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Residents of high-risk flood areas are often unaware and unprepared for extreme flood events. In order to raise awareness and improve preventative measures, methods of communicating the potential hazards, vulnerabilities, and risks associated with flood events need to enhanced. Geovisualizations that incorporate three-dimensional (3D) models of urban environments are being applied more frequently to improve communication of potential flood events to members of the lay-public. Recent studies suggest that the interactive and explorable environments provided by 3D geovisualization tools allow users to visualize complex geospatial data in a manner that is more easily understood than traditional 2D maps. The aim of this study was to examine the use of a 3D model for the purpose of communicating predicted flood levels in residential areas. An exploratory case study was conducted to construct and evaluate a 3D model of previously calculated data from the Testebo River in Gävle, Sweden. Methods for creating the model were developed with information obtained from in-depth literature reviews, and consultations with GIS professionals. To evaluate the communicative ability of the model, usability tests were conducted on a small sample size of participants. Through these processes, an explorable 3D model that represented the 100-year and highest probable flood scenarios in the residential areas of Varva, Strömsbro, Forsby and Stigslund was created. The results of the usability tests indicated the model was an effective visualization and provided appropriate tools for exploration. Although the study identified some limitations of the model and 3D models in general that should be considered, it also provides a valuable foundation on which to develop further studies of 3D models for flood communication purposes along the Testebo River and in other flood-prone areas.

Psychiatric illnesses take place in the context of socioeconomic circumstances. A growing body of evidences support that a multidisciplinary care system that includes not only medical management but also social and psychological care significantly improves short-term and long-term outcomes of diseases. However, at the current stage, multidisciplinary teams often function without an exact manual and would rely on traditions and previous customs that vary among centers, which can make individual professionals involved in the care to feel uncertain and ambiguous in terms of his or her roles. This can pose a serious a risk of professional frustration and sense of disempowerment, which can negatively impact team dynamic and quality of patient care. This article attempts to articulate possible challenges that can be faced by multidisciplinary team, and how such challenges can be addressed and handled. To achieve this, first, elements of multidisciplinary care model will be identified, and roles of each professional member will be delineated. Then, challenges that can be faced by a multidisciplinary team will be addressed, using a historical example of National Institute of Mental Health (1946) and a personal account from a British social worker. Then, possible solutions for the current problems will be discussed, which include implementing effective communication systems and adapting a multidisciplinary care plan to address the special needs of different age groups. In closing, I will emphasize that multidisciplinary care is both a medical and ethical imperative; not only sociobehavioral interventions will improve patient adherence, prevent relapse, and maximize the effect of the care, but also the model will facilitate patient’s recovery of agency, the ability to discern right from wrong, and autonomy, the right to make the decision that is most consistent with their beliefs and value systems. / Urban Bioethics

This thesis describes a multidisciplinary design optimization approach to containership design. The method employs widely accepted regression equations for computing resistance, weights, building costs and operating costs. The current regulations governing freeboard and the Coast Guard wind heel criterion are included. The measures of merit used are the required freight rate and the return on investment. The system is flexible enough to allow changes in trade routes, shipyard and port parameters, and fuel costs. The weight-displacement balance is maintained by including draft as a design variable and imposing an equality constraint on weight and displacement rather than introducing an internal loop to calculate draft at each iteration. This speeds up the optimization process. The process takes into account the discrete container stowage issue. The carrying capacity (number of containers) is expressed as a continuous function of the principal dimensions by using a linear response surface fit that in turn makes the objective function continuous. Speed is a design variable. The optimum speed takes into account the compromise required between higher speeds that imply higher revenue and lower speeds that imply lower fuel costs. The optimizer used is the Design Optimization Tools (DOT) program from Vanderplaats Research and Development, Inc. Results employing the three different techniques provided in DOT have been obtained and compared. The optimum ship tends to be the largest ship in terms of length and beam. An optimum speed is identified. The three techniques provided in DOT give fairly consistent results, but once a good optimum point is identified in the design space, the sequential linear programming algorithm is found to be the most consistent method to converge to a local optimum. The objective function is found to be flat in the vicinity of the optimum that indicates that the designer is not confined to a severely restricted design space and has some freedom in designing the optimum ship. / Master of Science

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Thesis (Ph. D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2002. / Dissertation supervisor: Raymond P. Shreeve. Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-161). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: tolerance assignment, genetic algorithms. Includes bibliographical references (p.59-65).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-100).

Toll plazas have several toll payment types such as manual, automatic coin machines, electronic and mixed lanes. In places with high traffic flow, the presence of toll plaza causes a lot of traffic congestion; this creates a bottleneck for the traffic flow, unless the correct mix of payment types is in operation. The objective of this research is to determine the optimal lane configuration for the mix of the methods of payment so that the waiting time in the queue at the toll plaza is minimized. A queuing model representing the toll plaza system and a nonlinear integer program have been developed to determine the optimal mix. The numerical results show that the waiting time can be decreased at the toll plaza by changing the lane configuration. For the case study developed an improvement in the waiting time as high as 96.37 percent was noticed during the morning peak hour.