Projects, Dissertation, Thesis

Hydrologic and Water Quality Benefits of Grass Swales for Managing Highway Runoff

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:30:41 +0000

Due to growing awareness of non-point source pollution treatment, the performance of grass swales as a highway runoff treatment and the effect of including a grass filter strip pretreatment area adjacent to the swale were evaluated using a field-scale input/output study on a Maryland highway. Results of this comparison for 22 rainfall events over 1.5 [...]

Wireless OFDM Communication Systems

admin — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:46:47 +0000

Title: Peak to Average Ratio Reduction in Wireless OFDM Communication Systems Future mobile communications systems reaching for ever increasing data rates require higher bandwidths than those typical used in today’s cellular systems. By going to higher bandwidth the (for low bandwidth) flat fading radio channel becomes frequency selective and time dispersive. Due to its inherent robustness [...]

Managerial myopia, CEO compensation structure and earnigns management by R&D cuts

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:08:46 +0000

Prior studies show that linking executive compensation to current accounting performance provides incentive for CEOs to manage earnings by cutting R&D expenditure (e.g. Baber et al. (1991), Bushee (1998)). However, it has also been suggested that tying executive compensation with stock price mitigates opportunistic R&D cuts (e.g. Lambert and Larcker (1987)). This study contributes to [...]

Quantum mechanical investigation on the vibrational relaxation of HF in collisions with H atoms

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:03:30 +0000

We investigate the vibrational relaxation of HF(v=2-5) in collisions with H atoms by means of fully-quantum reactive scattering calculations. Our calculations are based on the global ab initio potential energy surface of Stark and Werner which includes, specifically, an accurate description on the reaction barrier and the van der Waals wells in the reactant and [...]

Education as a Human Right

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:59:52 +0000

Education as a Human Right: Paulo Freire Case in the Point The purpose of this paper is to understand why education is a human right. I will look at works by the late Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator. Paulo Freire worked for many years on developing a pedagogy to promote humanity. His goal was to demonstrate [...]

Color Selection in Object Drawings of Young Children

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:50:41 +0000

This action research study examined the selection of color used in six object drawings of young children. Study sample size consisted of eighteen Kindergarten students from a public elementary school. This study was organized into three phases. Each phase asked student participants to draw six familiar objects (tree, house, boy, dog, girl, car) while limiting [...]

Repatriates in Europe - A business perspective

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:47:20 +0000

This thesis explores some of the individual and organisational challenges involved in the repatriation process after international assignments. The purpose of this dissertation is to probe the turnover rate after repatriation in Europe and to determine whether this is considered to be a problem. The study was conducted through means of a questionnaire on a [...]

The usability of traffic signs

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:43:23 +0000

Guessability, learnability, experienced user performance (EUP), re-usability, and system potential are the five components that would influence the usability of a product. Usability assessments of many different types of consumer products, word processor, public library’s web site, online learning programs, and election incident reporting system have been reported. Traffic signs are probably the best known [...]

Grushin operators Project Report

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:37:34 +0000

Title: On a class of Grushin operators: a geometric mechanics approach We study a class of Grushin operators ¢G = @2 @x2 + x2k @2 @y2 ; k 2 N via the geometric mechanics approach, which is based on analysis of the geometry induced by the operators. By using the shooting method, we reduce the problem [...]

Surface modification of NiTi shape memory alloys

admin — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:25:35 +0000

NiTi shape memory alloys are promising implant materials due to their shape memory effect and superelasticity. However, the high nickel content has hampered wider applications of the materials. Excessive surface corrosion and wear of NiTi raise health concerns because Ni ions released to body tissues and fluids can induce toxic and allergic responses. By choosing [...]

Knowledge management systems (KMS) continuance in organizations

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:18:03 +0000

This study explores the phenomenon of employees’ continuance behaviors in using knowledge management systems (KMS) in organizations. KMS can only meet implementing organization’s expectations when employees in those organizations continually use them. Based on prior IS user acceptance and continuance research, this study formulates a general KMS continuance model in which both continuance intention and [...]

Pricing of a cosmetic product from the consumer feeling perspective

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:15:06 +0000

In recent decades, numerous studies have been conducted on pricing from the perspective of economics, marketing, operational research, decision making, and consumer behavior. The key rationales behind these studies are to optimize pricing and to maximize profits. However, investigative work into pricing a product from the consumer’s feeling perspective is rare. Hence, this thesis involves [...]

