The aim of this study was to identify difficulties experienced by caregivers of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The aim was achieved through the following objectives: investigate the family background of caregivers of AIDS orphans; investigate the general emotional impact of caring for AIDS orphans on caregivers; investigate the health impact of caring for AIDS orphans on caregivers; investigate the extent of financial impact of caring for AIDS orphans on caregivers; investigate the impact of caring for AIDS orphans on the social life of caregivers; to make recommendations so as to assist in helping caregivers. A literature review and the qualitative empirical research method were used to achieve the aim and thus, the objectives stated above. The literature review revealed the following difficulties experienced by caregivers of AIDS orphans: lack of knowledge regarding the formal adoption of orphans; lengthy process administered by an increasingly overstretched system; bad behaviour by orphans; stress resulting to poor physical and mental health, strained personal relationships and lowering of standards of care; poverty; "role strain" and "identity"; interpersonal and family conflicts; isolation and fear for the future; excessive workload of having to care for children; and stigma and discrimination relating to HIV/AIDS. However, this study highlighted the following difficulties: poverty; stress and depression; family fights; adoption; bad influence on orphans by neighbours; education; lack of training; lack of social services support; lack of community support structures; and lack of prior planning by orphans' parents. The conclusions drawn from this study are that there were similar problems revealed in this study to those identified in the literature. For example, both literature and this study revealed poverty, stress and interpersonal and family conflicts as major problems experienced by caregivers. Grandparents and other family members who were caregivers in this study did not see "role strain" and "identity" as major stumbling blocks. Stigma and isolation were also some of the problems not directly experienced by most caregivers. However, it was evident that lack of involvement of some of these caregivers with the community, has led to their not experiencing stigmatisation and isolation. The following recommendations were made: caregivers should be given adequate training on how to use the grants given to orphans; researchers should use their research findings to influence government policy regarding termination of grants for orphans, that is, as long as orphans are still attending school or university, grants should not be terminated; universities and government should set aside special bursaries or study loans for orphans at universities, and these loans must only be paid when the orphans are in the position to do so; government should make extra funds available to give to caregivers as incentives; Social Welfare Department should be strengthen so that free counselling could be given to caregivers whenever is necessary; School-Based Support Teams (SBST) committees in schools should be capacitated and empowered; capacitate and empower non -governmental organisations (NGOs); and there should be a strong interaction between schools, NGOs, social workers, nurses and police. Limitations of the current study were also identified. This study could not show with absolute certainty whether the problems identified are related to orphanhood in general, rather than orphanhood by HIV/AIDS. Thus it was deemed necessary in future to have a comparison group of caregivers of orphans due to reasons other than HIV/AIDS. Other limitations included reliance on one population race. The study cannot ascertain whether these findings can be applicable to caregivers from other race groups such as white or coloured races. South Africa is a multicultural society with different norms and values. Thus, the way we react to certain stimuli might be influenced to a large extent by our customs and values. Further limitations included reliance on one specific type of caregiving. The study did not explore other type such as orphanages, but concentrated on what is regarded as the traditional safety net. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

Low velocity impact behaviour of bi-layered laminates of acrylic and polycarbonate was investigated using a combination of drop tower impact experiments and explicit finite element analysis in LS-DYNA. Material characterisation tests were conducted in tension and in compression to obtain material properties for input to the material model in the numerical analysis. Quasistatic plate bending tests were conducted at different loading rates to compare the quasistatic response of the materials to the impact behaviour. Impact tests on circular plates of monolithic acrylic and polycarbonate were carried out using an instrumented drop weight impact tester. The impact force histories were recorded and a multiparameter approach was used to determine critical energy. Acrylic exhibited radial cracking, spalling and pene- tration while polycarbonate underwent large deformation and failed by dishing and plugging. The damage caused by impact in the bilayered laminate included partial or full delamination at the interface and radial cracks in the acrylic layer. The low velocity impact responses were simulated using 8-noded solid elements in LS- DYNA. A node-splitting technique based on maximum tensile stress failure criterion and an erosion approach based on maximum principal stress criteria was used to model the failure of acrylic. A material model that takes into account the asym- metric behaviour in tension and compression was investigated. The delamination between the acrylic and polycarbonate plate was modelled by a tiebreak contact with a shear strength based failure. The results of the finite element simulations are in good agreement with the experimental data.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-91).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-76).

