Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-112). Also available via the Internet.

by Pan Sui-Pang. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 47-48.

The goal of this thesis is to empirically test connection between diaper consumption and business cycle. The analysis is based on real sell out data from period 2004-2013. Procyclical evolution of diapers consumption and procyclical evolution of household expenditures on diapers has been proved in the thesis. Substitution of branded products with cheaper variants of private label has not been proved in the Czech Republic. It has been proved that private label market share behaves procyclically, probably due to lower price difference between branded products and private label in times of recession and vice versa

Applying engineering principles to tessellation origami-based designs enables the control of certain design properties, such as flexibility, bending stiffness, mechanical advantage, shape conformance, and deployment motion. The ability to control these and other properties will enable augmented design capabilities in environments which currently limit the design to specific materials, including space, medicine, harsh environments, and scaled environments (such as MEMS applications). Other applications will be able to achieve more complex motions or better satisfy design and performance requirements.This research demonstrates augmented design capabilities of origami tessellations in engineering design in rigid-foldable and non-rigid-foldable applications. First, a method to determine Poisson's ratio and mechanical advantage for deployable, rigid-foldable tessellations is presented. The results enable the selection and tailoring of patterns based on deployment motion of specific patterns.Secondly, a model that predicts the deployment stability of the non-rigid-foldable triangulated cylinder is presented. This model defines the geometry needed to obtain a maximum deployed height, always return to a closed position, or remain in either the open or closed configurations. The Stability Transition Ratio is the ratio of the inner to outer diameter that marks the point between monostable and bistable behavior in a triangulated cylinder and is dependent only on the number of sides.Lastly, this work presents methods to reduce sag in adult diapers by increasing shape conformance, promoting wicking capabilities, and improving the structure through the implementation of origami tessellations. Several basic fold patterns were evaluated and the results reported. Reducing sag increases comfort and decreases leaking.

In my thesis, I have covered interviews with ten women - mothers who have decided to use for their babies a changing system of modern cloth diapers. For the topic I have used a qualitative sociological research strategy. The purpose of the received data from the interviews was to answer questions about motivations and reasons for the usage of this type of nappies and decide what benefits they see in them. As our society is used to disposable baby diapers and looks at them as a norm, I was interested in people's reactions, which these mothers have faced and how they have coped with. Finally, I have tried to find out the role of the internet and the social media in this matter. The theoretical part is devoted to the history of cloth and disposable diapers. There I have put into the context the issue of cloth diapers with the principles of sustainable development and responsible consumption. In the practical part I have carried out an analysis of ten semi-structured interviews with mothers who have been using cloth diapers for babies, along with examples of expressions of activities associated with cloth diapers in social media on the internet.

This study draws on Dorothy Smith's feminist sociological theory and methodology to propose an alternative way of conceptualizing and conducting inquiry into consumer issues. The application of this approach is then illustrated using the subject of diapers. Qualitative interviews were conducted with six mothers of children in diapers and with three institutional users of diapers: a home care provider, child care center administrator, and hospital nursery administrator. In addition, documents produced by various institutions (diaper laundering services, diaper manufacturers, environmental groups) as well as press accounts of the issue were collected. Analysis reveals a divergence between the themes present in mothers' narratives and those in media accounts of the subject. What is considered knowledge about diapering, however, is based on the texts of experts, not on mothers' everyday experiences. Many factors that shape and limit mothers' diapering options, including the products on the market, geographic location, finances, the child's size and sensitivity to certain products, or the need to secure the cooperation of partners and child care providers, are seldom acknowledged in the diaper "debate."The findings have implications both for academics and for practitioners. In research, feminist perspectives contribute to a more complete understanding of consumer and sociological problems than could be gained solely through more traditional approaches. Likewise, consumer and other advocates' work would benefit from more nuanced approaches that can better accommodate the diversity of individuals' concerns and experiences and that reflect the realities of their daily lives. / Master of Science

