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Bose, Prosenjit. "Geometric and computational aspects of manufacturing processes." Thesis, McGill University, 1994. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=28686.
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Two of the fundamental questions that arise in the manufacturing industry concerning every type of manufacturing process are: (1) Given an object, can it be built using a particular process? (2) Given that an object can be built using a particular process, what is the best way to construct the object? The latter question gives rise to many different problems depending on how best is qualified. We address these problems for two complimentary categories of manufacturing processes: rapid prototyping systems and casting processes. The method we use to address these problems is to first define a geometric model of the process in question and then answer the question on that model.In the category of rapid prototyping systems, we concentrate on stereolithography, which is emerging as one of the most popular rapid prototyping systems. We model stereolithography geometrically and then study the class of objects that admit a construction in this model. For the objects that admit a construction, we find the orientations that allow a construction of the object.
In the category of casting processes, we concentrate on gravity casting and injection molding. We first model the process and its components geometrically. We then characterize and recognize the objects that can be formed using a re-usable two-part cast. Given that a cast of an object can be formed, we determine a suitable location for the pin gate, the point from which liquid is poured or injected into a mold. Finally, we compute an orientation of a mold that ensures a complete fill and minimizes the number of venting holes for molds used in gravity casting processes.
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Martyn, Michael T. "Some aspects concerning the powder injection moulding of hardmetal components." Thesis, Loughborough University, 1991. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/7157.
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The application of a powder injection moulding process to the production of fully sintered hardmetal components has been studied. Salient, highly interdependent process variables investigated include; powder and binder characteristics, mixing techniques, feedstock rheological characteristics, mould design features, moulding parameters, debinding and sintering parameters. Fundamental studies were conducted to determine the effect of powder and binder characteristics on the powder loading capacity of feedstocks. Various methods of mixing were investigated. The most favourable methods were identified from the rheological response of their respective feedstocks as determined by capillary rheometry. Thermogravimetric analyses were used to; (a) identify binders and feedstocks essig beneficial debinding kinetics, (b) in the study of suitable debinding atmospheres and (c) to develop thermal debinding profiles for selected feedstocks. A spiral mould was used to assess the mouldability and optimum moulding parameters of selected feedstocks. Feedstock properties and mould design features which promoted moulding defects were identified and solutions developed. It was found that the maximum hardmetal powder loading achievable in a given feedstock was dependent on the powder size, size distribution and level of agglomeration. Low viscosity binders with high dielectric permittivities were found to promote highly loaded feedstocks. Feedstock viscosity increased with powder concentration. This relationship was modelled by a simple exponential power function over a narrow range of shear and powder concentration. Compounding methods utilising high shear melt mixing principles were found most effective in producing low viscosity feedstocks of consistent rheological response. Feedstock compositions of high powder concentrations and based on single, crystalline, wax binder systems were found to exhibit a high thermal dependence of viscosity, high activation energies of viscous flow, a high shear sensitivity and tended to segregate when subjected to shear. Such propensities were found detrimental to moulding behaviour. Spiral mould analysis revealed feedstock compositions were sensitive to changes in thermal parameters. Compositions based on multi-component binder systems were found most preferential in producing defect free mouldings of sound integrity and offered favourable debinding characteristics. Thermal debinding of mouldings was only completely effective by careful control of heating rates and when performed in hydrogen rich atmospheres. The reaction order and activation energy of the binder volatilisation was found to be dependent on the level of binder decomposition. Melt wicking was most effective using a hydrated magnesium aluminium silicate substrate. Sintered engineering components were produced by an injection moulding process with near theoretical densities and acceptable microstructures.
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Carruth, Mark Alexander. "Reducing CO2 emissions through lightweight design and manufacturing." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.607775.
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Gander, Nathan. "Assessing Particulate and Chemical Emissions from Additive Manufacturing Processes." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1595848332301779.
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Da, Fonseca Carlos Manuel. "Implementing an environmental management system in an automative component manufacturing firm." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1112.
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Environmental issues seem to be one of the most important topics in the globalised world. Organisations of all sizes are subject to pressure from suppliers, customers and governments to be more environmentally responsible. This research focuses on implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS) in the automotive industry, both internationally and in South Africa, and examines the background and concepts of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), as well as the key implementation phases associated with the implementation of an EMS, in accordance with ISO 14001. The problem statement of this research is to determine if it is possible to transfer, apply and sustain environmental concepts to small, medium or large organisations. The primary objectives of this research, therefore, were to determine: does implementation of an EMS provide economic benefits to organisations; what drives an organisation to first implement an EMS; does implementation of an EMS improve environmental awareness and performance; and what implementation barriers are faced by small, medium and large organisations. To achieve these objectives, a literary review and an empirical survey were conducted. The survey consisted of an electronic, self-administered questionnaire that was circulated to respondents at various automotive organisations. Data collected from completed, returned questionnaires were analysed and graphically presented to complete the research and achieve the primary research objectives toward solving the afore-mentioned problem statement. Based on the findings of this research, it can be concluded that there is much to gain from implementing an EMS.
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Eliasson, Kristina. "Occupational health services in the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders : Processes, tools and organizational aspects." Licentiate thesis, KTH, Ergonomi, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-200392.
