published_or_final_version / Electrical Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

In the opening lines of the preface to De Divinatione 2, Cicero describes his motivation in composing of the complures libros of his post-exilic years. Most of all, he says, he wished to prevent any interruption in his service to the state. Though he does not say so explicitly, he clearly refers to an interruption occasioned by his exile and Caesar’s ascension. Elsewhere Cicero describes this period of his life as enforced otium, an otium threatened by the absence of the dignitas which Cicero identifies with the otium of L. Crassus in the opening words of De Oratore. As he claims in Div. 2, Cicero achieved a level of usefulness to the state (and so maintained a certain amount of dignitas) by writing his theoretical books, books which he says communicate the optimarum artium vias to the Roman reading public. What Cicero does not explicitly explain is why the great majority of those works assume the form of the dialogue. In this dissertation I seek to explore the formal capabilities of the dialogue which would make it attractive to a Cicero seeking to maintain dignitas and to render significant service to a state faced with a rapid shift of political and social structure. In general I argue that the dialogue form itself represents an antidote to the decommunalizing and populizing nature of Caesarian hegemony. As I contend, the dialogue achieves its communal nature through an emphasis on three major ethics, each of which is demonstrated in the theories expressed within the dialogues, in the actions of the interlocutors, and in the activity of Cicero himself as author. These three ethics (imitatio, memoria, gratia) each depend on community for their actualization and themselves generate the bonds that lead to community. By placing significant, multi-layered emphasis on each of these ethics, Cicero aims to communicate their validity to a generation of boni faced with the non-traditional, non-communal power of Julius Caesar. / text

As all couples experience stressful life events, understanding how couples adapt to stress is imperative for understanding marital development. Drawing from theories of stress inoculation, which suggest that the successful adaptation to mild stressors may help individuals develop a resilience to future stress, this project examined whether couples who have more experience effectively coping with minor stressors early in the marriage would be most resilient to declines in marital satisfaction when faced with future, larger stressors. Study 1 examined whether couples who enter marriage with good relationship skills and some experience coping with minor stressors exhibit the most stress resilience during the first two years of marriage. Study 2 examined whether couples who enter marriage with good skills and some experience with stress exhibit a greater resilience to the declines in marital satisfaction that often follow the transition to parenthood. Both studies revealed that spouses who have both good relationship skills and early stress experience exhibit better marital outcomes than spouses who have good skills, but little or no experience with stress. Thus, simply possessing good relationship skills may not be sufficient to shield marital satisfaction from stress. Rather, couples also may need practice applying those skills to minor stressors. / text

The purpose of this study was to investigate if a low mixed carbohydrate plus moderate protein supplement, provided during endurance exercise, would improve time to exhaustion in comparison to a traditional 6% carbohydrate supplement in female athletes exercising at or below their ventilatory threshold. Fourteen (n = 14) trained female cyclists and triathletes cycled on two separate occasions for three hours at intensities varying between 45% - 70% VO₂max, followed by a ride to exhaustion at an intensity approximating the individual's VT (average 75.06% VO₂max). Supplements (275ml) were provided every 20 min during exercise and were composed of a 3% carbohydrate mixture + 1.2% protein (CHO+PRO) or a 6% carbohydrate-only (CHO). The CHO+PRO treatment contained a mixture of dextrose, maltodextrin, fructose, and whey protein isolate. The CHO treatment was composed of dextrose only. Time to exhaustion (TTE) was significantly greater with CHO+PRO in comparison to CHO (49.94 ± 7.01 vs 42.36 ± 6.21 min, respectively, p < 0.05). Blood glucose was signifcantly lower during the CHO+PRO (4.07 ± 0.12 mmol x L⁻¹) trial compared to CHO (4.47 ± 0.12 mmol x L⁻¹), with treatment x time interactions occurring from 118 minutes of exercise until exhaustion (p < 0.05). Heart rate was significantly lowered in the CHO+PRO treatment during exercise as compared to CHO (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences for other blood measures, ratings of perceived exertion or carbohydrate and fat oxidation between trials. Results from the present study suggest that the addition of a moderate amount of protein to a low mixed carbohydrate supplement improves endurance performance in females above that of a traditional 6% carbohydrate supplement. Improvement in performance occurred despite CHO+PRO containing a lower carbohydrate and caloric content. It is likely the greater performance seen with CHO+PRO was a result of the carbohydrate protein combination and the use of a mixture of carbohydrate sources. / text

Morocco's strategic location, its society and its relations with the Mediterranean world all had their impact on relations between Morocco and the United States. After American independence, Morocco was one of the first countries to recognize the United States and as a result had better relations with the latter than any of the other North African countries before 163D. The reward for its friendly attitude was much needed when the French conquered Algeria and Morocco came under the threat of European expansion. During the period between 1830 and 1831,, Morocco's policy towards the United States was based on acquiring American support to fend off the Europeans. After 1871, the Moroccans simply classified the United States in the same category as the European countries. Moroccan policy towards the United States in the period between France's conquest of Algeria and its conquest of Morocco itself was affected by both external and internal affairs in Morocco. It was also guided by the reactions of the United States and the latter's growing interests in Morocco. During that period, three factors dominated Moroccan policy. First, Morocco's desire for American support to prevent further European expansion. Second, Morocco's need to resist American pressure when the United States joined in the European penetration. Third, the Moroccan attitude towards events affecting America such as the American Civil War and the Spanish-American War. The desire for suport was a key element of Moroccan policy during the first four decades following the conquest of Algeria. American reaction, however, was weak because it adhered to its traditional policy: the "Monroe Doctrine". The need to resist American pressure was a result of the United States' growing interests in Morocco. These were manifested in American support for the Jewish issue, its involvement in the system of protection and the arrival of its missionaries in Morocco. These new interests, together with those of the Europeans', damaged Morocco's legal system and economy and resulted in the collapse of Moroccan reforms. The only card left in Morocco's hand was prompted by competition against the European powers over Morocco. When the latter settled their competitions, Morocco lost its independence.

