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Articles 86041 - 86070 of 197010

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Raman Spectral Variation For Human Fingernails Of Postmenopausal Women Is Dependent On Fracture Risk And Osteoporosis Status, J. R. Beattie, M. C. Caraher, N. M. Cummins, O. M. O'Driscoll, R. Eastell, S. H. Ralston, Mark R. Towler Jun 2017

Raman Spectral Variation For Human Fingernails Of Postmenopausal Women Is Dependent On Fracture Risk And Osteoporosis Status, J. R. Beattie, M. C. Caraher, N. M. Cummins, O. M. O'Driscoll, R. Eastell, S. H. Ralston, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Patients diagnosed with osteoporosis have reported loss of fingernail resilience as the disease progresses. Keratin is the predominant protein in human nail tissue, and its structure has been postulated to be different in fingernails clipped from subjects who have sustained fragility fractures and those who have not, which may offer a window into the donor's bone health. This study was designed to qualify these differences, which may lead to the development of a novel screening tool for fracture risk. Raman spectroscopy was used to measure the fingernails of 633 postmenopausal women who presented at six fracture clinics located across the …

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Creating A Mentoring Program For Members Of The Cal Poly Women In Construction Club, Savannnah Monique Gauna Jun 2017

Creating A Mentoring Program For Members Of The Cal Poly Women In Construction Club, Savannnah Monique Gauna

Construction Management

The construction industry remains one of the most male dominate industries in the workforce. With universities like California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly, SLO) is placing significance on construction related career paths by offering coursework and graduate studies in construction management. That means a more diverse group of people, including women, are getting exposed to the construction industry and pursuing a college degree so they can obtain a good job. At Cal Poly, a new club was created to empowering women in construction through mentorship, youth outreach, industry support, and strengthening department interrelations. The purpose of this …

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Whiting-Turner Plangrid Implementation On Oakland Global Logistics Center: A Case Study, Alex J. Cain Jun 2017

Whiting-Turner Plangrid Implementation On Oakland Global Logistics Center: A Case Study, Alex J. Cain

Construction Management

As construction project complexity continues to rise, there will be an increasing importance placed on a company’s ability to manage project information. This management is aided by the use of project management information systems (PMIS). These systems are made up of applications that help managers track project progress from start to finish. Whiting-Turner uses the application Plangrid within their PMIS. This paper will explore how Whiting-Turner implements Plangrid on the currently being constructed Oakland Global Logistics Center. In addition, this paper will review the fundamental concepts behind a PMIS, the framework of mobile computing applications, and the features of leading …

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Confidence Analysis Of Superintendents: Trades Vs. School, Paul S. Lavanne Jun 2017

Confidence Analysis Of Superintendents: Trades Vs. School, Paul S. Lavanne

Construction Management

Today, knowledgeable and reliable superintendents are in high demand throughout the construction industry. However, it seems to becoming more and more uncommon for a superintendent to come up through the more traditional route via the trades. It appears that it is becoming more common for superintendents to attend a university and attain a degree relating to construction. This begs the question though, does this new generation have what it takes to match their counterparts that come up through the trades? With this new direction being taken, it makes us wonder if universities are helping set a solid foundation for these …

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Journeyman International: Hut2hut, Rwanda, Faith E. Johnson Jun 2017

Journeyman International: Hut2hut, Rwanda, Faith E. Johnson

Construction Management

This report details the project titled Hut2Hut, completed through the nonprofit humanitarian design organization, Journeyman International. Hut2Hut is a housing project designed to provide lodging for tourists backpacking through Rwanda. The structure is designed to house up to eight people. Features include an enclosed bunk space, a kitchen with basic appliances, wood-burning fireplace, collapsible wall-deck system to open up the living space to the outside, and two main outdoor deck spaces. The building will provide an affordable alternative to the more expensive resorts in Rwanda and aims to connect the visitors to the site and local culture. The proceeds will …

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Introducing Concentrations Into The Cal Poly Cm Program, Kevin L. Barry Jun 2017

