Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1995. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-82).

This thesis questions contemporary society?s understanding and ability to deal with the universal instinct known as aggression. The investigation identifies the driving forces behind adolescent aggression and the myth based rituals and cultural devices used to mediate it. The primary case in this study is a suburban community called Malvern, known for its high rate of teen violence and aggressive acts. Malvern is evaluated based on its current rites of passage rituals and institutions used for the socialisation and individuation of the young members of its community. This is followed by a proposed intervention introducing the use of building and landscape as devices to mediate adolescent aggression through the emergence of redefined myth based rituals and rites of passage within Malvern?s unique context.

This thesis questions contemporary society?s understanding and ability to deal with the universal instinct known as aggression. The investigation identifies the driving forces behind adolescent aggression and the myth based rituals and cultural devices used to mediate it. The primary case in this study is a suburban community called Malvern, known for its high rate of teen violence and aggressive acts. Malvern is evaluated based on its current rites of passage rituals and institutions used for the socialisation and individuation of the young members of its community. This is followed by a proposed intervention introducing the use of building and landscape as devices to mediate adolescent aggression through the emergence of redefined myth based rituals and rites of passage within Malvern?s unique context.

Thesis aims to define determination of particle size distributions loamy and sandy soils measured by two methods of measurement: laser granulometry and pipette method and comparison of measured results. First part of thesis is focused on theoretical comparison of two methods of measurements, predominantly on potential problems connecting with their comparing and suitable setting of device parameters to obtain accurate results. Comparison between laser granulometry and pipette method was carried out for 90 loamy and 30 sandy soil samples. Analyzed samples were measured using a Malvern Mastersizer 2000. Comparison of laser granulometry and pipette methods demonstrated differences of results, which were different for the various samples. Despite the variance of the measured results, was found for the clay fraction the correlation 0, 92 between methods for loamy soils, for sandy soils was found the correlation of 0.90 for the sand fraction.

In this thesis I have studied the British author C.S. Lewis´s conversion story as it is presented in his autobiography, more specifically his schooling at Malvern College. I have chosen to study his school period since Lewis himself puts great value on how his youth and school period made him into the person who in the 1930s became a Christian, not only including but putting great emphasis on these events in his conversion story. The purpose of my study is to examine the importance of Lewis’s schooling at Malvern College and the relation it has to his conversion story as written in his autobiography. My focus question is, “Why does Lewis describe his school period in such detail in his conversion story?”. To analyze my material, Lewis’s autobiography, I use a hermeneutic method. To answer the focus question, I use Roy Baumeister´s theory of “self-presentation”, which argues that there are two types of motives regarding why individuals present themselves in a certain way; “pleasing the audience” and “self-construction”. The first motive is that the individuals present themselves in line with thoughts and expectations of a certain group. “Self-construction”, on the other hand, is when individuals present themselves to a general audience and they are motivated, with their presentation, to achieve their own goals. Based on my contextualization of the schooling as a part of the larger conversion story told in Lewis’ autobiography, and especially through my analysis of the part describing his time at Malvern College, as well as through earlier research on the topic, the following are examples of conclusions that I have made: in comparison to prior research, in which each researcher presented one conclusion each, Lewis writes about his schooling at Malvern College for different reasons depending on the context, depending on what Lewis wants to achieve in that part. I have also made a conclusion that even though Lewis takes a firm stand that the events in the book will only be included if they contribute to his conversion story the events, the part I have analyzed in this thesis, does not contribute to the story of how Lewis abandoned atheism and turned to Christianity.

This study describes a novel thermoresponsive dendritic polyethylene glycol-poly(D, L-lactide) (PEG-PDLLA) core-shell nanoparticle with potential for drug delivery and controlled release. A series of dendritic PEG-PDLLA nanoparticles were synthesized through conjugation of PEG to Starburst™ polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer G3.0 and subsequent ring-opening polymerization of DLLA, in which PEG chain length (i.e., MW=1500, 6000 or 12000 Dalton) was varied; however, the feeding molar ratio of DLLA monomers to the overall PEG repeat units on the dendrimer surface was kept at 1:1. Linear PEG-PDLLA copolymers were also syntheiszed under the same condition and used as control. According to our results, dendritic PEG-PDLLA in aqueous phase could self-assemble into spherical aggregates and the size of spherical aggregates increased with PEG chain length increase. Further, spherical aggregates made of dendritic PEG-PDLLA exhibited magnified temperature-dependence in terms of solubility change and dimension expansion as compared to linear PEG-PDLLA. The most significant size expansion was observed in particles made of dendritic PEG (12000)-PDLLA, which was twice as much as that of particles made of linear PEG (12000)-PDLLA. Water insoluble antitumor drug camptothecin (CPT) was used as a model drug for encapsulation and release studies. Spherical aggregates encapsulated more CPT when dendritic PEG-PDLLA had longer PEG-PDLLA chain and/or when temperature was elevated to body temperature. This study demonstrated that nanoscale clustering PEG-PDLLA through dendrimers magnified the thermo-sensitivity of PEG-PDLLA. Successful development of such a new particulate system made of dendritic PEG-PDLLA with an expandable dimension in response to temperature change generated a new direction for designing stimuli-responsive materials.

Mist or aerosol explosions present a serious hazard to process industries. Heat transfer fluids are widely used in the chemical process industry, are flammable above their flash points, and can cause aerosol explosions. Though the possibility of aerosol explosions has been widely documented, knowledge about their explosive potential is limited. Studying the formation of such aerosols by emulating leaks in process equipment will help define a source term for aerosol dispersions and aid in characterizing their explosion hazards. Analysis of the problem of aerosol explosions reveals three major steps: source term calculations, dispersion modeling, and explosion analysis. The explosion analysis, consisting of ignition and combustion, is largely affected by the droplet size distribution of the dispersed aerosol. The droplet size distribution of the dispersed aerosol is a function of the droplet size distribution of the aerosol formed from the leak. Existing methods of dealing with the problem of aerosol explosions are limited to enhancing the dispersion to prevent flammable concentrations and use of explosion suppression mechanisms. Insufficient data and theory on the flammability limits of aerosols renders such method speculative at best. Preventing the formation of aerosol upon leaking will provide an inherently safer solution to the problem. The research involves the non-intrusive measurement of heat transfer fluid aerosol sprays using a Malvern Diffraction Particle Analyzer. The aerosol is generated by plain orifice atomization to simulate the formation and dispersion of heat transfer fluid aerosols through leaks in process equipment. Predictive correlations relating aerosol droplet sizes to bulk liquid pressures, temperatures, thermal and fluid properties, leak sizes, and ambient conditions are presented. These correlations will be used to predict the conditions under which leaks will result in the formation of aerosols and will ultimately help in estimating the explosion hazards of heat transfer fluid aerosols. Heat transfer fluid selection can be based on liquids that are less likely to form aerosols. Design criteria also can incorporate the data to arrive at operating conditions that are less likely to produce aerosols. The goal is to provide information that will reduce the hazards of aerosol explosions thereby improving safety in process industries.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Adelaide, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-130).