Engineering Commons^™

Modeling And Simulation Of Commercial Satellite Imagery Processes, David A. Shultz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to develop a general, statistical model of order-to-delivery times for commercial satellite imagery. The research looked at the current four satellite providers with 3-meter or better imagers in the context of a generalized model of commercial imaging satellite operations. Existing methods use orbit analysis tools to determine the imaging time of a specified target based on defined satellite position and times, but can only develop shortest and longest times to an imaging opportunity. To address the general question of the time it takes to deliver an image for non-specific targets, this research develops a …

Modeling And Analysis Of Clandestine Networks, Clinton R. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Since Sept. 11, 2001, there has been great interest in the military and intelligence communities in using Social Network Analysis (SNA) to support the disruption and destruction of global terrorist networks. SNA results, however, tend to be descriptive and are limited due to the lack of advantageous properties of the relationship measures applied to the arcs in a social network. Further, SNA techniques generally focus on a single network context while real relationships are based in multiple contexts. This thesis develops a new proxy measure of pair-wise potential influence between members of a network, a Holistic Interpersonal Influence Measure (HIIM). …

Information Technology Implementation And Sustainment Model: Data Collection Instrument, Walter K. Yazzie

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to develop a data collection instrument for an existing information technology implementation and sustainment model. In 2003, a unique system dynamics model was developed at the Air Force Institute of Technology to predict the behavior of information technology implementation and sustainment (Fonnesbeck, 2003). However, no empirical data was used during the model development. In order to collect the needed empirical data, this research develops a data collection instrument for the model. The instrument was sent to 60 Air Force community planners who are currently implementing a geographical information system (Air Force GeoBase) into their …

What Communities Should Do Pre-Event To Support Public Health Post-Event Assessments, Surveillance And Monitoring, Thomas Lyons Carr Iii

Thomas Lyons (Thom) Carr III Appl.Sc., CEM

[Abstract written March 2008, TLC] Under worst-case planning assumptions used by some major metropolitan areas, a Neighbor-to-Neighbor self-help program model is the primary link between citizens and the professional response personnel of the responsible government agencies.

In the Neighbor-to-Neighbor self-help program model or a Community Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) calls on the citizens in neighborhoods to identify and establish cluster emergency preparedness committees, Cluster Emergency Coordination Centers (CECC) and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). Missing from these plans or what is not articulated is how constant Public Health Post-Event Surveillance, Monitoring and Assessments will be done. Given the worst-case planning …

Ua1b1/7 Complex For Engineering & Biological Sciences Dedication, Western Kentucky University

WKU Archives Records

Program for the Complex for Engineering & Biological Sciences dedication, includes image of the building and floor plans.

Ua3/9/5 Dedication Complex For Engineering & Biological Sciences, Wku President's Office

WKU Archives Records

Talking points used by WKU president Gary Ransdell at the dedication of the Complex for Engineering & Biological Sciences.

Catv Modulator Return Loss Effects On Headend Combining Isolation, Ron D. Katznelson

Ron D. Katznelson

This note addresses the impact of broadband return loss of frequency agile modulators when combined through headend combining networks. In particular, the effect of less-than-ideal output return loss values are examined and it is shown that even under the worst case conditions, a broadband return loss of 10 dB produces only small reductions in isolation that still permit cable operators to meet their headend combining specifications.

A Multiple-Objective Decision Analysis Of Stakeholder Values To Identify Watershed Improvement Needs, Jason R. W. Merrick, Gregory S. Parnell, Jamison Barnett, Margot Garcia

Statistical Sciences and Operations Research Publications

The paper describes the use of multiple objective decision analysis to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the quality of an endangered watershed and guide future efforts to improve the quality of the watershed. The Upham Brook watershed is an urban watershed that lies at the interface of declining inner city Richmond, Virginia and growth-oriented Henrico County. A section of stream within the watershed has been identified as so dangerously polluted that it threatens the health of the residents who live within the watershed boundaries. With funding provided by the National Science Foundation, the Upham Brook watershed project committee was formed to …

An Examination Of The Effect Of Organisational Culture Of The Implementation Of Public-Private Partnership (Ppp) In Ireland, Louis Gunnigan, David Eaton

Conference papers

This paper is concerned with identifying the organisational issues causing difficulty in the use of PPP and assessing the impact of PPP implementation on the organisational culture in the Irish public and private sectors. The authors address this issue by mapping the PPP process for one project type and comparing this process with that carried out in traditional procurement. Process differences through use of PPP are identified and organisational issues that have potential to impact on PPP success are assessed. Whilst the study undertaken is not extensive, it provides insight for initiators of PPP projects into the organisational issues that …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 47 Number 3, Winter 2005, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

8 - AFTER AMERICA by Deepa Arora. Thomas J. Reese, S.J., the former editor of the Jesuit weekly magazine, America, is spending a sabbatical year at SCU. He sat down for an exclusive interview with SCM to reflect on what he has witnessed, what inspires him, and the future of the Church.

