Digital Commons Network^™

Election Data Visualisation, Elena Long

Plymouth Business School Theses

Visualisations of election data produced by the mass media, other organisations and even individuals are becoming increasingly available across a wide variety of platforms and in many different forms. As more data become available digitally and as improvements to computer hardware and software are made, these visualisations have become more ambitious in scope and more user-friendly. Research has shown that visualising data is an extremely powerful method of communicating information to specialists and non-specialists alike. This amounts to a democratisation of access to political and electoral data. To some extent political science lags behind the progress that has been made …

Isolation And Characterization Of A New Family Of Cysteine Rich Proteins Involved In The Assembly Process Of Dragline Silk From The Black Widow Spider, Latrodectus Hesperus, Thanh Due Pham

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Spider silks are protein-based fibers that possess remarkable mechanical properties. Major ampullate silk, also referred to as dragline silk, is renowned for its high tensile strength, extensibility and toughness. Dragline silk is produced from a liquid spinning dope that undergoes chemical and physical changes during extrusion. To date, no proteins that participate in the assembly process of major ampullate silk proteins have been identified. The goal of this project is the identification of such protein products. De novo sequencing of peptides from in pollution tryptic digestion of black widow spider dragline silk identified several novel peptides that were not derived …

An Examination Of The Influence Of Pressure Management And Active Leakage Control In Establishing The Economic Level Of Leakage For An Urban Water Operational Area, Mark Callanan

Theses

Leakage targets in Ireland are based on the Unaccounted for Water (UFW) performance indicator. This has been set out in the National Water Study published by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG) in 2000. This leakage target performance indicator has been maintained since in all government published reports and guidelines.

The use of this performance indicator has been discouraged by the International Water Association (IWA) and its use has been discontinued by the UK water industry because it can misrepresent the true level of leakage. The IWA recommends the use of the Infrastructure Leakage Index (ILl) as …

Classification Of Irish Beaches To Determine Their Potential For Erosion, Aidan O'Connell

Theses

The objective of this literature review is to gather the relevant information regarding beach characteristics and beach erosion in order to undertake the project development stage of the thesis project. The background information that was reviewed was the different zones that are located on a beach; the functions of a beach and what most beaches are commonly used for; how beaches were formed; the legislation that is related to the beach or any work that is required to be carried out on a beach and some background information on the erosion of beaches.

The most relevant beach characteristics that impact …

A Common Methodology To Assess The Sustainability Of Different Stages Of The Water Cycle In An Urban Environment In An Irish Context, Áine Mcgrath

Theses

The project proposes to devise a common methodology to assess the sustainability of different stages of the water cycle in an urban environment in an Irish context. With the reduction in infrastructure investment by the governing bodies, the concept of sustainable development is becoming more important.

The project involves using the principals and procedures of a system analysis along with sustainable key performance indicators to assess the sustainability of water cycle system, which includes water treatment, the water distribution system, wastewater treatment and flood risk management.

A sustainability assessment of the combined stages of an urban water cycle will provide …

Carbon Dioxide Absorption And Channelling In Closed Circuit Rebreather Scrubbers, Shona Cunningham

Theses

Closed Circuit Rebreathers (CCRs) are a type of Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) used predominantly by the diving community. CCR technologies have become prevalent within the commercial, military and technical diving communities over recent years. CCRs work by recycling breathing gas, by-passing the gas through a carbon dioxide (CO₂) chemical scrubber and topping the resultant scrubbed gas up with pure oxygen to maintain the oxygen content at a level which supports life. One of the main dangers currently faced by divers using this equipment is the risk of CO₂ poisoning if the scrubber fails. This failure …

January 2013 Newsletter, Career Center, Illinois Wesleyan University

Career Connections Newsletter

Issue Highlights:

• Career Profile of Todd Zoellick ‘00, History/Political Science Double-Major
• Trends In Recruiting: What Employers Want From Us!
• “10 Phrases that are holding your Career Back”
• Work In Government, Is it for You?

Steps To Success 2013-2014, Career Center, Illinois Wesleyan University

Steps to Success

No abstract provided.

