Digital Commons Network^™

Business Success In Small And Medium Sized Enterprises Through The Implementation Of The Techniques Of World Class Business And Benchmarking, Dónal Ó Liatháin

Theses

‘ Europe is losing its competitiveness ‘ was the underlying message in the Tanaiste’s, Ms Mary Harney, opening address, at the 3^^ annual Benchmarking Conference held in the O’Reilly Hall, Dublin, on the 28^^ of February 2001. According to the latest figures from the European Commission, the European GDP lags its Japanese and American rivals by 17% and 33% respectively. Small and medium sized enterprises provide over 66% of the European Community employment and 65% of the turnover, which indicate the vital role played by small and medium sized enterprises in Europe’s economy. The objective of this thesis was to …

An Enzymatic Method For The Measurement Of Magnesium, Joseph Murphy

Theses

Magnesium is quantitatively the most important intracellular divalent cation (4), and has been found to serve in a wide range of enzymatic reactions (2). Studies have shown that up to ten percent of hospital patients may have hypomagnesaemia (6).

Atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) under highly specified conditions is the de facto reference method for magnesium measurement but only about ten per cent of laboratories routinely use this method (4). This is because AAS is time-consuming, requires specialised equipment and a certain level of expertise, and may be hazardous due to the use of inflammable gases. Colourimetric methods e.g. calmagite are …

Legacy, Jessica Harper

Theses

This thesis tells the stories of the youngest generation of women in author's family and describe a legacy inherited from their family traditions through photography

The Capacity Of The Electronics Industry For Closing The Lifecycle Look: Assessing The Infrastucture For The Recovery And Recycling Of Electronics In The Unites States, Patricia Donohue

Theses

This work examined why the electronics industry, specifically producers of commercial and consumer equipment, does not complete the product lifecycle by recapturing valuable materials from products when the products reach the end of their useful life. The electronics industry, it seems, is not capable of fully recovering and recycling its products. It lacks the infrastructure, or the underlying foundation, to enable the industry to take back its products and recycle or reuse the components that make up those products. This research identified and examined the various infrastructure deficiencies, including technical and regulatory factors, causing the recovery and recycling of electronic …

Segmented Face Detection Using Clustering, Gunturi Srimanth

Theses

Perception forms a very important part of learning. The way we perceive things has a lot to do with how we understand. It forms a very crucial link in our build-up of knowledge. Living organisms have a remarkable ability of understanding spatial information. It is due to their inherent ability of generating native organizations, models, etc, and most importantly, their ability to generalize and infer - based upon symmetry, probability, familiarity, etc, that allows them to instantly adapt their knowledge to the given surroundings. It forms a very basic step in survival. When trying to make machines intelligent, one of …

Desired Absence: A Woman's Perspective, Heather Dominick

Theses

Humans are born either male or female depending on their sexual organs. While there are specific biological functions connected to those organs, it is society that assigns distinct, opposite behavioral standards, mores, and roles for each gender. These are portrayed as outgrowths of biological differences and considered normal. However, gender roles are socially constructed not biologically determined. My thesis work Desired Absence: A Woman's Perspective explores the themes of gender and violence using photography and video. The body of work includes two components; a series of seven silver gelatin mural sized photographs of the human face, and a single channel …

Culinary Arts Competencies In Hospitality Curriculum, Thomas Smyth

Theses

A modified two-round Delphi study of fifteen hospitality educators and fifteen industry managers was used to identify instructional objectives for culinary arts education and to establish the positions of educator and industry relative to these objectives. These professionals confirmed that there does exist a divergent opinion on competencies, while affirming the value of continued dialogue to apprise each other of their needs. Working with culinary arts faculty, the voice of industry speaks to great and immediate challenges, which require an evolving curriculum to prepare future culinarians.

Information Technology Infrastructure Stability, Jeffrey Pankow

Theses

The goal of this thesis is to validate the critical importance of IT infrastructure stability and to determine the factors impacting stability and what IT executives are doing to address these factors.

A Guideline For Initiating An Environmental Management System In Academia, David Turkow

Theses

Managing environmental concerns in an academic environment poses unique challenges to colleges and universities. Many college EHS professionals face an uphill battle to promote environmental improvement in an organized, systematic, and sustainable fashion - an Environmental Management System (EMS) is designed to do just that. Some inherent difficulties encountered in an academic setting include 1) lack of management support and 2) the perception that colleges do not have major environmental compliance issues (contributing factor to #1). By identifying issues unique to academia and differences in perception between EHS professionals and academic senior management, chances for successfully initiating/implementing an EMS are …

Utilizing Re-Engineering Of Competitive Packages To Stimulate Innovative Packaging Development, Jeffrey Gibb

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate how the tool of re-engineering can successfully be used to dissect competitive packaging and, in turn, stimulate new, innovative packaging developments. The organizational challenges and hurdles in achieving innovation have changed in recent years. Mergers and acquisitions have resulted in the creation of mega-corporations. The result has been a change in business philosophy from generalization to specialization for maximum profitability. The challenge of specialization is that it stifles creativity, and this includes the development of innovative packaging. One of the ways the packaging engineer can overcome these challenges and drive innovation is …

