Digital Commons Network^™

Crowdsourcing Platform For Qoe Evaluation For Cloud Multimedia Services, A Laghari, Hui He, Asiya Khan, R Laghari, Shoulin Yin, Jiachi Wang

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

This paper presents a novel web-based crowdsourcing platform for the assessment of the subjective and objective quality of experience (QoE) of the video service in the cloud-server environment. The user has the option to enter subjective QoE data for video service by filling out a web questionnaire. The objective QoE data of the cloud-server, network condition, and the user device is automatically captured by the crowdsourcing platform. Our proposed system collects both objective and subjective QoE simultaneously in real-time. The paper presents the key technologies used in the development of the platform and describes the functional requirements and design ideas …

Investigation Of Wave-Driven Hydroelastic Interactions Using Numerical And Physical Modelling Approaches, S. A. Brown, N. Xie, M. R. Hann, D. M. Greaves

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Wave-driven hydroelasticity is of great importance to a wide range of applications within offshore and coastal engineering. Harnessing the benefits of hydroelasticity or minimising its impacts, depending on the application, has recently led to substantial investment in research effort in this field. However, the complex and strongly-coupled nature of the problem generally make the impacts very case specific, highlighting the importance of accurate numerical tools for assessing the impact on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, this study aims to provide novel experimental data to assist with the development of a coupled numerical methodology for simulating fully nonlinear hydroelastic interactions with highly-flexible …

Liquid Air Energy Storage For Ancillary Services In An Integrated Hybrid Renewable System, Mostafa Kheshti, Xiaowei Zhao, Ting Liang, Binjian Nie, Yulong Ding, Deborah Greaves

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

High shares of intermittent renewable sources cause volatile frequency movements that could jeopardize the continuous operation of the grid. Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) is an emerging technology that not only helps with decarbonisation of energy sectors, but also has potentials for reliable ancillary services. In this paper, a hybrid LAES, wind turbine (WT), and battery energy storage system (BESS) is used to investigate their contributions in fast frequency control. The inertial control, droop control and combined inertial and droop terms are applied on each source of the hybrid renewable system and a comprehensive analysis is conducted to study their …

A Worked Example Of Braun And Clarke’S Approach To Refexive Thematic Analysis, David Byrne

Articles

Since the publication of their inaugural paper on the topic in 2006, Braun and Clarke’s approach has arguably become one of the most thoroughly delineated methods of conducting thematic analysis (TA). However, confusion persists as to how to implement this specifc approach to TA appropriately. The authors themselves have identifed that many researchers who purport to adhere to this approach—and who reference their work as such—fail to adhere fully to the principles of ‘refexive thematic analysis’ (RTA). Over the course of numerous publications, Braun and Clarke have elaborated signifcantly upon the constitution of RTA and attempted to clarify numerous misconceptions …

Volume 31, Number 3, Winter 2022-23, Office Of Communications, Illinois Wesleyan University

Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, 2018-present

VOLUME 31 | NUMBER 3 | Winter 2022-23

ON OUR COVER: Toni Tortorella ’21 sports the mark from the surgery that cured her cancer as a symbol of health advocacy and the support she received from family, friends, faculty and staff.

14 Guardian Angel When IWU nursing student and community leader Toni Tortorella ’21 was diagnosed with cancer, her family at home and school advocated for her health and her academic success. Now she’s a nurse at the hospital that cured her.

18 A Love Letter to IWU After a summer of storytelling about what makes Illinois Wesleyan a unique …

Quality Of Experience Assurance In Wireless Networks For Mpeg-4 Transmission, Mohd Najwan Md. Khambari

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The evolution of IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) has emerged as the most preferred choice for organizations as well as end users and consumers to access the network, especially the Internet. Today, WLAN technology has becoming more mature and slowly taking over the job for information sharing which was once borne by wired networks. WLAN has not only been used to transfer data packets, but also multimedia packets that are more time sensitive. Given the nature of WLAN which is prone to interference, several challenges need to be encountered for WLAN to keep abreast with the ability of …

