The search for more sustainable construction methods has created a renewed interest in straw bales technology. Straw bales are a composite material that is energy efficient and durable. Rectangular straw bales stacked in a running bond and plastered on the interior and exterior faces have adequate strength to resist typical loads found in two-storey structures. The structural behaviour of a load-bearing plastered straw bale wall subject to uniform loading is well researched. However, door and window voids in the wall redistribute vertical load paths and produce areas of concentrated stress. This thesis describes experiments on small-scale plastered straw bale panels subjected to loading conditions that simulate the loading conditions experienced in areas around door and window voids. Twenty-one specimens were tested under two main types of loading conditions. The specimens were rendered with lime-cement plaster, were one to three bales (0.33 m to 0.99 m) in height, and were either unreinforced, or contained metal diamond lath or chicken wire embedded within the plaster. The specimens were pin-supported at various centre-to-centre distances ranging from 200 mm to 500 mm and were loaded either uniformly or by a point load. Two distinct types of failure were observed. Strut-and-tie models were developed to describe the structural behaviour of panels undergoing vertical cracking of the plaster skin at failure. Bearing models were developed to describe the structural behaviour of panels undergoing crushing of the plaster skin beneath the point of applied load. The models predicted the correct failure mode of 92% of the specimens and had an average ratio of experimental strength to theoretical strength of 0.95 with a standard deviation of 0.17. The results show that the behaviour of plastered straw bale walls can be predicted using common methods of structural analysis. A parametric analysis of door and window voids within plastered straw bale walls is presented. / Thesis (Master, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-30 11:32:53.613

The experiment investigated how job role identification can affect how people interact with a charity collector. The main predictions look at the level of identification that charity street donation collectors have with their job role (e.g., no ID, uniform/t-shirt, ID badge, and uniform/t-shirt + ID badge) and how this was associated with how much potential donors trust the charity collector, whether they comply with giving the collector a donation, and if they do comply, then how much money they donate, and also how long it takes the potential donor to make a decision. Results show that although trust and level of identification was positively correlated, the difference between groups was non-significant. With regards to amount donated per person, donors are statistically more likely to donate slightly larger sums of money per person to those collectors in the low identification conditions. The results also show that there is no statistical significance between group differences in time to make a donation decision for each of the conditions involved. Implications of the results and research for charity use are discussed.

This thesis has examined the effectiveness of the administration of the Indiana Uniform Consumer Credit Code by the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions. The overall effectiveness was analyzed in terms of three broad criteria: (1) the ability of the regulatory provisions of the law to be correctly interpreted and applied; (2) the prospective ability of the enforcement mechanisms of the law to halt, restrain, redress the effect of, and deter violations; and (3) the willingness of the administrative agency to efficiently and effectively utilize the administrative powers and perform the administrative duties delegated to it. Each was scrutinized independently in preparing the findings for and deriving the conclusions from this study.The writer found that the Code was extremely complex and difficult to interpret; that the enforcement mechanisms were far from ideal; and that the Department generally failed to compensate for these weaknesses as shown by the unaggressive utilization of its administrative powers and the complete failure to carry out certain of its administrative duties.

Denna studie handlar om Gustav III:s dräktreform 1778. Reformen innebar att en enhetlig nationell dräkt infördes för adeln och borgarna. Dessutom infördes en nationell uniform.   Uppsatsen behandlar reformen ur ett symboliskt perspektiv som utgår från Pierre Bourdieus teori om det symboliska kapitalet. Hans teori förklarar adelns och hovets åsikter om reformen. Studien ska också analysera hur uniformen m/1778 var influerad av den nationella dräkten.   Metoden är litteraturstudier och teorin har sammanfattats från flera litterära källor. Syftet är att skapa förståelse för adelns reaktion på dräktreformen. Studien visar att adeln reagerade negativt på att bära en nationell dräkt.   Uppsatsen börjar med en genomgång av svenska uniformer från 1600-talet och fram till den gustavianska eran. Sedan beskrivs Gustav III:s nationella dräkt och vilka reaktioner dräktreformen gav upphov till. Slutligen diskuteras dräktreformen ur det symboliska  perspektivet.

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The distance required for flow entering a laboratory channel to become fully-developed and uniform can be substantial. Given the need to establish fully-developed uniform flow, if the length of a laboratory channel is not substantial then it likely that the flume cannot be used to conduct open-channel flow research. In laboratory studies where the channel bed is hydraulically rough, the noted problem can be lessened by minimizing the length over which the flow becomes fully-developed and uniform (Lunif). For this study it is hypothesized that if bed material with a roughness height (ks, ∆) is placed at the channel entrance and ks, ∆ is greater has the roughness height of bed material placed throughout the channel (ks, bed) then Lunif can be reduced. The length over which the larger bed material is referred to as the tripping zone length (∆). A second hypothesis for this study is that if ∆ is longer, then Lunif will be shorter. The primary objective of this study is to test the above mentioned hypothesis and to develop a relationship for predicting Lunif as a function of Δ. For this study, physical tests were performed in a rectangular Plexiglas flume with a variable slope. The flume was 6.1 m long, 45.7 cm wide, and 45.7 cm deep. The channel has smooth walls and the bed was lined with gravel (median particle size, d50 = 8.5 mm or 22 mm). Similarly tripping zone was lined with gravel of larger size (median particle size, d50 = 13 mm or 58 mm).Twelve tests were conducted for the study. For each test, longitudinal point velocity measurements (u) were made along the channel center, at five elevations (z), and at twelve longitudinal stations (x). An Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter was used to measure u. Lunif was determined by considering four indications of flow uniformity. Results indicate that having a tripping zone decreases Lunif and the magnitude of the decrease in Lunif was dependent on ∆. A function is presented for predicting Lunif /H = f (Rep, Fr, and Δ/H) where Rep is the Reynold's particle number, Fr is the Froude number and H is the flow depth.

