The feasibility of developing test circuits to perform in-circuit testing of analog
circuits is investigated in this thesis. A modular approach to analog testing has been
adopted. Accordingly, the testing of an operational amplifier, which is a basic building
block in analog circuits, is addressed. One convenient technique for measuring...
The importance of spectral efficiency in mobile communications often requires the use of non-constant-envelop linear digital modulation schemes. These modulation techniques carry signal information in both magnitude and phase, thus they must be linearly amplified to avoid nonlinear signal distortion which is not correctable in a typical receiver. A second...
Purpose
The primary purpose of this study was the development of an
instrument for identifying competencies required by nurse-supervisors
in small general hospitals. Secondary objectives of this study were:
(1) to demonstrate the applicability of the instrument, and (2) to
determine similarities and differences in the perceptions of hospital
administrators,...
In microwave network analysis, proper matching of the measurement system is necessary to prevent measurement errors and provide a
proper terminating impedance for the device-under-test. To obtain
this matching, a buffer amplifier is often used in the first stage of
the network analyzer.
This study describes the design and analysis...
Motivation: Many robots such as legged robots and prosthetic hands/arms are designed to interact with uncertain and time-varying environments to accomplish their tasks.
Observations on humans and animals during their daily tasks suggest that they adapt their leg compliance while traversing with different velocities on different grounds and adjust their...
The principal objective of this study was to identify
and investigate the underlying basis for variations in the
volumes of exports of U.S. winter pears during the 1947 to
1974 period. A number of factors thought to be of importance
in the determination of the volume of exports of a...
Current leading thin-film solar cell technologies, i.e., cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS), employ elements which are either toxic (Cd), or rare and/or expensive (In, Te, Ga, and Cd). The aim of this thesis is to investigate new, abundant, non-toxic p-type semiconductors for potential solar absorber application....
This study was designed to establish a baseline of data
regarding guidelines for curriculum development in the
preparation of health education specialists in health-care
delivery settings.
The survey method was utilized and an expert panel of
15 jurors was selected to respond to a 51 item questionnaire.
Professions represented on...
The relationship of openness, growth and total factor productivity is investigated empirically using panel regressions for 48 countries. This study tests a variety of openness measures, including the ratio of trade (exports plus imports), imports, exports and primary exports to GDP. We also study the effects of the interaction of...
A three dimensional finite element analysis is developed which
is capable of simulating the coupled static and dynamic behavior of
compliant ocean structures. Nonlinearities which result from large-deflection,
reduced or zero stiffness in compression, and the nonconservative
fluid loading are considered. The spatial variation of
fluid loading is also addressed....
In this thesis a relatively new topological technique, due to A. Granas, called Topological Transversality is used to obtain existence theorems for initial and boundary value problems in a variety of settings. This fixed point result is based on the notions of an essential map and on a priori bounds...
The research presented herein focuses on electrical assessment of oxide thin films as insulators. The current density-electric field (J-E) characteristics of four insulators of dramatically different electrical quality are assessed in terms of their operative electronic conduction mechanisms. Conduction in the two high-quality insulators is dominated by Ohmic conduction and...
Developmental changes in the enzymes acetylcholinesterase
(EC 3.1.1.7) and pseudocholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8) were
examined in ovo and in vitro in the neural retina of the
developing chick. In addition, investigations of cellular
interactions and hormones as possible control mechanisms of
enzyme synthesis were made.
The specific activity of acetylcholinesterase, a...
Cables used in the ocean are often constructed of helically wound
wires or strands. Tension in the cable induces torque and/or rotation
about its longitudinal axis. A method is presented to determine the
tension, torque, location and angular orientation of points on the
cable centerline, using a shooting method algorithm...
The topic of summability methods has been studied by many
although the name of G. H. Hardy and his classical work "Divergent
Series" is best known. Almost all of the early work was done using
single sequences or series. In the past 30 years research has been
done extending some...
The primary purpose of this study was to identify the competencies
needed to perform effectively as a long-term care administrator.
