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Modeling The International Competitiveness Of Botswana's Coal, Khaulani Fichani May 2003

Modeling The International Competitiveness Of Botswana's Coal, Khaulani Fichani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Botswana has vast proven deposits of steam coal, which for a long time it has wanted to develop but without much success. The main objectives of this study are: (1) to analyze the time schedule of coal exports likely to be forthcoming from Botswana and the land routes for these exports; (2) to determine the competitiveness of Botswana's coal in the world steam coal markets and (3) to make recommendations on the appropriate policy for the exploitation of this coal. To accomplish these objectives, we construct a model of the seaborne steam coal trade consisting of exporters and importers with …

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Effects Of Artificial Neural Networks Characterization On Prediction Of Diesel Engine Emissions, Azadeh Tehranian May 2003

Effects Of Artificial Neural Networks Characterization On Prediction Of Diesel Engine Emissions, Azadeh Tehranian

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

More than a century after its invention, diesel remains the fuel of choice for buses and freight trucks. Diesel exhaust contains three gases that are regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as particulate matter (PM). There is a societal need both to lower emissions and to predict or model emissions more accurately for inventory purposes. Engine modeling, and real time control are the most indispensable steps towards lowering engine emissions, and it is argued that this modeling can be achieved by implementation of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). Effects of ANN design, architecture, and learning parameters …

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Study On Candle Filter Surface Regeneration Characteristics At Room Temperature, Venkatesh Vasudevan May 2003

Study On Candle Filter Surface Regeneration Characteristics At Room Temperature, Venkatesh Vasudevan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ceramic barrier filtration is a leading technology employed in hot gas filtration. The deposited ash on these filters is removed by a process known as surface regeneration. The objective of this research has been to utilize the room temperature testing facility (RTTF), to study the surface regeneration process at room temperature. The face velocity of the fluidized gas, the regeneration pressure of the back pulse and the time to build up ash on the surface of the candle filter were identified as the important parameters to be studied. Two types of ceramic candle filters were used in the study. The …

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Effects Of Bit Geometry In Multiple Bit-Rock Interaction, Rizwan Ahmad Qayyum May 2003

Effects Of Bit Geometry In Multiple Bit-Rock Interaction, Rizwan Ahmad Qayyum

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The impact of bit-coal/rock interaction during the cutting process in underground mines is great concern to the mining community of the world. Rock/coal cutting bears directly on rock/coal dust generation that causes "black lung/silicosis" in miners. On the other hand, rock cutting generates radiance of sparks that has potential to cause face ignition. Bit wear affects productivity, safety and economy. Hundreds of face ignitions and millions of dollars in productivity and compensation for respirable rock/coal dust related diseases are attributed to the cutting action of continuous miners/shearers. These undesirable impacts could be minimized by proper selection of bit types, bit …

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Telecommunication Of Stabilizing Signals In Power Systems, Guillaume Julien Raux May 2003

Telecommunication Of Stabilizing Signals In Power Systems, Guillaume Julien Raux

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Deregulation of the power industry has occurred at a rapid pace, opening some promising competition between suppliers. The result of this competition should be to the benefit of customers.;Telecommunication plays a crucial role in integrating systems and ensuring smooth operation by way of exchanging data and information between various systems that are responsible for monitoring and control of the grid. For example, a Power System Stabilizer (PSS) controller could be placed at one of the generators and requires remote measurements. All the communication schemes within the network generate delays that are characterized in this project using OPNET Modeler. OPNET Modeler …

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Circulation Control For Download Wake Reduction On A Scaled V-22 Model, Chad Alan Riba May 2003

Circulation Control For Download Wake Reduction On A Scaled V-22 Model, Chad Alan Riba

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

West Virginia University has developed a circulation controlled model of the V-22 wing to reduce the size of the download in the wake region brought upon by the airflow from the proprotors. The techniques being used in this experiment are the implementation of blowing slots across the leading edge and trailing edge, activation of one or both of the blowing devices, and adjustment of slot velocity. The results of the study show a decrease in the download force through the incorporation of the Coanda Effect around the leading and trailing edges. The induction of this phenomenon will move the separation …

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Development Of A Test Facility To Evaluate Hot Gas Filtration Characteristics Of A Candle Filter, Juan Pablo Rincon May 2003