Wavecat Wave Energy Converter: Performance And Wave Field Interaction, James Allen

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Wave Energy Converters (WECs) have been shown to offer a promising option for power generation. The WaveCat is a moored WEC design which uses wave overtopping discharge into a variable v-shaped hull, to generate electricity through low head turbines. Physical model tests of the WaveCat WEC were carried out at the University of Plymouth COAST Laboratory to determine the device reflection, transmission and absorption coefficients. 60° and 30° wedge angles were tested, where wedge angle is the angle between the two hulls. Motion response of the WaveCat model was also quantified. The device heave and pitch motions were simulated using …

Biosensing With Back-Gated Graphene Field Effect Transistors, Benjamin O'Driscoll

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

The widespread existence of the heavy metal lead in the environment is a severe threat to the health of humans. Lead is a neurotoxin that accumulates over time in the body restricting the cognitive, behavioural and psychological development of children. Since water is one exposure route for chemical hazards like Pb2+ it is envisioned that monitoring drinking water sources with low-cost, sensitive and field-suitable devices is one way that human exposure can be limited. Herein presents graphene field effect transistors (GFETs) functionalised with aptamers as bioreceptors, for the specific detection of Pb2+ ions in water. Functionalising GFETs with bioreceptors facilitates …

Metal Contamination Of Intertidal Sediment And Macroalgae In An Area Impacted By Paint From Abandoned Boats, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Novel Antibacterial Silver Nanocoating To Reduce Nosocomial Infections, James Butler

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

Nosocomial infections (those that are hospital-acquired) lead to patient morbidity and mortality, and are further complicated by the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance. Wastewater plumbing systems (WPS) are bacterial reservoirs and vehicles for bacterial transmission. Sink traps form a barrier between users and the WPS, but breaches can lead to contamination and have been implicated in outbreaks of infections. This project sought to address the need for a novel antimicrobial nanocoating to reduce bacterial colonisation and biofilm formation in sink traps. A nanocoating was developed by embedding silver nanoparticles in a matrix of commercially-available and low-cost pipe cement, applied to …

Optimisation Of Wireless Disaster Telecommunication Network Based On Network Functions Virtualisation Under Special Consideration Of Energy Consumption, Auberlin Paguem Tchinda

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Theses

A working communication network is a key element in saving human lives after a disaster event. However, analysis of past disaster events shows significant damage to common communication network infrastructures such as the mobile network or landline. Consequently, a new communication network (Emergency Communication Network (ECN)) must be established immediately after the disaster to support rescue operations (e.g., civil protection, police, and volunteers) and to enable communication between the affected people. The established network is subject to several requirements. These requirements can be divided into infrastructure and service requirements. Infrastructure requirements include rapid deployment of the communication network, complete coverage …

A New Approach To Self-Assessment Of Community Engagement: A Case Study Of Technological University Dublin., Emma O'Brien, Martina Brophy, Thomas M. Cooney

Articles

Building upon existing international tools, the TEFCE (Towards a European Framework for Community Engagement of Higher Education) Toolbox for community engagement represents an innovative, robust, and holistic framework to support universities in reflecting upon their community engagement. Through a case study approach, this paper highlights the piloting of the TEFCE Toolbox at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Ireland. Through an inclusive and participatory methodology, the process facilitated the recognition of community engagement achievements and the identification of potential areas for improvement.

Supporting Adherence To Physical Activity In People With Multiple Sclerosis, Rachel Dennett

School of Health Professions Theses

Background The benefits of exercise and physical activity for people with multiple sclerosis are well recognised, as are the challenges faced by many in adhering to these activities over the long term. Adherence is considered by some to be the single most important modifiable factor affecting outcome. With years lived with disability increasing and healthcare resources limited, the need to develop and implement effective and acceptable interventions and support people with adherence to physical activity is pressing. Aim This integrative summary presents work from three related areas regarding exercise and physical activity in people with multiple sclerosis. The body of …

