Digital Commons Network^™

The Value Of Green Certification On Single-Family Houses In The Chicagoland Area, Raymond Bolton

Honors Projects

In the United States, residential buildings alone account for 33% of energy consumption. Rising concerns about environmental impacts due to human consumption, as well as health concerns related to pollution have caused a higher demand for environmentally conscious houses. Homebuilders have responded by providing green certifications for houses, attesting to a building’s efficiency in various aspects, such as site design and energy and water consumption. Using Multiple Listing Services real estate data on zero- to five-year-old houses sold between 2010 and 2017 in the Chicagoland area, this study examines whether there is a price premium associated with qualifying for green …

Colonialism And Its Aftermaths In Vieques, Puerto Rico: How U.S. Hegemony Led To Contamination, A Superfund Site, And Local Mistrust, Kaya Mark

Scripps Senior Theses

After sixty-two years of U.S. military testing, the small Puerto Rican island of Vieques and its residents continue to fight against ongoing environmental and social effects of U.S. hegemony. Starting with the arrival of the Spanish, then with U.S. occupation and use of Vieques as a military stopover, Viequense residents are used to U.S. governmental presence on their land. Despite the military’s removal from Vieques in 2003, many local residents have a fundamental lack of trust for the U.S. government. Because of this lack of trust and transparency with U.S. governmental actions in the post- World War II period, residents …

Stochastic Search Methods For Mobile Manipulators, Amoako-Frimpong Samuel Yaw, Matthew Messina, Henry P. Medeiros, Jeremy Marvel, Roger Bostelman

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Mobile manipulators are a potential solution to the increasing need for additional flexibility and mobility in industrial applications. However, they tend to lack the accuracy and precision achieved by fixed manipulators, especially in scenarios where both the manipulator and the autonomous vehicle move simultaneously. This paper analyzes the problem of dynamically evaluating the positioning error of mobile manipulators. In particular, it investigates the use of Bayesian methods to predict the position of the end-effector in the presence of uncertainty propagated from the mobile platform. The precision of the mobile manipulator is evaluated through its ability to intercept retroreflective markers using …

The Changing Landscape Of The Capital Markets, Barbara Krumsiek

Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership

Much has been made of the rise of activist hedge funds over the past five years. But the shifts in the makeup of the investor community run much deeper than that, impacting both capital formation and capital deployment.

From the proliferation of hedge funds and the emergence of SRI and other new investment strategies, to the massive shift of funds to passive investors, the intermediation of the investment chain, and the concentration of ownership in the largest institutional investors, understanding the trend lines in the capital markets is integral to understanding where governance and the performance of public corporations goes …

Rethinking The Mathematics Worksheet In Higher Education: Embracing The Application Of Spaced And Interleaved Practice, Deirdre Casey, Clodagh Carroll, Julie Crowley

Irish Journal of Academic Practice

Existing research in cognitive and educational psychology warns against overlearning and promotes spaced and interleaved practice. However, the practice of blocked overlearning is still the standard design of student practice in mathematics in higher education. This is despite the fact that transitioning to spaced interleaved worksheets would require only the resources already in place for traditionally designed blocked worksheets. Consequently, changing to spaced interleaved worksheets provides a straightforward, time-effective way in which higher education mathematics educators can implement evidence-based practice. This paper is a literature review with the intention of making explicit the educational benefits of a worksheet redesign in …

Economic Degrees Prepare Students For The Job Of The Year, Nikki Castle '15

The Park Place Economist

No abstract provided.

Long-Term Fuel-Specific Nox And Particle Emission Trends For In-Use Heavy-Duty Vehicles In California, Molly J. Haugen, Gary A. Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

Two California heavy-duty fleets have been measured in 2013, 2015 and 2017 using the On-road Heavy-duty Measurement System. The Port of Los Angeles drayage fleet has increased in age by 3.3 model years (4.2 to 7.5 years old) since 2013, with little fleet turnover. Large increases in fuel specific particle emissions (PM) observed in 2015 were reversed in 2017, returning to near 2013 levels, suggesting repairs and or removal of high emitting vehicles. Fuel specific oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) emissions of this fleet have increased and NO_x after-treatment systems do not appear to perform ideally in this …

On-Road Remote Sensing Of Heavy And Medium-Duty Trucks At The Peralta Weigh Station In The South Coast Air Basin: Spring 2017, Molly J. Haugen, Gary A. Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

No abstract provided.

