Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-50).

Typescript (photocopy) / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

This dissertation examines the most important developments and modern trends in the products liability law of the United States, the European Union, Australia and New Zealand. The United States has influenced international products liability forever. The European Union followed the United States, but learned from their mistakes. The lessons are reflected in the European Directive. In turm, Australia followed the European Directive but its close neighbour, New Zealand, managed to address products liability in their own unique way. In contrast, South African products liability law has not seen much development recently. Good guidelines can however be found from comparative law for the future development of products liability law in South Africa. In the conclusion of this dissertation, consideration will be given to the necessity of South Africa following the modern international trends in products liability. / Jurisprudence / LL. M. (Comparative Law)

The effects of freeze-drying and flake freezing of surimi on biochemical and physical properties as affected by various storage conditions were examined. Using three cooking parameters shear stress and strain values were evaluated to measure gelation properties of surimi gels. Stress values increased up to 3 months and then decreased substantially as storage time was extended. In general, strain values decreased substantially over time, however, freeze-dried surimi kept in the freezer at - 18°C did not change during 9 months of storage. Overall, color decreased during storage and b* values of the freeze-dried surimi kept at room temperature increased significantly. Salt extractable proteins decreased while dimethylamine increased. Electrophoretic patterns, however, did not show any apparent damage to the MHC due to frozen storage and/or proteolysis (with 60°C incubation) until the 9th month of storage. At 9 months, a reduction of the MHC was observed and the lower molecular weight bands were more intense. Freeze-dried samples stored in the freezer maintained the highest quality for the duration of the 9 month study. Low temperature storage is important for retaining good functionality in freeze-dried surimi. The effects of cross-section diameter on shear stress and strain and effects of individual variation in measuring diameter were studied. Gelation properties of surimi using milled and molded gels were compared. The possibility of skin formation using various cook times was also evaluated. Shear stress values were significantly affected by diameter accuracy, whereas the effect was not as significant for shear strain values. Individual variation in measurement was also greatly noted. Molded gels resulted in significantly lower strain values than milled samples, whereas stress values were significantly higher in molded gels than in milled gels. Using a lechitin-based spray appeared to eliminate skin formation on all samples. / Graduation date: 2001

Sweet whey powder is mainly used as an ingredient in foods and has a potential for increased use with the development of new foods. In view of the many whey powder producers, there is need to establish the quality of the whey powders currently on the market in terms of conformance to specifications, consistency over different seasons, and keeping quality. Selected sweet whey powder from different processors was analysed for microbiological, physicochemical and sensory quality. The whey powder was in most the cases within specifications. There was suggestive evidence of seasonal variability in the cooked flavor and sweet taste. In regard to storage, there was no significant difference in the flavor and aroma of the whey powder with storage except for the oxidized flavor which was marginally significantly different in at least one product. Most of the variation was in the microbiological and physicochemical properties. Of three products considered, rate of deterioration by the Maillard reaction, one was significantly different from the other two, having lower activation energy. Accelerated shelf-life testing deterioration rates compared well with those at ambient conditions for two products, implying that ASLT can be used for shelf-life determinations only if Maillard reaction inhibitors are absent. The flavor and aroma of sweet Cheddar cheese whey powder from one processor over 12 months, was consistent. However, the physicochemical, and microbiological properties were variable mainly between the fall and summer production with the fall production being higher in L* (lightness) and pH, but low in solubility index, and conversely, the summer production being high in solubility index and titratable acidity but low in L*. / Graduation date: 2005

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Product development efforts are extremely important to a company's success in today's global competitive business environment. Yet, these highly consequential efforts are terribly nebulous to a point that past experiences are inherently underutilized. This thesis demonstrates a methodology to quantify past product development efforts in an attempt to better utilize past experiences. The methodology is centered around conducting an observational study, using regression analysis to expose relationships between various aspects of past product development efforts. In the study, products developed in the past serve as observational units, various cost and time variables serve as dependent variables, and a variety of variables characterizing product development efforts serve as independent variables. The nominal group technique is employed, along with formal personal interviewing, to identify the many different variables targeted for data collection. Regression analysis is used to test and identify relationships between the multitude of combinations of dependent and independent variables. Three simple model forms are used to 'capture' any potential relationship: a straight line model, an exponential model, and a natural-logarithmic model. Dependent-independent variable combinations that have met a given statistical criteria, in one of these three model forms, are labeled statistically notable, and later classified as practically relevant. The applicability of the methodology is demonstrated by presenting 'generic' results obtained by making use of information and historical data from a well established electronics company who wishes to be referred to as Company X. These results show that cost and/or time increase with the increase in: the number of parts in a product, the number of assembly processes, quality/utility of the product, or a product performance enabling specification. Furthermore, product shape is found to be associated with cost and time. Interestingly though, only a relatively few variables were found to be associated with time as compared to cost. The statistical models that were identified can serve as a quantitative historical record and perhaps a prediction tool for Company X, giving them a competitive advantage in their future product development efforts. / Graduation date: 1997

Freezing is one of the important technologies for preservation of foods. In this project, using surimi as a food model, thermophysical properties of frozen foods were evaluated and the freezing process was simulated using a finite element package. To measure temperature-dependent thermal conductivity, a line-source probe system was used. Effects of test conditions and sample history were investigated. Thermal conductivity of Alaska pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) surimi having 0, 4, 6, 8, and 12% cryoprotectant levels was measured in the range of -40 to 30 ° C. Other thermal properties were analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at the same cryoprotectant concentrations and in the same temperature range. Each dynamically corrected DSC thermogram was used to determine initial freezing point, unfreezable water (bound water), apparent specific heat, enthalpy and unfrozen water weight fraction. When water content of the sample is controlled, thermophysical properties of surimi have a relatively weak dependence upon cryoprotectant level in the unfrozen and fully frozen (-40° C) ranges. However, the initial freezing point and the properties just below this point were significantly affected. From measured data, the Schwartzberg thermal property models for frozen foods were investigated. The models agreed well with experimental data. However, possibility for further improvement is demonstrated by using DSC analysis. This research additionally demonstrated the great potential of DSC for measuring and modeling frozen food thermal properties. Using the derived property models, a commercial PC-based finite element package was used to simulate the process of freezing a food block in a plate freezer. The capability of the program to handle temperature-dependent thermal properties and time-dependent boundary conditions enabled a simulation which accounted for measured changes in thermal properties, ambient temperatures and overall heat transfer coefficient. Predicted temperature history agreed well with measured data. Sensitivities of important model parameters, which were varied within their experimental error range, were also investigated using a factorial experimental design method. The result showed that in decreasing order of influencing freezing time prediction, attention should be given to apparent specific heat, block thickness, overall heat transfer coefficient, ambient temperature, thermal conductivity, and density. / Graduation date: 1991