Development Of A Test Facility To Evaluate Hot Gas Filtration Characteristics Of A Candle Filter, Juan Pablo Rincon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Hot gas particulate filtration is a basic component in advanced power generation systems such as Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) and Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion (PFBC). These systems require effective particulate removal to protect the downstream gas turbine and also to meet environmental emission requirements. The ceramic barrier filter is one of the options for hot gas filtration. Hot gases flow through ceramic candle filters depositing ash on the outer surface of the filter. After this cleaning process there may be some residual ash remaining on the filter surface. This residual ash layer may grow after many cycles of filtering, …

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Enhancing The Effectiveness Of The Utility Energy Supply Chain In Integrated Steel Manufacturing, Girish Sudhir Bhave May 2003

Enhancing The Effectiveness Of The Utility Energy Supply Chain In Integrated Steel Manufacturing, Girish Sudhir Bhave

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The iron and steel industry is energy intensive. The steel industry accounts for 2--3 of total US energy consumption. The energy costs account for 12--15% of the total cost of manufacturing steel. Cogeneration is done by most of the integrated steel producers for on-site electricity generation. The steel industries use different utility systems, and 90% of the industry uses standard steam boilers, steam turbines and BOP (Basic Oxygen Process). The boilers produce steam which is used for power generation and production processes. The system consumes oil, natural gas and blast furnace gas (BFG) to produce this steam and electricity. It …

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Design And Analysis Of A Modified Power-Split Continuously Variable Transmission, Andrew John Fox May 2003

Design And Analysis Of A Modified Power-Split Continuously Variable Transmission, Andrew John Fox

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The CVT has advantages over the conventional stepped ratio transmission because of its smooth, stepless shifting, simplified design, and a potential for reduced fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions. The power split CVPST has a potentially higher mechanical efficiency than a conventional shaft-to-shaft CVT, but it is unknown whether that efficiency can be improved. For the CVPST, the branch control circuit that contains the CVT can be disengaged at the ring gear for a 1:1 overall transmission ratio, which will interrupt the power flow through the CVT. This could increase overall efficiency because the branch control circuit is no longer transmitting …

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Inhalation Exposure System For Diesel Exhaust Particulates, Jay Michael Sherman May 2003

Inhalation Exposure System For Diesel Exhaust Particulates, Jay Michael Sherman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objectives of this research were twofold. First, a Hazelton 2000 Inhalation Chamber was modified to minimize the amount of diesel exhaust particulate (DEP) needed for animal inhalation exposures. Second, instrumentation was evaluated for aerosolizing DEP, monitoring the mass concentration and size distribution, and determining the uniformity of the aerosol.;The Jet-O-Mizer jet mill produced a single mode DEP mass median diameter (MMD) of 0.33 mum while maintaining a relatively steady mass concentration of 10 mg/m3. The uniformity of a carbon black aerosol was found to vary from 9.9 mg/m3 in the front part of the chamber, to 10.4 mg/m3 in …

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Adaptive Fault Diagnosis In Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (Ietms), Rabih Faysal Kraidli May 2003

Adaptive Fault Diagnosis In Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (Ietms), Rabih Faysal Kraidli

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

An Interactive Electronic Technical Manual (IETM) is a technical manual that is prepared in digital format to provide information about the diagnostics and maintenance of complex systems.;In this thesis we present a methodology for adaptive fault diagnosis in IETMs, a methodology that constantly adapts the fault diagnosis procedure, according to the experience of the user performing the diagnosis. We develop a framework of adaptation that constantly monitors user behavior, and "learns" about the fault and its possible causes as the system is used, hence making it easier to perform such procedures, which increases efficiency of usage of such a manual, …

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Time, Temperature And Frequency Viscoelastic Behavior Of Commercial Polymers, Michael John Julius May 2003

Time, Temperature And Frequency Viscoelastic Behavior Of Commercial Polymers, Michael John Julius

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This work involves an experimental investigation of creep behavior of commercial polymers used as encased liners in deteriorated sewer pipelines with emphasis on characterizing the effects of physical aging, temperature, and frequency. The procedure for finding the shift rate, mu, is based on Struik's protocol. Time-temperature superposition (TTSP) of short-term data, at different temperatures, was done. Effective Time Theory (ETT) is used to find the effective time, lambda, as a function of real time, t, from the master curve obtained by TTSP. Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) tests were done to get complex relaxation modulus, E*(o), as a function of frequency. …

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Modeling And Controls For A Laser Glass Cutting Machine Workcell Robot, Asif Mushtaq Mohammad May 2003

Modeling And Controls For A Laser Glass Cutting Machine Workcell Robot, Asif Mushtaq Mohammad

