This goal of this project is to assist liberals and progressives who are reluctant to speak out publicly on religious questions so that they can advance their moral values and protect their religious liberties by encouraging and educating them to use legal protections under the First Amendment. Rights to religious freedom in the American legal system are reviewed on the federal, state, and local levels. The denominational history of and theological evolution within Unitarian Universalism, the target group being studied, are examined. This examination has a particular focus on shifting historically strict intradenominational attitudes on the separation between church and state and using legal protections to advance progressive moral values and social justice objectives. Through a nonprofit legal foundation, the author seeks to educate and to support religious groups seeking to pursue religious projects and ministries that may face legal challenges and government opposition. The project also reviews metrics for assessing attitude change in response to educational workshops presented to Unitarian Universalist audiences.

In this study I explore boundary work processes that older adults do which influences friendships among residents of a progressive care retirement community. Accounts of boundary work as mechanisms for including some and excluding other residents as potential friends were collected by using a combination of quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews from residents (age 65+) of a progressive care retirement community in the United States. First, a survey explored symbolic boundaries related to cultural capital, defined as music and leisure interest and participation, as well as structural and social aspects of friendships among residents (N=66). Second, in-depth interviews of a sub-sample of residents of an assisted living facility within the community (N=15), were conducted to examine older adults' narratives of how they use cultural capital as a mechanism of symbolic boundary work that influences their friendships with others in the retirement community. The administrator of the assisted living facility (N=1) was also interviewed. Findings from this study suggested that cultural capital was associated with sociability which offers some support for the relational "tool kit" model of the theory. However, findings from in-depth interviews suggested that while music and leisure interests and participation may be important, valuations of bodies were more likely to influence "othering" of residents, although the two are related. This study enriches our understanding of how symbolic boundary use varies by group and context, as well as makes theoretical contributions to the literature on symbolic boundaries by exploring the ways in which aging may alter the use of boundaries. / Ph. D.

Distal pointing is the interaction style defined by directly pointing at targets from a distance. It follows a laser pointer metaphor and the position of the cursor is determined by the intersection of a vector extending the pointing device with the display surface. Distal pointing as a basic interaction style poses several challenges for the user, mainly because of the lack of precision humans have when using it. The focus of this thesis is to understand and improve distal pointing, making it a viable interaction metaphor to be used in a wide variety of applications. We achieve this by proposing and validating a predictive model of distal pointing that is inspired by Fitts' law, but which contains some unique features. The difficulty of a distal pointing task is best described by the angular size of the target and the angular distance that the cursor needs to go across to reach the target from the input device perspective. The practical impact of this is that the user's relative position to the target should be taken into account. Based on the model we derived, we proposed a set of design guidelines for high-precision distal pointing techniques. The main guideline from the model is that increasing the target size is much more important than reducing the distance to the target. In order to improve distal pointing, we followed the model guidelines and designed interaction techniques that aim at improving the precision of distal pointing tasks. Absolute and Relative Mapping (ARM) distal pointing increases precision by offering the user a toggle which changes the control/display (CD) ratio such that a large movement of the input device is mapped to a small movement of the cursor. Dynamic Control Display Ratio (DyCoDiR) automatically increases distal pointing precision, as the user needs it. DyCoDiR takes into account the user distance to the interaction area and the speed at which the user moves the input device to dynamically calculate an increased CD ratio, making the action more precise the steadier the user tries to be. We performed an evaluation of ARM and DyCoDiR comparing them to basic distal pointing in a realistic context. In this experiment, we also provided variations of the techniques which increased the visual perception of targets through zooming in the area around the cursor when precision was needed. Results from the study show that ARM and DyCoDiR are significantly faster and more accurate than basic distal pointing with tasks that require very high precision. We analyzed user navigation strategies and found that the high precision techniques afford users to remain stationary while performing interactions. However, we also found that individual differences have a strong impact on the decision to walk or not, and that, sometimes, is more important than the technique affordance. We provided a validation for the distal pointing model through the analysis of expected difficulty of distal pointing tasks in light of each technique tested. We propose selection by progressive refinement, a new design concept for distal pointing selection techniques, whose goal is to offer the ability to achieve near perfect accuracy in selection at very cluttered environments. The idea of selection by progressive refinement is to gradually eliminate possible targets from the set of selectable objects until only one object is available for selection. We implemented SQUAD, a selection by progressive refinement distal pointing technique, and performed a controlled experiment comparing it to basic distal pointing. We found that there is a clear tradeoff between immediate selections that require high precision and selections by progressive refinement which always require low precision. We validated the model by fitting the distal pointing data and proposed a new model, which has a linear growth in time, for SQUAD selection. / Ph. D.

