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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
191

Forced Vibration Testing and Analysis of Pre- and Post- Retrofit Buildings

Jacobsen, Erica Dawn 01 June 2011 (has links)
ABSTRACT Forced Vibration Testing and Analysis of Pre- and Post- Retrofit Buildings Erica Dawn Jacobsen The primary goal of the thesis was to detect the retrofit through vibration testing of both buildings. The secondary goal focused on correctly identifying the behavior of the building through FVT, comparing that behavior to computational model predictions, and determining the necessary level of detail to include in the computational modeling. Forced vibration testing (FVT) of two stiff-wall/flexible-diaphragm buildings yielded natural frequencies and mode shapes for the two buildings. The buildings were nearly identical with the exception that one had been retrofitted. Both buildings were comprised of concrete shearwalls and steel moment frames in the north/south direction and moment frames in the east/west direction. The retrofit strengthened the moment connections and added braces to the perimeter walls in the east/west direction. The natural frequencies were found through FVT by setting a 30-lb shaker on the roof of both buildings and sweeping through a range of frequencies in both the east/west and north/south directions. Accelerometers were placed on the building to detect the accelerations. The peaks on the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) graphs indicated the frequencies at which the structure resonated. Mode shapes were tested for by placing the shaker in a position ideal for exciting the mode and setting the shaker to the natural frequency detected from the FFT graphs. The accelerometers were placed around the roof of the building to record the mode shape. After testing, computational models were created to determine if the models could accurately predict the frequencies and mode shapes of the buildings as well as the effect of the retrofit. A series of increasingly complex computational models, ranging from hand calculations to 3D models, were created to determine the level of detail necessary to predict the building behavior. Natural frequencies were the primary criteria used to determine whether the model accurately predicted the building behavior. The mid-diaphragm deflection and base shear from spectral analysis were the final criteria used to compare these select models. It was determined that in order to properly capture the modal behavior of the building, the sawtooth framing, major beams, and the lateral-force-resisting-system (LFRS) must be modeled. Though the mode shape of the building is dominated by the flexible diaphragm, the LFRS is necessary to model to accurately predict both the natural frequency of the building as well as the diaphragm deflection.
192

Between Extermination and Child-Rearing: The Foreign Child-Care Facilities of Volkswagen and Velpke

Fedewa, Lauren Elizabeth 01 January 2018 (has links)
During World War Two, approximately 400 to 450 Ausländerkinder-Pflegestätten, or foreign child-care facilities, were established across the German Reich as collection centers for the infants born to Polish and Soviet civilian laborers employed in the German war economy. My thesis examines two such foreign child-care facilities, the Volkswagen and Velpke children’s homes, where over 450 Polish and Soviet infants perished. Three themes provide the framework for an analysis of these two facilities: the conflict between two of the main goals of the Third Reich—racial cleansing and the exploitation of forced labor; the question of whether the establishment of the facilities and treatment of the children depended on orders from upper-level or local-level authorities; and the issue of whether the children’s deaths stemmed from intent to cause their deaths or indifference toward their fate. This thesis addresses the following questions: In terms of racial ideology and economic pragmatism, was one factor more significant in the establishment and use of the Volkswagen and Velpke children’s homes? Who, among upper-level and lower-level Nazi officials, ordinary Germans, medical professionals, and factory executives, was responsible for the children’s deaths? Were the children’s deaths intentional? What do these two facilities tell us about the other foreign child-care facilities that existed across the Third Reich? The research for this thesis draws upon two British war crimes trials held in Braunschweig and Helmstedt, Germany in 1946, the “Velpke Baby Home Case” and the “Rühen Baby Farm Case,” as well as records from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives in Washington, DC, the National Archives at College Park in College Park, MD, and digital records from the International Tracing Service Archives. Ultimately, this thesis highlights the connections between the three conflicting—and often opposing—themes. First, the trial records revealed that both facilities were exclusively established, managed, and operated by local-level officials and personnel. Second, upper-level Nazi authorities deemed alleged racial enemies a threat to the German “master race,” and were intent on enforcing a racial hierarchy in the German Reich; however, the local-level officials and staff responsible for these two children’s homes were far more concerned with maintaining productivity from the Polish and Soviet workforce, remaining indifferent toward the fate of the children at the homes. Third, while both the need for economic efficiency from workers and the belief in Nazi racial ideology influenced the establishment, management, and operation of the Volkswagen and Velpke children’s homes, there is minimal evidence that local authorities and personnel prioritized racial ideology over economics. Since both facilities were controlled locally, this thesis reveals that rather than putting racial ideological into practice and intentionally killing the children, local officials prioritized economic production. This left the fate of the children somewhere between extermination and child-rearing—between being left to die, murdered, or raised.
193