Investigate The Durability Of Diesel Engine Emission Controls, Gary A. Bishop, Molly J. Haugen

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

No abstract provided.

Identification And Preliminary Review Of Doctoral Theses In Engineering Education That Have Used Phenomenological Methods, Shannon Chance, I. Direito

Conference papers

46th SEFI Annual Conference 2018. Creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship for engineering education excellence.

Impact Of Cold Chain And Product Variability On Quality Attributes Of Modified Atmosphere Picked Mushrooms (Agaricus Bisporus) Throughout Distribution, Kompal Joshi, Jenna Warby, Juan Valverde, Brijesh Tiwari, Patrick J. Cullen, Jesus Maria Frias

Articles

An integrated mathematical modelling approach was followed to model the heat and mass transfer processes taking place in modified atmosphere packaged mushrooms and its effect on the quality throughout distribution supply chain was simulated. The model equations were solved to obtain the concentration of gases (O2, CO2) and H2O in the headspace of the package. The change in the quality (colour and weight loss) during the distribution supply chain were monitored. The simulation results are in agreement with the experimental data. The model can study the effect of biological parameters and cold chain parameters on the quality of mushroom. Weight …

Development Of A Hierarchical Model For Predicting Microbiological Contamination Of Private Groundwater Supplies In A Geologically Heterogeneous Region, Jean O'Dwyer, Paul Hynds, Kenneth Byrne, Michael Ryan, Catherine Adley

Articles

Private groundwater sources in the Republic of Ireland provide drinking water to an estimated 750,000 people or 16% of the national population. Consumers of untreated groundwater are at increased risk of infection from pathogenic microorganisms. However, given the volume of private wells in operation, remediation or even quantification of public risk is both costly and time consuming. In this study, a hierarchical logistic regression model was developed to ‘predict’ contamination with E. coli based on the results of groundwater quality analyses of private wells (n = 132) during the period of September 2011 to November 2012. Assessment of potential microbial …

Information Hiding Using Convolutional Encoding, Jonathan Blackledge, Paul Tobin, J. Myeza, C. M. Adolfo

Conference papers

We consider two functions f1(r) and f2(r), for r 2 Rn and the problem of ‘Diffusing’ these functions together, followed by the application of an encryption process we call ‘Stochastic Diffusion’ and then hiding the output of this process in to one or other of the same functions. The coupling of these two processes (i.e., data diffusion and stochastic diffusion) is considered using a form of conditioning that generates a wellposed and data consistent inverse solution for the purpose of decrypting the output. After presenting the basic encryption method and (encrypted) information hiding model, coupled with a mathematical analysis (within …

Interoperable Ocean Observing Using Archetypes: A Use-Case Based Evaluation, Paul Stacey, Damon Berry

Conference papers

This paper presents a use-case based evaluation of the impact of two-level modeling on the automatic federation of ocean observational data. The goal of the work is to increase the interoperability and data quality of aggregated ocean observations to support convenient discovery and consumption by applications. An assessment of the interoperability of served data flows from publicly available ocean observing spatial data infrastructures was performed. Barriers to consumption of existing standards-compliant ocean-observing data streams were examined, including the impact of adherence to agreed data standards. Historical data flows were mapped to a set of archetypes and a backward integration experiment …

The Role Of The Dendritic Growth Models Dimensionality In Predicting The Columnar To Equiaxed Transition (Cet), M. Seredyński, Marek Rebow, J. Banaszek

Articles

The dendrite tip kinetics model accuracy relies on the reliability of the stability constant used, which is usually experimentally determined for 3D situations and applied to 2D models. The paper reports authors` attempts to cure the situation by deriving 2D dendritic tip scaling parameter for aluminium-based alloy: Al-4wt%Cu. The obtained parameter is then incorporated into the KGT dendritic growth model in order to compare it with the original 3D KGT counterpart and to derive two-dimensional and three-dimensional versions of the modified Hunt’s analytical model for the columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET). The conclusions drawn from the above analysis are further confirmed through …

Thermo-Optic Tuning Of A Packaged Whispering Gallery Mode Resonator Filled With Nematic Liquid Crystal, Vishnu Kavungal, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, Arun Mallik, Yuliya Semenova