Transmitting Occupational Niches From First To Second-Generation Immigrants: Are There Earnings Consequences From Being The "Copycat" Generation?, Melissa Seeborg

Honors Projects

In recent years, the number of second-generation immigrants entering the labor market has been increasing at a rapid pace. Their parents had immigrated in large waves, with many joining niche occupations dominated by their ethnic groups. This study looks to determine the economic impact of first-generation niche occupations, the extent that the second-generation enters the same occupations, and the resulting consequences on the second-generation’s income levels. In particular, the study investigates whether the second-generation will sustain the first-generation earnings advantage (or disadvantage) relative to natives. This research examines immigrants from China, India, the Philippines, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Data from …

Community-Scale Renewable Energy, Hannah J. Wiseman, Sara C. Bronin

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

At the outset, we should recognize the types of renewable energy that are best suited for community-scale facilities. A broad, and commonly accepted, definition of renewable energy comes from the Energy Information Administration, which includes all resources that “are naturally replenishing but flow-limited,” including “biomass, hydro, geothermal, solar, wind, ocean thermal, wave action, and tidal action.” Of these types of renewable energy, solar and wind have the highest potential for community-scale implementation. Indeed, these have tended to dominate the community-scale renewable projects already in place. Moreover, states commonly subsidize both large-scale and individual-scale solar and wind developments; these subsidies may …

South Africa's Electricity Crisis: The Need To Reconcile Environmental Policy Decisions With International Treaties, Brittany D. Botterill

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

This Comment examines whether South Africa’s treaty obligations conflict with the requirement of the country’s government to provide electricity to a burgeoning home-owning population. Section II introduces Eskom, South Africa’s largest utility company, which produces most of the electricity used in South Africa and surrounding countries. Section III discusses South Africa’s role in the Southern Africa Power Pool and the additional obligations this membership places on the country. Section IV then examines the controversial loan that South Africa received from the World Bank to assist in building the Medupi coal-fired power plant. Section V illustrates South Africa’s climate change obligations …

"Taxpayers As Victims: Taxpayer Harm & Criminalization", Brenner M. Fissell

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

Criminal statutes are least objectionable when they are justified by the notion that the conduct being prohibited is harmful to others. Over the past few decades, a new argument has arisen that makes this very easy to do. This argument appeals to the reality that often when one’s conduct causes or risks physical injury to one’s self, governmental services (e.g. rescue, police, healthcare) will be provided, and that the cost of these services is an unfair burden imposed upon taxpayers. This argument understands the taxpayers to be victims, and the self-harming conduct to therefore be harmful to others, and justifiably …

Metallic And Ceramic Thin Film Thermocouples, Ian M. Tougas

Open Access Master's Theses

Operating temperatures in the hot sections of modern gas turbine engines reach as high as 1500°C, making in situ monitoring of the severe temperature gradients on the surface of components rather difficult. Therefore, there is a need to develop thermocouples which can stably measure temperature in these harsh environments. Refractory metal and ceramic thin film thermocouples are well suited for this task since they have chemical and electrical stability at high temperatures in oxidizing atmospheres, they are compatible with thermal barrier coatings employed on engine components, have higher sensitivity than conventional wire thermocouples, and they are non-invasive to the engine …

Establishing Twenty-First-Century Information Fluency, Jennifer Sharkey

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

In an effort to infuse information fluency into programming and curriculum, consideration of the learning environment and methods for integrating technology is essential.

Surviving Slis: A Guide To Getting Through Library And Information Studies Graduate School, Eric Willey

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

This is a short book about getting into, getting through, and getting what you can out of library graduate school. Most of it is drawn from my experience in a library and information studies graduate program, some of it from a history graduate program, and the rest from conversations with fellow students, colleagues, and instructors.

Private Rights For The Public Good?, J. Janewa Oseitutu

Faculty Publications

The counterfeit medicines discussion is an example of how the use of a turbid rationale for greater intellectual property protections serves sophisticated private interests while potentially harming the public interest. The risk of harm created by counterfeit medicines provides a compelling counter-narrative to the access to medicines critique of intellectual property rights.

Intellectual property advocates and the pharmaceutical industry have portrayed poor global enforcement of intellectual property rights as contributing to the proliferation of dangerous counterfeit medications. Yet, the deliberate linkage in the literature between weak intellectual property rights and the harms caused by counterfeit medicines provides a justification for …

Effect Of Hydrodynamic Force On Microcantilever Vibrations: Applications To Liquid-Phase Chemical Sensing, I. Dufour, E. Lemaire, B. Caillard, H. Debeda, C. Lucat, Stephen M. Heinrich, Fabien Josse, O. Brand

