Several adaptive filters were investigated to enhance speech auditory brainstem responses (speech ABR). The objective was to shorten the long recording time currently needed by the standard coherent averaging method to obtain acceptable performance, which has limited the clinical adoption of speech ABR. Five algorithms were implemented: Wiener Filter (WF), Steepest Descent (SD), Adaptive Noise Cancellation (ANC) based on Least-Mean-Square error (LMS) and normalized LMS error (nLMS), and a multi-adaptive cascade combination of SD and LMS. The performance of the adaptive filters was assessed on speech ABR data gathered from several subjects and compared with coherent averaging using the overall Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), the local SNR around the fundamental frequency and the first formant, and Mean-Square-Error (MSE) in the time and frequency domains. The adaptive filters could reduce the time needed, by at least one order of magnitude, for obtaining comparable signal quality as that obtained with coherent averaging.

The objective of this project was to design and implement an experimental hydraulic system that simulates joint flexibility of a single rigid link flexible joint robot manipulator, with the ability of changing the joint flexibilitys parameters. Such a system could facilitate future control studies of robot manipulators by reducing investigation time and implementation cost of research. It could also be used to test the performance of different strategies to control the movement of flexible joint manipulators.<p>A hydraulic rotary servo motor was used to simulate the action of a flexible joint robot manipulator. It was a challenging task, since the control of angular acceleration was required. <p>A single-rigid-link, elastic-joint robot manipulator was mathematically modeled and implemented using Matlab. Joint flexibility parameters such as stiffness and damping, could be easily changed. This simulation was considered as a function generator to drive the hydraulic flexible joint robot. In this study the desired angular acceleration of the manipulator was used as the input to the hydraulic rotary motor and the objective was to make the hydraulic system follow the desired acceleration in the frequency range specified. The hydraulic system consisted of a servovalve and rotary motor. <p>A hydraulic actuator robot was built and tested. The results indicated that if the input signal had a frequency in the range of 5 to 15 Hz and damping ratio of 0.1, the experimental setup was able to reproduce the input signal with acceptable accuracy. Because of the inherent noise associated with the measurement of acceleration and some severe non-linearities in the rotary motor, control of the experimental test system using classical methods was not as successful as had been anticipated. This was a first stage in a series of studies and the results provide insight for the future application of more sophisticated control schemes.<p>

The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a material for construction of sensors is a promising effort. This is due to some unique characteristics of CNTs. In recent years, strain sensors built from CNT composite films have been developed. This thesis study first proposed that the piezoresistive sensitivity of CNT composite films can be limited due to the presence of one of the constituent elements in the CNT composite films, that is, surfactant. CNT films free of surfactants were thus hypothesized to have a great promise to improve piezoresistive sensitivity. The motivation of this thesis study was to explore this promise.<p> This thesis presents an experimental study on Single-Wall CNT (SWNT) films free of surfactants. Such SWNT films are called pure SWNT films. The study has concluded: (1) the gauge factor of one layer SWNT film is much higher than that of CNT composite film; (2) the fabrication of multilayered pure CNT films is highly possible; (3) the gauge factor of multilayered pure SWNT films (10 layers and 0.8mg/ml concentration) can reach as high as 2.59 with non-linearity of 0.89% and repeatability of 0.1%, which outperforms the strain sensor built from CNT composite films; (4) the role of surfactants is indeed restrictive to piezoresistive response, and (5) the junction theory is likely applicable to pure SWNT film sensors.<p> The main contributions of this thesis study are: (1) the finding of a new type of strain sensors built from pure CNT films and (2) the development of a fabrication process for multilayered pure SWNT films.

Researchers and practitioners continue to be concerned about the magnitude, extent, and effects of response distortion when self-report personality measures are used in high-stakes testing. One method for mitigating response distortion that has not received much empirical attention is profile matching. Profile matching assesses the fit between test-takers’ predictor profiles and a standard profile which represents an ideal or high performing employee’s profile. Since profile matching assesses fit, it can capture nonlinear effects. Furthermore, high predictor scores are not necessarily associated with higher criterion scores. Test–takers who distort their responses by choosing inaccurately extreme response options may improve their chances of being hired if a linear model is used, but this approach is unlikely to be effective if a profile matching strategy is used as long as the standard profile is unknown to the test-takers. As such, the primary objective of the present study was to examine the extent to which profile matching may alleviate concerns about response distortion. A secondary objective was to examine characteristics of the standard profile that are associated with the efficacy of this approach. The present study compared the effects of response distortion on personality test scores, and their criterion-related validity in predicting tenure, based on a linear composite and a profile fit score. The present study used data from 996 applicants who completed a personality test in a high-stakes testing context. Missing data were imputed for a subset of applicants who did not complete two response distortion scales. As such, the results provided an initial proof-of-concept of the effectiveness of profile matching as a personnel decision-making strategy using a blend of real and simulated data. The results suggest that profile fit scores are less related to response distortion and display higher criterion-related validity than linear composite scores. However, the difference in criterion-related validity could not be attributed to response distortion. The results further suggest that the amount of scatter in the standard profile is negatively associated with the profile fit score’s susceptibility to response distortion and positively related to criterion-related validity.

