This thesis details the analysis and design of ultra-low power radio transceivers operating at microwave frequencies. Hybrid prototypes and Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs) which achieve power consumptions of less than 1 mW and theoretical operating ranges of over 10 m are described. The motivation behind the design of circuits exhibiting ultra low power consumption and, in the case of the MMICs, small size is the emerging technology of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). WSNs consist of spatially distributed ‘nodes’ or ‘specks’ each with their own renewable energy source, one or more sensors, limited memory, processing capability and radio or optical link. The idea is that specks within a ‘speckzone’ cooperate and share computational resources to perform complex tasks such as monitoring fire hazards, radiation levels or for motion tracking. The radio section must be ultra low power e.g. sub 1 mW in order not to drain the limited battery capacity. The radio must also be small in size e.g. less than 5 x 5 mm so that the overall speck size is small. Also, the radio must still be able to operate over a range of at least a metre so as to allow radio contact between, for example, rooms or relatively distant specks. The unsuitability of conventional homodyne topologies to WSNs is discussed and more efficient methods of modulation (On-Off Keying) and demodulation (non-coherent) are presented. Furthermore, it is shown how Super-Regenerative Receivers (SRR) can be used to achieve relatively large output voltages for small input powers. This is important because baseband Op-Amps connected at the RF receiver output generally cannot amplify small signals at the input without the output being saturated in noise (10mV is the smallest measured input for 741 Op-Amp). Instrumentation amplifiers are used in this work as they can amplify signals below 1mV. The thesis details the analysis and design of basic RF building blocks: amplifiers, oscillators, switches and detectors. It also details how the circuits can be put together to make transceivers as well as describing various strategies to lower power consumption. In addition, novel techniques in both circuit and system design are presented which allow the power consumption of the radio to be reduced by as much as 97% whilst still retaining adequate performance. These techniques are based on duty cycling the transmitter and receiver and are possible because of the discontinuous nature of the On-Off Keying signal. In order to ease the sensitivity requirements of the baseband receive amplifier a design methodology for large output voltage receivers is presented. The designed receiver is measured to give a 5 mV output for an input power of -90 dBm and yet consumes less than 0.7 mW. There is also an appendix on the non linear modelling of the Glasgow University 50nm InP meta-morphic High Electron Mobility Transistor (50nm mHEMT) and one on the non linear modelling of a commercial Step Recovery diode (SRD). Models for the 50 nm mHEMT and the SRD are useful in the analysis, simulation and design of oscillators and pulse generators respectively.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Dentistry / Master / Master of Dental Surgery

Despite the success of connectionist systems in prediction and classification problems, critics argue that the lack of symbol processing and explanation capability makes them less competitive than symbolic systems. Rule extraction from neural networks makes the interpretation of the behaviour of connectionist networks possible by relating sub-symbolic and symbolic processing. However, most rule extraction methods focus only on specific neural network architectures and present limited generalization performance. Support Vector Machine is an unsupervised learning method that has been recently applied successfully in many areas, and offers excellent generalization ability in comparison with other neural network, statistical, or symbolic machine learning models. In this thesis, an algorithm called Geometric and Oracle-Based Support Vector Machines Rule Extraction (GOSE) has been proposed to overcome the limitations of other rule-extraction methods by extracting comprehensible models from Support Vector Machines (SVM). This algorithm views the extraction as a geometric task. Given a trained SVM network, GOSE queries the synthetic instances and draws conjunction rules by approximating the optimization problem. The extracted rule set also represents the approximation of the SVM classification boundary. Unlike previous works in SVM rule-extraction, GOSE is broadly applicable to different networks and problems because it need not rely on training examples and network architectures. Theoretical proof guarantees that GOSE is capable of approximating the behavior of SVM networks. Empirical experiments are conducted on different SVM networks from binary classification networks to multi-class networks in various classification domains. The result of experiments demonstrates that GOSE can extract comprehensible rules with high levels of accuracy and fidelity for their corresponding networks. GOSE also exhibits superior consistency. After analyzing and applying several optimizing measures, the complexity of GOSE was improved. In brief, GOSE provides a novel way to explain how an SVM network functions.

<p> The purpose of this study is to explore the potential threats that are posed uniquely by cyber terrorism. While traditional terrorism has affected governmental policy, and inflicted physical damage to people and infrastructure across the world, computers and the Internet can allow for attacks as well. As terrorism groups begin to adapt to, and take advantage of - cyber tools and capabilities, the threat they pose will grow accordingly. While a terrorist is not able to directly kill people with cyber tools, the mayhem or social disruption that such attacks can cause, fit well with these organization's objectives. The anonymity of cyber space permits terrorist groups to plan and execute attacks without being identified immediately, if ever. In addition, the targets of cyber terrorists are often under prepared, and fairly vulnerable to various forms of cyber attacks. While these organizations may be aware of the risk posed by failing to adequately address cyber security deficiencies, their solutions are likely not sufficient to truly prevent cyber terrorism attacks. In order to discover technological advancements, efficient cyber security, and generally spread awareness on the subject, this study attempts to highlights existing threats, as well as an overview of what can be done to mitigate them. </p><p> Keywords: Intelligence, Cyber security, Professor Albert Orbanati</p>