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The SCARA (Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm)-Type Nimbl loader junior robot includes a four-degree of freedom robot manipulator arm. This thesis deals with three main areas of robot behavior: kinematics, dynamics and controls for the purpose of improving the performance of the Laser Glass Cutting Machine (LGCM) workcell. The thesis deals with developing kinematic and dynamic models of this robot arm and their application to task planning of this robot.;Task planning is done for SCARA-Type Nimbl loader robot, in which the robot starts from pick position to place position. A 4-3-4 joint trajectory was generated for pick-to-place path for the …

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Solidification Cracking Resistance Of High Strength Aluminum Alloys, Rohit K. Paramatmuni May 2003

Solidification Cracking Resistance Of High Strength Aluminum Alloys, Rohit K. Paramatmuni

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In Direct chill (DC) casting which is used in the manufacture of high strength aluminum alloys uneven cooling rates at different parts of the ingot cause thermal stresses. Due to these thermal stresses, cracks are initiated at the startup stage which may propagate as the stress elevates. Hence the evaluation of fracture toughness (cracking resistance) at different parts of ingot is very much essential to understand the propagation of cracks in ingots.;The objective of this research was to determine the cracking resistance of Al 2024 (Al-Cu-Mg) and Al 3004 (Al-Mn-Mg) alloys and to illustrate the relation of cooling rate during …

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How Do Adult Beginning Spanish Students Perceive Their Teacher's Written Feedback On Their Compositions?, Flavia Aoni Costa May 2003

How Do Adult Beginning Spanish Students Perceive Their Teacher's Written Feedback On Their Compositions?, Flavia Aoni Costa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Most of the literature on written feedback to date has attended to feedback techniques and the effects of such approaches on students' writing skills. Little emphasis has been placed on students' perspectives on teachers' written feedback. For this reason, the present study investigated how adult beginning students react to their teacher's written feedback on their Spanish compositions. The study used qualitative methods of data collection---questionnaires for the students, interviews with teachers and students and participant observations---in order to explore their reactions and perceptions. The findings show that the general positive reaction students had in relation to their teacher's written feedback …

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A Methodology For Determining The Character Of Mine Roof Rocks., Gerald Lee Finfinger Jan 2003

A Methodology For Determining The Character Of Mine Roof Rocks., Gerald Lee Finfinger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The underground mining industry is dependent upon the implementation of an engineering design and strategy to adequately and safely control the surrounding rock mass, with support of the roof rocks being of the greatest concern. Primary roof support systems use mechanical structures, such as roof bolts, roof trusses and cable bolts, to stiffen and control the roof rocks. Each of these systems requires the drilling of a small-diameter hole into the roof which is used to insert the mechanical structure. The structures are designed for specific geological and geotechnical characteristics and the more information that can be collected on these …

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A Study Of Selected Songs By Leonard Bernstein Which Reflect His Contribution To The Evolution Of Art Song In America., Yugo Sava Ikach Jan 2003

A Study Of Selected Songs By Leonard Bernstein Which Reflect His Contribution To The Evolution Of Art Song In America., Yugo Sava Ikach

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Within American vocal art music of the twentieth century, there has been an infusion of non-traditional musical traits. Some of these characteristics and idioms find their roots in American popular music and jazz. Although this phenomenon has been met with a certain amount of opposition, its presence is undeniable. The success and acceptance of this blending of styles owes much to the work of Leonard Bernstein. This paper examines a selection of Leonard Bernstein's vocal songs that in some way demonstrate this blending of styles, and notes influence of his opinions via mass media exposure. Bernstein's compositions and opinions have …

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Beyond The Walls: A Research Study Of Eighth-Grade Students Mentored In A Hospital Setting., Aileen Grattan Jan 2003

Beyond The Walls: A Research Study Of Eighth-Grade Students Mentored In A Hospital Setting., Aileen Grattan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research study was designed to evaluate twelve eighth-grade students participating in the fourth year of a mentoring program to determine what effect the mentoring experience would have on the students' sense of a scientific community, their understanding of scientific knowledge and process skills and attitudes toward science. The mentoring program was developed through a partnership established between the researcher, an eighth-grade science teacher at a junior high school, and an administrator of a local hospital, to provide educational opportunities for students mentored by medical professionals. The research design included qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. The qualitative instruments were …

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The Future Of The University Housing Profession And Implications For Practitioners: A Delphi Study., Beth M. Mccuskey Jan 2003

