Digital Commons Network^™

A System For Automated Disassembly Of Snap-Fit Covers, Paul Schumacher, Musa Jouaneh

Mechanical, Industrial & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper reports on a prototype automated system for the disassembly of batteries from a family of electronic devices whose plastic, snap-fit covers house AA or AAA batteries, such as remote controls and calculators. Included in the development of the prototype system was the design of a disassembly tool that uses three force-sensing resistors to provide force feedback information. A pneumatically actuated vacuum gripper and electromagnet system was also developed for recovering the snap-fit cover and batteries once they were released by the disassembly tool. The disassembly module was mounted on the tool head of a three-axis translational motion robot, …

Lack Of Innovation In Sugar Packaging, Kaitlyn Friedel

Graphic Communication

No abstract provided.

Development Of Novel Subunit Vaccine Against H5n1 Influenza, Lu Zhang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Influenza is a common infectious disease resulting from a frequently mutated RNA virus. Vaccination is currently the most effective method to prevent people from seasonal or pandemic influenza. The production of traditional egg-based influenza vaccine is time-consuming and provides limited effect against new strains. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a rapid method to produce influenza vaccines. We proposed a novel influenza vaccine based on the E.coli expression system. Hemagglutinin (HA) is the major target surface protein of influenza virus for vaccine development. In this study, we sub-cloned the HAs encoding gene into an E. coli expression vector; the signal …

Surface Shape Perception In Volumetric Stereo Displays, Meng Zhu

All Dissertations

In complex volume visualization applications, understanding the displayed objects and their spatial relationships is challenging for several reasons. One of the most important obstacles is that these objects can be translucent and can overlap spatially, making it difficult to understand their spatial structures. However, in many applications, for example medical visualization, it is crucial to have an accurate understanding of the spatial relationships among objects. The addition of visual cues has the potential to help human perception in these visualization tasks. Descriptive line elements, in particular, have been found to be effective in conveying shape information in surface-based graphics as …

Prolactin And Isplatin Combination Treatment Inhibit Tumorspheres Formation And Tumor Growth In Mice, Eric Hingleung Lee

All Dissertations

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are defined as a small population of tumor initiating cells that are responsible for the initiation, development, progression, and recurrence of cancer. The chemo and radiation resistance of CSCs remains one of the major obstacles in conventional anti-cancer therapies. One of the reasons that conventional chemotherapeutics are not effective in targeting CSCs is that CSCs are usually in a non-proliferative or dormant state. In this perspective, targeting CSCs by inducing its proliferation and differentiation and simultaneously applying chemotherapeutics may be an alternative approach. The current study investigates the effect of prolactin (PRL), a hormone intimately involved …

Predictive Maturity Of Inexact And Uncertain Strongly Coupled Numerical Models, Ismail Farajpour

All Dissertations

The Computer simulations are commonly used to predict the response of complex systems in many branches of engineering and science. These computer simulations involve the theoretical foundation, numerical modeling and supporting experimental data, all of which contain their associated errors. Furthermore, real-world problems are generally complex in nature, in which each phenomenon is described by the respective constituent models representing different physics and/or scales. The interactions between such constituents are typically complex in nature, such that the outputs of a particular constituent may be the inputs for one or more constituents. Thus, the natural question then arises concerning the validity …

Designing Complex, Interactive, Architectural Systems With Cias-Dm: A Model-Based, Human-Centered, Design & Analysis Methodology, Joe Manganelli

All Dissertations

The built environment increasingly contributes to improving human health, well-being, and performance in measurable, predictable, and tailorable ways. Achieving high-performance environmental systems requires real-time-interactive sensing, monitoring, actuation, and communication subsystems, as well as real-time interactions of these environmental systems with their users and other internal and external systems. Developing theories, constructs, methods, and tools necessary for designing such high-performance, complex, interactive systems is an active area of research.

This dissertation focused on methods and tools for representing the cognitive and physical affordances of complex, interactive, architectural systems (CIAS). The Complex, Interactive, Architectural Systems Design Methodology (CIAS-DM) was proposed as a …

Recent Competition Policy Developments In Hungary – Unfair Commercial Practices, Cartels And Abuse Of Dominance, Pál Szilágyi, Tihamér Tóth

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

No abstract provided.