An original list of competency statements was generated from the literature
and from persons active in the field of long-term care administration.
This list of 53 statements was placed into...
CIGS and CdTe based commercial thin-film solar cells (TFSCs) require an absorber thickness greater than 2 µm and 4 µm, respectively, to adequately absorb the solar spectrum. To efficiently extract photoexcited electrons, these TFSCs require relatively defect-free absorbers with high-minority carrier mobility (> 100 cm2V−1s−1) and long lifetime (> 10...
A simple approach to developing approximate analytical
performance models for complex systems (such as distributed
processing systems or computer networks) is presented.
The approach is applicable in cases where measurement
or simulation data describing system performance are
available but the system is too complex for exact analytical
models to be...
Many natural resources such as water and forests have become more intensively used in recent years. Often, this has made it necessary to reallocate these resources from less to more efficient productive usage. The knowledge of the existing tradeoffs between alternative uses are necessary to make reallocative decisions. However, these...
A class of inorganic thin-film transistor (TFT) semiconductor materials has emerged involving oxides composed of post-transitional cations with (n-1)d¹⁰ns⁰ (n≥4) electronic configurations. This thesis is devoted to the pursuit of topics involving the development of these materials for TFT applications: Deposition of zinc oxide and zinc tin oxide semiconductor
layers...
Purpose of the Study
This exploratory study examined whether nontraditional career role
(female) teachers in vocational agriculture differ significantly from
traditional career role (male) teachers in vocational agriculture on
perceived (a) events in career choice, (b) work satisfaction, and (c)
future career plans.
The Procedure
A survey instrument was developed,...
There are nearly two million limb amputees living in the United States of America. Loss of limbs results in profound changes in one's life. However, the underlying neural circuitry and much of the ability to sense and control movements of their missing limb is retained even after limb loss. This...
The primary objective of this thesis is to explore new absorber and p-type window layer materials for thin-film solar cell applications. A new thin-film electron beam deposition system has been installed, is now operational, and has been used to deposit several types of solar cell absorber layers. Material investigations include...
The present thesis is about the electric power distribution system
for the city of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. The distribution system
of Mecca started suddenly, grew haphazardly and developed quickly
with a load factor as high as 38%. Lack of planning, records and
training plus insufficient experience of management evolved...
Current cadmium telluride and copper indium gallium diselenide thin-film solar cells
(TFSCs) utilize thick absorbers (2 - 4 μm). For efficient carrier extraction in these TFSCs,
the absorber layer requires high carrier mobilities and a long minority carrier lifetime, which
necessitates the use of a high purity, defect-free thin film....
The objective of this dissertation is to introduce low-cost processing methods for the fabrication of ZnO transparent thin-film transistors (TTFTs). A novel method for depositing ZnO body layers via spin-coating of a zinc nitrate-based spin solution is presented. The processing conditions of spin-coated ZnO are optimized to produce continuous and...
The United States has had a long history of promoting agricultural exports, and the return to conditions of extreme surplus in many agricultural markets in recent years has revived interest in this topic. Some products received imperial bounties during our colonial era, but the systematic collection of trade statistics for...
Molecular connectivity is a topological descriptor of
a molecule. It has been used as an independent variable
to describe biological activities, physicochemical
parameters (melting points, boiling points, partition
coefficients) and chromatographic retention indices. There
are inherent problems in using molecular connectivity. A
zero connectivity term has two opposing meanings: 1)...
The goal of this thesis is the identification and synthesis of high-luminance,
primary color alternating-current thin-film electroluminescent (ACTFEL) devices.
Special attention is paid to the synthesis of primary color green ACTFEL devices because
of the lack of an adequate primary green ACTFEL phosphor and the dominance
of green wavelengths in...
The aim of this dissertation is to develop non-traditional approaches to alternating-current thin-film electroluminescent (ACTFEL) device fabrication. ACTFEL technology suffers from a lack of adequately bright and efficient primary-color phosphors and cannot presently compete in the low-cost display market. Therefore the research presented in this dissertation focuses on an exploration...