16 - A HALF-CENTURY OF ART AND HISTORY AT SCU by Victoria Hendel De La O. "Through its exhibitions and collections, the museum allows students and faculty to expand the walls of the classroom," says Rebecca M. Schapp, director of the de Saisset Museum, which is celebrating its …

Minimising Power Losses In Distribution Systems With Distributed Resources, An D. T Le, Kashem M. Muttaqi, Michael Negnevitsky, Gerard Ledwich

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Attempts to reduce electricity cost, together with improving the efficiency of distribution systems, have led power utilities to dealing with the problem of power loss minimisation. Although losses in the system can never be entirely eliminated, they can be controlled and minimised in several ways. Research conducted in the last few decades has proven that an inclusion of Distributed Resources (DR) into distribution systems considerably lowers the level of power losses. Moreover, the choice of DR is even more attractive since it provides not only benefits in power loss minimisation, but also a wide range of other advantages including environment, …

Minimising Voltage Deviation In Distribution Feeders By Optimising Size And Location Of Distributed Generation, An D. T Le, Kashem M. Muttaqi, Michael Negnevitsky, Gerard Ledwich

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

A new emerging trend of distribution networks is to use small generating units, known as distributed generation (DG), operating in parallel with the main grid. This kind of distribution networks has enabled DG to support power systems in fulfilling their requirements to increase power output as well as quality of power supply. DG has potential to alter power flows, system voltages, and the system performance. In order to maximise benefits from the DG system, proper DG planning is necessary. Determining an optimal DG size and its DG location are critical issues that are addressed in this paper. The main purpose …

Dynamics Of A Hydro-Wind Hybrid Isolated Power System, M Aktarujjaman, Kashem M. Muttaqi, Michael Negnevitsky, Gerard Ledwich

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Implementation of Distributed Generation (DG) can improve power quality and reliability, and guarantee continuity of power supply. This paper addresses the issue of continuity of power supply especially for isolated communities. A part of a network can be electrically isolated from the main grid when the grid fails to supply power due to a fault in the network or unavailability of power generation. In this paper, a mini hydro-wind hybrid power system is considered, and operation and control of the hybrid system during connecting it with the grid as well as its operation in the isolated condition are investigated. The …

A Bluetooth Based Protocol For Multimedia Guidebooks On Mobile Computing Devices, Matthew D'Souza, Adam Postula, Neil Bergmann, Montserrat Ros

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper presents a Bluetooth based communications protocol used for multimedia guidebooks on mobile computing devices. Multimedia guidebooks are used in museums to allow users to access information about museum exhibits. The multimedia guidebook protocol was successfully implemented on a personal digital assistant and mobile (cell) phone platforms. The protocol overcomes some of the wireless file transfer protocol limitation issues with mobile computing devices. The protocol uses Bluetooth wireless connections as a communications medium. The protocol can be used to transfer various file formats such as image or audio files. The protocol also identifies the language content of the information …

Learning Texture Similarity With Perceptual Pairwise Distance, Yan Gao, Lei Wang, Kap Luk Chan, Wei-Yan Yau

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In this paper, we demonstrate how texture classification and retrieval could benefit from learning perceptual pairwise distance of different texture classes. Textures as represented by certain image features may not be correctly compared in a way that is consistent with human perception. Learning similarity helps to alleviate this perceptual inconsistency. For textures, psychological experiments were shown to be able to construct perceptual pairwise distance matrix. We are going to show how this distance information could be utilized in learning similarity by Support Vector Machines for efficient texture classification and retrieval.

Mimo-Ofdm Channel Estimation In The Presence Of Carrier Frequency Offset, Jun Y. Li, Guisheng Liao, Qinghua Guo

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

A multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication system with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is expected to be a promising scheme. However, the estimation of the carrier frequency offset (CFO) and the channel parameters is a great challenging task. In this paper, a maximum-likelihood- (ML-) based algorithm is proposed to jointly estimate the frequency-selective channels and the CFO in MIMO-OFDM by using a block-type pilot. The proposed algorithm is capable of dealing with the CFO range nearly ±1/2 useful OFDM signal bandwidth. Furthermore, the cases with timing error and unknown channel order are discussed. The Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) for the problem …

Convergence Rates Comparison Of Sum-Product Decoding Of Ra Codes Under Different Message-Passing Schedules, Sheng Tong, Baoming Bai, Xinmei Wang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In iterative decoding of turbo-like codes, serial schedule generally provides a much faster convergence rate compared with parallel schedule. With the aid of extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) charts, sum-product decoding of repeat accumulate (RA) codes under both message passing schedules is investigated as an example for verifying the above statement.