Introducing Concentrations Into The Cal Poly Cm Program, Kevin L. Barry

Construction Management

This paper explores the introduction and integration of industry related concentrations into the Construction Management program at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Specialization has been an integral part of not only the construction industry, but also throughout the industrialization of America. With these concentrations, students will be able to select either an industry sector or job function they are interested in pursuing and take additional classes that dive deeper into that specific facet of industry rather than only brushing the surface with general construction education classes. This program will better prepare students for industry and give those who have a …

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Analysis Of The Construction Management Co-Op Program At California Polytechnic State University, Danile Stanley Leavens Jun 2017

Analysis Of The Construction Management Co-Op Program At California Polytechnic State University, Danile Stanley Leavens

Construction Management

Work integrated learning (WIL) programs such as internships or co-operative education programs are a common way of providing practical experience to students while they are completing their degree. This paper will examine the benefits of WIL programs for the students, companies, and universities that actively participate in them. In addition, this analysis researches the findings of other studies on student’s success as a result of WIL programs, how companies are improved with higher quality employees, and the networking connections that universities receive due to students creating great relationships with companies. In an attempt to improve the Construction Management co-op program …

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Gaining Market Share As A Union Specialty Contractor In San Diego: A Case Study, Roy Lee Perrin Jr Jun 2017

Gaining Market Share As A Union Specialty Contractor In San Diego: A Case Study, Roy Lee Perrin Jr

Construction Management

San Diego is one of the few major cities in California to have a larger share of non-union labor compared to union labor in the private specialty construction sector. Although union labor is on the rise in large cities due to California’s strict labor wage laws, union specialty contractors are still running into challenges in terms of competitiveness in the San Diego area. Western Specialty Contractors has first hand experience with competing against non-union contractors in San Diego. This paper will outline the methodology Western Specialty Contractors took in order to gain market share in San Diego. This paper will …

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Information Communication Improvements In B.I.G., Alexander M. Vlasity Jun 2017

Information Communication Improvements In B.I.G., Alexander M. Vlasity

Construction Management

Game based learning is a proven methodology of convening complex ideas and concepts to students. Game based learning creates an environment that is safe, enjoyable, stress free, and competitive. Construction management is no exception. In the classroom, there is only one way to provide real life experiences in creating and operating a business. That is through simulation software. Simulation software allows a user to experience many of the complexities that occur in real life while playing in an educational environment. This senior project will focus on one software package called The Building Industry Game. This simulation package provides its user …

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Integrated Design-Bid-Build And Its Effects On Integrated Project Delivery Drivers, Alexander G. Sargiss Jun 2017

Integrated Design-Bid-Build And Its Effects On Integrated Project Delivery Drivers, Alexander G. Sargiss

Construction Management

Integrated project delivery is becoming a more common and successful delivery method in the construction industry compared to more traditional methods such as design-bid-build. Integrated Design-Bid-Build is a hybrid between the two which has been implemented very few times to test if it can be used as a more viable delivery method in the future. There has been very little research in to Integrated Design-Bid-Build that is accessible for analysis. This research study examines case studies of projects completed using IPD and analyzes their “IPD Profiles” which are measured using five primary project drivers. These project drivers are: cost predictability, …

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A Case Study On Project Engage, A Step To Solve Alcoholism In The Construction Industry, Tyler Addison Lee Jun 2017

A Case Study On Project Engage, A Step To Solve Alcoholism In The Construction Industry, Tyler Addison Lee

Construction Management

Alcohol is very prevalent in most industries around the globe, but the construction industry has been placed at the top, ranking number two for the most people suffering from alcoholism in the industry according to SAMHSA’s study. Some experts have said this is due to the hard and physical requirements of the job, time requirements of the job, and the stress involved within building a construction project. Common practice in the industry is that when a person is cited for being under the influence while at work, they will be let go, fired, or given a warning depending on the …

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National Association Of Home Builders' Residential Construction Management Competition Guidebook, Eric Angelo Bet Jun 2017

National Association Of Home Builders' Residential Construction Management Competition Guidebook, Eric Angelo Bet