A Narrative Study Focusing on Survivors of Forced Labor Trafficking

Raggio, Taras NK 01 January 2019 (has links)
Throughout history, the media's rendering of slavery depicts vulnerable groups caught in a network of trafficking looking for a better life. Scholars of trafficking cite challenges in understanding the health care needs of domestic forced labor trafficking survivors in the United States. Seminal trafficking findings have shown that variations of trafficking affect the survivors' health after surviving trafficking. Therefore, in this qualitative, narrative inquiry I sought to understand how 8 survivors of forced labor trafficking, ages 25 years and older, described their health following trafficking beyond 5 years. The theory of social constructionism constituted the theoretical foundation, and the salutogenic model of health is the conceptual framework. The research questions for the study focused on understanding how adult survivors described experiences of entering and exiting trafficking, and their physical health, post-trafficking involvement. Criterion sampling facilitated identifying survivors of forced labor trafficking. Semi-structured interviewing guided the survivors' narrative storytelling. For analyzing the narratives, I used Braun and Clarke's Thematic Analysis strategy. The results of the pilot and main study showed that survivors suffer from an array of ongoing cognitive and general health concerns beyond surviving trafficking. The findings suggest that these ongoing health conditions influenced survivors' well-being beyond surviving trafficking. The results of the study may lead those in the medical field (e.g. health administrators) to identify other conditions influencing survivors' health after surviving trafficking.
194

Forced Truancy and Its Impact on Youth Delinquency in Southeastern Nigeria

Enyiorji, Bouyant Eleazer 01 January 2015 (has links)
Forced truancy is a risk factor that influences juvenile behavior, requiring the joint efforts of school authorities, parents, and courts to address. It is a phenomenon where students desire attending school, but for reasons beyond their control, they are prohibited from attending classes. Some of these reasons are teachers' strike action, students' poverty, lack of educational infrastructures, and unsafe educational environment. Teachers' strike is a frequent occurrence in southeastern Nigeria caused by irregular payment of teachers' wages, benefits, and other remunerations. This case study of 3 secondary schools in southeastern Nigeria sought to understand the impact of forced truancy by examining the relationship between forced truancy and youth delinquency. Although previous studies have explored the causes of truancy, few studies have addressed the effect of forced truancy created by incessant teachers' strike. The theoretical framework that guided this study included Hirschi's social bond theory and Merton's social structure. Case studies were developed using data from the participants and review of documents. A maximum variation method was used for data collection through semi-structured that resulted in a review of archival records and open-ended interviews with students (S = 9), teachers (T = 8), and principals (SP = 4). Descriptive case analysis were used to identify common themes and patterns using constant comparative techniques. Implications for positive social change include identifying areas that need improvement and recommending to legislators and education policy makers for the best approach to addressing the problem, where it has the potential to eliminate teachers' strike, reduce youth truancy, and improve student's academic performance.
195

Performance and safety of centrifugal chillers using hydrocarbons.

Tadros, Amir, The University of New South Wales. School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, UNSW January 2008 (has links)
The high ozone depletion and global warming potentials of fluorocarbon refrigerants have resulted in prohibitions and restrictions in many markets. Hydrocarbon refrigerants have low environmental impacts and are successfully used in domestic refrigerators and car air conditioners but replacing fluorocarbons in centrifugal chillers for air conditioning applications is unknown. Hydrocarbon replacements need a heat transfer correlation for refrigerant in flooded evaporators and predictions for operating conditions, capacity and performance. Safety precautions for large quantities of hydrocarbon refrigerants are needed and control of overpressure in plantrooms requires accurate prediction. Reliable correlations exist for forced convection in a single phase flow, condensation outside tubes and evaporation off sprayed tubes. For flooded evaporators this thesis proposes a new correlation for forced convection boiling of any refrigerant. An enhancement factor is combined with a modified Chen coefficient using recent pool boiling and forced convection correlations outside tubes. This correlates within typically a factor of two to known boiling literature measurements for CFC-113, CFC-11, HCFC-123, HFC-134a and HC-601. The operating conditions, capacity and performance of replacement hydrocarbons in centrifugal chillers were predicted using fluorocarbon performance as a model. With the new heat transfer correlation hydrocarbon predictions for flooded evaporators were made. For any fluorocarbon refrigerant there exists a replacement mixture of hydrocarbons which with a rotor speed increase about 40% gives the same cooling capacity in the same centrifugal chiller under the same operating conditions. For example replacing HCFC-123 in a flooded evaporator with HC-601/602 [90.4/9.6] and increasing the rotor speed by 43% will increase the coefficient of performance by 4.5% at the same cooling capacity. The maximum plantroom overpressure considered was from leakage and ignition of a uniform air/refrigerant mixture with maximum laminar burning velocity. Flow was modelled using a turbulence viscosity due to Launder and Spalding and turbulent deflagration using a reaction progress variable after Zimont. These partial differential equations were solved approximately for two and three dimensional geometries using finite volume methods from the Fluent program suite. Simple overpressure predictions from maximum flame area approximations agreed with Fluent results within 13.7% promising safe plantroom design without months of computer calculation.
196