Thermal Modeling And Validation Testing Of A Miniature Xenon Ion Thruster, Samuel R. Parker

Master's Theses

To support the research of miniature ion propulsion, Cal Poly's Miniature Xenon

Ion (MiXI) thruster has been modeled and tested. Using ANSYS Fluent, a two-

dimensional model of the transient thermal environment of MiXI-CP-V3 was

created. Validation testing was conducted in order to assess the accuracy of the

thermal model. During testing, temperature was measured at eight locations

across MiXI. From the test data it was determined that the thermal model did a

poor job of predicting temperature due to incident radiation at the four locations

nearest the keeper electrode. The four remaining locations were affected mostly

by conduction and …

Analysis Of An Inflatable Gossamer Device To Efficiently De-Orbit Cubesats, Robert A. Hawkins Jr.

Master's Theses

There is an increased need for spacecraft to quickly and efficiently de-orbit themselves as the amount of debris in orbit around Earth grows. Defunct spacecraft pose a significant threat to the LEO environment due to their risk of fragmentation. If these spacecraft are de-orbited at the end of their useful life their risk to future spacecraft is greatly lessened. A proposed method of efficiently de-orbiting spacecraft is to use an inflatable thin-film envelope to increase the body's area to mass ratio and thusly shortening its orbital lifetime. The system and analysis presented in this project is sized for use on …

Can Clustering Improve Requirements Traceability? A Tracelab-Enabled Study, Brett Taylor Armstrong

Master's Theses

Software permeates every aspect of our modern lives. In many applications, such in the software for airplane flight controls, or nuclear power control systems software failures can have catastrophic consequences. As we place so much trust in software, how can we know if it is trustworthy? Through software assurance, we can attempt to quantify just that.

Building complex, high assurance software is no simple task. The difficult information landscape of a software engineering project can make verification and validation, the process by which the assurance of a software is assessed, very difficult. In order to manage the inevitable information overload …

Domestic Credit Growth And International Capital Flows: Implications For Monetary Policy Management In Nigeria, Moses K. Tule

Economic and Financial Review

This paper investigates the effect of foreign capital flows on domestic credit growth, specifically, and its implication for monetary policy. The paper is structured into 6 sections. Section 2 provides the review of related theoretical and empirical literature. Section 3 provides stylized facts on the structure and changing structure of domestic credit and international capital flows in Nigeria while section 4 deals with capital flows and the dynamics of monetary policy in Nigeria. Section 5 provides the empirical analysis, while section 6 concludes the study.

Biogeochemical Modeling Of The Response Of Forest Watersheds In The Northeastern U.S. To Future Climate Change, Afshin Pourmokhtarian

Dissertations - ALL

In this dissertation I assessed the potential hydrochemical responses of future climate change conditions on forested watersheds in the northeastern U.S. using climate projections from several atmosphere ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) under different carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions scenarios. The impacts of changing climate on terrestrial ecosystems have been assessed by observational, gradient, laboratory and field studies; however, state-of-the-art biogeochemical models provide an excellent tool to investigate climatic perturbations to these complex ecosystems. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to apply a fully integrated coupled hydrological and biogeochemical model (PnET-BGC) to evaluate the effects of climate change and increasing …

Putting The Ghost Back In The Machine: A Defense Of Common Sense Dualism, Matthew Andrew Skene

Dissertations - ALL

Gilbert Ryle once ridiculed substance dualism, describing it as the view that we are a "ghost in the machine." Since that time, substance dualism has found few defenders, and a presumption toward naturalism has dominated philosophical inquiry. Here, I offer an unapologetic defense this unfashionable view of the self. To do so, I first explain why philosophy should endorse a shift in method away from naturalism and toward common sense philosophy. I then show how, from within that approach, substance dualism is far better supported than its competitors. My defense of the common sense method rests heavily on an account …

Pedagogical Promise, Disciplinary Practice, And The Fashioning Of Identities Among Marshallese Youth In Primary School, Laurence Marshall Carucci

