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While designing metal buildings for wind drift, for simplicity of analysis and design, connection at base of column is considered as pinned which provides no rotational restraint. The actual behavior of the connection however, is partially rigid, that provides some rotational stiffness even in case of single row of bolts. Moreover, using a two-dimensional (planar) structural model for analysis ignores any load distribution provided by roof and wall sheeting. Simulation of true behavior of base connection and diaphragm stiffness can substantially reduce drift caused due to lateral forces thereby lessening the conservatism in traditional design practices. This thesis provides results obtained from full-scale experimental testing and analytical study for a metal building. A full scale load test was conducted to quantify the lateral stiffness of an existing metal building. A static lateral load, consistent in magnitude with the building's design wind pressure, was applied to the knee of a primary frame, and the resulting lateral displacements and column-base rotations for all primary frames were measured. The test procedure was repeated at several locations. The experimentally obtained results were then validated using two-dimensional and three-dimensional analytical models. The three-dimensional models explicitly simulated the primary and secondary framing, roof and wall diaphragms, and column-base stiffness. A couple of approaches have been proposed to model column-base plate connection varying in complexity and accuracy. Once validated, the FE model is utilized to quantify the relative stiffness contributions of the metal building system components to lateral drift. While performing analysis some other parameters were also studied. These consisted of effect of base plate thickness and length of anchor bolts on column-base rigidity. Also, effect of including shear deformations and considering the haunch (column-rafter junction) as rigid were studied. Another small but important part of the paper is comparison of wind pressures obtained using different procedure of ASCE 7-05 with database assisted design pressures. Once these parameters are quantified practical engineering guidelines are developed to incorporate the influence of secondary framing, roof diaphragms, wall cladding, and column-base stiffness and wind loads in metal building design. / Master of Science

With scant research to draw upon with respect to the maintenance of vertical scales over time, decisions around the creation and performance of vertical scales over time necessarily suffers due to the lack of information. Undetected item parameter drift (IPD) presents one of the greatest threats to scale maintenance within an item response theory (IRT) framework. There is also still an outstanding question as to the utility of the Rasch model as an underlying viable framework for establishing and maintaining vertical scales. Even so, this model is currently used for scaling many state assessment systems. Most criticisms of the Rasch model in this context have not involved simulation. And most have not acknowledged conditions in which the model may function sufficiently to justify its use in vertical scaling. To address these questions, vertical scales were created from real data using the Rasch and 3PL models. Ability estimates were then generated to simulate a second (Time 2) administration. These simulated data were placed onto the base vertical scales using a horizontal vertical scaling approach and a mean-mean transformation. To examine the effects of IPD on vertical scale maintenance, several conditions of IPD were simulated to occur within each set of linking items. In order to evaluate the viability of using the Rasch model within a vertical scaling context, data were generated and calibrated at Time 2 within each model (Rasch and 3PL) as well as across each model (Rasch data generataion/3PL calibration, and vice versa). Results pertaining the first question of the effect IPD has on vertical scale maintenance demonstrate that IPD has an effect directly related to percentage of drifting linking items, the magnitude of IPD exhibited, and the direction. With respect to the viability of using the Rasch model within a vertical scaling context, results suggest that the Rasch model is perfectly viable within a vertical scaling context in which the model is appropriate for the data. It is also clearly evident that where data involve varying discrimination and guessing, use of the Rasch model is inappropriate.

<p> The beach at Manzanillo, Costa Rica, is composed of a mixture of terrigenous siliciclastic and marine calcareous sediment. The most abundant siliclastic grains are magnetite and diopside. The most abundant calcareous grains are red algae and molluscan fragments. These grains are found in much greater abundance in the beach sediment then in their source areas as a result of their resistance to breakdown.</p> <p> The distribution of the siliclastic minerals on the beach shows longshore drift to be from east to west. The main source of siliclastic sediment is the Rio Sixaola. Local rivers provide small inputs of sediment.</p> <p> The trace element chemistry of the beach indicates the possibility that some elements may be absorbed on the surfaces of grains as opposed to being substituted for other elements in mineral lattices.</p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Science (BSc)