In order to liquidate a large position in an asset, investors face a tradeoff between price volatility and market impact. The classical approach to this problem is to model volatility via a Brownian motion, and separate price impact into its permanent and temporary components. In this thesis, we consider two variations of the Chriss-Almgren model for temporary price impact. The first model investigates the infinite-horizon optimal liquidation problem in a market with float-dependent, nonlinear temporary price impact. The value function of the investor’s basket and the optimal strategy are characterized in terms of classical solutions of nonlinear parabolic partial differential equations. Depending on the price impact parameters, liquidation may require finite or infinite time. The second model considers time-varying market depth, in that intense trading increases temporary price-impact, which otherwise reverts to a long-term level. We find the optimal execution policy in a finite horizon for an investor with constant risk aversion, and derive the solution using calculus of variation techniques. Although the model potentially allows for price manipulation strategies, these policies are never optimal. We study the non time-constrained case as a limit to the finite-horizon case and explain the solution through a quasi-linear PDE.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(エネルギー科学) / 甲第23291号 / エネ博第416号 / 新制||エネ||79(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院エネルギー科学研究科エネルギー社会・環境科学専攻 / (主査)教授 手塚 哲央, 教授 黒崎 健, 准教授 MCLELLAN Benjamin / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Energy Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

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This research focuses on effective decision-making for sustainable manufacturing design and management. The research contributes to the decision-making tools that can enable sustainability analysts to capture the aspects of the economic, environmental and social dimensions into a common framework. The framework will enable the practitioners to conduct a sustainability impact analysis of a real or proposed manufacturing system and use the outcome to support sustainability decision. In the past, the industries had focused more on the economic aspects in gaining and sustaining their competitive positions; this has changed in the recent years following the Brundtland report which centred on incorporating the sustainability of the future generations into our decision for meeting today's needs (Brundtland, 1987). The government regulations and legislation, coupled with the changes in consumers' preference for ethical and environmentally friendly products are other factors that are challenging and changing the way companies, and organisations perceive and drive their competitive goals (Gu et al., 2015). Another challenge is the lack of adequate tools to address the dynamism of the manufacturing environment and the need to balance the business' competitive goal with sustainability requirements. The launch of the Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis (LCSA) framework further emphasised the needs for the integration and analysis of the interdependencies of the three dimensions for effective decision-making and the control of unintended consequences (UNEP, 2011). Various studies have also demonstrated the importance of interdependence impact analysis and integration of the three sustainability dimensions of the product, process and system levels of sustainability (Jayal et al., 2010; Valdivia et al., 2013; Eastwood and Haapala, 2015). Although there are tools capable of assessing the performance of either one or two of the three sustainability dimensions, the tools have not adequately integrated the three dimensions or address the holistic sustainability issues. Hence, this research proposes an approach to provide a solution for successful interdependence impact analysis and trade-off amongst the three sustainability dimensions and enable support for effective decision-making in a manufacturing environment. This novel approach explores and integrates the concepts and principles of the existing sustainability methodologies and frameworks and the simulation modelling construction process into a common descriptive framework for process level assessment. The thesis deploys Delphi study to verify and validate the descriptive framework and demonstrates its applicability in a case study of a real manufacturing system. The results of the research demonstrate the completeness, conciseness, correctness, clarity and applicability of the descriptive framework. Thus, the outcome of this research is a simulation-based impact analysis framework which provides a new way for sustainability practitioners to build an integrated and holistic computer simulation model of a real system, capable of assessing both production and sustainability performance of a dynamic manufacturing system.

Hybrid polymer laminates of polycarbonate and PMMA have generated considerable interest among researchers as an alternative to traditional glass armours because of their potential for reduced cost and weight. Generally, the development of ballistic armour is carried out experimentally which is an expensive task in terms of time and cost. Numerical simulation provides a much greater facility to understand the phenomenon of ballistic impact and the effects of various parameters on the response to such impact. In addition it provides an easy means of comparing the impact performance of different materials as well as combination of materials forming hybrid laminates. The aim of this research was to develop a numerical modelling capability to simulate the ballistic response of hybrid polymer laminates, specifically polycarbonate and PMMA, using a commercially available finite element code LS-DYNA. The challenge was to work within the limitations of the material models and the failure algorithms available within LS-DYNA, and still try to reproduce the behaviour observed experimentally by previous researchers, initially on monolithic plates of polycarbonate and PMMA and then on hybrid laminates. The first part of the study focuses on a detailed literature survey on mechanical and dynamic characterisation of polycarbonate and PMMA as well as experimental and numerical studies previously conducted on ballistic behaviour of these materials as well as their combinations. The material properties of the polymers compiled from this literature survey were used as input for the selected LS-DYNA material model. Impact simulations were carried on monolithic and laminated media of polycarbonate and PMMA and where possible these were compared to experimental results. It was observed that the results agreed with the experimental data qualitatively. Quantitatively the results showed some discrepancies which were attributed to the limitations faced in simulating the exact test conditions numerically. Numerical simulations were carried out to study the effects of variations in laminate thickness and plate support diameters as well as to examine the influence of the bond between the layers. Finally the impact response of four different combinations of polycarbonate and PMMA are compared to each other for different laminate thicknesses.