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

At the microscale, cantilever vibrations depend not only on the microstructure’s properties and geometry but also on the properties of the surrounding medium. In fact, when a microcantilever vibrates in a fluid, the fluid offers resistance to the motion of the beam. The study of the influence of the hydrodynamic force on the microcantilever’s vibrational spectrum can be used to either (1) optimize the use of microcantilevers for chemical detection in liquid media or (2) extract the mechanical properties of the fluid. The classical method for application (1) in gas is to operate the microcantilever in the dynamic transverse bending …

The Integration Of Sustainable Development Competencies In Irish Engineering Education: Findings Of A Curriculum Content Investigation Of Four Engineering Programmes, Iacovos Nicolaou, Eddie Conlon

Conference papers

This paper presents the initial findings of an investigation of the Sustainable Development (SD) content in five professional engineering degree programmes in a large Irish Institute of Technology.

A comprehensive investigation of the modules content was conducted to see to what extent the learning outcomes for SD as set out in the Barcelona Declaration and SD competencies were covered by the modules. It was found that 40% of the 137 modules included SD learning outcomes and/or addressed SD competencies. The modules have a focus on environmental issues and tend to address only one of the three dimensions, environmental, social and …

Antenna Designs For Wireless Medical Implants., Conor P. Conran

Masters

Active medical implants are devices that are surgically implanted inside the body. They have been developed to treat a wide range of ailments and many require some form of communications link with the outside world for maintenance and for remote medical diagnostics. Radio links promise a wide range of benefits over the traditional low frequency inductive coupling method.

Body tissue is a challenging environment, both for the device and for the radio signal that it transmits. Innovation in medical technology is creating a demand for high bandwidth links, and this in turn is driving the development of implantable antennas.

Many …

Microsimulation Evaluation Of Eurocode Load Model For American Long-Span Bridges, Bernard Enright, Colm Carey, Colin Caprani

Articles

The ability to accurately predict traffic loading is essential for cost-effective bridge maintenance and repair programs. The traffic load model currently used in the United States for the design of long-span bridges was developed over three decades ago. In the meantime vehicle characteristics and traffic patterns have changed. The Eurocode for traffic loading is more recent, but was calibrated only for bridges up to 200 m long. In this work, Weigh-In-Motion traffic records from 11 different sites across Alabama are used to establish congested traffic loading. Traffic microsimulation is used to generate the congestion, based on the real traffic data. …

Identifying High And Low Walkable Neighbourhoods Using Multi-Disciplinary Walkability Criteria, Lorraine Fitzsimons D'Arcy, Kevin M. Leyden, Catherine Woods

Conference papers

Neighbourhood features contributing to the walkability (pedestrian friendliness) of a neighbourhood are diverse and depend on both its physical and social attributes. Earlier work in the Cleaner, Greener, Leaner (CGL) Study identified differences in opinion between professional stakeholder groups (planners, designers, engineers, public representatives, and public health and advocacy professionals) on what constitutes a walkable environment [1]. This diversity has implications for neighbourhood design and planning policy. The findings of a multi-disciplinary focus group study were used to generate a list of walkability criteria to select areas for a population study. In this study twenty areas were shortlisted and grouped …

Overview Of Approaches To Preventing And Avoiding Proteolysis During Expression And Purification Of Proteins, Barry Ryan, Gary Henehan

Articles

Proteases are enzymes that cleave proteins. They occur widely in nature and serve a fundamental role in cellular homeostasis; however, their presence can result in unwanted protein degradation during recombinant protein expression and purification. This unit introduces proteases, specifically outlining the types commonly encountered during production of recombinant proteins. The strategies used to avoid and to prevent proteolysis are also highlighted with extensive consideration of the molecular, technical, and logistical methodologies involved

High Sensitivity Fiber Refractometer Based On An Optical Microfiber Coupler, Lin Bo, Pengfei Wang, Yuliya Semenova, Gerald Farrell

Articles

An optical microfiber coupler-based refractive index sensor is proposed and experimentally demonstrated in this letter. A microfiber coupler with a minimum diameter of 2.5 µm and a uniform waist with a length of 2 mm is fabricated and used for sensing surrounding refractive index. Both theoretical and experimental results have shown that the spectral response of the proposed microfiber coupler is highly sensitive to the surrounding refractive index over the range from 1.3340 to 1.3800. An average sensitivity of 2723 nm/RIU over this entire refractive index range has been achieved experimentally. Furthermore, for the refractive index range from 1.3340 to …