<p> 49 beds of ripple-drift cross-lamination were measured in the Ordovician Cloridorme Formation of Gaspe, Quebec. Most of the beds are Bouma C (cross-laminated), some are BC (parallel lamination pas sing up into cross-lamination) and a few are AC and ABC types (graded bedding passing up into parallel and cross-lamination). </p> <p> Six climbing patterns have been recognised in the ripple-drift beds, namely: concave -upward, straight, sigmoidal, convex-upward, sinuous, and disconnected-irregular. Angles of climb range from 1 to 44 degrees. Commonly the angle of climb steepens up through the coset to about 1/2 or 3/4 of the coset thickness and then gradually flattens out until the bed is plane. </p> <p> Measurements of wave length, amplitude, stoss -angle, lee-angle, angle of climb and ratio of lee- to stoss-lamina thicknesses show that the wave length continues to increase upward, and the lee/stoss thickness ratio decreases upward through the coset. The amplitude, and stoss- and lee-angles increase upward through that portion of the coset in which the angle of climb increases upward. Simultaneously with the increase in amplitude and angle of climb, the shape of the foreset laminae becomes progressively more and more sigmoidal. </p> <p> Down-current changes in lamination types were recorded in several beds. The most interesting change is from parallel lamination down-current into ripple-drift, continuing downcurrent back into parallel lamination. </p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

<p> The Three Beam Gamma Densitometers developed by AECL-WNRE for measurement of void fraction in flowing steam/water mixtures were investigated to determine the major causes of drift and slow response to changes in void fraction. Available remedies were evaluated. The study indicated the following: (1) Using the existing current mode system, considerable reductions in drift and response time may be possible through the following inexpensive modifications: (a) design changes in the photo multiplier tube high voltage circuit, (b) replacement of the detectors with Cadmium Telluride semi-conductor detectors, (c) replacement of the scintillation phosphor with one which exhibits no afterglow such as Bismuth Germanate or Cesium Fluoride, (d) matching voltages of photo multiplier tube outside wall and photocathode, (e) improved stabilization of high voltage and detector temperature. (2) Drift would probably be reduced to less than 0.1%/hour if the existing current mode system were replaced with a simple integral counting mode system at an approximate cost of $5,200 per densitometer. (3) Additions to the above counting mode system of a single channel analyser (S.C.A.) and an automatic gain control unit which uses a reference light would probably completely eliminate drift as well as substantially improve system response. This would require an additional $4,900 per densitometer. </p> <p> It is recommended that these modifications be implemented in the same order as above, on a trial basis, as far as further expenditure is justified.</p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