Conditional Ordering Using Nonparametric Expectiles, Yves Aragon, Sandrine Casanova, Raymond Chambers, Eve Leconte

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Expectile regression, and more generally M-quantile regression, can be used to characterise the relationship between a response variable and explanatory variables when the behaviour of "nonaverage" individuals is of interest. The aim is to demonstrate how an individual expectile-order, based on nonparametric estimation of the expectile regression function, can also be used to define a conditional ordering of the individual's value relative to the values of other members of a data set. The relationship between contextual, or "grouping", variables and this ordering can then be investigated. In particular, we propose five estimators of expectile-order, which we compare via simulation. The …

Drag Reduction In A Flat-Plate Turbulent Boundary Layer Flow By Polymer Additives, Shu-Qing Yang, G Dou

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper presents a theoretical study on the velocity distribution and the friction factor of boundary layer flows with polymer additives starting from the concept of “stress deficit.” A novel method of order of magnitude analysis is developed, which converts the governing equations of boundary layer flow into a solvable ordinary differential equation, thus the total shear stress distribution is obtained, then the formulas for the mean velocity profiles and the friction factor for a boundary layer flow are derived after introducing appropriate expressions for the “effective viscosity” and the thickness of viscous sublayer. The derived velocity equation is able …

Measuring Preparedness To Teach With Ict, Patricia A. Forster, Vaille M. Dawson, Doug Reid

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In this paper we discuss the development and implementation of a questionnaire that measures preparedness to teach secondary school science with information and communication technologies (leT). The questionnaire was designed for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of instruction in a science education unit in a Graduate Diploma teacher education course. Rasch analysis of the pre- and post-unit responses indicated domains of expertise for which students perceived they had improved their knowledge during the unit, and domains for which they perceived they were less knowledgeable after the unit than before it. We discuss students' responses in relation to the unit, …

Bayesian Analysis For Penalized Spline Regression Using Winbugs, Ciprian Crainiceanu, David Ruppert, M. P. Wand

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Penalized splines can be viewed as BLUPs in a mixed model framework, which allows the use of mixed model software for smoothing. Thus, software originally developed for Bayesian analysis of mixed models can be used for penalized spline regression. Bayesian inference for nonparametric models enjoys the flexibility of nonparametric models and the exact inference provided by the Bayesian inferential machinery. This paper provides a simple, yet comprehensive, set of programs for the implementation of nonparametric Bayesian analysis in WinBUGS. Good mixing properties of the MCMC chains are obtained by using low-rank thin-plate splines, while simulation times per iteration are reduced …

A Multimedia Guidebook Implementation Using A Bluetooth Wireless Information Point Network, Matthew D'Souza, Adam Postula, Neil Bergmann, Montserrat Ros

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper describes the implementation of a Bluetooth Village Guide Book (VGB) scenario for use in the Kelvin Grove Urban Village located in Brisbane, Australia. An Information Point Station Network (IPSN) was developed, along with software for two types of mobile computing devices. The implementation consists of several Information Point Stations (IPSs) placed at locations of significance, with access to information items on a centralized server. Once a user is registered on the network, he/she is given the opportunity to experience context and eventually user aware information on demand and in various multimedia formats. These information items are selected by …

A Post-Compilation Register Re-Assignment Technique For Improving Hamming Distance Based Code Compression, Montserrat Ros, Peter Sutton

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Code compression is a field where compression ratios between compiler-generated code and subsequent compressed code are highly dependent on decisions made at compile time. Most optimizations employed by compilers tend to focus on parameters such as program performance, minimizing resource dependencies and sometimes the option of reducing code size. This paper describes a post-compilation technique for the greedy reassignment of general purpose scratch registers to improve Hamming distance based code compression. The code translation renumbers registers based on the frequency of registers used by isomorphic instructions and employs a Gray coding scheme to reduce Hamming distances between similar instructions. Register …