The Influence Of Light Beam Convergence On The Stop-Bands Of A One-Dimensional Photonic Crystal, Vladimir A. Tolmachev, Kevin Berwick, Tatiana S. Perova

Articles

The influence of beam convergence on the photonic band-gaps, or stop-bands (SBs), of onedimensional photonic crystals (1D PCs) is investigated. The investigation is based on an analysis of the gap map obtained from reflection spectra, calculated by the transfer matrix method for various angles of light incidence, φ, The calculated data is compared with reflection spectra taken using Fourier Transform Infrared microspectroscopy. It was found that the introduction of the parameter, Δφ to account for the focused light beam, for angles up to 20°, has little effect on the first, or lowest SB and the SBs adjacent to it. However, …

Reversible Photoluminescence Quenchin Of Cdse/Zns Quantum Dots Embedded In Porous Glass By Ammonia Vapor, A. O. Orlova, Yu A. Gromova, V. G. Maslov, O. V. Andreeva, A. V. Baranov, A. V. Federov, A. V. Prudnikau, M. V. Artemyev, Kevin Berwick

Articles

The photoluminescence response of semiconductor CdSe/ZnS quantum dots embedded in a borosilicate porous glass matrix to exposure to ammonia vapor is investigated. Formation of surface complexes on the quantum dots results in quenching of the photoluminescence and a shortening of the luminescence decay time. The process is reversible, desorption of ammonia molecules from the quantum dot surface causes the photoluminescence to recover. The sensitivity of the quantum dot luminescence intensity and decay time to the interaction time and the reversibility of the photoluminescence changes makes the CdSe/ZnS quantum dot in porous glass system a candidate for use as an optical …

Hybrid Plasmonic Biosensor For Simultaneous Measurement Of Both Thickness And Refractive Index, Youqiao Ma, Gerald Farrell, Yuliya Semenova, Hau Ping Chan, Qiang Wu

Articles

A novel hybrid plasmonic biosensor using a sub-wavelength reflection metal grating is proposed and analyzed. The simulation results show that the hybrid plasmonic-cavity (HPCM) are wavelength dependent on both the refractive index (RI) and thickness of the surrounding analyte layer, with a sensitivity of 448 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) and 75 nm/um, respectively. However wavelength related to the cavity resonant mode (CRM) related is only sensitive to the environmental refractive index changes. In principle it is possible to determine both RI and thickness of the coating layer simultaneously.

Image Authentication Using Stochastic Diffusion, Abdulrahman I. Al-Rawi, Jonathan Blackledge

Conference papers

This paper considers an approach to encrypted information hiding based on Stochastic Diffusion for encrypting digital images coupled with the application of a Least Significant Bit (LSB) method for information embedding. After providing a brief summary of various information hiding methods based on spatial and transform domain techniques, two new methods are introduced. The first of these considers a binary image watermarking algorithm for hiding an image in a single host image which is based on binarization of the encrypted data. The second method extends this approach to solving the problem of 24-bit image hiding in three host images which …

Near Field Radiation Patterns For An Ultra-Wide-Band Antenna, Jonathan Blackledge, Bazar Babajanov

Conference papers

We present a three-dimensional time dependent model for simulating the electromagnetic radiation field patterns generated by Ultra-Wide- Band (UWB) antennas. UWB antennas are pulsed mode radiators used to communicate information at high bit rates over short distance. This affects the spatial characteristics of the field patterns assumed to be generated when a Continuous Wave (CW) model is used and this paper investigates the difference between the near field intensity patterns generated when a pulse and CW mode is used. The purpose of this is to develop a numerical simulation that provides information on the three-dimensional electromagnetic field subject to a …

Cryptography Using Evolutionary Computing, Jonathan Blackledge, S. Bezobrazov, Paul Tobin, F. Zamora

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

Community Microgrid Based On Micro-Wind Generation System, Lubna Mariam, Malabika Basu, Michael Conlon

Conference papers

Penetration of renewable energy sources (such as solar/wind) are being explored mostly as micro power generation (μGen) or mega power plant system. In recent years, emphasis has been given on Microgrid (μGrid) systems because of their few advantages over μGen systems in terms of power quality, stability, reliability, economics etc. But the commercial installation of the μGrid system is not yet progressing significantly. This paper presents the techno-economic aspects of μGen and μGrid systems towards the development of grid connected community based μGrid (C-μGrid) system. Emphasis has been given to identify the benefits of the μGrid over the μGen system. …