The response of elliptical composite cylindrical shells under torsion is studied. The torsional condition is developed by rotating one end of the cylinder relative to the other. Prebuckling, buckling, and postbuckling responses are examined, and material failure is considered. Four elliptical cross sections, defined by their aspect ratio, the ratio of minor to major radii, are considered: 1.00 (circular), 0.85, 0.70, and 0.55. Two overall cylinder sizes are studied; a small size with a radius and length for the circular cylinder of 4.28 in. and 12.85 in., respectively, and a large size with radii and lengths five times larger, and thicknesses two times larger than the small cylinders. The radii of the elliptical cylinders are determined so the circumference is the same for all cylinders of a given size. For each elliptical cylinder, two lengths are considered. One length is equal to the length of the circular cylinder, and the other length has a sensitivity of the buckling twist to changes in the length-to-radius ratio the same as the circular cylinder. A quasi-isotropic lamination sequence of a medium-modulus graphite-epoxy composite material is assumed. The STAGS finite element code is used to obtain numerical results. The geometrically-nonlinear static and transient, eigenvalue, and progressive failure analysis options in the code are employed. Generally, the buckling twist and resulting torque decrease with decreasing aspect ratio. Due to material anisotropy, the buckling values are generally smaller for a negative twist than a positive twist. Relative to the buckling torque, cylinders with aspect ratios of 1.00 and 0.85 show little or no increase in capacity in the postbuckling range, while cylinders with aspect ratios of 0.70 and 0.55 show an increase. Postbuckling shapes are characterized by wave-like deformations, with ridges and valleys forming a helical pattern due to the nature of loading. The amplitudes of the deformations are dependent on cross-sectional geometry. Some elliptical cylinders develop wave-like deformations prior to buckling. Instabilities in the postbuckling range result in shape changes and loss of torque capacity. Material failure occurs on ridges and in valleys. Cylinder size and cross-sectional geometry influence the initiation and progression of failure. / Ph. D.

Short, J-section columns fabricated from a textile composite are tested in axial compression to study the modes of failure with and without local buckling occuring.The textile preform architecture is a 2x2, 2-D triaxial braid with a yarn layup of [0 deg 18k/+-64 deg 6k] 39.7% axial. The preform was resin transfer molded with 3M PR500 epoxy resin. Finite element analyses (FEA) of the test specimens are conducted to assess intra- and inter- laminar progressive failure models. These progressive failure models are then implemented in a FEA of a circular fuselage frame of the same cross section and material for which test data was available. This circular frame test article had a nominal radius of 120 inches, a forty-eight degree included angle, and was subjected to a quasi-static, radially inward load, which represented a crash type loading of the frame. The short column test specimens were cut from some of the fuselage frames. The branched shell finite element model of the frame included geometric nonlinearity and contact of the load platen of the testing machine with the frame. Intralaminar progressive failure is based on a maximum in-plane stress failure criterion followed by a moduli degradation scheme. Interlaminar progressive failure was implemented using an interface finite element to model delamination initiation and the progression of delamination cracks. Inclusion of both the intra- and inter- laminar progressive failure models in the FEA of the frame correlated reasonably well with the load-displacement response from the test through several major failure events. / Master of Science