<p>Despite the growth of online education and its seemingly fixed place in higher education, online education is still opposed, or at least viewed with suspicion by many faculty (Allen &amp; Seaman, 2013). Faculty opposition of online education can be expressed in myriad ways, most prominently through shared governance, which can directly limit or completely block online education from occurring at an institution. This case study revolved around a non-profit, Faith-Based university (FBU) that is a newcomer to the inclusion of online coursework. This study sought to investigate the rationale faculty may have towards their support or opposition to online education by using mixed methods to bring to light the beliefs faculty have about online education. In examining the beliefs faculty at FBU have towards online education, this study also prompted faculty to reflect on whether their beliefs about online education have changed since the inclusion of online coursework at FBU, and if so, what factors may have contributed to the evolving beliefs. Data collected from 54 survey respondents and 12 faculty interviews helped to capture these beliefs. </p><p> The findings showed that faculty, on average, felt that the impact of online education on the quality of educational experience would be slightly diminished at the undergraduate level but slightly enhanced at the graduate level. </p><p> Faculty who indicated evolving beliefs or opinions about online education cited various catalysts. These catalysts fell into 3 categories: <i> external factors</i>&mdash;related to economic viability, changes in the higher education environment, and access; <i>information and opinions gather from trusted sources</i>&mdash;which would include literature, colleagues, and professional organizations; and <i>personal experience </i>&mdash;which stemmed from a direct personal involvement in teaching and/or learning experiences within the online environment. </p><p> Findings were examined through the theoretical framework of Rokeach&rsquo;s (1989) model of belief systems. This model may suggest that beliefs about teaching and learning are closely connected to one&rsquo;s identity and are thus highly resistant to change. Accepting and implementing new or different methods of teaching and learning, such as the teaching and learning occurring in online education, might require a major reorganization of beliefs about oneself. </p>

This thesis proposes a new, highly generalised and fundamental, information-modelling framework called the TRM (Ternary Relations Model). The TRM was designed to be a model for converging a number of differing paradigms of information management, some of which are quite isolated. These include areas such as: hypertext navigation; relational databases; semi-structured databases; the Semantic Web; ZigZag and workflow modelling. While many related works model linking by the connection of two ends, the TRM adds a third element to this, thereby enriching the links with associative meanings. The TRM is a formal description of a technique that establishes bi-directional and dynamic node-link structures in which each link is an ordered triple of three other nodes. The key features that makes the TRM distinct from other triple-based models (such as RDF) is the integration of bi-directionality, functional links and simplicity in the definition and elements hierarchy. There are two useful applications of the TRM. Firstly it may be used as a tool for the analysis of information models, to elucidate connections and parallels. Secondly, it may be used as a “construction kit” to build new paradigms and/or applications in information management. The TRM may be used to provide a substrate for building diverse systems, such as adaptive hypertext, schemaless database, query languages, hyperlink models and workflow management systems. It is, however, highly generalised and is by no means limited to these purposes.

The objective of this research is to examine the institutional development of biotechnology in Brazil and, in particular, the role played by small firms in fostering biotechnology in the health and agriculture sectors and their relationship with both universities and large firms. The interest in this study stems from the crucial role played by small, high technology firms in innovation and diffusion of new technologies. Case studies emphasising the innovative capacity of small firms in several advanced countries are now available. In the US, in particular, there has been a proliferation of hundreds of small firms in biotechnology since the late 70s. The pattern of biotechnology development in the US suggests that small firms are functioning as a "bridge" between academia and large corporations. In developing countries, very little is known about the role of small firms in innovation, especially in a new, high technology area such as biotechnology. In the early 1980s, however, the emergence of a number of small companies operating in biotechnology in Brazil suggested that this might be the beginning of a new indigenous industry in this area. The purpose of this study was therefore to find out precisely what these biotechnology companies were doing, how far they fitted the American model of the new biotechnology firms and their links with the academic base, financial structures and large firms. It is the first study in this area, and it has been deliberately directed towards concentrating on the role of these small companies have played in the development and diffusion of this new technology. The empirical research presents original data collected from detailed interviews with twelve representative firms and relevant governmental agencies, carried out in 1989. Interviews were also conducted with academics in order to assess how far the small biotechnology firms were linked into the growing competence in this area of Brazilian universities. The main findings show that there are differences but also similarities between the American and the Brazilian pattern of biotechnology development. The Brazilian companies are not operating at the cutting-edge of this technology. On the contrary. they are using older and well tried techniques such as plant tissue culture. They do, however. link into the universities and large corporations.

This work offers a comparative economic study of the development and commercialisation of the LWR technology and an analysis of the thermoelectromechanical and nuclear equipment industry, with special reference to France, Germany and Italy. It takes the view that a nuclear power plant cannot be analysed as a technical good independent of the relevant technological environment and industrial structure. The chief contribution of the study lies in combining the analysis of a technology and the reasons underlying its selection and the grounds for success or failure of national technology paths, with investigation of the relation between the technology and structure and organisation of the industry. Major emphasis is laid on the evolutionary nature of nuclear technological change, and its incremental rather than radical innovation path, dictated by criteria of technological-industrial continuity. The study thus focuses on the interplay between technology, market structure and state intervention, and the effects of these factors on national nuclear systems and international trade. The work is divided into three separate but interrelated parts. The first is concerned with economic aspects of technological change and, in particular, the role, instruments and extent of state intervention in the industrial economy and technology policy. Part II is devoted to the development and co •• ercialisation of LWRs. The approach adopted combines historical and economic analysis. An account is provided of the early stages of growth of the US nuclear industry and its establishment on the world market. The growth paths of the main European industries are examined with emphasis on the transition from independent technologies, to US licensees, to the successful autonomous implementation of the LWR, and the problems encountered by further nuclear expansion. Rere - as in Part III which provides a more detailed analysis of the development and present situation of the Italian nuclear system - stress is laid on the institutional frameworks in promoting innovation and technical change, and in providing adequate export support.