Evaluation of the performance of a product and its components under impact loading is one of the key considerations in design. In order to assess resistance to damage or ability to absorb energy through plastic deformation of a structural component, impact testing is often carried out to obtain the 'Force - Displacement' response of the deformed component. In this context, it may be noted that load cells and accelerometers are commonly used as sensors for capturing impact responses. A drop-weight impact testing set-up consisting of a moving impactor head with a lightweight piezoresistive accelerometer and a strain gage based compression load cell mounted on it is used to carry out the impact tests. The basic objective of the present study is to assess the accuracy of responses recorded by the said transducers, when these are mounted on a moving impactor head. In the present work, a novel approach of theoretically evaluating the responses obtained from this drop-weight impact testing set-up for different axially loaded specimen has been executed with the formulation of an equivalent lumped parameter model (LPM) of the test set-up. For the most common configuration of a moving impactor head mounted load cell system in which dynamic load is transferred from the impactor head to the load cell, a quantitative assessment is made of the possible discrepancy that can result in load cell response. Initially, a 3-DOF (degrees-of-freedom) LPM is considered to represent a given impact testing set-up with the test specimen represented with a nonlinear spring. Both the load cell and the accelerometer are represented with linear springs, while the impacting unit comprising an impactor head (hammer) and a main body with the load cell in between are modelled as rigid masses. An experimentally obtained force-displacement response is assumed to be a nearly true behaviour of a specimen. By specifying an impact velocity to the rigid masses as an initial condition, numerical solution of the governing differential equations is obtained using Implicit (Newmark-beta) and Explicit (Central difference) time integration techniques. It can be seen that the model accurately reproduces the input load-displacement behaviour of the nonlinear spring corresponding to the tested component, ensuring the accuracy of these numerical methods. The nonlinear spring representing the test specimen is approximated in a piecewise linear manner and the solution strategy adopted and implemented in the form of a MATLAB script is shown to yield excellent reproduction of the assumed load-displacement behaviour of the test specimen. This prediction also establishes the accuracy of the numerical approach employed in solving the LPM system. However, the spring representing the load cell yields a response that qualitatively matches the assumed input load-displacement response of the test specimen with a lower magnitude of peak load. The accelerometer, it appears, may be capable of predicting more closely the load experienced by a specimen provided an appropriate mass of the impactor system i.e. impacting unit, is chosen as the multiplier for the acceleration response. Error between input and computed (simulated) responses is quantified in terms of root mean square error (RMSE). The present study additionally throws light on the dependence of time step of integration on numerical results. For obtaining consistent results, estimation of critical time step (increment) is crucial in conditionally stable central difference method. The effect of the parameters of the impact testing set-up on the accuracy of the predicted responses has been studied for different combinations of main impactor mass and load cell stiffness. It has been found that the load cell response is oscillatory in nature which points out to the need for suitable filtering for obtaining the necessary smooth variation of axial impact load with respect to time as well as deformation. Accelerometer response also shows undulations which can similarly be observed in the experimental results as well. An appropriate standard SAE-J211 filter which is a low-pass Butterworth filter has been used to remove oscillations from the computed responses. A load cell is quite capable of predicting the nature of transient response of an impacted specimen when it is part of the impacting unit, but it may substantially under-predict the magnitudes of peak loads. All the above mentioned analysis for a 3 DOF model have been performed for thin-walled tubular specimens made of mild steel (hat-section), an aluminium alloy (square cross-section) and a glass fibre-reinforced composite (circular cross-section), thus confirming the generality of the inferences drawn on the computed responses. Further, results obtained using explicit and implicit methodologies are compared for three specimens, to find the effect, if any, on numerical solution procedure on the conclusions drawn. The present study has been further used for investigating the effects of input parameters (i.e. stiffness and mass of the system components, and impact velocity) on the computed results of transducers. Such an investigation can be beneficial in designing an impact testing set-up as well as transducers for recording impact responses. Next, the previous 3 DOF model representing the impact testing set-up has been extended to a 5 DOF model to show that additional refinement of the original 3 DOF model does not substantially alter the inferences drawn based on it. In the end, oscillations observed in computed load cell responses are analysed by computing natural frequencies for the 3 DOF lumped parameter model. To conclude the present study, a 2 DOF LPM of the given impact testing set-up with no load cell has been investigated and the frequency of oscillations in the accelerometer response is seen to increase corresponding to the mounting resonance frequency of the accelerometer. In order to explore the merits of alternative impact testing set-ups, LPMs have been formulated to idealize test configurations in which the load cell is arranged to come into direct contact with the specimen under impact, although the accelerometer is still mounted on the moving impactor head. One such arrangement is to have the load cell mounted stationary on the base under the specimen and another is to mount the load cell on the moving impactor head such that the load cell directly impacts the specimen. It is once again observed that both these models accurately reproduce the input load-displacement behaviour of the nonlinear spring corresponding to the tested component confirming the validity of the model. In contrast to the previous set-up which included a moving load cell not coming into contact with the specimen, the spring representing the load cell in these present cases yields a response that more closely matches the assumed input load-displacement response of a test specimen suggesting that the load cell coming into direct contact with the specimen can result in a more reliable measurement of the actual dynamic response. However, in practice, direct contact of the load cell with the specimen under impact loading is likely to damage the transducer, and hence needs to be mounted on the moving head, resulting in a loss of accuracy, which can be theoretically estimated and corrected by the methodology investigated in this work.