Digital Commons Network^™

Third-Party Quality Management Audits For Automotive Component Manufacturing: Perceptions And Insights Into A Necessary Yet Debatable Practice, Christopher Kluse

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Third-party quality audits have been a continued practice within the manufacturing community since release of the ISO 9000 standard in 1987. In recent times, many within the manufacturing industry are questioning the value of the audit process. (Sayle, 1995, Sayle 1999, Douglas, 2000, Gordon, 2000, Dalgleish 2006) Consequently, a need exists to better understand the impacts and perceptions of the third-party auditing process. This research used a grounded theory approach to explore the following question: How do management representatives perceive the third-party audit process?

Collection of data consisted of 25 in-depth interviews taken from management representatives within the automotive industry. …

A Critical Examination Of The Construct Validity Of The Tti Performance DnaTm Survey For The Purpose Of Differentiating The Entrepreneurially-Minded Engineer, Sandra L. Dietrich

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The United States needs workers with more than technical skills to meet the demands of global competition; more specifically, a new breed of engineer is necessary, one who possesses leadership skills and business acumen in addition to the technical engineering skills. One Midwestern foundation has recognized this challenge and is working with engineering universities to enhance programs to create entrepreneurially-minded engineers (EMEs). To this end, the Target Training International, Ltd. (TTI) Performance DNATM survey has been developed to measure the behaviors, values, and professional skills of these EMEs. Currently, the Foundation has collected data using this survey with engineering students …

Measuring Faculty Satisfaction And Motivation To Use Podcasts: A Pilot Study, Thomas Augustine Mitchell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Modern society is constantly evolving, affecting the creation and use of technology. Concurrently, technology is relentlessly developing and expanding, influencing the very society to which it is introduced. In a rapid-paced, globally influenced educational community, podcasts are among the latest and promising innovations being introduced into the educational arena to reach technology-savvy students. Information in various technological formats is not new, nor is their application to the educational process unique. Many past technologies such as the record player, tape player, radio, television, and computers were all believed to exhibit enormous potential to transform education. However, in almost every instance, they …

Development Of Eco-Friendly Flame Retardant Fabric Using Phosphorus Based Intumescence Chemistry, Vikas P. Joshi

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The research aims at developing Eco-friendly flame retardant textile fabric using phosphorous based intumescence chemistry. Phosphorous in the structure of Spirocyclic pentaerythriol diphosphoryl chloride (SPDPC) acts as the main group to impart flame retardancy. Intermediate compounds were synthesized in the laboratory and finally converted into sol. The silane sol was applied to the textile material using pad-dry-cure method. The intermediate compounds and the coated material were tested using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and Thermogravemetric analysis (TGA) testing instruments. Vertical flammability testing was performed as per ASTM D-6413 standards to test the fabric for its flame …