The Future Of The University Housing Profession And Implications For Practitioners: A Delphi Study., Beth M. Mccuskey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Problem. This study used the Delphi Technique of forecasting and a panel of individuals having the knowledge of the University Housing Profession to ascertain the likelihood of events to happen within the next 20 years and the level of impact of those events upon the profession. Methodology. Six nominators selected for their expertise within the University Housing Profession nominated individuals to serve as expert panelists. Eighty-three individuals were nominated. The 22 individuals with more than two nominations were invited to participate while the remaining panelists were selected randomly. Panelists were either CHO's (Chief Housing Officers) with at least five years …

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Consumer Preferences For Genetically Modified Fish And Seafood: An Econometric Approach., Brian S. Bennett Jan 2003

Consumer Preferences For Genetically Modified Fish And Seafood: An Econometric Approach., Brian S. Bennett

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Genetic modification (GM) is a rapidly growing technology that can improve productivity and profitability for producers; however consumer acceptance of this technology is not fully understood, particularly as it relates to fish and seafood. The purpose of this study is to evaluate consumer perceptions of GM foods in general, and fresh fish and seafood in particular. A phone survey of a random sample of US households was conducted. A qualitative choice (Logit) model was used for estimation. LIMDEP was the computer package used to analyze the data. The marginal effects were also estimated. Results show that older, higher income, non …

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The Evolving Process Of The Technical Direction Of West Virginia University's Division Of Theatre And Dance's Production Of Strindberg's "The Ghost Sonata"., Joshua John Frachiseur Jan 2003

The Evolving Process Of The Technical Direction Of West Virginia University's Division Of Theatre And Dance's Production Of Strindberg's "The Ghost Sonata"., Joshua John Frachiseur

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document is a written record of the process used in the technical direction of West Virginia University’s production of August Strindberg’s The Ghost Sonata. The role of technical director was assigned as partial fulfillment of the requirements of a Master of Fine Arts thesis in theatrical design, specifically theatrical production. This document includes a description of the process used, which is supported with visual documents of plans, schedules, photographs, and other various paperwork that was used to complete this project.

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An Advanced Data Acquisition System And Noise Analysis On The Aluminum Reduction Process., Congxia Dai Jan 2003

An Advanced Data Acquisition System And Noise Analysis On The Aluminum Reduction Process., Congxia Dai

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Aluminum reduction process is a nonlinear, time varying electro-chemical process, during which alumina is electrolyzed to produce molten aluminum. Al2O3 A main concern of the aluminum reduction process is the ‘Current Efficiency’-an indicator of the productivity of aluminum reduction cells. How to achieve higher current efficiency with lower energy consumption has always been a central objective of aluminum reduction process control in aluminum reduction industry. Noise is generally considered hostile to cell Current Efficiency. Therefore noise control is an important issue in commercial cell automatic control system. A key contribution of this research is the examination of the effects …

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Preserving Art Music In The Mountain State: A Study Of The West Virginia Federal Music Project Orchestras, 1935-1939., Travis D. Stimeling Jan 2003

Preserving Art Music In The Mountain State: A Study Of The West Virginia Federal Music Project Orchestras, 1935-1939., Travis D. Stimeling

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Federal Music Project of the Works Progress Administration (FMP) came to West Virginia in 1936 to establish orchestras in the state’s cities and to provide short-term employment for instrumentalists left destitute by the Depression and the advent of recorded sound. These ensembles were also designed to serve a subsidiary purpose: presenting free musical entertainment to the general public to alleviate temporarily the psychological burdens of the Depression. Implicit in their concerns for both displaced audiences and unemployed performers was the existence, prior to the onset of the economic crises of the 1930s, of a thriving culture for art music …

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The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy Expectations And Career-Choice., Geraldine January Jan 2003

The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy Expectations And Career-Choice., Geraldine January

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Analysis of responses from (N = 64) undergraduate students enrolled in Learning Strategies and Orientation courses on the Career Decision Making Self-Efficacy scale and the Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale, revealed that participants who selected male-dominated careers scored higher on the goal selection subscale compared to participants in the female-dominated group. Similar results were observed for career decision-making, self-efficacy and major status. As predicted, the scores for males on the OSES indicated that males reported equally higher scores for male and female-dominated occupations, whereas females reported higher self-efficacy for female-dominated occupations compared to male-dominated occupations.

