The purpose of this paper is to examine in which ways animal-assisted work can be used within elderly care and with people that are included in support and service for persons with certain functional impairments (in Sweden called LSS). Through qualitative, semi-structured interviews we wanted to see what kind of experiences the professionals had and if there are any advantages and disadvantages with this type of work. Our selection consisted of six people from various institutions that practice social work in the south of Sweden, equally divided between LSS and elderly care, who together with five dogs and one horse implement animal-assisted social work in their institutions. Six different themes were identified in the empirical data we gathered throughout our interviews. With the help from our themes, previous research on the subject and our theories the biophilia hypothesis, SOC and symbolic interactionism we managed to analyse our empirical data. To sum up, our result indicates that the animal-assisted work gives very positive results for the clients. We have been given examples on how the animal-assisted social work helps breaking the client’s isolation, how it can contribute to an increased well-being physically as well as mentally. We have also seen how the animals can be used to work as a motivational factor and how they can teach the clients accountability. Furthermore, we discuss our results and future research we are interested in seeing to ease the animal-assisted social work progress in the Swedish social work.

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Illiteracy continues to be a major problem in developing countries. Botswana as an emerging economy with consumers of different literacy levels has no escape for this problem. This study puts the spotlight on consumer illiteracy in Botswana focusing specificallyon purchasing behaviour of functionally illiterate consumers; the problems encountered in the market place and coping strategies used when purchasing food. To elicit relevant information a quantitative research design and survey techniques using a structured questionnaire was used to gather information. Potential respondents were conveniently sampled in Gaborone and surrounding areas in Botswana (N=200) and women aged between 25 and 65 years formed the sample group. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and inferential analysis. From the discussion and the interpretation of the results of the sample of the survey it became clear that certain elements of retailers‟ marketing mix product, price, place, promotion and processes were the most important factors that influenced younger women‟s‟food purchases. Salespeople are apparently of lesser importance to influence consumers. The results indicated that functionally illiterate consumers mainly purchased food products from supermarkets and informal traders but also patronised other retail outlets occasionally. The study further revealed that consumers are vulnerable in the market place as they encountered problems during market place navigation, specifically in terms of too much information; difficulties in computing prices reduced by percentages; crowded places, and advertisements tempting them to buy. These problems seemed to negate the use of coping strategies. The study has contributed to the limited literature on the food purchasing behaviour of functionally illiterate consumers. Retailers will gain insight on how to deal with functionally illiterate consumers in the market place and find ways of making the market place more consumer friendly. / Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / gm2014 / Consumer Science / unrestricted

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / In this research, an improved first order formulation is presented to study the critical buckling load in functionally graded beams. The formulation has five independent variables in comparison with the Timoshenko theory that has three. The Trefftz criterion is utilized with incremental and fundamental states to define the stability analysis. Virtual work statements are derived for the finite element model where the field variables are interpolated by Lagrange polynomials. The numerical results are compared and verified with other formulations found in literature. Parametric studies are also carried out for buckling behavior due to different slenderness ratios, power-law indices and boundary conditions. Applications of the model to functionally graded materials show the validity of the present approach.

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Using experimental data obtained from standard fracture test configurations, theoretical and numerical tools are developed to mathematically describe non-self-similar progression of cracks without specifying an initial crack. A cohesive-decohesive zone model, similar to the cohesive zone model known in the fracture mechanics literature as the Dugdale-Barenblatt model, is adopted to represent the degradation of the material ahead of the crack tip. This model unifies strength-based crack initiation and fracture-mechanics-based crack progression. The cohesive-decohesive zone model is implemented with an interfacial surface material that consists of an upper and a lower surface that are connected by a continuous distribution of normal and tangential nonlinear elastic springs that act to resist either Mode I opening, Mode II sliding, Mode III sliding, or a mixed mode. The initiation of fracture is determined by the interfacial strength and the progression of the crack is determined by the critical energy release rate. The adhesive is idealized with an interfacial surface material to predict interfacial fracture. The interfacial surface material is positioned within the bulk material to predict discrete cohesive cracks. The interfacial surface material is implemented through an interface element, which is incorporated in ABAQUS using the user defined element (UEL) option. A procedure is established to formulate a rate dependent model based on experiments carried out on compact tension test specimens. The rate dependent model is incorporated into the interface element approach to capture the unstable crack growth observed in experiments under quasi-static loading conditions. The compact tension test gives the variation of the fracture toughness with the rate of loading, this information is processed and a relationship between the fracture toughness and the rate of the opening displacement is established. The cohesive-decohesive zone model is implemented through a material model to be used in an explicit code (LS-DYNA). Dynamic simulations of the standard test configurations for Mode I (Double Cantilever Beam) and Mode II (End Load Split) are carried out using the explicit code. Verification of these coupon tests leads to the crash analysis of realistic structures like the square composite tube. Analyses of bonded and unbonded square tubes are presented. These tubes shows a very uncharacteristic failure mode: the composite material disintegrates on impact, and this has been captured in the analysis. Disadvantages of the interface element approach are well documented in the literature. An alternative method, known as the Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM), is implemented here through an eight-noded quadrilateral plane strain element. The method, based on the partition-of-unity, is used to study simple test configuration like the three-point bend problem and a double cantilever beam. Functionally graded materials are also simulated and the results are compared to the experimental results available in the literature. / Ph. D.