An Evaluation Of The Influence Of Vibrations Received In The Distribution Environment To The Remaining Eddy Current Probe Lifetime, Edo Picek

Theses

Eddy Current probes are used for the testing of steam generator tubing integrity in nuclear power plants. Their use environment is far more severe than the distribution environment, which includes truck and airplane delivery of small parcels. As each probe has soldered connections susceptible to damage this study was undertaken to investigate a possible influence of vibrations due to transport to a probe lifetime. A sweep vibration test was performed on a product with no packaging. It proved that the probe was able to vibrate in different ways unless restricted by the package. With the packaging solution defined in more …

Optimised Manufacture, Packing And Distribution Of E-Fluted Corrugated Detergent Containers, Enis Kancelir

Theses

E-fluted corrugated containers are widely used on the European markets and other markets world-wide. The production of this type of containers is therefore very important in the area of detergent packing and distribution. It is very important to improve and develop such forms of packing. This paper shows the method of packing which is as effective as the one we have used by now, but which involves significant reduction in the costs of operation. Additional rationalisation has been also defined by adequate ASTM testing methods.

The Effect Of Software Requirements Analysis On Project Success And Product Quality, Vera Berenbaum

Theses

This paper will demonstrate that the general project management principles' regarding requirements analysis also hold true for software development projects. According to conventional project management wisdom, sound requirements analysis and scope definition tends to improve quality planning, thereby reducing project cost and duration, increasing project success and improving the quality of the resulting product. This paper will demonstrate that software development projects tend to challenge this time-proven notion. The paper will also demonstrate that the software development industry pays a high price for these practices by suffering longer project schedules, higher costs and producing poorer quality products by rushing requirements …

Sixes & Sevens: Photography, Distance, And Memory, Nancy Friedland

Theses

None provided.

Evaluation And Rationalization Methodology For The Acquisition Of Packaging Capital Equipment And Services, Craig E. Densmore

Theses

The development of proactive methods for the evaluation, selection, standardization, and rationalization of capital equipment and services used in the medical device industry will benefit equipment/process interchangeability and will result in lower costs of goods (COG). Reduced exposures to legal and regulatory issues are also expected. At the time this study began, senior management believed staff should have the latitude to make continuous improvements initiated without the burden of a corporate regulatory, engineering, quality, or procurement oversight, as long as each facility continued to meet or exceed appropriate performance standards and government regulations.

This work seeks to document the technical, …

Transmutation Of Obect, Jiyong Lee

Theses

This thesis is the result of years studying art and design. I felt fortunate to be introduced to glass during the past two years. I spent most of the first year developing ideas, exploring process and avoiding functional and pragmatic issues. Those are important elements for designing an object but thinking about my own unique approach was more important. The other goal of the first year was gaining experience with glass as a new material. Before I started my second year, I recognized concepts that had been recurring in my works for the past few years. I found an inseparable …

The Effect Of Adhesive Coatings On The Microbial Barrier Properties Of Porous Medical Packaging Materials, Alison M. Kayser

Theses

The most important characteristic for porous medical packaging is the ability to keep devices free from microorganisms from the point of sterilization to the point of use. Downstream converting processes can affect the properties of a package material. One of the most common converting steps is the addition of an adhesive coating. The current test standard for measuring the ability of a porous barrier material to serve as a microbial barrier is ASTM 1608-95. This test method was used to measure the microbial barrier properties of a wide selection of packaging materials in both their coated and uncoated forms. The …

Historical Radiometric Calibration Of Landsat 5, Erin O'Donnell

Theses

There hasn't been a rigorous study of Landsat 5's thermal band since 1985, the year after its launch. Nevertheless, those who utilize this thermal imagery have been using it under the assumption that the sensor is operating correctly. This research was done to show that the thermal band of Landsat 5, has been radiometrically stable over its lifetime. Also, this research attempted to determine what the calibration of the thermal band has been. This was done using various Landsat 5 images of the thermal bar in the Great Lakes that were taken over the lifetime of the satellite. The focus …

Using Java Powered Ibutton To Replace Student Id Card, Yu-Hui Cho

Theses

Not provided.

A Transformational Framework For Services In The Hospitality Industry, Guillermo Graglia

Theses

Not provided.

A Comparison Of Airline Websites, Hui Zhang

Theses

The online travel business is widely expected to be one of the Internet's biggest commerce breakthroughs by the millennium. Airlines have focused their web efforts on reinforcing their relationship with their customers. As the largest airline and the fourth-largest airline in the world respectively, both United Airlines and Northwest Airlines, the leaders of e-commerce in the transportation industry, have established a strong presence at the emerging travel purchase outlets being used by a growing number of airline consumers . The literature review focuses on the application of Blur's effects (Davis, 1998) on the two and describes their main development in …

The Box, Sunhee Chang

Theses

This thesis describes the idea conception, story formulation, technical details, and presentation of a computer animated film entitled "The box". It tells the story of two children and their toy: a cardboard box.

