Carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRP) have found extensive application in today’s industries such as aerospace, automotive and shipping industries for their high strength and light weight. But due to its inhomogeneous nature they encounter numerous machining problems. Service life of a component is highly dependent on the quality of machining. An experimental investigation is conducted to determine the effect of process parameters spindle speed and feed rate and tool condition on the surface quality of a machined CFRP composite material. Machining operation used is edge trimming. The aim of the experiment is to set optimum parameters for obtaining quality machined surfaces. Surface Quality was quantified based on delamination depth and surface roughness. It was found that delamination depth and surface roughness increase with an increase in feed rate and an increase in cutting distance and decrease with an increase in spindle speed. So the cutting conditions for best surface quality are high spindle speed and low feed rate and the cutting conditions for worst surface quality is low spindle speed and high feed rate. Results from this work were interpreted in the form of line graphs, 3D graphs and microscopic pictures for process optimization. Statistical analysis was done to validate the experimental results. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. / "December 2005."

Though all CFRP materials are manufactured to their near net shape, they require a secondary machining operation for their final assemblage. In doing so, the main problem encountered is damage that results from delamination. Since CFRP materials are highly abrasive in nature, their machining requires that both the cutting and shearing of fibers occur simultaneously. Hence, cutting tools should incorporate tool geometry that effectively responds to these requirements. In this research, the routing of CFRP composite materials was done with a diamond interlocked tool. Experiments were conducted by varying spindle speed and feed rate, keeping the radial depth of cut constant. The main objective of this research was to develop a quantifiable method of tool wear measurement in a diamond interlocked tool and thus determine the time for tool replacement. Unlike the conventional cutting tools, the diamond interlocked tool has a unique tool geometry used for machining FRP materials, and poses substantial challenge in the process of tool wear measurement. However, four methods of direct wear measurement techniques---fracture wear, maximum flank wear, tip recession and wear area, were assessed. Insensitivity of these direct wear measurements with respect to the process parameters namely spindle speed and feed rate, made it difficult to determine the time for tool replacement time. Furthermore, an indirect method of tool wear quantification was developed by using delamination factor and power, against cutting distance. The values of tool life were then analyzed in ANOVA, the model produced significant result at 95% confidence level, and a generalized tool life equation and power equation for tool replacement time were developed. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. / "December 2005."

With the deployment of Sensor networks gaining some popularity, researchers are now focusing on solving the issues concerned with making sensor networks more feasible and viable. As Sensor networks have various constraints in terms of limited resources available, not many researchers come forward to work on the security issues for this stringent environment. Lately, it has been realized that these sensor networks which have found application in many trivial situations need to be secured. And though this security comes with the expense of some portion of its resources, it has been proved to be essential for the survival of sensor networks to serve their purpose. LEACH (Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy) is an architecture for remote microsensor networks that combine the concept of energy efficient cluster based routing and media access, together with application specific data aggregation to achieve good performance in terms of system lifetime and latency. This approach has been proved to improve system lifetime by an order of magnitude, compared to general purpose approach when the node energy is limited. Though LEACH has several good qualities which have been widely accepted for various researches in the field of WSN, it has a hitch attached to it like any other WSN when we consider security factor. As control is distributed through out the network of making self organization possible, the cluster head nodes play an important role in the network. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / "December 2005."

Use of a combination of hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange, mass spectrometry (MS) and/or CID is a rapidly evolving approach to the investigation of protein structure and conformation and the dynamics of conformational change. It has been noted, however, interpretation of CID MS data on partially deuterated peptide ions can, in principle, be hampered by both inter- and intra-molecular migration of hydrogen and deuterium atoms. In this study, an isotope tracer was produced in situ by a McLafferty-type rearrangement of C-terminal peptide tert -butyl esters. This rearrangement generates a peptide with a C-terminal acid group with an isotope label. The label can then be traced through multiple CID stages to determine the amount of intra-molecular migration and scrambling of protons among exchangeable sites. Experimental results from a series of Li + cationized sarcosine substitution peptides show that the C-terminal acid and amide positions, and the amide position adjacent to the C-terminus, allow the exchange of the isotope label. Transfer to the amide position at the N-terminus, the position for which the distance from the site at which the isotope tracer was initially generated is the greatest, appears to be less favored. The influence of amino acids and cations on intramolecular proton migration was also investigated. Three series of peptides AcSarGXOtBu, AcGSarXOtBu, AcSarSarXOtBu (where X was glycine(G), alanine(A), valine(V), leucine(L), phenylalanine(F)) together with three cations Li + , Na + and Ag + were used in this study. The results show that amino acids and cations have only a slight effect on the amount of proton migration observed. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Chemistry. / "December 2005."