Construction Management

With today’s universities, especially Cal Poly, stressing the concept of “Learn by Doing” to prepare students for successful careers, case competitions are gaining popularity and prestige amongst recruiters. By working well in team settings and showcasing one’s knowledge in front of a panel of industry judges, case competitions give students great undergraduate experience and confidence once they begin their full-time careers. One of these case competitions is the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Residential Construction Management Competition (RCMC). The NAHB RCMC asks students to create a fully-encompassing development proposal on a real-world site located in the United States. This …

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Advantages Of Integrating Technology Knowledge Into Undergraduate Curriculum, Nicholas Nam Jun 2017

Advantages Of Integrating Technology Knowledge Into Undergraduate Curriculum, Nicholas Nam

Construction Management

Advancements in technology have made daily construction tasks easier and more efficient and will continue to do so. Cal Poly currently offers a BIM course but it is limited to certain programs and the extent of which these are taught are also limited. This paper will explore the inputs of current Cal Poly construction management students to see how there can be a successful implantation of technology courses and which programs to heavily integrate. The different types of programs available are increasing and are continuing to better themselves, and to have knowledge of these programs can help translate into skills …

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Recyclable Waste Material As Substitute Aggregate In Concrete, Cannon Michael Lynch Jun 2017

Recyclable Waste Material As Substitute Aggregate In Concrete, Cannon Michael Lynch

Construction Management

Trash pollution is a serious problem that the world is facing and while there are current efforts to clean up the environment, there still exists the issue of what to do with the trash once collected. Waste material, especially plastic, is littering the ocean and poses a serious threat to wildlife. The construction industry makes a good effort of trying to limit its negative impact on the environment, but it can potentially solve the problem of pollution using one specific material, concrete. The best part about concrete is that its compressive strength can be manipulated by adding or removing certain …

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Case Study On Virtual Reality In Construction, Kyle Eugene Haggard Jun 2017

Case Study On Virtual Reality In Construction, Kyle Eugene Haggard

Construction Management

Virtual reality has evolved into a practical technology that has recently been introduced across many different industries. In the construction industry alone, the innovative tool has started to show its worth by limiting rework, time savings, and identifying design flaws. This case study outlines the goals, benefits, and challenges for virtual reality in construction as it relates to BNBuilder’s Spectrum/Vertex project. Due to the infancy of the technology, suggestions were collected from the interviewees and discussed in the subsequent paragraphs. The information for this case study was collected from: phone call interviews from BNBuilders’ field and office employees, the vice …

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Concrete Industry Management In Higher Education, Irl Thomas Barajas Jun 2017

Concrete Industry Management In Higher Education, Irl Thomas Barajas

Construction Management

This Paper Focuses on the concrete industry and programs that prepare college students for their future in it and to try and implement some sort of concrete program at Cal Poly. The idea to make Concrete Industry Management first came along at Middle Tennessee State University in 1996, but only a few other programs have started at other schools since then. These programs focus on skills for graduates to enter the concrete industry in production, project management, sales, and marketing. They are structured similar to the way Construction Management programs are structured and have similar courses like estimating, sustainability, and …

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Heavy Equipment As A Topics Course At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Construction Management Curriculum, Samuel G. Duner Jun 2017

Heavy Equipment As A Topics Course At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Construction Management Curriculum, Samuel G. Duner

Construction Management

In the construction industry it has been said that no project is the same. That each project awarded to a contractor will have new and unique details that were not faced in the previous projects. However, all the management skills acquired by the project team will be used to complete the current project. One of those skills that seems to be underutilized and does not receive enough emphasis, is the management of heavy equipment. The purpose of this paper will be to highlight details of heavy equipment management that need to be emphasized in the Cal Poly construction management curriculum, …

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Quality Assurance In The Buyout Phase Of The Commercial Sector Of San Francisco, Stephen Chase Johnson Jun 2017

Quality Assurance In The Buyout Phase Of The Commercial Sector Of San Francisco, Stephen Chase Johnson

Construction Management

The “buyout” phase in terms of construction management is a transitional phase in construction that is integral to the overall success to a construction project. When done properly it can lead to a smooth and efficient construction phase, and if done poorly can lead to major setbacks of all variety. Quality Assurance measures are a great way to ensure that this process is done in a complete way so as to avoid the negative effects of a poorly executed project buyout. As technologies such as BIM (Building Information Modeling) grow the buyout process has become more involved and exact. Technologies …