Articles

Thermo-optic tuning of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) in a nematic liquid crystal-filled thin-walled capillary tube resonator is reported. WGMs were excited by the evanescent field from a tapered optical fiber. Tapered optical fiber fabrication and reduction of wall thickness of the capillary tube was carried out by a ceramic micro-heater brushing technique. A simple and robust packaging technique is demonstrated to ensure stable and repeatable operation of the device. Tunability of WGMs with temperature was demonstrated with a sensitivity of 267.5 ± 2.5 pm/°C. The demonstrated thermo-optic method for WGMs tuning is potentially useful for many tunable photonic devices and …

An Audience With International Regulators In The Manufacture Of Medicines 2018: Quality Risk Management (Qrm) And Knowledge Management (Km), Anne Greene (Editor), Kevin O'Donnell (Editor), Nuala Calnan (Editor)

Books

A monograph based on a seminar organised by The School of Chemistry & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology, with Regulatory Science Ireland, and with The Health Products Regulatory Authority

An Energy-Based Approach To Assess And Predict Erosive Airfoil Defouling, Arthur Rudek, Thomas-Alexander Zitzmann, Geral Russ, Barry Duignan

Articles

A dynamic indentation experiment is presented for assessment of the adhesive behavior of a range of coatings in erosive defouling of commercial aircraft engines using CO2 dry-ice. A series of experiments is presented in which particles made from a reference material (polyoxymethylene – POM) and from CO2 dry-ice are made to impact compressor airfoils under a range of impact angle and velocity conditions. The airfoils investigated are coated with an indicator material (PTFE), which is typically used to visualise the defouling effect in large scale compressor defouling experiments. In addition, fouled compressor airfoils taken from service and coated with a …

Evaluation Of Heavy- And Medium-Duty On-Road Vehicle Emissions In California's South Coast Air Basin, Molly J. Haugen, Gary A. Bishop, Arvind Thiruvengadam, Daniel K. Carder

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

Emission measurements were collected from heavy-duty (HDVs) and medium-duty vehicles (MDVs) at the Peralta weigh station long-term measurement site near Anaheim, CA in 2017. Two Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test units sampled elevated and ground-level exhaust vehicles totaling 2,315 measurements. HDVs (1844 measurements) exhibited historical reductions in fuel specific oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) from the 2008 measurements (55%) with increased use of exhaust gas recirculation and selective catalytic reduction systems. However, as these technologies have aged, the in-use benefits have declined. Infrared %opacity measurements of tailpipe soot decreased 14% since 2012 with increased diesel particulate filter (DPF) use, DPF …

The Story Of Ever Diminishing Vehicle Tailpipe Emissions As Observed In The Chicago, Il Area, Gary A. Bishop, Molly J. Haugen

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

The University of Denver has collected on-road fuel specific vehicle emissions measurements in the Chicago area since 1989. This nearly 30 year record illustrates the large reductions in light-duty vehicle tailpipe emissions and the remarkable improvements in emissions control durability to maintain low emissions over increasing periods of time. Since 1989 fuel specific carbon monoxide (CO) emissions have been reduced by an order of magnitude and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions by more than a factor of 20. Nitric oxide (NO) emissions have only been collected since 1997 but have seen reductions of 79%. This has increased the skewness of the emissions …

Revisit Lynwood, Ca: On-Road Remote Sensing Of Automobile Emissions In The Lynwood, Ca: 2018, Gary A. Bishop

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Emissions Benefits Of Federal Reformulated Gasoline Versus Conventional Gasoline, Gary A. Bishop, S. Kent Hoekman, Amber Broch

Fuel Efficiency Automobile Test Publications

No abstract provided.

A Distributed Service Delivery Platform For Automotive Environments: Enhancing Communication Capabilities Of An M2m Service Platform For Automotive Application, Markus Glaab

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The automotive domain is changing. On the way to more convenient, safe, and efficient vehicles, the role of electronic controllers and particularly software has increased significantly for many years, and vehicles have become software-intensive systems. Furthermore, vehicles are connected to the Internet to enable Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and enhanced In-Vehicle Infotainment functionalities. This widens the automotive software and system landscape beyond the physical vehicle boundaries to presently include as well external backend servers in the cloud. Moreover, the connectivity facilitates new kinds of distributed functionalities, making the vehicle a part of an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and thus an …

Automated Identification Of Digital Evidence Across Heterogeneous Data Resources, Hussam J Mohammed