The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a material for construction of sensors is a promising effort. This is due to some unique characteristics of CNTs. In recent years, strain sensors built from CNT composite films have been developed. This thesis study first proposed that the piezoresistive sensitivity of CNT composite films can be limited due to the presence of one of the constituent elements in the CNT composite films, that is, surfactant. CNT films free of surfactants were thus hypothesized to have a great promise to improve piezoresistive sensitivity. The motivation of this thesis study was to explore this promise.<p> This thesis presents an experimental study on Single-Wall CNT (SWNT) films free of surfactants. Such SWNT films are called pure SWNT films. The study has concluded: (1) the gauge factor of one layer SWNT film is much higher than that of CNT composite film; (2) the fabrication of multilayered pure CNT films is highly possible; (3) the gauge factor of multilayered pure SWNT films (10 layers and 0.8mg/ml concentration) can reach as high as 2.59 with non-linearity of 0.89% and repeatability of 0.1%, which outperforms the strain sensor built from CNT composite films; (4) the role of surfactants is indeed restrictive to piezoresistive response, and (5) the junction theory is likely applicable to pure SWNT film sensors.<p> The main contributions of this thesis study are: (1) the finding of a new type of strain sensors built from pure CNT films and (2) the development of a fabrication process for multilayered pure SWNT films.

Educators frequently neglect efforts to evaluate the affective components of instructional programs even though most agree that the affective domain is as important, or even more important, than the cognitive domain in learning. Measurement of cognitive attainment is easily accomplished, however, measurement of students' feelings, attitudes, concerns and values is difficult to accomplish.The purpose of the present research was to measure galvanic skin response (GSR) reactions of students to multi-media programs which were created to effect attitude change toward biological concepts in nonscience majors, and to thereby identify learning strategies or combinations of strategies that produce emotional and physiological reactions.The electronic response (ER) system of the Department of Biology at Ball State University was utilized in conducting the study. The effectiveness of producing emotional arousal by the strategies involved in nine ER programs was sampled by using the galvanic skin response (GSR) to measure the change in electrical skin conductance. The population tested for each ER program consisted of 30 subjects. An approximately equal number of males and females and an approximately equal number of morning, mid-day and afternoon sessions were sampled.In the treatment of data, the maximum GSR resistance, following specific ER program events, was calculated using a latency of approximately three seconds. Resistance per unit area of electrode plate surface was calculated in ohms/mm2 and converted to conductance (mhos/mm2). To establish a basis for comparing the emotional and attitudinal impact of each electronic response program, the maximum conductance for each event and information components of each event sequence was averaged for the 30 subjects.A dependent t-test for paired observations was utilized to determine the significant conductance change of corresponding components of the initial and final event sequences in each ER program. In those situations which were significant at the .05 probability level, farther comparisons were made between corresponding components of the initial and middle and middle and final event sequences. The t-test was also utilized to determine the significance of mean changes in conductance between selected information and question and question and answer slides within event sequences which produced a greater or lower conductance than previous event sequences, and those in which little variance or observable differences among components occurred.The principal conclusion drawn from the study is that the electronic response programs provide an effective mechanism for increasing emotional arousal, increasing involvement, and creating attitude change. All of the nine electronic response programs produced a gradual rise in average conductance from the beginning to the end of each program.Extremes in GSR reactions occurred in response to different types and combinations of narrative, pictorial presentations and musicalselections. Situations which created a mood or conveyed a feeling, possessed emotionally toned narrative or slides, or required a value stance or judgment produced the greatest GSR reactions. Calming, quiet, and relaxing music, unmoving slides, unemotional narration, questions lacking challenge or treating non-controversial subject matter, produced the smallest GSR reactions.The present study supports the contention that multiple stimuli, which increase the number of senses incorporated in the learning process and the interaction (response-reinforcement) of the learner, produce a greater emotional reaction than stimuli in one sense modality.The author considers that emotional responses involved and related with affective learning are as important, or more important, than cognitive attainment. Further investigations of the relationship between multimedia components and emotional arousal need to be carried out to ascertain the appropriate blending or combinations of stimuli which provide the best or most effective learning situations. Data obtained through research in the cognitive and affective aspects of instructional designs should also be correlated to determine how the most effective learning strategies can be developed.