The coatings produced by an atmospheric plasma spray process (APSP) must be of uniform quality. However, the complexity of the process and the random introduction of noise variables such as fluctuations in the powder injection rate and the arc voltage make it difficult to control the coating quality that has been shown to depend upon mean values of powder particles' temperature and speed, collectively called mean particles' states (MPSs), just before they impact the substrate. Here we use a science-based methodology to develop an adaptive controller for achieving consistent MPSs. We first identify inputs into the APSP that significantly affect the MPSs, and then formulate a relationship between these two quantities. When the MPSs deviate from their desired values, the adaptive controller based on the model reference adaptive controller (MRAC) framework is shown to successfully adjust the input parameters to correct them. The performance of the controller is tested via numerical experiments using the software, LAVA-P, that has been shown to well simulate the APSP. The developed adaptive process controller is further refined by using sigma (σ) adaptive laws and including a low-pass filter that remove high-frequency oscillations in the output. The utility of the MRAC controller to achieve desired locations of NiCrAlY and zirconia powder particles for generating a 5-layered coating is demonstrated. In this case a pure NiCrAlY layer bonds to the substrate and a pure zirconia makes the coating top. The composition of the intermediate 3 layers is combination of the two powders of different mass fractions. By increasing the number of intermediate layers, one can achieve a continuous through-the-thickness variation of the coating composition and fabricate a functionally graded coating. / Doctor of Philosophy / Canned food sold in a grocery store have cans' interior surface coating with a polymer to increase the shelf life of the food. Similarly, many parts in an automobile have coatings to protect them from corrosion and possibly wear and tear. A process used to produce these coatings is rather complex and involves several variables. An undesired change these variables affects the coating quality. Automatically controlling a coating process is like a cruise control in a car. It should detect which variables have changed and either take appropriate corrective actions or shut down the process if it cannot be corrected or alert an operator to stop the process. In this work we have developed a controller to adaptively adjust the input parameters for an atmospheric plasma spray process (APSP) often used to produce thermal barrier coatings in gas turbines and blades of aircraft jet engines. These coatings hinder the flow of heat from the hot exhaust gases to the blades thereby prolonging their life span.

The goal of this research was to create a microstructure graded glass-ceramic and investigate the resulting properties as a function of crystallization processing. The desired glass-ceramic was a lithium disilicate material that has a crystallization gradient across the sample, leading to functionally graded properties as a result of the microstructure gradient. Samples were prepared by melting and pouring glass at 1400°C, annealing at 400°C for 48 hours, and nucleating at 480°C for 2 hours. To ensure that crystallization would not occur homogeneously throughout the sample, a temperature gradient was imposed during crystallization. Samples were crystallized on a self-constructed resistance wire furnace that was open to air. Several crystallization processing parameters were tested, including high temperature for a short time and low temperature for a long time. Samples were ground and polished to 0.25 microns before characterization methods were performed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the microstructure transition across the sample cross section, with crystals present on the crystalline side and only nuclei present on the glassy side. Raman spectroscopy showed a transformation of the characteristic spectra across the sample cross section, with defined, high-intensity peaks on the crystalline side and broad, low-intensity peaks on the glassy side. Microhardness showed a slight transition in hardness values across the sample cross section, however the variability was too great to draw any conclusions. The characterization methods showed that the desired material was created and the resulting properties were a function of the crystallization processing parameters. / Master of Science