This research utilizes data from the 2000 Displaced Worker Survey to analyze the role of individual-, structural- and gender-level factors in reemployment after displacement. The literature review samples literature from the human capital, dual economy, segmented labor market, and feminist models. Drawn from the previous literature, an alternative model has been formulated. The hypotheses from the alternative model include the effect of educational attainment, age, labor markets, minority status, and gender. Support for all of the hypotheses is observed from bivariate and multivariate analysis. Key findings from the individual-level indicate that greater educational attainment increase the likelihood of post-displacement employment. Age and receiving unemployment benefits decreases the likelihood of post-displacement employment. Key findings for the structural-level indicate increased likelihoods of post-displacement employment for respondents relocating for work and respondents displaced from positions with higher occupational prestige. Key findings for the gender-level indicate increased likelihoods of post-displacement employment for female respondents, minorities, married and unmarried respondents. Policy implications as a result of key findings are also suggested / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Sociology. / "December 2005."

A number of approaches have been proposed for applying statistical process control in short production runs. However little has been done to provide a methodology to compare and select from various statistical process control schemes or address setup approval, which is one of the most critical aspects of short production run. This research proposes a joint monitoring scheme that includes application of a combination of setup approval and self-starting scheme in short production run. The research also provides a methodology for selecting between setup approval and self-starting schemes based on robustness of these schemes to different levels of process shifts and capabilities. The scope of this research is limited to two setup approval schemes; Wheeler and Precontrol and two self starting schemes Q charts and Dynamic Exponentially weighted moving average charts. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. / "December 2005."

The focus of this research project is on the relationship of student role performance and deviant behavior in adolescents. I use the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to analyze the relationship of the given alternative model across student role performance factors, school factors, and family factors. The first two hypotheses deal with the student role performance level, stating that males are more likely to be deviant than females, and students who are held back a grade are more likely to be deviant. The next two hypotheses deal with the school level, stating that students in schools with increased rules will more likely be deviant and higher teacher-student ratios will increase deviance. The final two hypotheses deal with the family level and state that as family SES increases, deviance decreases, and students in two-parent families will have less deviance than students in single-parent families. The results of the analyses revealed that the first set of hypotheses was supported. In the second set of hypotheses, the first hypothesis was supported, but the second hypothesis was not supported. The final set of hypotheses was supported. It was concluded that student role performance had a significant effect on deviance. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Sociology. / "December 2005."

This thesis is concerned with developing a procedure for stabilizing a linear time-invariant plant of an arbitrary order with time delay utilizing proportional-integral (PI), proportional-derivative (PD) and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers. The method presented here is based on computing the stability boundary in terms of the proportional ( K p ) and integral gain ( K i ) for the PI case, and similarly, proportional and derivative gain ( K d ) for the PD case. The two variables are then plotted on the same coordinate system, thus obtaining the stability region for each controller used. For the PID case, the stability bounds are derived by observing the three planes ( K p , K i ), ( K p ,K d )and( K i ,K d ). The advantage of this procedure is the fact that it does not require the knowledge of the plant transfer function parameters, but only its frequency response. If the plant function is known, the procedure may also be used to analytically obtain the stabilizing controllers. We also present the tuning rules for user specified gain and phase margins. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / "December 2005."

An increased use of adhesively bonded joints in industrial applications has renewed the interest of mixed mode fracture research in adhesive joints. Most practical plane fracture problems are mixed mode, and most advanced materials and joints are shown to fail through mixed mode fracture. It is widely accepted that a useful method for characterizing the toughness of bonded joints is to measure the fracture toughness, G C ; energy per unit area needed to produce failure. Mode mixity has a strong dependency toward fracture toughness, and fracture toughness is directly associated with load. FRANC2D is used to model and analyze single-lap joint specimens to determine the mode mixity at failure initiation. Virtual loads are applied to the single-lap joint model to generate load vs. strain energy release rate curves. Failure loads obtained experimentally are then compared with predictions made by the mode-mixity fracture toughness curves for the two adhesive types considered. It is concluded that failure loads predicted by mixed-mode fracture toughness curves are in good agreement with those obtained experimentally. Recommendations are made for future work in mixed-mode fracture toughness characterization, ranging from process stage to testing methods and analytical tools. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Aerospace Engineering. / "December 2005."

Many different boundary layer control techniques are used in ground vehicle aerodynamic testing including suction, blowing, ground-boards, and rolling roads. In this paper an alternative boundary layer control method is discussed. Low momentum flow in the boundary layer can be energized using circulation from a rotating cylinder protruding through the floor. A comparison study shows that this application, if effective, may be a more cost-efficient solution than current road vehicle boundary layer control techniques. A pilot tunnel test was performed in the WSU Boundary Layer Tunnel with the results showing a boundary layer profile with an initial momentum thickness of 0.098 in. could be reduced by 40-45% with rotational velocities of approximately 5000rpm. Following this successful test, a full scale test performed in the WSU Walter H. Beech Memorial Wind Tunnel demonstrated the feasibility of the concept. An initial momentum thickness of 0.1445 in. was reduced 29% with a rotational velocity of 3900rpm. The results found seem to indicate this technique would be a very viable option provided certain aspects including cylinder balance, sizing, and rotational velocity could be optimized in future testing. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Aerospace Engineering. / "December 2005."