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An Empirical Study Of Algorithms For The Negative Cost Cycle Detection Problem., Lisa L. Kovalchick Jan 2003

An Empirical Study Of Algorithms For The Negative Cost Cycle Detection Problem., Lisa L. Kovalchick

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this thesis, we develop a greedy algorithm for the problem of checking whether a directed graph with positive and negative costs on its edges has a negative cost cycle. Our approach is the first known greedy strategy for this problem; all known approaches in the literature are based on Dynamic Programming. It is well known that the Negative Cost Cycle Detection problem is equivalent to the problem of checking whether a system of linear difference constraints is feasible. Our algorithm exploits this equivalence and uses polyhedral projection on the polyhedron of difference constraints corresponding to the input graph to …

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Reputation Management: A Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of The Effective Use Of Reputation Management Techniques When Faced With Crisis Situations Including The Construction And Validation Of A Media Index For Framing Tones In Crisis Situations., Barbara Manning Miller Jan 2003

Reputation Management: A Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of The Effective Use Of Reputation Management Techniques When Faced With Crisis Situations Including The Construction And Validation Of A Media Index For Framing Tones In Crisis Situations., Barbara Manning Miller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

While corporate image has long been examined in public relations, crisis management and reputation management are relatively new areas of study. This project examines the similar concepts of image and reputation, and outlines traditional theories of image through the more recent concepts of reputation management. The focus of the research is on corporations’ effective and ineffective use of reputation management techniques. This is evaluated through a qualitative content analysis of several crisis situations that examines the resulting media tone towards the company in crisis. The research also attempts to provide quantitative evidence in support of the findings of the qualitative …

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Journalism And The Internet: Putting Things Into Context., Lance Aaron Parry Jan 2003

Journalism And The Internet: Putting Things Into Context., Lance Aaron Parry

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Internet has provided new tools and new opportunities for journalists to gather and report the news, new outlets and new forms for those news reports, and new ways for readers and other news consumers to access that information. From its roots in typesetting to silver halide photography to presses and trucks, journalism has evolved digitally into web pages, pixels and cyberspace. The impact of this information is considered. The Internet itself was used for much of the research supporting this paper. The specific case of the so-called Suburban Sniper in the Washington/Maryland/Virginia metro area in October of 2002 is …

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A Content Analysis Of Calvin Klein Jean Advertisements In Relationship To Consumers' Purchase Intentions Through A Qualitative And Quantitative Approach., Shana Bock Jan 2003

A Content Analysis Of Calvin Klein Jean Advertisements In Relationship To Consumers' Purchase Intentions Through A Qualitative And Quantitative Approach., Shana Bock

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The following literature review and methods focused on understanding what effect advertisements have on consumers by demonstrating past and present methods and findings. The qualitative research aimed to seek a better understanding of the ways Calvin Klein expressed sexual and image content in his jean advertisements over an 11-year time span by analyzing and evaluating 25 jean advertisements. Each advertisement was coded for type of gaze, weight, gender, hair color, age, ethnicity, and pose (see appendix A for codebook). The quantitative research focused on a survey that was used to investigate the relationship between three types of gazes (seductive, soft/introverted, …

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An Interactive Approach To Structural Design Of Flanged Laminated Composite Ducts., Sasikumar Chandramohan Jan 2003

An Interactive Approach To Structural Design Of Flanged Laminated Composite Ducts., Sasikumar Chandramohan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A novel closed-form analytical model is described and applied to predict the stiffness and stress distributions around the circumference of cylindrical composite ducts with upright bolted flanges. The primary capability provided by the model is the interactive evaluation of alternative combinations between various geometric, processing, material, lay-up and loading characteristics in the design of connection flanges between cylindrical or conical ducts. Each ply in such a laminated flange is laid-up of circular segments, or "gores", which are stamped out of a prepreg unidirectional tape, or woven fabric, through a "cookie-cutter" type operation. The gores are then butted in the circumferential …

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Timeliness Non-Functional Requirements Of Uml-Based Software Systems: Application Of Analysis Techniques In The Gsm Domain., Rania Elnaggar Jan 2003

Timeliness Non-Functional Requirements Of Uml-Based Software Systems: Application Of Analysis Techniques In The Gsm Domain., Rania Elnaggar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The ability to control and quantify the software quality attributes is the ultimate goal for many researchers; non-quantitative measures of quality attributes are not good enough for sound judgment and are often ambiguous. In this work we choose to focus on software models specified in Unified Modeling Language (UML). The main objective of this work is aimed at studying timeliness nonfunctional requirements through timing and performance analyses. We first study a simulation-based analysis methodology and its application on a case study. We then introduce a hybrid methodology that incorporates both analytical and simulation models. We recognize the threats that an …

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