In practice, many systems are modeled by first and second order models including a time delay. These low-order models can often be used to describe the most important and characteristic features of a system and be a base for control design. In industry, it is important to have fast, reliable, and easily applicable methods for estimating the parameters in such models. It is well-known that, for practical reasons, many systems can not be excited by an arbitrary input signal. However, a pulse-shaped input signal can most often be used. The aim with this thesis project is to study identification of low-order models based on pulse-shaped input signals.

The objective of this project was to design and implement an experimental hydraulic system that simulates joint flexibility of a single rigid link flexible joint robot manipulator, with the ability of changing the joint flexibilitys parameters. Such a system could facilitate future control studies of robot manipulators by reducing investigation time and implementation cost of research. It could also be used to test the performance of different strategies to control the movement of flexible joint manipulators.<p>A hydraulic rotary servo motor was used to simulate the action of a flexible joint robot manipulator. It was a challenging task, since the control of angular acceleration was required. <p>A single-rigid-link, elastic-joint robot manipulator was mathematically modeled and implemented using Matlab. Joint flexibility parameters such as stiffness and damping, could be easily changed. This simulation was considered as a function generator to drive the hydraulic flexible joint robot. In this study the desired angular acceleration of the manipulator was used as the input to the hydraulic rotary motor and the objective was to make the hydraulic system follow the desired acceleration in the frequency range specified. The hydraulic system consisted of a servovalve and rotary motor. <p>A hydraulic actuator robot was built and tested. The results indicated that if the input signal had a frequency in the range of 5 to 15 Hz and damping ratio of 0.1, the experimental setup was able to reproduce the input signal with acceptable accuracy. Because of the inherent noise associated with the measurement of acceleration and some severe non-linearities in the rotary motor, control of the experimental test system using classical methods was not as successful as had been anticipated. This was a first stage in a series of studies and the results provide insight for the future application of more sophisticated control schemes.<p>

The first part is a study of an ecological model with one herbivore and $N$ plants. The system has a new type of functional response due to the speculation that the plants compete with each other and have different levels of toxin which inhibit the herbivore's ability to eat up to a certain amount. We first derive the model mathematically and then investigate, both analytically and numerically, the possible dynamics for this model, including the bifurcation and chaos. We also discuss the conditions under which all the species can coexist. The second part is a study in the normal form theory. In particular, we study the relations between the normal forms and the first integrals in analytic vector fields. We are able to generalize one of Poincare's classical results on the nonexistence of first integrals in an autonomous system. Then in the space of 2n-dimensional analytic autonomous systems with exactly n resonances and n functionally independent first integrals, we obtain some results related to the convergence and generic divergence of the normalizations. Lastly we give a new proof of the necessary and sufficient conditions for a planar Hamiltonian system to have an isochronous center.

The objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between environ-mental heat exchange and vascular response in the pallid bat wing during systemicheating and to develop a simplied model of heat transfer for theoretical analysis.During heating experiments, metabolic activity, body temperature and alterations invessel diameter and blood ow were monitored. This research is very signicant, asit will correlate thermoregulation and vascular response in a way that has not beenstudied before.The wing of the pallid bat is selected because the microvascular bed performssimilar functions as that of the human skin in terms of thermoregulation; understand-ing vascular response to heat or cold allows to analyze vascular function, or arterialhealth, a response that is altered at early stages of several diseases in humans. Athigh body temperatures, bats can dissipate heat through their wings; the bat wingserves as a thermal window where heat exchange is determined by local blood owand vascular response in the wing.For this study, a lumped mathematical model to calculate body and skin tem-perature alterations in response to changes in environmental conditions has beendeveloped. In order to formulate this model, experiments have been proposed wherethe pallid bat is subjected to dynamic systemic heating with and without the wingextended. By having the wing extended outside a metabolic chamber during heating,the bats were able to maintain an equilibrated body temperature; having the wing enclosed caused body temperature to increase rapidly. The experiments were designedto obtain correlations between systemic and vascular responses and therefore learnabout the thermoregulatory mechanisms of the pallid bat.Results from experiments following Animal Use Protocols 2006-253 and 2007-110indicate that vascular responses to environmental temperature changes (changes inTchamber) maintain or reduce body temperature to basal conditions. Vessel diameter,centerline velocity, blood ow and heat ux increase with Tchamber therefore deliveringa greater volume of blood to the bat wing and increasing heat exchange with theenvironment. The positive responses in the wing to Tchamber signify that the pallidbat is regulating its body temperature as had been expected.