Evaluation of the forced oscillation technique for clinical assessment of young children with cystic fibrosis

Gangell, Catherine Louise January 2008 (has links)
Background: Measurements of lung function are routinely used in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) to provide information that may be clinically relevant. Spirometry is the conventional lung function measurement used, however young children find spirometry difficult to perform and often cannot achieve the strict acceptability criteria for the test. The forced oscillation technique (FOT) is a lung function measurement that only requires tidal breathing and is easy for young children to perform. However, there is limited information about the utility of this technique in the clinical assessment of young children with CF who are unable to perform spirometry. Aims: The aim of this project was to evaluate the FOT for clinical assessment in 2 to 7 year old children with CF. Specifically this involved: 1. Technical assessment of the FOT in children with CF; 2. Comparisons of lung function using the FOT in children with CF and healthy children; 3. Evaluation of associations with factors known to be associated with lung disease including: i) inflammation ii) infection and iii) structural damage. Methods Lung function was measured in a cohort of 59 children between the ages of 2 and 7 years with CF at the time of quarterly clinic visits. Resistance and reactance at 6, 8 and 10Hz (Rrs6, Rrs8, Rrs10, Xrs6, Xrs8, Xrs10, respectively) were reported and expressed as Z scores. Children were classified as asymptomatic or symptomatic based on a respiratory questionnaire and physical examination at the time of testing. Bronchoalveolar lavage and high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) were performed annually under general anaesthesia annually. BAL fluid was assessed for the presence of micro-organisms and quantification of a range of inflammatory markers and HRCT used to determine the extent of structural abnormalities. Results: The between test repeatability (n=25) for lung function was within limits previously described in healthy children. No systematic bias was observed and repeatability was not affected by the presence of respiratory symptoms. Children with CF (n=57) had significantly increased Rrs6-10 (p<0.0001) and decreased Xrs6-10 (p<0.004) compared to healthy children. Rrs6 and Xrs6-10 were significantly worse in the presence of respiratory symptoms, and Rrs6-10 progressively worsened from an asymptomatic to a symptomatic clinic visit. Children with CF (n=48) had no greater bronchodilator response (BDR) compared to healthy children. BDR was not influenced by the presence of an infection or respiratory symptoms. No relationships between inflammatory markers and lung function (n=39) were identified when the presence of an infection was adjusted for. Children with a current infection (n=20) had increased Rrs6-10 (p<0.01) and decreased Xrs6-10 (p<0.04) compared to children who were uninfected (n=23). These relationships were most marked for children infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, with children having a reduced lung function between 0.95 and 1.47 of a Z score. No relationships with the presence or absence of mild structural abnormalities (bronchiectasis, bronchial wall thickening and air trapping) and lung function at the time of HRCT were identified (n=34). Conclusion: The FOT is a repeatable measurement of lung function in children with CF and reliable results can be obtained in children as young as 2 years old. Young children with CF exhibit altered respiratory function which was affected by the presence of factors known to be associated with lung disease. The FOT has the potential to provide useful information about changes in clinical status in young children with CF and may be used to direct management of patient lung disease.
197

Uppbrott från hemmet : en kvantitativ studie av ungdomar som rymmer eller kastas ut hemifrån

Sow, Alpha January 2007 (has links)
<p>Aim:The study's aim is to examine whether and to what extent elementary school pupils aged 13 and 16 report that they ever have been forced to leave home by parents, have run away from home voluntarily or have seriously considered doing so. The aim is also to illuminate which circumstances contribute to these break-ups. Method: A quantitative approach is used; a survey material consisting of 1193 questionnaires is analysed. The data material has been used in earlier studies but the issue addressed here has not been studied earlier. The circumstances analysed are gender, ethnicity, the parents’ religious belief and education, living conditions (sharing home with both parents, one of them or none), contacts with professionals (psychologist, school nurse or curator), physical and mental wellbeing, way of upbringing (liberal vs authoritarian) and communication with parents. The findings are compared to a similar study from Great Britain. Results: The results show that 4 percents of the young people have been forced to leave home some time during their life and 9 percent have run away and stayed away for at least 24 hours. The proportion of young people seriously considering leaving home was 22 percents. It is concluded that being forced to leave home has different explanations compared to running away by own decision. It is thus two different phenomena. A few risk factors are identified.</p>
198

