Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.) University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (July 10, 2006) Includes bibliographical references.

Type III-B rotaxane dendrimers (T3B-RDs) are hyperbranched macromolecules with mechanical bonds on every branching unit. First to third (G1-G3), and up to the fourth (G4) generation (MW>22,000 Da) of pure organic T3B-RDs and dendrons were successfully synthesized through the copper catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. By utilizing multiple molecular shuttling of the mechanical bonds within the sphere-like macromolecule, a collective three-dimensional contract-extend molecular motion was demonstrated by diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY). The discrete T3B-RDs were further observed and characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and mass spectrometry (MS). The binding of chlorambucil and pH-triggered switching of the T3B-RDs were also characterized by 1H NMR spectroscopy.;Type III-C rotaxane dendrimer is a new type of rotaxane dendrimer where in the mechanical bonds are in between and constituing the branchning point to form the macromolecules. First and second (G1-G2) type III-C rotaxane dendrimers were synthesized successfully as a prototypical example. Two different shuttling processes have been deomostrated by the non-methylated and methylated type III-C rotaxane dendrimers, and characterized by 1H NMR spectroscopy.

Experiments were carried out to determine the characteristics of a reflection-type modulator. The modulator consisted of an E-plane T-junction that was terminated on the side-arm by a reflex klystron operating in the passive region. Switching was accomplished by applying a pulse to the repeller of the passive klystron. It was found that the switching characteristics were strongly dependent on the power level at the input to the modulator. Good switching characteristics were obtained at low power levels hut these deteriorated as the input power became comparable to that produced by the klystron when operating as an oscillator. For the particular klystron used, satisfactory switching was possible for input power levels approximately 5 to 10 dB less than the output of the switching klystron. It was also found that the modulator characteristics depended on the operating mode of the passive klystron. The desired operating mode was a compromise between power-handling capability and the switching rate. An attempt was made to explain the decrease in switching range at high input power levels by relating the observed results to an increase in the bunching parameter at the boundaries of the passive region. However, this did not fully account for the observed results. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

abstract: The choices of an operator under heavy cognitive load are potentially critical to overall safety and performance. Such conditions are common when technological failures arise, and the operator is forced into multi-task situations. Task switching choice was examined in an effort to both validate previous work concerning a model of task overload management and address unresolved matters related to visual sampling. Using the Multi-Attribute Task Battery and eye tracking, the experiment studied any influence of task priority and difficulty. Continuous visual attention measurements captured attentional switches that do not manifest into behaviors but may provide insight into task switching choice. Difficulty was found to have an influence on task switching behavior; however, priority was not. Instead, priority may affect time spent on a task rather than strictly choice. Eye measures revealed some moderate connections between time spent dwelling on a task and subjective interest. The implication of this, as well as eye tracking used to validate a model of task overload management as a whole, is discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Human Systems Engineering 2020

The novella, The Girl Disappeared, focuses on the life of Emalia, a street kid from Mexico. She is taken from the streets of Veracruz and forced into a life of prostitution on the fictitious island of La Isla de Santa Flora. The primary conflict that drives the action of the story is her pending choice between escaping her life of slavery and saving another young woman who is on the verge of being forced into a life of prostitution as well. The novella, as a literary piece, dwells on the question of character agency and explores the multilayered nature of code switching. Language for these women becomes a tool in their struggle against their captives and a means of self-preservation, or sanctuary, as they use their growing bilingualism to foment a limited agency, to act in their own defense.

Switching costs are unobserved costs for the consumer when switching between two functionally identical products or services. These costs can take both monetary and non- monetary values, which makes them hard to estimate. The purpose of this study is to empirically estimate switching costs on the Swedish market for electricity for private consumers, and also review two methods to identify which one more suitable for the purpose. Shy’s (2002) method uses prices and market shares to estimate the costs, and Salies’ (2012) method is an extension of Shy’s method, that lifts two major limitations. Electricity providers with over 1 percent market share have been included. For each provider, prices for the three most used contract types have been gathered and used in the estimation. Prices have been limited to households with energy usage of 2 000 kWh per year. Switching costs have been estimated to between 50 – 95 percent of the yearly costs for electricity. The switching costs are higher when switching from a big firm to a smaller, than the other way around. This could indicate that customers become involuntarily locked-in to bigger firms because of the switching costs, giving bigger firms stronger market positions.

The development of pulse code modulation systems and electronic exchanges, together with the increase in volume of data traffic, have made it desirable to establish a means for handling both voice and data trarfic in the telephone network. A technique is required whereby integrated voice and data switching may be accomplished in an electronic exchange. It is proposed that a data adaptor unit be incorporated in electronic exchanges for the ourpose of concentrating data traffic onto PCM highways. A conceptual design for the architecture of such a unit is presented and its performance evaluated. The protocols for connecting data adaptors into a network, and the use of flow control procedures for regulating data traffic within the network, are described. The hardware implementation of the unit is not considered. The proposed data adaptor operates on the packet switching principle. It is comprised of three types of modules each dedicated to carrying out a particular communication function. The modules are the interface processor that interacts with data transmitting devices, the network processor for sending data over PCM channels between adaptors, and the supervisory processor for regulating activities within the adaptor unit.

This sociolinguistic study of the bilingual speech of Spanish immigrants in Toulouse, France focuses on the phenomenon of code-switching (CS). The analysis of the data showed that most CS was situational, rather than metaphorical. Three types of CS were found: insertion, alternation, and congruent lexicalization. Their examination revealed that the insertion of French words was more common than of Spanish items, the alternation was most frequent in repetitions, and the congruent lexicalization was present at the grammatical and structural level. The speech of the individual participants was also analyzed, and it was found that the sociological aspects greatly affected the use of CS. Finally, the analysis of the frequency effects was conducted revealing that the topic of the nouns influenced the language in which the nouns were used. The results proved that it is impossible to conduct a reliable grammatical analysis without including the sociolinguistic aspects.