Research was conducted at the Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center from 2016 to 2018 to determine the effects of sub-lethal concentrations of paraquat, glyphosate, saflufenacil, and sodium chlorate exposure to rice at late-season growth stages, determine the effects of exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of glyphosate or paraquat on multiple rice cultivars, and characterize the effects of paraquat exposure and Oebalus pugnax feeding on rice grain quality. In the current research, rough rice grain yields were reduced by exposure to sub-lethal concentrations of soybean desiccants 0 to 28 DAH. Rice injury was determined to not be an accurate predictor of rough rice grain yield loss as injury did not exceed 20% with any desiccant, and no injury was observed from glyphosate applications. Rough rice grain yield reductions were reflected in yield component reductions following desiccant exposure. Applications of sub-lethal concentrations of glyphosate or paraquat to rice at 50% heading caused rough rice grain yield decreases ranging from 0 to 20 and 9 to 21 % respectively. Hybrid cultivars were unaffected following glyphosate exposure at 50% heading. In the current research, observations of paraquat exposure or O. pugnax infestation of rice at the soft dough growth stage suggest rice may exhibit severe sensitivity to both events in the form of reduced kernel weight and reductions in rice milling quality. Rough rice grain yield reductions coupled with milling quality reductions and driven by the proximity of rice to corn, cotton, soybean, and sorghum in Mississippi creates the need to exercise caution when applying desiccants.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att utreda hur RegionFastigheters organisationsförändring har påverkat deras verksamhet. Vi analyserar om uppkomna effekter stämmer överrens med dokumenterade teorier om outsourcing samt uppställda hypoteser. En jämförelse av driftentreprenaderna på sjukhusen i Hässleholm och Ängelholm har gjorts. Slutligen jämförs resultatet med Regionfastigheters uppställda mål avseende konkurrensutsättningen. I den specifika driftentreprenaden är det extra viktigt att inte en försämring av vare sig kvaliteten eller driftsäkerheten sker då det i förlängningen berör sjukvården.Undersökningen har utgått från följande områden och frågeställningar:1.Medarbetare: Hur upplever medarbetarna den förändrade driftorganisationen?2.Kunder: Hur upplever kunderna den förändrade driftorganisationen?3.Verksamheten: Vilka effekter har omorganisationen på driftverksamheten?Hypoteser utifrån frågeområdena har ställts upp för att lättare skapa fokus i forskningsprocessen. Undersökningen har genomförts med hjälp av intervjuer och enkätundersökningar. Respondenterna är personal som berörts av RegionFastigheters omorganisation: personal i driftverksamheten, kunder, kundtjänst och RF:s ekonomiavdelning. Vi har använt oss av både kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod i undersökningen. Intervjuerna har varit semistrukturerade med öppna frågor och enkäterna strukturerade med rader för kommentarer under svarsalternativen. Utifrån datainsamlingen kan det konstateras att de flesta av driftmedarbetarna hade höga förväntningar och var positivt inställda inför privatiseringen. Idag upplever dock samtliga medarbetare att deras arbetssituation har försämrats efter organisationsförändringen. Det tycks dock inte ha påverkat deras arbetsutförande. Kunderna tycker att servicenivån, tjänstekvaliteten och utförarkompetensen är jämställd med tidigare. Samtliga respondenter i undersökningen poängterade dock att den centraliserade kundtjänsten inte fungerar optimalt. Undersökningen visar också att både en effektivisering av arbetsprocessen och kostnaderna har skett. RegionFastigheter bekräftar att kostnaderna för fastighetsdriften har minskat, vilket kan bero på ett fördelaktigt avtal samt minskade personalkostnader. De uppsatta målen angående konkurrensutsättningen gällande kund, ekonomi och driftsäkerhet kan anses infriade. Däremot RegionFastigheters mål avseende medarbetarna kan inte ses som uppfyllt. / The purpose of this paper is to investigate in what way RegionFastigheters change in their organisation affected their form of activity. In this paper we will analyze whether the results from the change in the organisation confirms well regarded theories and hypothesis regarding outsourcing. A comparison between the hospitals in Hässleholm and Ängelholm concerning the operation management has taken place. Finally we compare the arisen result with the goals that RegionFastigheter sat out to accomplish relating to the matter in the first place. It is important that the operation management, regarding this specific matter, doesn’t impair the quality or weakens the operations safety because that will affect the healthcare and the hospitals over time. The evaluation emanated from the following areas and questions at issue:1. Co-workers: How do the co-workers experience the change in the operation management? 2. Customers: How do the customers experience the change in the operation management?3. The activity: In what way has the change in the activity affected the operation management?In this investigation we have done interviews and carried out enquiries. The respondents in the polls are persons who are affected by RegionFastigheters reorganisation: employees in the operation management, customers, customer’s service and RF economy department. The investigation has been done from both a quantitative and a qualitative method. The result deriving from the interviews and enquires led us to the conclusion that the better part of the organisations co-workers had high expectations and was initially positive to the privatization. But today, all the co-workers feel that their work situation has taken a turn for the worse after the reorganisation. Even though the co-workers feel that their work situation has deteriorated it seems that the customers hasn’t been affected in a negative way. This may lead you to believe that the service level is equal to earlier. All the respondents in the survey emphasized however that the centralized customer service doesn’t function optimally. An efficiency improvement of the work process as well as an improvement of the costs has taken place. The objectives set out in order to meet competition concerning customer, economy and operation security has been accomplished. On the other hand, their objectives concerning the employees don’t comply with how the situation is today within the organisation.

E1039/SpinQuest, a transversely-polarized Drell-Yan experiment at Fermilab, plans to use the 120 GeV proton beam and polarized NH3 and ND3 cryogenic targets to study azimuthal asymmetries in dimuon production to extract the magnitude as well as sign of the sea quarks Sivers functions. The SpinQuest spectrometer is optimized to detect oppositely-charged muons with a series of tracking chambers and hodoscope stations. The scope of this manuscript is to highlight the physics goals and the experimental setup with a focus on the ongoing debugging and training of one of the tracking systems, mainly drift chambers, as preparation for the upcoming commissioning and production run-periods. This work is supported in part by the US DOE contract number DE-FG02-07ER41528. Key words: Drell-Yan, Fermilab, SpinQuest, Polarization, Tracking, Drift Chambers

This dissertation examines the cost behavior model implicit in analysts' and investors' decisions. Even though a cost behavior model that recognizes fixed and variable costs and cost stickiness can provide more accurate earnings forecasts, analysts and investors cannot fully capture sticky cost information. Since analysts are not fully aware of the correct cost behavior model, earnings surprises can be largely explained by a cost model that recognizes sticky stickiness. Similarly, investors' under-reaction to sticky cost information relates to post-earnings announcement drifts. As a result, positive abnormal returns can be earned by a trading strategy that takes advantage of investors' lower awareness of sticky cost information. / Business Administration/Accounting