyrolysis Of Black Liquor And Biomass, Thomas H. Fletcher, Harland R. Pond, Jarom Webster, Judson Wooters, Larry L. Baxter Jan 2012

Prediction Of Tar And Light Gas During Pyrolysis Of Black Liquor And Biomass, Thomas H. Fletcher, Harland R. Pond, Jarom Webster, Judson Wooters, Larry L. Baxter

Faculty Publications

A generalized model for describing the pyrolysis behavior of low-grade fuels is being developed for incorporation into larger combustion simulation models. Light gas and tar yields from black liquor or biomass pyrolysis can be predicted using the chemical percolation devolatilization (CPD) model originally developed for coal. The initial approach is to measure the average chemical structures in a black liquor sample using 13C NMR spectroscopy. These chemical structures are then used in pyrolysis model predictions. With few changes from the coal-derived kinetic parameters, the model describes the organic pyrolysis behavior of black liquor samples obtained in a nitrogen-purged furnace. It …

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Coal Swelling Model For Pressurized High Particle Heating Rate Pyrolysis Applications, Randy C. Shurtz, Joseph W. Hogge, Kade C. Fowers, Gregory S. Sorensen, Thomas H. Fletcher Jan 2012

Coal Swelling Model For Pressurized High Particle Heating Rate Pyrolysis Applications, Randy C. Shurtz, Joseph W. Hogge, Kade C. Fowers, Gregory S. Sorensen, Thomas H. Fletcher

Faculty Publications

A model was previously developed to describe the decrease in swelling during coal pyrolysis at atmospheric pressure when maximum particle heating rates increase from 104 K/s to 105 K/s. That model included effects of coal type using chemical structure properties. This paper presents results of new experiments to study the effects of elevated pressure and high heating rates on coal pyrolysis. A pressurized flat-flame burner (PFFB) was designed and built to conduct these studies. The pyrolysis experiments reported in this paper were conducted at particle heating rates of ∼105 K/s and maximum gas temperatures of 1700 to 1900 …

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Ballistic Imaging Of Sprays At Diesel Relevant Conditions, Jason M. Porter, S. P. Duran, T. E. Parker Jan 2012

Ballistic Imaging Of Sprays At Diesel Relevant Conditions, Jason M. Porter, S. P. Duran, T. E. Parker

Faculty Publications

Diesel engines are an important aspect of our transportation infrastructure, whose performance is greatly affected by the characteristics of the spray from their injectors. Characterization of the injector’s spray is therefore tantamount to clean-running efficient diesel motors. In this study, a ~15 ps pulsed Leopard D-10 laser is used along with an optical Kerr Cell to realize ballistic images of high-delivery-pressure dodecane sprays injected into a quiescent air environment at elevated temperature and pressure. Using CS2 as the Kerr switching media and by optimizing the overlap of the gate and imaging beams, an effective high speed shuttering effect is obtained. …

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Estimation Of Increased Traffic On Highways In Montana And North Dakota Due To Oil Development And Production, Alan Gabriel Dybing Jan 2012

Estimation Of Increased Traffic On Highways In Montana And North Dakota Due To Oil Development And Production, Alan Gabriel Dybing

Transportation Logistics and Finance

Advances in oil extraction technology such as hydraulic fracturing have improved capabilities to extract and produce oil in the Bakken and Three Forks shale formations located in North Dakota, Montana, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. From 2004 to the present, there has been a significant increase in oil rigs and new oil wells in these areas, resulting in increased impacts to the local, county, state, and federal roadway network. Traditional methods of rural traffic forecasting using an established growth rate are not sufficient under the changing traffic levels. The goal of this research is to develop a traffic model that will improve …

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Has The Regulation Of Pro Forma Reporting In The Us Changed Investors’ Perceptions Of Pro Forma Earnings Disclosures?, Dirk E. Black, Ervin L. Black, Theodore E. Christensen, William G. Heninger Jan 2012

Has The Regulation Of Pro Forma Reporting In The Us Changed Investors’ Perceptions Of Pro Forma Earnings Disclosures?, Dirk E. Black, Ervin L. Black, Theodore E. Christensen, William G. Heninger