Pacific Studies

This paper examines the educational experiences of elementary grade students from the Ujelang/Enewetak community across two distinct periods and locations: those residing on Ujelang Atoll in the 1970s and those living in Hawai‘i in 2002–2003. These children belong to a community that has endured profound historical trauma and rapid social transformation, while maintaining a strong commitment to preserving its cultural and historical identity. The study situates the community within the broader context of colonial and postcolonial displacement, highlighting the devastating impact of World War II and U.S. nuclear testing on Enewetak. It explores how these historical events have shaped migration …

Vol. 36 No. 3 (2013): Pacific Studies Full Issue, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US $26.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, …

Exile And Compassion: The Management Of Leprosy In The Cook Islands, 1925-95, Raeburn Lange

Pacific Studies

After its introduction to the northern Cook Islands in the nineteenth century, leprosy (Hansen's disease) gradually spread throughout the group and became a public health problem. This article traces the history of the disease and its management from the time when the colonial government ceased to rely only on the isolation of leprosy sufferers on islets with in the Cook group and began to supplement its internal control measures by sending many of the patients to Makogai in Fiji. The authorities' changing approaches to the control of leprosy in the group throughout the period are examined as a way of …

On Spanish Loanwords And Loanblends In Hawal'i Creole English, Robert N. Smead

Pacific Studies

Hawai'i Creole English (HCE) has been the object of much linguistic research. Virtually all researchers agree that its principal lexical sources include English, Hawaiian, and Japanese. Other languages, such as Chinese and Portuguese, have also contributed. To elate, however, few sources have considered Spanish as an important lexical source for HCE. The research reported herein attempts to remedy that oversight by considering ten putative loanwords and loanblends thought to derive from Spanish. These include ethnic markers associated with and local dishes brought by Filipino and Puerto Rican immigrants in the early twentieth century. By documenting cultural traditions and consulting authoritative …

Formulation And Evaluation Of Resistive Inks For Applications In Printed Electronics, Sughosh Satish Bhore

Masters Theses

In the 21^st century, it has been shown that printing methodologies can be used to print electrically functional devices on a variety of substrates. In comparison to conventional electronic manufacturing methods, printing is a more cost effective and less complex process. The requirements for manufacturing Printed Electronics (PE) components are much more demanding than graphic printing applications due to the additional requirement of easy electron flow. This additional requirement increases the need for print uniformity and layer-to-layer registration to a much higher degree. In this work, hybrid UV-curable, water-based, electrical resistive inks were formulated. Inkjet inks were prepared by …

Under-Regulation In The State Prison Food System: Consequences And A Proposal For Change, Michael D. Mckirgan

Journal of Food Law & Policy

While federal and state government regulations have become commonplace in almost every conceivable facet of the modem American lifestyle, the prison food system has inconspicuously remained underregulated despite the progress made by the prisoners' rights movement in other areas. Legislatures in most states generally leave prison food regulation to the sole discretion of prison administrators, resulting in a "laissez-faire approach" in the prison food system; an anachronism in contemporary America. Some states' prison systems do in fact self regulate to an adequate degree despite this under-regulation, while others participate in voluntary, nongovernmental prison accreditation programs. However, many states and localities …

Journal Of Food Law & Policy - Fall 2013, Journal Editors

Journal of Food Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Live For Now: Teens, Soda Marketing, And The Law, Richard A. Daynard, F. Brendan Burke, Cara L. Wilking

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The alarming rate of overweight and obesity in U.S. children, adolescents, and adults has focused attention on the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages.' Adolescents are heavily targeted in marketing for beverages, including sugary drinks like soda. They have higher rates of overweight and obesity than children less than five years of age, and are on a path to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. This article analyzes soda marketing through the lens of teen biological and psychological development, marketing tactics commonly used with teen audiences, and consumer protection law principles.