Esta dissertaÃÃo visou compreender como se desenvolveu o uso do uniforme escolar no Brasil e, principalmente, no Estado do CearÃ. Para isso foram realizados estudos histÃricos, bibliogrÃficos e iconogrÃficos sobre o uso do fardamento escolar desde meados do sÃculo XIX atà o final da dÃcada de 70 do sÃculo XX. A pesquisa visou abordar como foi estabelecido o uso do uniforme escolar, no CearÃ, durante as dÃcadas de 1940 atà o final da dÃcada de 1970. A escolha deste perÃodo se deu, principalmente, por conseguirmos entrevistar ex-alunos que foram estudantes a partir da dÃcada de 1940. Durante a realizaÃÃo da pesquisa foi tambÃm possÃvel compreender quais eram as simbologias de utilizaÃÃo do uniforme tanto para alunos quanto para sociedade em geral. Para uma melhor compreensÃo do tema foram escolhidas duas escolas que fizeram parte da histÃria da educaÃÃo no Estado do CearÃ: o ColÃgio Liceu do Cearà e a Escola Normal do CearÃ, ambas pÃblicas mantidas pelo Governo do Estado. AtravÃs da histÃria destas escolas, das entrevistas com ex-alunos da Ãpoca e de conversas com funcionÃrios da atualidade podemos conhecer como foi a histÃria do uniforme escolar, durante o perÃodo estabelecido. Este trabalho revelou aspectos histÃricos do fardamento escolar no Cearà relacionando a moda e os uniformes das escolas cearenses, realizando tambÃm breve histÃrico da educaÃÃo local.

Maximum likelihood approach for independent but not identically distributed observations is studied. In the first part of the thesis, conditions for consistency and asymptotic normality of the maximum likelihood estimates for this case are stated. Uniform integrability has a major role in proving the desired properties. K-sample problem serves as an example for using the described method. The second part is focused on estimates obtained by minimizing convex functions. Convexity is a key for showing the consistency and asymptotic normality of the estimates in this case. The results can be used for maximum likelihood when observations with logconcave densities are involved. Finally, normal linear model, logistic regression and Poisson regression examples are provided to present the application of the method.

In this work, rotating beams which are isospectral to non-rotating beams are studied. A rotating beam is isospectral to a non-rotating beam if both the beams have the same spectral properties i.e; both the beams have the same set of natural frequencies under a given boundary condition. The Barcilon-Gottlieb transformation is extended, so that it converts the fourth order governing equation of a rotating beam (uniform or non-uniform), to a canonical fourth order eigenvalue equation. If the coefficients in this canonical equation match with the coefficients of the non-rotating beam (non-uniform or uniform) equation, then the rotating and non-rotating beams are isospectral to each other. The conditions on matching the coefficients lead to a pair of coupled differential equations. We solve these coupled differential equations for a particular case, and thereby obtain a class of isospectral rotating and non-rotating beams. However, to obtain isospectral beams, the transformation must leave the boundary conditions invariant. We show that the clamped end boundary condition is always invariant, and for the free end boundary condition to be invariant, we impose certain conditions on the beam characteristics. The mass and stiffness functions for the isospectral rotating and non-rotating beams are obtained. We use these mass and stiffness functions in a finite element analysis to verify numerically the isospectral property of the rotating and non-rotating beams. Finally, the example of beams having a rectangular cross section is presented to show the application of our analysis. Since experimental determination of rotating beam frequencies is a difficult task, experiments can be easily conducted on these rectangular non-rotating beams, to calculate the frequencies of the isospectral rotating beams.

Presented here are the results from the steady state flow boiling of R245FA in a laboratory scale horizontal stainless-steel test tube with an inner diameter of 8.5 mm and a length of 900 mm at a saturation temperature of 35 °C and 40 °C. Experiments were conducted at mass fluxes ranging between 200 and 300 kg/m²s at inlet vapour qualities from 0.2 to 0.7 under uniform, and non-uniform imposed heat flux cases that are expected to exist in horizontal parabolic trough solar collectors. Nine (9) different heat flux distributions were investigated. Local and average heat transfer coefficients (HTC’s) were determined based on wall temperature measurements taken along the length and around the circumference of the test section. Through the choice of the fluid being linked to the possible usage of DSG technology in organic Rankine cycles, the qualitative trends and observed performance variations can be used to predict the same for a working fluid such as water. It was found that the non-uniformity of the heat flux greatly alters the HTC’s of the fluid undergoing boiling but has no effect on the pressure drop characteristics of the fluid undergoing boiling. Heating only on the sides of the tube yielded HTC’s that were 46 % lower than achieved under uniform heating. Heating only from the top proved to be more effective in heat transmission to the fluid than heating only from the bottom (as is the case on PTC solar fields), by only a slight margin, and both these cases yielded HTC’s that were 30 % lower than the uniform heating case. Applying a bell curve heat flux distribution over the tube walls yielded overall HTC’s that differed from the uniform case by a maximum of 5 %, even as the peak heat flux position changes around the circumference of the tube. A further study may be done to quantify the degree to which the non-uniformity of the heat flux influences the local HTC’s, and to develop correlations that may aid in predicting these cases. An integration with flow pattern mapping may also be done to solidify the understanding of the phenomenon governing these observations. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Department for International Development (DFID) through Royal Society-DFID Africa Capacity Building Initiative. / The UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) [grant numbers EP/T03338X/I and EP/P004709/1]. / Russian Government "Megagrant" project 075-15-2019-1888. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / MEng / Unrestricted