Application Of Geophysical, Hydrogeologic L And Gis Techniques For Investigation Of Groundwater Resources In The Al Dhaid Area, Uae, Mohamed Mustafa Mohamed Al Mulla

Theses

No abstract provided.

Dynamics Of Pancake Vortices In A Finite Stack Of Superconducting Copper Oxide Layers, Mariam Mustafa Ahmad Al Marzoqi

Theses

The high temperature superconductors are very promising materials in a wide range of applications, starting from the electricity power supply. They play a lifesaving function through imaging systems. Even major internet and communication advances depend on these materials.

Superconductivity in these materials occurs particularly in the copper-oxide planes. However, since these materials are type-II superconductors, magnetic fields can penetrate these materials in quantized amounts of flux called vortices without destroying completely superconductivity, but producing some resistance, due to vortex motion. In order to overcome the resistance problem, vortices must be pinned to prevent their motion and hence eliminate the resistance. …

Determination And Catalytic Degradation Of Some Pesticides In Selected Agriculture Environment, Khalid Mutasim Al Magboul

Theses

Buprofezin [2-[(1, 1-dimethylethyl)imino]tetrahydro-3-(1-methylethyl)-5-phenyl-4H-1,3,5-thiadiazin-4-one] is a thiadiazine insect regulator and molting inhibitor that has a persistent larvicidal action against some Coleoptera and Hemiptera and effectively controls harmful insect pests including the brown rice planthopper Nilaparvata lugens and the greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporaiorum. However, amitraz (IUPAC name: N-methylbis(2,4-xylyliminomethyl) amine belongs to the family of the triazapentadienes. It is a non-systemic acaricide and insecticide which has contact and respiratory action. Amitraz is active against a wide range of larvae and phytophagous insects. Its properties have long been known. Additionally, amitraz is often used against varroasis disease, caused by the mite Varroa Jacobsoni and …

Assessment Of Metals Pollution In Sediments Of The Coastal Area, U.A.E, By Nawal Mubarak Al Qubaisi

Theses

The present study aims at the quantifying and assessment of heavy metals concentrations and pollution in the offshore sediments, off Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. Thirty three samples were collected and subjected to grain size analysis, organic carbon and total carbonate determinations, mineralogical analysis and heavy metals (leachable and residual phasis) determination.

The contents of organic carbon of the study areas vary within a wide range. The maximum was recorded at Abu Dhabi and the minimum at Dubai. There is a trend of increasing organic carbon with the decrease of grain size. In contrast to organic carbon, carbonate contents in …

An Evaluation Of The S2ia Switched-Current Architecture For (Delta)(Sigma) Modulator Adcs, Andre Botha

Theses

Switched-Current (SI) is a design methodology by which discrete time, current mode, analog circuits can be implemented using standard digital CMOS processes, allowing the addition of analog signal processing circuits, analog to digital converters (ADCs), digital to analog converters (DACs) and other analog and mixed-signal circuits to otherwise digital only microchips without the need and expense of any extra fabrication steps. SI circuits operate by employing a secondary effect in CMOS circuits, a transistor's gate capacitance, to store charge and thus form a current memory cell. A current memory cell is one of the basic building blocks found in most …

An Investigation Into The Effect Of Plate Hardness, And Surface Speed Differential On Flexographic Gear Marking, Wisit Wirojrungson

Theses

Gear marking is a print defect in flexography. It appears as a uniformly spaced pattern of lateral alternating dark and light bands along the web length corresponding to the distance between gear teeth. A comprehensive definition characterizes gear marking as a regular pattern attributable to metal burrs, nicks, debris, or other flaws that lead to unsmooth movement somewhere in the mechanical system of the press. Gear marking can be caused by a multitude of different factors. In most cases, gear marking results from more than one phenomenon. The objective of this study was to investigate some factors that were expected …

An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Contrast And Resolution Of A Printing System Using The Rit Contrast Resolution Test Target, Eliot Harper

Theses

A problem arises when different printing systems are used to print images. Different systems have considerably different contrast and resolution capabilities while an individual printing system might have a low resolution capability, the system may have the ability to render low contrast detail. Similarly, if a printing system has a high resolution capability, it does not necessarily mean that such a system has the ability to render low contrast detail well. Such contrast and resolution restrictions may be attributed to the capabilities of the PostScript interpreter, the screening method used by the RIP, the image transfer method of the output …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Functionalized Zirconium Pendent Polyamic Acids And Polyimides Based On 3,4'-Oda And Odpa, Wei Wang

Theses

The objective of this thesis is to synthesize functionalized zirconium complex pendent polyamic acids and polyimides, then compare their characteristics, e.g. thermal properties, atomic oxygen resistance, and film properties (adhesion, flexibility, and solvent resistance). Towards this end, five different zirconium complexes were attached to the polyamic acid, which is based on 3,4'-oxydianiline (3,4'-0DA), 4,4'-oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA), and mellitic dianhydride (MADA), in the presence of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC). The resulting zirconium complex pendent polyamic acids and the parent polyamic acid were cast onto glass substrates, then thermally imidized by heating at 100C, 200C, and 300C for one hour each. The synthesized zirconium …