Evaluation Of Point Cloud Data Dispersion With Relation To Point Cloud Density Under Field Conditions, Ling Kit Kong

Masters Theses

3D laser scanning is a non-contact imaging technology that can rapidly capture a surface of an object and produce a point cloud representation of that surface. For the purpose of bridge condition assessment, the 3D laser scanner is capable of capturing a global scan of a bridge. With the point cloud data, a 3D CAD model of the bridge can be obtained representing the in-service conditions. Properly developed CAD models can be used for developing structural models and documenting condition data. However, accurate CAD models heavily depend on the level of accuracy of the scan data collected under field conditions. …

A Case Study Of Applying Blended Learning In An Accelerated Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Education Program, Ying Wang Shen, Thomas H. Reynolds, Curtis J. Bonk, Thomas A. Brush

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

Blended learning has potential to improve teacher education in terms of accessibility and quality. This paper reports findings from a case study with mixed methods data collection analysis to examine the application of blended learning in accelerated post-baccalaureate teacher education at the program level. One hundred and sixty-seven recent graduates from a chosen teacher education program participated in the study by completing an online survey. Eight of the survey participants and six faculty members were interviewed. Findings from this study support the viability and benefits of applying blended learning in teacher education at the program level. On the other hand, …

The Role Of Histone H3 And H4 In Centromere Function And Genome Integrity, Payel Chaudhuri

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Histone H2A plays an important role in chromosomal segregation among parent and daughter cells during mitosis. While it is established that this histone is important in maintaining chromosome number in cell, further work is carried out to explore the role of other histones like H3 and H4 for similar effects. A systematic study is initiated by screening a library based on mutation of different amino acid residues in these histones. This detailed screening identified specific regions within H3 and H4, which are critically important for centromeric function. These histones residing near the DNA entry/exit region of nucleosome effects the functionality …

An Analysis Of The Perceptions Of The Legal Profession Through The Eyes Of Dissatisfied Consumers Of Legal Services In Manhattan, Ny: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Caprice A. Alves

Education Doctoral

In the past, research on consumer dissatisfaction with legal services tended to be quantitative in nature, and focused primarily on consumer opinion of the legal profession. These quantitative studies have been valuable in gaining a basic understanding of consumer consensus of legal services and the legal profession. However, a qualitative understanding of the complexity of the personal dissatisfaction experience with legal services, as well as the psychological and social meanings and consequences of these experiences, is an important contribution to the literature. This dissertation provides a qualitative view of the experience of consumer dissatisfaction with legal services in Manhattan, NY. …

Fuzzy Search Strategy Generation For Adversarial Systems Using Fuzzy Process Particle Swarm Optimization, Fuzzy Patterns, And A Hunch Factor, Stephany Coffman-Wolph

Dissertations

Adversarial game-playing situations have been studied in both game theory and artificial intelligence since the 1950s. However, developing strategies for game playing is challenging due to the large search tree size as the environment size increases. The research presented develops a centralized fuzzy search strategy to find winning strategies for adversarial situations using fuzzy logic. The aforementioned fuzzy algorithm, Fuzzy Strategy Finder (FSF), can be used to find valid strategies for any problem that can be written as a Reti-like or zero-sum game. Using several chess endgames, the FSF will be shown to have a faster runtime without a significant …

Special Education Leadership And The Implementation Of Response To Intervention, Derek Ryan Cooley

Dissertations

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a process by which schools identify students with disabilities using research-based interventions. As schools across the United States struggle to redefine district structures and processes required for RTI, special education administrators have become primarily responsible for implementation. Research describing special education administrators’ perceptions about the implementation of RTI is limited, however.

Framing RTI as an educational change initiative, this study uses survey methods to determine special education administrators’ 1) perceptions of leadership and change, 2) the extent to which they determine a structured plan to implement RTI as important, and 3) how frequently they encountered …

Student Conceptions Of Learning And The Approaches To Learning Adopted In An Introductory Science Course: A Q Methodology Study, Kelly Marie Sparks

Dissertations

The conceptions of learning, guiding students’ primary beliefs about their experiences of learning as well as their interpretations of learning itself, have been found to be related to their approaches to learning and learning outcomes. This study examined the subjective beliefs of students about learning science in an undergraduate college setting. Q methodology was used examine student perceptions about learning and the approaches to learning they employed. Thirty six students completed Q-sorts of their perspectives on learning and the approaches they took to achieve that learning in an introductory physical geography course. Centroid factor analysis and varimax rotation of these …

Diversity May Be Justified, Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.