Faculty Publications

We explore whether investors’ perceptions of pro forma earnings numbers have changed following the regulation of pro forma reporting imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). First, we find that investors appear to pay more attention to pro forma earnings disclosures in the post-SOX period, consistent with the notion that they perceive that regulation generally renders these disclosures more credible. Second, the results indicate that investors discount aggressive pro forma earnings reports in both periods. However, they appear to discount at least some potentially misleading pro forma earnings disclosures more in the post- SOX period. Finally, our results imply …

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The Effects Of Digital Intensity On Combinations Of Sequential And Configural Process Variety, James Gaskin, Kalle Lyytinen, Youngjin Yoo, Brian Pentland Jan 2012

The Effects Of Digital Intensity On Combinations Of Sequential And Configural Process Variety, James Gaskin, Kalle Lyytinen, Youngjin Yoo, Brian Pentland

Faculty Publications

Two forms of variety have been noted in organizational processes: sequential and configural. These describe variations in how a work process is ordered (sequential) or what is involved in enacting each work activity (configural). Each has been mainly studied in isolation. In organizations, these two types of variety are always co-present and scholars will miss important insights if their dependencies and interactions are not examined. This calls for theorizing and empirical inquiries regarding how these two types of variety are related and how digitalization influences them. Our contribution in this paper is to call attention to the need to analyze …

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Evaluating Journal Quality And The Association For Information Systems (Ais) Senior Scholars’ Journal Basket Via Bibliometric Measures: Do Expert Journal Assessments Add Value?, Paul Benjamin Lowry, Gregory D. Moody, James Gaskin, Dennis F. Galletta, Sean L. Humpherys, Jordan B. Barlow, David W. Wilson Jan 2012

Evaluating Journal Quality And The Association For Information Systems (Ais) Senior Scholars’ Journal Basket Via Bibliometric Measures: Do Expert Journal Assessments Add Value?, Paul Benjamin Lowry, Gregory D. Moody, James Gaskin, Dennis F. Galletta, Sean L. Humpherys, Jordan B. Barlow, David W. Wilson

Faculty Publications

Information systems (IS) journal rankings and ratings help scholars focus their publishing efforts and are widely used surrogates for judging the quality of research. Over the years, numerous approaches have been used to rank IS journals, approaches such as citation metrics, school lists, acceptance rates, and expert assessments. However, the results of these approaches often conflict due to a host of validity concerns. In the current scientometric study, we make significant strides toward correcting for these limitations in the ranking of mainstream IS journals. We compare expert rankings to bibliometric measures such as the ISI Impact Factor™, the h-index, and …

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The Business Rules Approach And Its Effect On Software Testing, Thomas O. Meservy, Chen Zhang, Euntae T. Lee, Jasbir Dhaliwal Jan 2012

The Business Rules Approach And Its Effect On Software Testing, Thomas O. Meservy, Chen Zhang, Euntae T. Lee, Jasbir Dhaliwal

Faculty Publications

Codification and testing of business rules in application programs has historically been a challenge in software engineering. Many organizations have adopted the business rules approach to formalize and compartmentalize business rules as a separate component from application code. This article investigates and presents the effects of the business rules approach on testing activities in the software development life cycle at a Fortune 500 corporation. The findings suggest that the business rules approach has the potential to engage testing personnel early in the development process and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of testing activities.

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Indian Relations In Utah During The Civil War, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D. Jan 2012

Indian Relations In Utah During The Civil War, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A discussion of native American (Indian) relations in Utah Territory during the Civil War, including the differing policies of Mormon president Brigham Young and U.S. Army commander Colonel Patrick Edward Connor, the January 1863 Bear River Massacre (called the Battle of Bear River at that time), Indian superintendents, treaties, and reservations.

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Frequency Response Of Synthetic Vocal Fold Models With Linear And Nonlinear Material Properties, Stephanie M. Shaw, Scott L. Thomson, Christopher Dromey, Simeon Smith Jan 2012

Frequency Response Of Synthetic Vocal Fold Models With Linear And Nonlinear Material Properties, Stephanie M. Shaw, Scott L. Thomson, Christopher Dromey, Simeon Smith

Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to create synthetic vocal fold models with nonlinear stress-strain properties and to investigate the effect of linear versus nonlinear material properties on fundamental frequency during anterior-posterior stretching.
Method: Three materially linear and three materially nonlinear models were created and stretched up to 10 mm in 1 mm increments. Phonation onset pressure (Pon), fundamental frequency (F0) at Pon, and F0 at 0.20 kPa above Pon were recorded for each length. Measurements were repeated as the models were relaxed in 1 mm increments back to their resting …