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Digital forensics has become an increasingly important tool in the fight against cyber and computer-assisted crime. However, with an increasing range of technologies at people’s disposal, investigators find themselves having to process and analyse many systems with large volumes of data (e.g., PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones) within a single case. Unfortunately, current digital forensic tools operate in an isolated manner, investigating systems and applications individually. The heterogeneity and volume of evidence place time constraints and a significant burden on investigators. Examples of heterogeneity include applications such as messaging (e.g., iMessenger, Viber, Snapchat, and WhatsApp), web browsers (e.g., Firefox and …

Laser Light Interaction And Their Influence On Dna And Cell Under In Vitro Conditions, Ruwaidah Abdulameer Mussttaf

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Laser photobiomodulation (PBM) or low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a form of phototherapy recognized worldwide for its expansive use in medicine. PBM/LLLT has the ability to enhance enzymatic activity and mitochondrial transmembrane potential that increase the availability of energy and the signal transduction, which promotes cell proliferation. This study primarily investigates the appropriateness of a range of treatment parameters, including light wavelength, irradiance (doses) and exposure time of PBM/LLLT in proliferation of cultured human monocytic leukaemia cell line THP-1(Tamm-Horsfall Protein 1), as well as DNA under in vitro conditions. A secondary objective was to exploit the beneficial effect of PBM/LLLT …

On Lowering The Error Floor Of Short-To-Medium Block Length Irregular Low Density Parity Check Codes, Umar-Faruk Abdu-Aguye

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Gallager proposed and developed low density parity check (LDPC) codes in the early 1960s. LDPC codes were rediscovered in the early 1990s and shown to be capacity approaching over the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel. Subsequently, density evolution (DE) optimized symbol node degree distributions were used to significantly improve the decoding performance of short to medium length irregular LDPC codes. Currently, the short to medium length LDPC codes with the lowest error floor are DE optimized irregular LDPC codes constructed using progressive edge growth (PEG) algorithm modifications which are designed to increase the approximate cycle extrinsic message degrees (ACE) …

Continuous Identity Verification In Cloud Computing Services, Burhan Mollan Salih Al-Bayati

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Cloud computing has become a hugely popular new paradigm for hosting and delivering services over the internet for individuals and organisations with low cost. However, security is a sensitive issue in cloud computing, as it its services remain accessible to anyone after initial authenticated login and for significant periods. This has led to an increase in the number of attacks on sensitive cus-tomer information. This research identified biometric approaches as a possible solution for security to be maintained beyond the point of entry. Specifically, behaviour profiling has been proposed and applied across various other applications in the area of Transparent …

A Developmental Model Of Trust In Humanoid Robots, Massimiliano Patacchiola

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Trust between humans and artificial systems has recently received increased attention due to the widespread use of autonomous systems in our society. In this context trust plays a dual role. On the one hand it is necessary to build robots that are perceived as trustworthy by humans. On the other hand we need to give to those robots the ability to discriminate between reliable and unreliable informants. This thesis focused on the second problem, presenting an interdisciplinary investigation of trust, in particular a computational model based on neuroscientific and psychological assumptions. First of all, the use of Bayesian networks for …

Contributions To Converters In Single Phase Distributed Photovoltaic Systems, Ali Hussein Abduljabbar Al-Omari

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

This thesis contributes to improve the photovoltaic Distributed Generation (DG) systems by proposing three novel methods to the system. On DC conversion side, a new integrated magnetic structure for interleaved converter and a new method to calculate the eddy current and hysteresis losses in the magnetic core were proposed. On inversion side, A new synchronisation method for grid tie inverters was suggested. The technique is using the Recursive Discrete Fourier Transform (RDFT) to find fundamental in grid waveform. On the DC converter side, the benefits of the new structure is to produce magnetic flux that alternate in the core across …

Numerical Modelling Of Extreme Waves: The Role Of Nonlinear Wave-Wave Interactions, Thomas Vyzikas

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The real monsters of the ocean, extreme waves, haunted mariners since the early days of human activities in the sea. Despite having caused numerous accidents and casualties, their systematic study began only in 2000s. Many mechanisms have been proposed to simulate these rare but catastrophic events, with the most prominent being wave focusing. This is connected to the NewWave theory, which has been used extensively in experimental and numerical modelling. However, the majority of the studies fail to capture the distinguishing characteristics of extreme waves, due to the inherent high nonlinearity of the problem and shortcomings of the modelling practice, …