Equivalent, three-dimensional elastic moduli are determined from unit cell models of balanced plain weave, 2D braid, 2D triaxial braid and 4x4 twill textile composite materials consisting of interlaced or intertwined yarns. The yarn paths are modeled with undulation portions, in which one yarn passes over and under one or more yarns, and with straight portions. It is assumed that the centerline of a yarn in the undulation portions is described by the sine function, and that the cross-sectional area of a yarn and the thickness of a yarn, normal to the centerline, are uniform along the centerline. For the balanced plain weave architecture, equations for the fiber volume fraction and the cross-sectional shape of the yarn are derived for large crimp angles. It is shown that the maximum crimp angle is limited to forty-five degrees, and that limits on the ratio of the length of the undulation portion of the path to the width of the unit cell impose constraints on the fiber volume fraction and yarn packing density. For small crimp angles, approximations to the volume fraction and yarn shape equations are obtained. This assumption is used in the derivation of the geometry of the remaining architectures, and subsequent equations are obtained for the corresponding geometric parameters. For each architecture, the yarns are assumed to be transversely isotropic and a stress averaging technique based on an iso-strain assumption is used to determine the effective moduli of the unit cells. Comparisons of the effective moduli are made to other unit cell models in the literature. The micromechanical models are implemented in Fortran programs and user material subroutines for ABAQUS, called UMAT, are created out of these programs. For a balanced plain weave fabric under the small crimp angle approximation, a progressive failure model is developed to predict failure within each yarn and to degrade the material properties of the representative unit cell. Material failure is predicted by discretizing the yarns into slices and applying Tsai-Wu quadratic criterion to the on-axis strains in each slice. A stiffness and strength reduction scheme is then used to account for the change in yarn compliance. At the present time, the UMAT has only been tested as a stand-alone program with Visual Fortran 6.0, and would require further development to be used within ABAQUS on sample structural problems. / Master of Science

no / Hot spots are high thermal gradients on the disc surface during brake events which can cause the undesired phenomena of thermal judder and drone. The origin of hot spotting has been presented by various theories such as Thermo elastic instability (TEI) and progressive waviness distortions (PWD). However, majority of the numerical models based on these theories mainly concentrated on solid disc rather than ventilated disc which is the most commonly used nowadays. According to the experimental work done by the authors, disc geometry factors such as vents and pins also have correlations with hot spot distribution; these phenomena are difficult to be predicted analytically. Thus a convenient 2D asymmetric finite element simulation has been performed in order to obtain the correlations observed in experiments. Further parameter studies investigated factors such as uneven initial temperature, vents, pins and pad length. The results have been correlated with the experimental data and demonstrate the contribution of geometric factors in the generation of hot spots and hot judder.

The purpose of this study is to learn to what extent the point of view of patrons of Wichita Falls, Texas, has a background of progressivism or of essentialism and to what extent, if possible, the children are influenced in school by the point of view held by the parents; also which part of the school system -- general education, the curriculum, the child, or the administration -- has the most progressive approval of the parents.

This work presents a detailed predictive modeling methodology for comprehensive crashworthiness analysis of advanced jet engine forward sections, containing hybrid and composite structures, when subjected to soft impact. Bird strike onto the fan assembly is chosen as the impact event to be studied. The aim is to develop a numerical methodology capable of accurately capturing the full range of multifaceted damage in hybrid and composite structures as they evolve throughout the forward section of a propulsion system. Effective strategies are developed within an explicit finite element framework for modeling a bird, an engine forward section, intra-ply and inter-ply composite damage, and hybrid structural failure. The accuracy of each approach and their numerical modeling considerations are thoroughly investigated. These techniques are then combined to form the full crashworthiness methodology. It is demonstrated that the complete methodology effectively captures progressive hybrid fan blade fracture, leading edge de-bonding, composite casing delamination, and other significant progressive damage effects caused by direct impact and subsequent engine component interactions. The full damage prognosis capabilities demonstrated by this approach encompass aspects which have remained mainly unaddressed in soft impact analysis. A methodology for assessing the complete extent of impact damage for advanced structural engine designs represents a breakthrough that can contribute greatly to the rapid development of these systems in the future. / Master of Science

No / The 2004 Indian general elections stunned observers when, contrary to expectations, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Atul Behari Vajpayee was defeated by an electoral coalition led by the Indian National Congress (INC) headed by Sonia Gandhi. A further surprise came when Gandhi declined to become India's first foreign-born prime minister, opting instead to back party stalwart Dr Manmohan Singh for this office. Dr Singh, India's first Sikh prime minister, now heads a United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government headed by a cabinet containing 19 INC members and 10 members of smaller parties. Will the return to power of the INC after eight years in opposition (during three years of Left Front then five years of BJP/NDA rule) result in a shift of India's foreign and national security policies?