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Sustainable Lakeshore Tourism, Adam Bishop Jan 2012

Sustainable Lakeshore Tourism, Adam Bishop

Landscape Architecture Theses

This thesis examines the importance of urban lakeshore waterfronts for they are merely large wetlands, that play a crucial role in maintaining eco-balance, protecting bio-diversity, and replenishing underground water sources. In addition to numerous social functions and relaxation, they can provide economic development in the form of sustainable tourism as well as prosperous destinations undulating ‘sense of place’. Extensive study and analysis of this valuable resource will provide indicators on how to integrate water, land, and urban needs of a declining waterfront in a harmonious fashion. Excelsior, Minnesota located on Lake Minnetonka has a rich tradition of tourism. This design …

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On The Fringe, Steven Eggert Jan 2012

On The Fringe, Steven Eggert

Landscape Architecture Theses

When communities fail to plan, there is no institutional framework where development can progress. This leaves little opportunity for expansion or modification based on changing needs. The establishment of a common vision is vital to the future development of Fargo’s fringe. It provides a synthesis of enhancements from an economic perspective to happiness and well being. This project seeks to define that spirit of place using practices of preservation and restoration of Fargo’s community.

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Isolated Urban Places & Spaces: A Rails-With-Trails Solution (Fargo, Nd), Alex Bossert Jan 2012

Isolated Urban Places & Spaces: A Rails-With-Trails Solution (Fargo, Nd), Alex Bossert

Landscape Architecture Theses

This thesis focuses on exploring the question: how can a pedestrian trail along an active railway corridor unite several isolated areas of a city? The typology for exploring this project is an urban railway system that runs through the heart of downtown Fargo, North Dakota, and surrounding neighborhoods. Planning and designing within an existing built environment to better suit the well-being of the pedestrian may prove problematic, because urban growth has revolved around the automobile for nearly a century. Utilizing spaces along railway corridors may provide direct connections to destinations, making for a more cohesive urban fabric. An urban pedestrian …

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Heritage | Heart Of The Community, Christa Pojanowski Jan 2012

Heritage | Heart Of The Community, Christa Pojanowski

Landscape Architecture Theses

This thesis explores small urban city revitalization. When small cities outlast the function of their own infrastructure, city revitalization needs to focus on how the city is functioning overall. City infrastructure is the basis for structure and function of a city. City revitalization plays an important part in reorganizing the forms and patterns of a city to create networks and connections for a successfully functioning community.

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Resurgent Ecologies: A Blue Design, Samantha Lott Jan 2012

Resurgent Ecologies: A Blue Design, Samantha Lott

Landscape Architecture Theses

This thesis explores a waterless neighborhood in Las Vegas. “Blue design” explores water conservation efforts through design and community planning. The intent of this project is to identify new and innovative ways to retain water on a neighborhood scale that in turn helps hydrate the greater Las Vegas area.

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Gi Joe: Green Infrastructure For The Average Joe, Zachary Swanson Jan 2012

Gi Joe: Green Infrastructure For The Average Joe, Zachary Swanson

Landscape Architecture Theses

The landscape that supports our cities is often invisible to its inhabitants. This thesis examines how landscape infrastructure can communicate in our lives. The fabric of our cities stitches together the intricate systems we need to sustain our communities. Transportation of goods and services is made possible by a collection of roads, sewers, pipes, power plants, and wires that make up this fabric. How can we integrate green infrastructure into the existing ecological functions of the city? How can these functions intertwine and work cohesively? Suburban environments have the potential to reflect the new urban systems of high-performance landscapes. These …

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Motivational And Adaptational Factors Of Successful Women Engineers, Susan Edith Bornsen Jan 2012

Motivational And Adaptational Factors Of Successful Women Engineers, Susan Edith Bornsen

Education

It is no surprise that there is a shortage of women engineers. The reasons for the shortage have been researched and discussed in myriad papers, and suggestions for improvement continue to evolve. However, there are few studies that have specifically identified the positive aspects that attract women to engineering and keep them actively engaged in the field. This paper examines how women engineers view their education, their work, and their motivation to remain in the field. A qualitative research design was used to understand the motivation and adaptability factors women use to support their decision to major in engineering and …