Design Of Monolimb Using Finite Element Modelling And Statistics-Based Taguchi Method, Winson Lee, Ming Zhang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Background. Monolimb is a transtibial prosthesis having the socket and shank molded into one piece of thermoplastic material. If properly designed, the shank of a monolimb can have a controlled deflection during walking which simulates the ankle joint motions to some extent. However, there is no clear guidance for the design of monolimb considering the dilemma between shank flexibility and structural integrity. Methods. Finite element analysis was used to simulate structural tests based on ISO10328 on monolimbs of different configurations. Statistics-based Taguchi method was employed to identify the significance of each design factor in controlling the deformation and stress within …

Integration Of Service-Learning Into Civil And Environmental Engineering Curriculum, T. C. Piechota, Shashi S. Nambisan

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Service-learning is defined as integrating the community service experience of students with their academic study so that learning is enhanced. The level of student participation in community service is at an all time high as students feel the need to confront today's technical and societal problems. However, service-learning is more than community service or volunteerism. Service-learning as defined above, integrates the community service experience with the student’s academic study (note the hyphen in "service-learning" means that both are considered equal). This enhances learning which is a fundamental goal of colleges and universities. Boyer highlights the need for service-learning stating that …

Encapsulation Of Validation Tests In The Esp-R Simulation Program, Paul Strachan, Georgios Kokogiannakis, I Macdonald

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

It is well recognised that validation of dynamic building simulation programs is a long-term complex task. There have been many large national and international efforts that have led to a well-established validation methodology comprising analytical, inter-program comparison and empirical validation components, and a significant number of tests have been developed. As simulation usage increases, driven by such initiatives as the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, such tests are starting to be incorporated into national and international standards. Although many program developers have run many of the developed tests, there does not appear to have been a systematic attempt to …

Energy Injection By Disbributed Generation For Enhancement Of Voltage Profile In Swer Systems, Kashem M. Muttaqi, Gerard Ledwich

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

A system with Distributed Generation (DG) has greater load carrying capacity and can correct for a poor voltage profile during peak loading. This paper addresses the loading patterns of rural feeders and the relative effectiveness of real and reactive injection to support voltage profile in Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) systems. Real and reactive injection on a SWER network has been investigated and required energy for voltage enhancement estimated. DG with real and reactive injection (DG-PQ) using Q priority (DG-QPQ) can drastically reduce fuel and energy requirements compared to the amount required by proportional use of real and reactive power …

Maximising Voltage Support In Distribution Systems By Distributed Generation, An D. T Le, Kashem M. Muttaqi, Michael Negnevitsky, Gerard Ledwich

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Rapidly increasing in the demand of electricity along with recently advances in distributed generation (DG) technologies have sparked a new interest in utilisation of DG sources. However, there are a number of technical issues regarding to the installation of DG, since DG connection significantly affects existing network configuration and operation, especially for system with high level of DG penetration. To achieve maximum voltage support from DG utilisation, methodologies related to DG placement and DG operation are developed in this paper. Technique to optimise voltage improvement by effectively injecting active and reactive power of DG is developed based on voltage sensitivity …

Reinforcement Of Macroscopic Carbon Nanotube Structures By Polymer Intercalation: The Role Of Polymer Molecular Weight And Chain Conformation, C J. Frizzell, Marc In Het Panhuis, D H. Coutinho, K J. Balkus, A Minett, W J. Blau, J N. Coleman

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Novel polymer nanotube composites were fabricated by intercalating poly(vinylpyrrolidone) into Buckypaper from solution. This was carried out for both low (10kg∕mol) and very high (1.3Mg∕mol) molecular weight polymers. Measurements of the polymer mass uptake as a function of time allowed the calculation of diffusion coefficients as 1.66×10−9cm2∕s and 3.08×10−12cm2∕s for the low and high molecular weight strands, respectively. Taking into account the molecular weights, comparison of these coefficients suggests that each polymer type undergoes a different mode of diffusion: normal diffusion for the 10kg∕mol polymer, but reptation for the 1.3Mg∕mol polymer. This means that while the low weight polymer retains …

Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling Of The Movement Of Ice Streams, L M. Berliner, Noel A. Cressie, Kenneth Jezek, Yongku Kim, Calvin Lam

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Modern studies of the behaviors of glaciers, ice-sheets, and ice-streams rely heavily on both observations and physically based models. Data acquired via remote-sensing provide critical information on geometry and movement of ice over large sections of the Antarctic and Greenland. Though these datasets represent significant advances in terms of spatial coverage and the range of processes we can observe, the physical systems to be modeled are nevertheless incompletely observed. Uncertainties associated with measurement errors are also present. In addition, physical models are also subject to uncertainties. Hence, there is a need for combining observations and models in a fashion that …