This thesis describes the development of a numerical modelling strategy for simulating the flow around a shrouded spiral bevel gear. The strategy is then applied to a series of parametric variations of key shroud parameters. The shroud and gear in question are generic, although based upon those employed in the internal gear box of a Rolls-Royce aeroengine. The need to shroud the gear comes from the fact that a spiral bevel gear, when rotated, acts like a fan. Work is done by the gear to move the surrounding fluid, usually air with oil particles suspended in it, which creates a parasitic loss, referred to as the windage power loss. The work within this thesis is part of a larger project which has investigated how windage power loss can be affected by geometric features of gears and shrouds. This is important as for large diameter (>200mm) bevel gears running at high speeds (>10,000 RPM) the windage power loss forms a substantial part of the total power loss. The modelling strategy has been developed in this work by studying 4 different fluid flow settings: Taylor-Couette flow, Conical Taylor-Couette flow, an unshrouded spiral bevel gear, and a shrouded spiral bevel gear. Work on Taylor-Couette flow provided a basic setting in which to trial various numerical techniques and gain familiarity with the commercial CFD program which would be used throughout this thesis (FLUENT), along with the meshing program GAMBIT. It gave an understanding of the flow, which was then used to simulate the flow in a modification of Taylor-Couette flow where the cylinders are replaced with cones, called Conical Taylor-Couette flow. Comparisons were made between 4 popular turbulence models, allowing a decision to be made on the `best' turbulence model to use in the modelling of a shrouded gear, and to start to develop the strategy. This strategy was then applied to the more complex geometry of an unshrouded gear, simulating experimental data which had been created on an in-house rig. To confirm the applicability of the strategy to modelling shrouded spiral bevel gears, it was applied to two shrouds for which experimental data was available. It showed that numerical modelling can capture the relative performance of the shrouds well. The work then continued by considering a series of parametric variations, whereby 3 key shroud parameters are each varied in 3 manners, producing 27 variations. Each of these parameters can affect the windage power loss: an assessment of how much each parameter affects windage power loss has been given. A description of the flow field in `good' and `bad' cases has been given, and through approximating the flow by using the compressible form of Bernoulli's equation, reasons for a `bad' shroud being `bad' have been presented.

The State of Illinois and Federal government have designated one of three major rail corridors bisecting Springfield, Illinois, to be retrofitted to accommodate future high-speed rail traffic. The three corridors that bisect the city are known as the 3rd Street, 10th Street, and 19th Street corridors, each running north to south through the central city area. The approved plan completely decommissions the 3rd Street Corridor while expanding the 10th Street corridor to serve rail traffic currently using both of these corridors. Traffic to run along the expanded 10th Street corridor will include Amtrak's high-speed rail passenger service between St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. The decommissioning of the 3rd Street Corridor in Springfield presents an opportunity for green infrastructure development in the form of a linear park. More broadly, this report argues that increasing quality of life amenities via the redevelopment of rail infrastructure provides a viable alternative economic development strategy for cities facing stagnant growth. / text

Transpacific Investment Corporation –TCI– is a private entity determined to take advantage of the increasing market opportunities arising between Asia and Latin America. TCI is to be incorporated under Guatemalan law in November 2003. The corporation plans to start its operations in Taiwan by February 2004, pioneering into the Spanish Language Industry. The Spanish Language Division of TCI will offer price-competitive opportunities to study Spanish and do tourism in Guatemala. The Division’s tasks will be distributed between two agencies: a Promotion and Recruitment Agency in Taiwan and a Coordination Agency in Guatemala. The latter is in charge of selecting the highly-qualified Spanish Learning Centers and Local Tour Operators that will be responsible for executing the language learning and tourism activities provided to TCI’s clients. Additionally, the Coordination Agency will select adequate insurance and security services to ensure maximum safety for the participants. The promotional efforts will be targeted at university students currently participating in Spanish language courses, and the marketing mix has been designed according to their needs. The leaders of this venture believe that there is a promising opportunity on this field because of the latent popularity of the Latin culture and the price advantages that Guatemala is capable of offering. Currently, more than 1,300 Taiwanese students participate in Spanish language courses. With its diverse products, TCI estimates it can attract at least 33 students on the first year of operations, 49 students on the second year, and 55 students on the third year. These numbers represent, respectively, market shares of 10%, 15%, and 20%, of conservatively defined potential markets. The initial investment required for the venture is slightly above NT 500,000. If the market share goals are achieved, it will be possible to reach the payback period in 13 months, and to enjoy net income above NT 200,000 for the second year, and above NT 800,000 for the third year. These results yield a return-on-investment ratio higher than 1.44.

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