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Case Study Analysis Of Improving Productivity Rates For Self-Perform Concrete, Johnny Mcdermott Jun 2017

Case Study Analysis Of Improving Productivity Rates For Self-Perform Concrete, Johnny Mcdermott

Construction Management

Productivity is one of the most important aspects of a successful construction project, especially if the work is self-performed and not sub-contracted out to another contractor. Usually the success of a project is directly correlated to how well the production has been throughout the course of the job. Often when a project manager notices their job is not doing well and not making their target profits or man-hours, productivity is usually the answer to that problem. This paper will examine the different ways and methods of tracking production that was used by Overaa construction. The focus of this study is …

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A Case Study: Project Scheduling On Quick Serve Tenant Improvement Projects, Robert M. Malone Jun 2017

A Case Study: Project Scheduling On Quick Serve Tenant Improvement Projects, Robert M. Malone

Construction Management

Scheduling is the basis for nearly all construction planning. For small tenant improvement projects, time is often of the essence. However, often times the project’s schedule is not closely followed, monitored, or updated. Discovering why the project’s schedule has not been followed, monitored, or updated will illuminate potential ways to improve the efficiency of planning and managing a quick serve construction project. This report will provide this information through a series of indepth interviews, as well as, observations from a three McDonald’s tenant improvement projects on the California Central Coast. From these interviews, the interviewee’s perspective of the project’s progress …

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Journeyman International Construction Services Brazil Elementary School, Kotaro Kiriharo Jun 2017

Journeyman International Construction Services Brazil Elementary School, Kotaro Kiriharo

Construction Management

This project-based senior project is a partnership with Journeyman International (JI), an interdisciplinary, non-profit organization that is based in downtown San Luis Obispo. JI matches students and volunteers with humanitarian projects all over the world. For the purpose of this project, students from the College of Architecture and Environmental design were paired in order to compile both design and construction service documents for an elementary school in Brazil. The Elementary School, which will be called Nossa Escola de Terra, will be built in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, a small town located in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. This paper highlights …

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The Differences Between Cpm And Resource-Loaded Scheduling And How They Applied To The Martinez Tesoro Refinery Flare Header Replacement Project, Connor Steven Carone Jun 2017

The Differences Between Cpm And Resource-Loaded Scheduling And How They Applied To The Martinez Tesoro Refinery Flare Header Replacement Project, Connor Steven Carone

Construction Management

A case study was conducted to analyze the scheduling challenges faced on a refinery construction project in Martinez, California. The main issues on the project were complications experienced by the general contractor in fulfilling a requirement to produce a resource-loaded schedule. Unable to create one, a CPM schedule was produced instead. Research on the differences between a CPM and resource-loaded schedule was conducted in order to uncover how they applied to the refinery project. The most significant differences between the two scheduling methodologies is that a CPM assumes infinite capacity, while resource loading recognizes that resources have finite limits in …

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Case Study: Implementation Of Electronic Documentation On Heavy Civil Construction Projects, Andrew William Jenco Jun 2017

Case Study: Implementation Of Electronic Documentation On Heavy Civil Construction Projects, Andrew William Jenco

Construction Management

This paper identifies perceived benefits of transitioning to an electronic-based documentation program in a heavy civil subcontractor setting. Electronic documentation has shown to reduce costs through organization, review and retrieval methods. This study provides insight of heavy civil construction managers regarding the efficiency of transitioning to a shared document control system. RFI data among projects utilizing electronic documentation and traditional methods were compared. The RFI turnaround times among six projects that utilized traditional document control methods were compared to the RFI turnaround times of a project utilizing electronic documentation. The data collected from this study suggests that electronic documentation benefits …

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Land Use And Active Travel: A Complex Relationship, Steven R. Gehrke Jun 2017

Land Use And Active Travel: A Complex Relationship, Steven R. Gehrke

TREC Project Briefs

While it’s accepted that mixed-use development promotes active travel, researchers don’t have a consensus on exactly how land use determines people’s travel patterns.

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Focusing On Equity In Regional Plans, Kristine M. Williams Jun 2017

Focusing On Equity In Regional Plans, Kristine M. Williams

TREC Project Briefs

Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) have long been required to consider the equity implications of their regional transportation plans and processes.