Quasilinear hyperbolic systems with dissipation effects

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:11:32 +0000

We study the Cauchy and the initial boundary value problems for a class of quasilinear hyperbolic systems with dissipation effects, such as frictional damping and relaxation. This kind of systems includes Euler equations as a special example. We aim to prove the existence and non-existence of global classical solutions, and obtain the asymptotic behavior and [...]

Surface mounted chips project report

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:08:30 +0000

Title: Laser interferometric studies of solder joints of surface mounted chips In order to understand the stress-strain relationship in surface mount solder joints. previous research workers used strain gauges to measure the deformation of these joints. However, this method is indirect and not very accurate. In this Ph.D. project, a non-contact and highly accurate method based [...]

Speaker that uses the non-linearity in air to create sound

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:40:49 +0000

The aim of this work was to investigate theoretically and experimentally the fact that it is possible to create sound by using the nonlinearity in air. A speaker was built verifying the theory that if at least two high frequencies at high amplitude is propagating through a nonlinear medium, for example air, the difference frequency [...]

Corporate Social Responsibility and Nongovernmental Organizations

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:52:39 +0000

Background: Corporations are established and organized in order to create economic values for their owners and the main aim of every business enterprise is to be profitable and satisfy the financial expectations of their shareholders. However, corporate social responsibility (CSR) focuses on the ethical aspects of corporate business in order to achieve the balance between [...]

A Novel Compressing Analog-to-Digital Converter

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:47:11 +0000

Analog-to-digital converters form the backbone of many real world systems. A compression and expansion (companding) capability is a useful tool to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of many of these applications. Frequently, power-signal systems utilize analog compression to simplify signal processing. A novel compressing high-speed converter is presented in this thesis. The converter described here has [...]

Shared Team Leadership Project Report

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:43:45 +0000

Despite extensive theory and research on teams and leadership, few scholars have examined team leadership per se. To help fill this void, I examine a construct that intertwines leadership and teams: shared team leadership. Shared team leadership occurs when multiple individuals (not just the formal leader) exert downward, upward, and lateral influence (not just downward [...]

PERSONAL RESOURCES IMPACT ON COLLEGE PERSISTENCE AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:37:50 +0000

This study examines the influence of personal resources on educational attainment. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, this study analyzes the educational outcomes of 1992 graduates who enrolled in a 4-year college or university immediately after high school. Using logistic regression, this study attempts to answer the following questions: (1) Do [...]

Predicting Smoke Detector Responce Using a Quantitative Salt-Water Modeling Technique

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:34:22 +0000

This investigation provides a detailed analysis of the hydraulic analogue technique used as a predictive tool for understanding smoke detector response within a complex enclosure. There currently exists no collectively accepted method for predicting the response of smoke detectors; one of the most important elements in life safety. A quantitative technique has been developed using [...]

Software Prototype for Ontology-Enabled Traceability Mechanisms

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:24:54 +0000

Due to the rapid advancement of technology, industrial-aged systems are being replaced by information-based models through system integration, where hardware and software are combined by a variety of communication means. As engineering systems become progressively complex, the challenge is to fully understand and implement the connectivity relationships among various models of visualization so that catastrophic [...]

Replenishing routing under vendor managed inventory systems

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:05:47 +0000

This study is inspired by an empty container allocation problem that is related to the management of importing or exporting empty containers in anticipation of future requirements or in response to reduce the redundancy at the port, respectively. We consider the problem to be a non-standard inventory problem with positive and negative demands at the [...]

Synthesis and patterned growth on one-dimensional material

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:02:16 +0000

For the last decade, one dimensional growth of materials was highly developed. Carbon nanotubes was first synthesized, other nanotubes, nanowires and nanorods were fabricated afterwards. Other than the synthesis, the properties of one dimensional materials were extremely investigated. It was found that their properties, such as electronic, mechanical and optical properties, are very outstanding, so [...]

Reliable multicast over wireless ad-hoc network

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:59:56 +0000

IEEE 802.11 is the de facto standard for wireless communications. According to the 802.1 1 medium access control protocol, multicast frames are transmitted over ad hoc networks without virtual channel reservation. Hence, multicast communications in ad hoc networks suffer from the hidden terminal problem, and may have low delivery ratio. Feedback implosion is another issue [...]

Sliding mode control of a robotic finger and control of SMA

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:56:02 +0000

This thesis is focused on the control and modeling of a robot finger. The control target of this project is position tracking during the finger motion. A new sliding mode control algorithm is developed in this project. It originates from the author’s 3-stages approach. i.e. the reaching phase, the sliding mode and the steady state. [...]