Rehabilitation outpatient clinics help patients overcome physical disabilities through various rehabilitation services. Appointment scheduling and accepting new patients are very important processes in rehabilitation outpatient clinics. In this thesis, several mathematical models for generating optimal appointment schedules with an objective to maximize the profit when demand is deterministic are developed. In these models, the possibility of treating more than one patient simultaneously is also considered. In this case, grouping patients results in the minimal use of part time therapists. When the demand is stochastic, a revenue management framework to allocate appointments is proposed. Using the proposed revenue management framework, the revenue and overall profit generated is maximized. To test the effectiveness of this framework, extensive simulation study is performed. Analysis of mathematical and simulation models reveal that the proposed methodologies result in an increased revenue and profit when the capacity is tight and demand is high. The revenue management framework also increases the number of new customers accepted for treatment in an outpatient clinic significantly. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering / "December 2005."

The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks created a noticeable decline in commercial aviation travel because Americans lost faith in the safety of the commercial airline system. Although a weakening in commercial airline travel is expected after a major airline crash, September 11 is unique is because the event was addressed by the President of the United States and his administration, not an airline CEO or corporate spokesperson. This study will examine the government's crisis communication rhetoric using Benoit’s Image Restoration theory as the overarching framework. Benoit has developed a series of rhetorical strategies that an individual or institution can adopt to maximize its reputation or image after an attack: denial, evasion of responsibility, reduction of offensiveness, corrective action, and mortification. After using Benoit’s image restoration lens to examine 30 speeches presented by President George W. Bush and his administration between September 11, 2001, and September 11, 2002, this study acknowledges that in some crisis scenarios multiple spokespeople are necessary and seemingly contradictory image restoration devices may at times compliment each other. / Thesis (M.A.)-- Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Elliott School of Communication / "December 2005."

Watermarking channel capacity is defined as the highest rate in bits per image of information that can be embedded with arbitrarily low probability of detection error under a given distortion between original and watermarked image. It is analogous to channel capacity defined in information theory. A mathematical method of decision-making called Game Theory, in which a competitive situation involving two parties is analyzed to determine the optimal solution for an interested party is very popular in information theory. Our approach for finding the amount of information that can be embedded in a digital image uses some principles of this theory. The two parties involved here are the information hider and the attacker. The information hider and attacker have a limit on the maximum amount of distortion each can introduce. The concept of game theory can be applied to watermarking as, information hider tries to embed as much information as he can constrained to maximum allowable distortion and the attacker tries to remove the embedded information by attacking the watermarked data constrained to maximum allowable distortion. Experiments are conducted by considering the above scenario. The results and conclusions are discussed in later sections of this thesis. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / "December 2005."

This study examined the phenomenon of learned helplessness, looking at the relationship between children’s motivational style and parenting style. Motivational variables included goal orientation (learning goal or performance goal) and parenting variables included three typologies: authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. Forty-two preschool students and their parents participated in this study assessing the influence parenting styles had on children’s motivational style. Results of the study showed no variance among the parents in terms of their parenting style, all were classified as authoritative. Thus, no data analysis was conducted and no relationship was established between parenting style and children’s motivational style. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Counseling, Educational and School Psychology

Though composites are commonly molded for achieving near net-shape, they have to undergo precise machining in order to achieve the dimensional stability and an interface quality. A complicated interaction between polymer matrix and carbon fiber reinforcement makes the machining of the CFRP material a major concern. Due to this heterogeneous nature of the CFRP, the machined surfaces result in damages like delamination, spalling, and splintering. In order to minimize these damages, knowledge about tool replacement time or tool life is necessary. In this study an effort is made to determine the tool life for diamond interlocked knurled tool commonly used for machining CFRP material. Direct tool wear measurement techniques were inadequate to determine the tool life because of the complex geometry of this tool. Therefore, in this study indirect tool wear measurement technique is used to quantify the tool wear based on delamination. The damage caused by delamination on the CFRP material undergoing edge trimming operation is measured in the form of delamination depth as well as number of delamination occurrences per inch. The effects of experimental parameters on delamination depth as well as number of delamination occurrences per inch are observed to find optimized process parameters. An attempt is made to develop an empirical tool lie equation based on the combined effect of delamination depth and number of delamination occurrences per inch. / Thesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Medical occupations are expected to be the fastest growing jobs in the United States over the next 10 years. Presently, a wage disparity exists between women and men employed in health care. Individualist, structuralist, and feminist theories attempt to explain the reasoning behind this gender discrepancy in earnings based upon personal investments, economic hierarchies, and the process of gender discrimination. Data used in this research comes from the 2006 Current Populations Survey report, with 7,186 respondents following the necessary sample restrictions. The results indicate that, net of other factors, women working in health care professions receive a lesser rate of return on earnings than men. These findings indicate that discriminatory bias against women may exist among medical professions. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Sociology