Submitted by Georgia Vaz (georgia.vaz@mackenzie.br) on 2016-07-07T21:20:26Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Kátia Lucia da Silva Gonçalves Cunha.pdf: 8068781 bytes, checksum: ed19238146c2f43be9d3c93dc70712b7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-07T21:20:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Kátia Lucia da Silva Gonçalves Cunha.pdf: 8068781 bytes, checksum: ed19238146c2f43be9d3c93dc70712b7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-19 / The growing concern for the environment, driven by the increasing difficulty in depositing waste in landfills, has encouraged the search for alternatives to the waste through recycling. The need to reclaim waste is not new, however, still is given little importance to proper environment dispose of diapers. In Brazil, several materials that could be recycled, are still designated to dumps generating, as well as, an environmental problem, an economic problem. After the implementation of the National Policy on Solid Waste, waste come to be considered good value, when is possible to be reused. Disposable diapers residues in most countries, has the final destination in landfills or incinerators and represent a large portion of the waste. Disposable diapers have a wide variety of natural and synthetic polymeric materials of high quality, which is desirable to reuse the same. The technologies currently known to recycle diapers are not satisfactory, due to the process of implementation issue that, generate large amounts of pollutants and organic waste, high spending of energy, in addition the difficulty in promote an efficient sterilization. This work aimed to research new technologies for the recycling of disposable diapers using radiation as a method for sterilization, also observe the effects of radiation on the mechanical, thermal, rheological and morphological properties of the obtained blends and composites. To develop this work and research of new technologies, was performed the characterization of the components of the disposable diaper, it was obtained and applied artificial solution urine, after were sterilized by gamma radiation, mechanical recycling, development of polymer blends and composites and obtaining and characterization of tests samples. The tests aimed to characterize the components of the disposable diapers and blends and composites obtained. Thermal, morphological, chemical, rheological and mechanical tests were performed. The results showed that irradiation acted differently and in isolation in each component of the disposable diaper in the presence of artificial urine solution, caused significant changes in superabsorbent polymers, improving the mechanical recycling process and enabling cost reduction in same. The recycling of disposable diapers can keep some properties and changing others. It was observed that the absence of the superabsorbent polymer influences to improve, not only the stages of recycling, as well as, in thermal and mechanical properties. It highlights the importance of recycling these materials, now worthless, however, of great environmental impact because of the advantages to providing low weight products, also obtaining economic and environmental advantages. / O crescimento da preocupação com o meio ambiente, impulsionado pela crescente dificuldade em depositar os resíduos em aterros, tem incentivado a busca de alternativas para o resíduo através de reciclagem. A necessidade de se reaproveitar resíduos não é nova, contudo, ainda é dada pouca importância para a disposição ambientalmente correta das fraldas descartáveis. No Brasil, muitos materiais que poderiam ser reciclados continuam sendo destinados a aterros sanitários gerando, além de um problema ambiental, um problema econômico. Após a implantação da Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos, os resíduos passaram a ser considerados bens de valor, quando possível seu reaproveitamento. Os resíduos de fraldas descartáveis, na maioria dos países, têm o destino final em aterros ou incineradores e representam uma grande parcela do refugo. As fraldas descartáveis possuem uma vasta variedade de materiais poliméricos naturais e sintéticos de alta qualidade, o que torna desejável o reaproveitamento dos mesmos. As tecnologias conhecidas atualmente para a reciclagem de fraldas não são satisfatórias devido ao problema de implementação do processo que geram grandes quantidades de poluentes e resíduos orgânicos, alto gasto energético, além da dificuldade em promover uma esterilização eficiente. Este trabalho teve como principal objetivo a pesquisa de novas tecnologias para a reciclagem de fraldas descartáveis pós-consumo, utilizando a radiação gama como método para a esterilização, também observar os efeitos da radioesterilização nas propriedades mecânicas, térmicas, reológicas e morfológicas das blendas e compósitos obtidos. Para o desenvolvimento deste trabalho e pesquisa de novas tecnologias, realizou-se a caracterização dos componentes da fralda descartável, obtenção e aplicação de solução de urina artificial, esterilização, reciclagem mecânica, desenvolvimento de blendas e compósitos e obtenção e caracterização de corpos de provas. Os ensaios visaram a caracterização dos componentes da fralda descartável e das blendas e compósitos obtidos. Foram realizados ensaios térmicos, morfológicos, químicos, reológicos e mecânicos. Os resultados mostraram que a irradiação, agiu de forma diferente e isolada em cada componente da fralda descartável, na presença de solução de urina artificial, provocou modificação do polímero superabsorvente, viabilizando o processo de reciclagem mecânica e possibilitando a redução de custos no mesmo. A reciclagem de fraldas descartáveis é possível mantendo algumas propriedades e alterando outras. A ausência do polímero superabsorvente, influenciou para a melhoria, não só das etapas de reciclagem, como também em propriedades térmicas e mecânicas. Destaca-se a importância de reaproveitamento destes materiais, atualmente sem valor, porém, de grande impacto ambiental, devido as vantagens em proporcionar produtos de baixo peso, obtendo também vantagens econômicas e ambientais.