Behavioural Determinants Of Human And Planetary Health: The Role Of Nature Contact And Nature Connectedness., Leanne Martin

School of Psychology Theses

The benefits of natural environments for health and wellbeing are well-established, but less is known about their links human behaviour. This thesis presents a conceptual model proposing that increased contact with - and psychological connection to – nature will be associated with: a) a lower prevalence of health risk behaviours, and b) greater engagement with pro-environmental behaviours, via positive affect, negative affect, community cohesion and temporal discounting. Studies 1-3 used representative cross-sectional datasets to systematically investigate the associations between different types of nature contact, nature connectedness and behavioural outcomes. Study 4 used a bespoke cross-sectional survey to test the full …

Information Modelling For Urban Building Energy Simulation—A Taxonomic Review, Avichal Malhotra, Julian Bischof, Alexandru Nichersu, Karl-Heinz Häfele, Johannes Exenberger, Divyanshu Sood, James Allan, Jérôme Frisch, Christoph Van Treeck, James O'Donnell, Gerald Schweiger

Articles

Climate change, increasing emissions and rising global temperatures have gradually affected the way we think about the future of our planet. Urban areas possess significant potential for reducing the energy consumption of the overall energy system. In recent years, there is an increasing number of research initiatives related to Urban Building Energy Modelling (UBEM) that focus on simulation processes and validation techniques. Although input data are crucial for the modelling process as well as for the validity of the results, the availability of input data and associated data formats were not analysed in detail. This paper closes the identified knowledge …

Life-Cycle Assessment Of Non-Domestic Building Stocks: A Meta-Analysis Of Current Modelling Methods, Julian Bischoff, Aidan Duffy

Articles

Building stock models (BSMs) are essential for simulating the contributions of regional and national building sectors to climate change under different policy scenarios, and for identifying pathways to climate change mitigation. To date, BSMs have focused on the operational life-cycle impacts of domestic dwellings; there has been less emphasis either on non-domestic buildings (NDBs) or full life-cycle analysis. This paper provides a first review of the theory and practice of NDB stock modelling which considers life-cycle energy, emissions and costs. A meta-analysis of the literature was undertaken involving a structured search of relevant articles in key scientific repositories. 98 in-scope …

Emissions, Shawn Urbanski, Susan O'Neill, Amara L. Holder, Sarah Green, Rick L. Graw

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This chapter assesses the current state of the science regarding the composition, intensity, and drivers of wildland fire emissions in the USA and Canada. Globally and in the USA wildland fires are a major source of gases and aerosols which have significant air quality impacts and climate interactions. Wildland fire smoke can trigger severe pollution episodes with substantial effects on public health. Fire emissions can degrade air quality at considerable distances downwind, hampering efforts by air regulators to meet air standards. Fires are a major global source of aerosols which affect the climate system by absorbing and scattering radiation and …

Post-Exercise Arterial Stiffness Responses Are Similar After Acute Eccentric And Concentric Arm Cycling, Travis Wakeham, Dakota J. Anderson, Steven J. Elmer, John J. Durocher

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Upper-body resistance exercise effectively increases muscular strength, but may concomitantly increase arterial stiffness. Eccentric exercise can lead to muscle soreness and arterial stiffness in untrained participants. However, it is unclear if upper-body eccentric exercise could reduce arterial stiffness in a single session for participants that have undergone progressive training. Our purpose was to compare acute responses to upper-body eccentric (novel, ECCarm) and concentric (traditional, CONarm) steady state arm cycling. We hypothesized that arm arterial stiffness would be reduced after both ECCarm and CONarm. Twenty-two young healthy individuals performed either ECCarm ( = 11) or CONarm ( = 11) at ~70% …

The Influence Of Different Crystal Modifiers On Ultra-Low Embodied Energy Curing Fiber-Reinforced Cement Composites, Passakorn Sonprasarn, Wichit Prakaypan, Sureerat Polsilapa, Nuntaporn Kongkajun, Edward A. Laitila, Nutthita Chuankrerkkul, Parinya Chakartnarodom