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The Association Between Factors Affecting Enrollment Decisions In Manufacturing Occupational Clusters In Two-Year Colleges, Ralph J. Karl Jan 2012

The Association Between Factors Affecting Enrollment Decisions In Manufacturing Occupational Clusters In Two-Year Colleges, Ralph J. Karl

Education

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships between factors that affect student enrollment decisions in manufacturing occupational programs in two-year colleges and to describe current enrollment status of these programs. This purpose was pursued by five hypotheses and one research question that addressed the categorical factors that affect student enrollment decisions in a diversity of academic programs in higher education. These factors are: awareness; influence; recruitment; and socioeconomic status. Quantitative data were gathered through an online survey instrument. The target populations were full time instructors, academic advisors, and program directors of manufacturing occupational programs in two-year colleges …

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Multisine Excitation Design To Increase The Efficiency Of System Identification Signal Generation And Analysis, Michael J. Schmitz Jan 2012

Multisine Excitation Design To Increase The Efficiency Of System Identification Signal Generation And Analysis, Michael J. Schmitz

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Reducing sample frequencies in measurement systems can save power, but reduction to the point of undersampling results in aliasing and possible signal distortion. Nonlinearities of the system under test can also lead to distortions prior to measurement. In this dissertation, a first algorithm is presented for designing multisine excitation signals that can be undersampled without distortion from the aliasing of excitation frequencies or select harmonics. Next, a second algorithm is presented for designing undersampled distributions that approximate target frequency distributions. Results for pseudo-logarithmically-spaced frequency distributions designed for undersampling without distortion from select harmonics show a considerable decrease in the required …

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Wireless Health Monitor Design, Kostyantyn V. Koziy Jan 2012

Wireless Health Monitor Design, Kostyantyn V. Koziy

Electrical and Computer Engineering

In this thesis, a Wireless Health Monitor system for novel spacesuit verification and tests is presented. This system monitors the operator's health-related vital parameters and incorporates data acquisition, collecting and processing, wireless transmission, data displaying and logging. Power-saving technics for battery-powered applications are incorporated. A proprietary communication protocol for multi-node wireless network is developed and integrated. An embedded web interface for system control and data monitoring is utilized to achieve platform independence and reliability. Calculations and simulation results for the algorithms developed for gas flow measurements are presented. Packaging for this system, sensor calibration procedures, final device characteristics, specifications and …

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Community-Level Response Of Coastal Microbial Biofilms To Ocean Acidification In A Natural Carbon Dioxide Vent Ecosystem., Ian Lidbury, Vivienne Johnson, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, Colin B. Munn, Michael Cunliffe Jan 2012

Community-Level Response Of Coastal Microbial Biofilms To Ocean Acidification In A Natural Carbon Dioxide Vent Ecosystem., Ian Lidbury, Vivienne Johnson, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, Colin B. Munn, Michael Cunliffe

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The impacts of ocean acidification on coastal biofilms are poorly understood. Carbon dioxide vent areas provide an opportunity to make predictions about the impacts of ocean acidification. We compared biofilms that colonised glass slides in areas exposed to ambient and elevated levels of pCO(2) along a coastal pH gradient, with biofilms grown at ambient and reduced light levels. Biofilm production was highest under ambient light levels, but under both light regimes biofilm production was enhanced in seawater with high pCO(2). Uronic acids are a component of biofilms and increased significantly with high pCO(2). Bacteria and Eukarya denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis …

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Administrative Evaluation Of Online Faculty In Community Colleges, Douglas Duane Darling Jan 2012

Administrative Evaluation Of Online Faculty In Community Colleges, Douglas Duane Darling

Education

Policy and procedure haven’t kept up with institutional practices at community colleges. With over 5.5 million college students taking online courses, 29% of college students are taking an online course. As student numbers taking online courses have increased, so have the number of faculty teaching online. The purpose of this study is to determine if and how community college, online, faculty are administratively evaluated. The Chief Academic Officer (CAO) of the members of the American Association of Community Colleges were surveyed to determine the factors considered relevant for online, asynchronous, administrative evaluation of faculty that are currently being used by …

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