<p>The results of this work are the closed-form expressions for the tangent and secant stiffness matrices of the 3-node Mindlin frame element. From the study of two solution methods and the behavior of the three elements, several conclusions have been made as follows:</p> <a>1. Because the Mindlin frame element uses quadratic polynoms for the interpolation functions, at least two elements are needed for modelling a member of a plane frame structure.</p> <p> 2. The Mindlin frame element will give a more flexible structure due to the shear deformation effect, but the effect is not always significant.</p> <p> 3. The Mindlin frame element requires about twice degree-of-freedoms than the Bernoulli-Euler frame element requirement.</p> <p> 4. The formulation of tangent stiffness matrix can be simplified, in condition that the internal forces calculations are done using the appropriate nonlinear formulation. The calculation of the tangent stiffness matrix and the internal element forces can be done using different formulations.</p> / Master of Science

Master of Engineering

<p>Many technical and business papers have been written proclaiming that companies which provide high quality products and high quality service will market share and profitability. Although the theory of the positive relationship between quality and profitibility (i.e. higher product quality and service leads to higher profits) is commonly accepted, few studies have attempted to quantitatively justify this theory. The overall goal of this report is to present a quantitative framework that supports this commonly accepted positive relationship.</p> <p> Two major difficulties arise when attempting to assess this relationship quantitatively. First, the relationships which link product quality and service to profitability are interdisciplinary and often imprecise. These relationships involve the social behavior and feelings of customers, the competitive marketing environment, the service policies and technical competence of the producer, and of c:6urse the economic evaluation of improvements to quality and service.</p> <p> Second, to accurately assess the impact of product quality and service on profitability the assessment must be done over time. This is very important, because the improvements in product quality and service are strategic policies for improving long-term profitibility. Evaluation methods which measure the short-term effects and/or the static effects of product quality and service on profitibility will be inaccurate.</p> <p> To overcome these difficulties, first an extensive review of the literature on· product quality, service and customer satisfaction was performed. This research led to the development of the many interdisciplinary cause-andeffect relationships which link product quality and service to profitibility. Then the interaction of these causal relationships was evaluated by using a dynamic modeling language (DYNAMO III).</p> <p>The model results support the literature, indicating that companies providing both high quality products and high quality service will reap higher profits. Furthermore, the model provides a framework which, if further refined, could be used to help optimize the design of specific products.</p> / Master of Science

Long-duration spaceflight poses many challenging technical and non-technical problems that must be addressed. Past experience with long space missions has shown that the medical and psychological issues in the human factors realm that may arise are serious enough to require high-level consideration in the overall systems development process. <p> An essential aspect of the total systems development process for long-duration space missions entails the conception of a variety of countermeasures to combat the degradative effects of microgravity, isolation and confinement. These effects should be considered within a larger mission/systems framework. Additional factors within a broad systems perspective include the notion that context is an important attribute of the overall system state and may directly affect the astronauts' psychological health and the physical ability to perform required tasks. <p> A review of the literature in the psychosocial and medical realms is presented as these concerns impact the human factor within the macro-system goal of successful long-duration spaceflight mission completion. / Master of Science

see document / Master of Science

Decision making is required daily in our lives, whether it be selecting produce at the grocery store, deciding where to live or work, or designing a weapon system for military applications. Most decisions require the Decision Maker (OM) to examine multiple alternatives which most typically are defined by multiple, conflicting criteria. The objective is to select the alternative which minimizes the tradeoffs between attribute levels in order to determine which alternative is "best". This selection of "best" is based on the subjective viewpoint of the DM, that is, the DM's values and preferences directly influence his or her final alternative selection. A comprehensive analysis of the preferences of the OM in order to systematically structure a decision problem should invariably assist the OM in making the "best" choice from the list of available alternatives. This comprehensive analysis of decision maker preferences is the subject of this project/report. / Master of Engineering

<p>The responsibilities of Federal civil telecommunications are distributed by Congress among the General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Department of Commerce. GSA provides a centralized organization and coordinated process for acquisition and oversight of equipment and services for an Integrated Federal Telecommunications System (IFTS) to meet federal telecommunication requirements.</p> <p> The IFTS currently consists of heterogeneous, largely independent networks and telecommunication acquisition programs which are being coordinated through GSA. Under GSA's direct control within the IFTS are the two Federal Telecommunications System 2000 (FfS2000) voice and data networks (Network A-services acquired from AT&T and Network B-services acquired from US Sprint). Presently, the FTS2000 does not provide telecommunication services outside the United States (U.S.), Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. There are, however, federal agency requirements for telecommunication services to international locations. International locations are by definition any locations outside the U.S., excluding Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. Agencies requiring international telecommunication services are currently subscribing individually to interlata carriers authorized to provide international telecommunication services and may not be benefiting from economies of aggregating their international telecommunication traffic with other agencies.</p> <p>The objective of this project is to support GSA in procuring technically-effective and cost-efficient end-to-end international telecommunication services. This will be achieved by aggregating international bound traffic of several agencies, reducing the number of access points to the international carrier's network, establishing a government-wide standard on performance and features of the network, consolidating the billing, and obtaining better discounts due to higher traffic volume. Every agency participating in this program will benefit from better service and lower costs.</p> / Master of Engineering

<p>From the results of this project and report the following conclusions seem warranted:</p> <p> 1. The actual behavior of any real stream system, subject to a point load, is dependent on an extremely complex and integrated network of events which can occur in series or parallel.</p> <p> 2. The QUAL2E model considers the major events or cycles of a stream system in a fully integrated manner, offers the user many configuration options, and provides for a wealth of essential output data. The documentation provides reasonable explanation as to the means by which the model simulates a stream system. The QUAL2E model can be executed successfully by the first time user with minimal effort.</p> <p> 3. The DYNAMO model can be effectively invoked through the use of differential equations that can be translated into suitable DYNAMO expressions. The model is easy to learn and can be executed by the first time user with minimal effort.</p> <p> 4. Input parameters and initial conditions for the both the QUAL2E and DYNAMO models were reasonable for the purpose intended. That being the comparison of the behavior of the two systems.</p> / Master of Engineering

Master of Engineering

<p>Because recreation is an ever changing field, research should be repeated to determine the needs of the handicapped students in the future. Enrollment patterns for special programs should also be carefully monitored to help assess needs for new or different programing. Participant and instructor evaluation at the end of each season should be carefully studied for improvement in programs to occur.</p> / Master of Education