Social history, public history and the politics of memory in re-making ‘Ndabeni’’s pasts

Sambumbu, Sipokazi January 2010 (has links)
<p>It has been over a century since African people were forcibly removed by official decree in 1901, from the Cape Town dockland barracks and District Six, to Uitvlugt, a farm where a location of corrugated iron &lsquo / huts&rsquo / had just been constructed. This occurrence followed an outbreak of a bubonic plague in Cape Town in 1901, which became predominant among the Africans who worked at the docks, and who were in direct and constant contact with the main carriers of the disease, i.e., the rats coming out of ships from Europe. The outbreak resulted in African being stigmatised as diseased, and being banished to the outskirts of the city. Since then, knowledge about this historical occurrence has been continuously produced, presented and communicated in many ways. It has featured in many representations through memory, heritage and history.In 1902, the new residents of Uitvlugt gave the location the name kwa-Ndabeni. Ndabeni was a nickname that the residents had given to Walter Stanford who had chaired the commission that recommended for the establishment of the location in 1901. The prefix kwa- was added to the name so that it meant in Xhosa language, the place of Ndabeni. In that way, the residents, who at that time did not consider the location as a potential place of their permanent abode, named it in a way that disassociated them from the place.</p>
199

On the fluid mechanics of electrochemical coating and spray painting

Olivas, Pedro January 2001 (has links)
Finite-volume methods have been used for modeling of fluidflows involved in forced convection electrochemical coating androtating spray painting systems. Electrodeposition on a singlecircular cylinder under forced convection for Reynolds numbers10 and 200 was simulated. Comparisons with earlier numericaland theoretical results are presented and it is shown that theunsteady wake that appears for Reynolds numbers greater than 50affects the mass transfer from the surface of the cylinder onlyin an average sense. This result is compared with a heattransfer case, where unsteadiness is much more manifest. Theeffect of application of circulation movement around thecylinder surface was considered, showing that the use ofoptimal values for circulation can create a recirculation zonearound the cylinder and result in a remarkable improvement ofthe deposit uniformity. The magnetoelectrolysis researchdiscipline is presented with focus on magnetic fields uses onmass transfer processes. A classification of the governingdimensionless parameters that control the phenomena isproposed. Application of magnetoelectrolysis on electroplatingprocesses is done for the first time. It is found that the useof an alternating magnetically induced force around thecylinder can result in interesting improvement of quality andproductivity. Application of numerical methods is also studiedin another field of the surface finishing industry, thepainting atomizers. A critical situation of "reverse flow" isanalyzed. Different parameters of this phenomenon are studiedand suggestions for atomizers design are given and tested. <b>Keywords:</b>mass transfer, electrochemical coating, iontransport, forced convection, diffusion, magnetoelectrolysis,electrolyte, limiting current, numerical simulation,finite-volume methods, paint atomization, Coanda effect.
200

Uppbrott från hemmet : en kvantitativ studie av ungdomar som rymmer eller kastas ut hemifrån

Sow, Alpha January 2007 (has links)
Aim:The study's aim is to examine whether and to what extent elementary school pupils aged 13 and 16 report that they ever have been forced to leave home by parents, have run away from home voluntarily or have seriously considered doing so. The aim is also to illuminate which circumstances contribute to these break-ups. Method: A quantitative approach is used; a survey material consisting of 1193 questionnaires is analysed. The data material has been used in earlier studies but the issue addressed here has not been studied earlier. The circumstances analysed are gender, ethnicity, the parents’ religious belief and education, living conditions (sharing home with both parents, one of them or none), contacts with professionals (psychologist, school nurse or curator), physical and mental wellbeing, way of upbringing (liberal vs authoritarian) and communication with parents. The findings are compared to a similar study from Great Britain. Results: The results show that 4 percents of the young people have been forced to leave home some time during their life and 9 percent have run away and stayed away for at least 24 hours. The proportion of young people seriously considering leaving home was 22 percents. It is concluded that being forced to leave home has different explanations compared to running away by own decision. It is thus two different phenomena. A few risk factors are identified.

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