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Passive Bottom Reflection-Loss Estimation Using Ship Noise And A Vertical Line Array, Lanfranco Muzi, Martin Siderius, Christopher M. Verlinden Jun 2017

Passive Bottom Reflection-Loss Estimation Using Ship Noise And A Vertical Line Array, Lanfranco Muzi, Martin Siderius, Christopher M. Verlinden

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

An existing technique for passive bottom-loss estimation from natural marine surface noise (generated by waves and wind) is adapted to use noise generated by ships. The original approach—based on beamforming of the noise field recorded by a vertical line array of hydrophones—is retained; however, additional processing is needed in order for the field generated by a passing ship to show features that are similar to those of the natural surface-noise field. A necessary requisite is that the ship position, relative to the array, varies over as wide a range of steering angles as possible, ideally passing directly over the array …

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Evolution Of An Introductory Electrical Engineering And Programming Course, Branimir Pejcinovic, Phillip Wong Jun 2017

Evolution Of An Introductory Electrical Engineering And Programming Course, Branimir Pejcinovic, Phillip Wong

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our first year electrical engineering sequence includes two courses that involve programming and hardware interfacing. ECE 102 deals with engineering problem solving and MATLAB, while ECE 103 introduces C programming. We use MATLAB both as a problem solving tool and as an introduction to programming. Students utilize MATLAB to control a data acquisition device, which enables more realistic team-based projects that combine problem-solving, programming, and interfacing. As is widely recognized, these types of courses are important and difficult to teach. We identified areas that needed improvement in ECE 102: a) outdated lecture format, b) not enough timely feedback, c) insufficient …

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Generalized Differential Calculus And Applications To Optimization, R. Blake Rector Jun 2017

Generalized Differential Calculus And Applications To Optimization, R. Blake Rector

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis contains contributions in three areas: the theory of generalized calculus, numerical algorithms for operations research, and applications of optimization to problems in modern electric power systems. A geometric approach is used to advance the theory and tools used for studying generalized notions of derivatives for nonsmooth functions. These advances specifically pertain to methods for calculating subdifferentials and to expanding our understanding of a certain notion of derivative of set-valued maps, called the coderivative, in infinite dimensions. A strong understanding of the subdifferential is essential for numerical optimization algorithms, which are developed and applied to nonsmooth problems in operations …

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Airspace Analysis For Greener Operations: Towards More Adoptability And Predictability Of Continuous Descent Approach (Cda), Emad Ali Alharbi May 2017

Airspace Analysis For Greener Operations: Towards More Adoptability And Predictability Of Continuous Descent Approach (Cda), Emad Ali Alharbi

Dissertations

Continuous Descent Approach (CDA), also known as Optimized Profile Descent (OPD), is the advanced flight technique for commercial aircraft to descend continuously from cruise altitude to Final Approach Fix (FAF) or touchdown without level-offs and with- or near-idle thrust setting. Descending using CDA, aircraft stays as high as possible for longer time thereby expanding the vertical distance between aircraft's sources of noise and ground, and thus significantly reducing the noise levels for populated areas around airports. Also, descending with idle engines, fuel burn is reduced resulting in reduction of harmful emissions to the environment and fuel consumption to air carriers. …

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A Novel Approach To Increase Upper Extremity Active Range Of Motion For Individuals With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Using Admittance Control, Madeline Catherine Corrigan May 2017

A Novel Approach To Increase Upper Extremity Active Range Of Motion For Individuals With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Using Admittance Control, Madeline Catherine Corrigan

Dissertations

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a neuromuscular disease with a prevalence of 1 in 3,500-5,000 male births, results in progressive muscle weakness causing loss of independence and imposing the demands of costly and intrusive assistive support and personal care for daily living tasks. Upper extremity function begins to decline while ambulation is still possible and gradually progresses with time, playing a prominent role in loss of independence. Importantly, upper extremity functional limitations exist despite residual muscle strength that is insufficient to lift the arms against gravity. Presently, there exist a number of commercially available assistive devices aimed at augmenting upper extremity …

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