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Fiber-reinforced cement composites (FRCC) are widely used in the construction of houses and commercial buildings in many countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, the European countries, and the Asian countries such as China, India, and Thailand. Conventionally, the FRCC is manufactured from Portland cement, silica sand, and cellulose fiber using the so-called autoclaved curing under a designate hydrothermal condition to accelerate the hydration reaction resulting in superior properties. However, the autoclave-curing process needs a huge investment and generates highly environmental impact specially greenhouse gases due to its heavy energy consumption. Hence, this research aims to develop the …

Perceived Social Support And Stress: A Study Of 1st Year Students In Ireland, Lavinia Mclean, David Gaul, Rebecca Penco

Articles

Social support is consistently associated with positive outcomes for students, in terms of wellbeing and academic achievement. For first year students, social support offers a way to deal with stressors associated with the challenge of transitioning to university. The current research was conducted with a range of first year students (n = 315) early in their first semester in university. Both male and female students reported moderate levels of social support and perceived stress, while those with higher levels of social support reported lower levels of stress. Gender differences were apparent in both the levels and sources of social …

Cloud-Based Knowledge Management Framework For Decision Making In Higher Education Institutions, Muhammad Younas, Ahmad Shukri Mohd Noor, Muhammad Arshad

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

The education sector is now necessitated to align itself with the latest innovative technological trends in the industry to be competitive while transform-ing database management practices. The Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are currently using cloud-based applications at varied implementation levels while others are following the shifting trends. On-demand availability of consolidated information is a critical success factor to perform decision-making activities; as a result, quite a bit of research work has been performed in this realm. The study is aimed to propose an efficient framework that is capable of extracting the desired information from an educational setup intended to be …

All-Optical Modulator Based On A Microfibre Coil Resonator Functionalized With Mxene, Pengfei Wang, Shi Li, Fengzi Ling, Gerald Farrell, Elfed Lewis, Yu Yin

Articles

A novel all-optical modulator based on a microfibre coil resonator (MCR) functionalized using MXene is reported. The MCR was manufactured by winding a tapered fibre on a polycarbonate (PC) resin cylinder with low refractive index to support the microfibre, which also forms a fluidic channel coil. The MXene dispersion was injected into the channel to allow the deposition of an MXene layer using a photodeposition process. The transmission spectra were tuned using a tunable laser with a centre wavelength of 1550 nm and the light-matter interaction resulting from the photo-thermal effect and MXene absorption provide the all-optical modulation in this …

A Micron-Range Displacement Sensor Based On Thermo-Optically Tuned Whispering Gallery Modes In A Microcapillary Resonator, Zhe Wang, Arun Kumar Mallik, Fangfang Wei, Zhuochen Wang, Anuradha Rout, Qiang Wu, Yuliya Semenova

Articles

A novel micron-range displacement sensor based on a whispering-gallery mode (WGM) microcapillary resonator filled with a ne matic liquid crystal (LC) and a magnetic nanoparticle- coated fiber half-taper is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In the proposed device, the tip of a fiber half-taper coated with a thin layer of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) moves inside the LC-filled microcapillary resonator along its axis. The input end of the fiber half-taper is connected to a pump laser source and due to the thermo-optic effect within the MNPs, the fiber tip acts as point heat source increasing the temperature of the LC material in …

Differentially Private Fractional Frequency Moments Estimation With Polylogarithmic Space, Lun Wang, Iosif Pinelis, Dawn Song

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

We prove that Fp sketch, a well-celebrated streaming algorithm for frequency moments estimation, is differentially private as is when p ∈ (0, 1]. Fp sketch uses only polylogarithmic space, exponentially better than existing DP baselines and only worse than the optimal non-private baseline by a logarithmic factor. The evaluation shows that Fp sketch can achieve reasonable accuracy with differential privacy guarantee. The evaluation code is included in the supplementary material.