Thesis (M. Sc. (Geography)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Disposal of disposable infant diapers has emerged as one of the major challenges in solid waste management. The use of disposable infant diapers is an unmanageable challenge in many rural areas due to a lack of disposal equipment and proper disposal methods. Incorrect disposal of used disposable infant diapers causes immediate and long-term negative health, environmental, social and economic impacts on communities. Consequently, this study sought to establish the practices and effects of used diaper disposal in the community of Mashashane Village, Limpopo. Using snowball sampling, households with infants determined participants for this study. The data collection methods were observations and questionnaires. The results showed that most mothers used disposable infant diapers. All respondents indicated that they did not have proper places for disposal and as a result, they disposed of used disposable infant diapers at any convenient place such as near streams, in wetlands and open places. The study, therefore, concluded that disposal of used disposable infant diapers was not appropriately practised in Mashashane Village and that led to environmental, social and economic challenges that require immediate intervention by the municipality. The study recommended that the municipality should encourage proper disposal of used disposable infant diapers through provision of skip bins and waste collection trucks. / Risk and Vulnerability Unit University of Limpopo

Esta dissertação aborda a redução das perdas de qualidade em um processo de fabricação de fraldas descartáveis, através da implantação da ferramenta de Controle Estatístico de Processo (CEP), que tem por objetivo analisar e monitorar as principais variáveis e características de qualidade que influenciam no processo produtivo. Depois de implantada a ferramenta do CEP, são propostos alguns indicadores de desempenho para a área de produção da empresa que servirão de base para medir e acompanhar o desempenho de alguns processos, importantes para se atingir e acompanhar as metas de melhoria de qualidade almejadas pela empresa. A dissertação apresenta uma revisão detalhada da literatura abordando a qualidade, as perdas existentes no processo produtivo, o Desdobramento da Função Qualidade (QFD - Quality Function Deployment), o Controle Estatístico do Processo (CEP) e os indicadores de desempenho. Os resultados obtidos através da implantação do CEP mostram que a empresa deve investir na tecnologia do seu processo produtivo, pois em muitos aspectos sua qualidade esbarra na falta da mesma, mas deve se deter também na substituição de alguns fornecedores de suas matérias-primas, além de investir no treinamento de seus operadores, pois os mesmos devem estar constantemente renovando seus conhecimentos para prevenir falhas do processo. / This dissertation is about the reduction of the quality losses on a manufacturing process of diapers, through the implantation of the Statistical Process Control (SPC), which main purpose is to analyse and control the main variables and quality characteristics of the process that can inspire the improvement of the productive process. After introduce the tool, will be proposed some performance indicators for the production sector, just for accompanying and control some process in order that the company can reach it's purpose. The dissertation presents a specify revision o f the literature, approa~hing the quality, the losses in the productive process, the Quality Function Deployment (QFD), SPC and the performance indicators. The results gained with the implant of CEP show that the company should invest on the technology o f its manufacturing process, because in many ways the quality collides with a missing policy, but the company should also pay attention to the suppliers ofraw material and maybe replace them. Besides that, the company should invest on training its operator because they should be constantly renovating their knowledge to prevent failure on the process.

I had dreamed of being a mother for some time. These dreams were complete with expectations of how and when I would give birth, and what motherhood would look and feel like. Now that I am a mother, I realize that my projected expectations in light of my true experience provide a conflicting story. While adjusting to reality has not always been easy, the experiences in unknown territory have brought beauty, joy, sadness, pride, and love in ways I never imagined. I believe that the only way to fully grasp the intensity of the experience of motherhood is to actually live through it. In this sense, the significance of documenting the motherhood experience is to capture the emotions and the reality of being a mother. I hope to put images to the continual conversation, conflict, and emotional battle that wages inside of me. I feel driven to document this experience not only to preserve these feelings for my own sake, but also to shed light on what I see as a misperception of motherhood. My experience with motherhood as subject matter for my artwork has led me to feel a sense of judgment; that to talk about motherhood in a fine art context is almost by nature taboo. I find this strange, as certainly we all have, or have had mothers. I hope to question this perceived negativity in the discussion of this relationship. I also desire to give those who share my feelings regarding motherhood a voice; to be confident in their experience, their love for their children, and to celebrate the common, yet extraordinary role of being a mother.