During the past few years, the disparity in the structural design of light trucks and vans (LTVs) and passenger cars and the number of fatalities involved in these vehicles has become a growing concern among automobile manufacturers. In order to characterize the problem of compatibility, the National Highway Transport Safety Authority (NHTSA) has defined an aggresivity metric (AM) as the ratio of driver fatalities in the collision partner to the number of crashes of the subject vehicle. The aggresivity metric did prove that the sport utility vehicle (SUV) and LTV class of vehicles were substantially more aggressive than the rest of the class of vehicles but failed to highlight the main factor(s) responsible for it. Current research has established that the aggresivity of vehicles involved in frontal crashes is mainly affected by geometric interaction, vehicle stiffness, and vehicle mass. The present study describes a methodology to reduce the aggresivity of pickup trucks using a Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) combined with a Design of Experiments (DOE) approach. Computer-aided crash simulations using finite element models of an average pickup truck and a small car using LS-DYNA (an explicit finite element program) and MAthematical DYnamic MOdelling (MADYMO, a multi-body occupant simulation program) are used to study the vehicle structural deformation and the occupant’s injury responses. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / "December 2005."

The tailorability of composite sandwich structure with their strength- to- weight ratio interests in all field of crashworthiness application. An investigation of sandwich structure under static and high speed condition will provide useful information for wide variety of applications. In this present thesis, the characteristics of stitched corrugated sandwich panels as an energy absorption mechanism are evaluated, using experimental and numerical methods. Edgewise compression tests under static and dynamic loading conditions are performed on unstitched and stitched corrugated sandwich specimens made of glass/epoxy face sheets and polyurethane foam core. Parameters affecting the instability of specimens under compressive edge loads are studied for different ply orientations, corrugation wavelengths, and ply material. The local buckling phenomena are then characterized for a particular corrugation configuration. The parametric studies of this thesis using experimental methods indicate a strong dependence of the different instability modes on the stitch configuration and the test rate on the sandwich panels. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / "December 2005."

The design and in vitro biochemical evaluation of two novel classes of mechanism-based inhibitors of human leukocyte elastase (HLE) that inactivate the enzyme via an unprecedented enzyme-induced sulfonamide fragmentation cascade is described. The inhibitors incorporate in their structure either an appropriately-functionalized saccharin scaffold, or a 1,2, 5-thiadiazolidin-3-one-1,1-dioxide scaffold. The inactivation of the enzyme by these inhibitors was found to be efficient, time-dependent and to involve the active site. Biochemical, HPLC, and mass spectrometric studies show that the interaction of these inhibitors with HLE results in the initial formation of a Michaelis-Menten complex and subsequent formation of a tetrahedral intermediate with the active site serine (Ser-195). Collapse of the tetrahedral intermediate with tandem fragmentation results in the formation of a highly reactive conjugated sulfonyl imine which can either react with water to form a relatively stable acyl enzyme and/or undergo a Michael addition reaction with an active site nucleophilic residue (His-57). The results also demonstrate convincingly the superiority of the 1, 2, 5-thiadiazolidin-3-one-1,1-dioxide scaffold over the saccharin scaffold in the design of inhibitors of (chymo)trypsin-like serine proteases. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Chemistry. / "December 2005."

The roots of the Byzantine debate over icons can be traced back to the Christian Church’s very inception. Indeed, an underlying current of iconoclasm manifested itself repeatedly over the centuries but did not erupt into a large-scale controversy until the eighth century. The timing of this outbreak, however, is significant for it followed four hundred years of intense debate over the person and nature of Christ. Consequently, by the end of the seventh century icons began to be associated with the incarnation of Christ and by the end of the eighth century the icon had become intimately connected to the Christological controversies. Hence, in addition to providing a general knowledge of the chronology and key characters of the controversy, this thesis will explore the theological development of the first phase of the debate, particularly as it related to the Christological controversies. A summary of the major historiographical theories promulgated to explain the Byzantine iconoclastic controversy will be followed by an overview of the development of Christian art. Then, after a brief chronological summary of the debate, the focus will shift to three pivotal individuals: Patriarch Germanus, Monk John Damascene, and Empress Irene. By exploring their contributions, both to the Christological dimensions of the debate and to the restoration of icons in the Byzantine Empire, the contours of the controversy over icons will come into focus. Finally, a brief comparison between the Emperor Charlemagne and the Monk Theodore Abu Qurrah will demonstrate the divergence of views taken toward the icon by the East and West following the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787 CE). / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of History. / "December 2005."