Considering Thickness-Accommodation, Nesting, Grounding And Deployment In Design Of Miura-Ori Based Space Arrays, Terri Bateman, Diana Bolanos, Nathan Brown, Brooklyn Clark, Larry L. Howell, Collin Ynchausti, Hunter Pruett, Jared Hunter, Spencer P. Magleby

Faculty Publications

The Miura-ori pattern exhibits favorable qualities desirable for deployable space arrays – especially achieving a large deployed area from a compact stowed volume. However, implementing the Miura-ori into a finite-thickness, engineered system poses challenges that are not manifest in a zero-thickness model. As such, it is important to understand and address the limitations of the pattern before implementing it into an engineered system. This paper presents the Miura-ori as a favorable, yet challenging, pattern in design of deployable space arrays. Challenges including thickness-accommodation, nesting, grounding and deployment are presented to introduce designers to unapparent complications associated with design of Miura-ori …

Achievements And Prospects Of Functional Pavement: Materials And Structures, Jian-Long Zheng, Zhanping You, Xueyan Liu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

No abstract provided.

Self-Perceived Loneliness And Depression During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Two-Wave Replication Study, Alessandro Carollo, Andrea Bizzego, Giulio Gabrieli, Keri Ka Yee Wong, Adrian Raine, Gianluca Esposito

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

The global Covid-19 pandemic has forced countries to impose strict lockdown restrictions and mandatory stay-at-home orders with varying impacts on individual’s health. Combining a data-driven machine learning paradigm and a statistical approach, our previous paper documented a U-shaped pattern in levels of self-perceived loneliness in both the UK and Greek populations during the first lockdown (17 April to 17 July 2020). The current paper aimed to test the robustness of these results by focusing on data from the first and second lockdown waves in the UK. We tested a) the impact of the chosen model on the identification of the …

Dataset Of Parent-Child Hyperscanning Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Recordings, Andrea Bizzego, Giulio Gabrieli, Atiqah Azhari, Mengyu Lim, Gianluca Esposito

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

The term “hyperscanning” refers to the simultaneous recording of multiple individuals’ brain activity. As a methodology, hyperscanning allows the investigation of brain-to-brain synchrony. Despite being a promising technique, there is a limited number of publicly available functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning recordings. In this paper, we report a dataset of fNIRS recordings from the prefrontal cortical (PFC) activity of 33 mother-child dyads and 29 father-child dyads. Data was recorded while the parent-child dyads participated in an experiment with two sessions: a passive video attention task and a free play session. Dyadic metadata, parental psychological traits, behavioural annotations of the play …

Alterations In Cortisol Profiles Among Mothers Of Children With Asd Related To Poor Child Sleep Quality, Wasmiah Bin Eid, Mengyu Lim, Giulio Gabrieli, Melanie Kölbel, Elizabeth Halstead, Gianluca Esposito, Dagmara Dimitriou

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience poorer sleep, but studies have not yet used objective measures to investigate how child and caregiver sleep affect each other. In this study, 29 mothers and their child with ASD aged between 6 and 16 years were recruited. Questionnaires measuring child autism, maternal depression, and maternal and child sleep quality were administered. Cortisol salivary samples were also obtained from the mothers over the course of a day. Results revealed that maternal depression is significantly correlated with their subjective sleep quality, sleep latency and daytime dysfunction. Child sleep quality was also found …

To Wine Or Not To Wine? A Scientometric Approach To 65+ Years Of Wine Preference And Selection Studies, Alessandro Carollo, Seraphina Fong, Giulio Gabrieli, Claudio Mulatti, Gianluca Esposito

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Purpose: Among the growing interest towards market segmentation and targeted marketing, the current study adopted a scientometric approach to examine the literature on wine selection and preferences. The current review specifically attempts to shed light on the research that explores the determinants of wine preferences at multiple levels of analysis. Design/methodology/approach: CiteSpace was used to compute a Document Co-Citation Analysis (DCA) on a sample of 114,048 eligible references obtained from 2,846 publications downloaded from Scopus on 24 May 2021. Findings: An optimized network of 1,505 nodes and 4,616 links was generated. Within the network, impactful publications on the topic and …