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Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are associated with high costs and it is essential to prevent them. Occupational Health Services(OHS) provide expert services regarding work environment, health and rehabilitation of work related disorders. Risk assessments of the work environment can be an initial step for preventive measures, and ergonomists can be assigned by clients to assess exposures in the work environment. For such assignments different tools can be used. The aim of this thesis was to explore prerequisites, processes and practices of OHS consultants in Sweden within the domain of primary prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. This was explored through the work of ergonomists in their role of assessing ergonomics risks. The research methodology was both quantitative and qualitative. Data collection includes a web questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and inter- and intra-observer reliability tests. The results shows that ergonomics risk assessments were most commonly initiated reactively and a systematic work methodology for the risk assessment process was often lacking. Swedish ergonomists used only a few standardized tools for risk assessment. The Ergonomics provision from the Swedish Work Environment Authority, AFS-98, was widely used, but other observation-based tools were used far less often. Ergonomics risks were often assessed solely by means of observation, based on ergonomists’ knowledge and experience. The results also pointed to that that the reliability was not acceptable when risk assessment was performed without any standardized tool. Furthermore, the results point to that support from the OHS organizations is an important prerequisite for ergonomists to work with primary prevention. Further, opportunities for specialization within a specific industry sector seem to facilitate ergonomic interventions. It is also important to have close relationships with clients and to make them aware about ergonomists competence. Conclusively, this thesis identifies a numbers of areas in which OHS must develop to improve primary preventive services regarding work environment.QC 20170127
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Wergeland, Oscar, and Astrid Mehlberg. "The value of Health and Safety aspects in Product-Service Systems : A case study based on the manufacturing industry." Thesis, Karlstads universitet, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-68487.
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Companies are expected to reduce the impact on society caused by its operations while at the same time, generate profit for its stakeholders. One way to satisfy both parts is by creating shared values. As the trend of servitization becomes more popular the ability of Product-Service Systems (PSS) to deliver additional value to customers arises. PSS provides an opportunity for developing a sustainable business model to benefit both the society and the stakeholders. A sustainable PSS can be based on the Triple Bottom Line dimensions, environment, economic, and social. Since the economic and environmental advantages have already been studied for PSS:s, the social aspect is yet to be studied in detail. This thesis focuses on the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) theme of the social dimension, for PSS:s. Both the ability to improve the social dimension performance and the role it plays in the value proposition for PSS:s were studied. The thesis has been based on a case study on one company in a Business to Business market. It was found that customers seldom demanded or mentioned health and safety aspects for PSS:s, even when an increase of OSH was achieved by the PSS. However, it could also be concluded that all interviewed thought OSH was important for the company and the employees but there were divided opinions regarding OSH, if it would be put in the value proposition or not. By analysing the customer situation and how it operates, companies should use the customizability of PSS:s to better match their requirements and thus develop the value proposition for the PSS. Cost estimations for accidents have been done which showed that one single accident can cause very high costs. It is a good investment to prevent risks which should be communicated when selling PSS:s. Furthermore, it is important to communicate both internally within the firm, and externally to customers, about what health and safety benefits the PSS will contribute with.Företag förväntas att reducera påfrestningarna på samhället och miljön orsakade av deras verksamhet och samtidigt fortsätta generera värde till dess intressenter. Ett sätt att tillgodose båda parter är genom att skapa så kallade delade värden. Då trenden att tjänstefiera blir mer och mer populär finns det möjlighet för ett så kallat Produkt-Service System (PSS) att leverera mervärde till kunderna. PSS ger en möjlighet att utveckla en hållbar affärsmodell som gynnar både samhället och intressenterna. Ett hållbart PSS kan grundas på de tre byggstenarna för Triple Bottom Line, miljö, ekonomi och samhälle. Då de ekonomiska och miljömässiga fördelarna redan har studerats för PSS fokuserar denna studie på hur konceptet står sig för den samhälleliga aspekten. I denna rapport studeras arbetshälsa och säkerhet för PSS, både möjligheten att förbättra den samhälleliga aspekten i Triple Bottom Line samt vilken roll dessa värden spelar för en värdepropositionering för PSS. Rapporten har baserats på en fallstudie på ett företag inom marknaden för Business till Business. Det konstaterades att kunderna sällan efterfrågar eller nämner hälso- och säkerhetsaspekter i förhandlingar om PSS, även när en ökning av arbetshälsa och säkerhet uppnåddes. Hur som helst tyckte alla intervjuade att arbetshälsa och säkerhet var viktigt för företag och anställda men det var trots detta delade meningar om det borde vara en del av värdepropositioneringen eller inte. Genom att analysera kundernas situation och hur de arbetar borde företag använda anpassningsbarheten av PSS för att bättre matcha kundernas önskemål och således utveckla värdepropositioneringen för PSS. Kostnadsberäkningar för olyckor har genomförts som visar att en enskild olycka kan orsaka mycket höga kostnader. Det är en god investering att förebygga risker vilket borde kommuniceras vid försäljning av PSS:s. Det är viktigt att både kommunicera internt inom företaget samt externt till kunderna om de hälso- och säkerhetsaspekter som PSS bidrar med.
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Randall, Jeff. "Differences in age-related appraisals in children's and adolescents' coping processes in a fire emergency situation." Diss., This resource online, 1993. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-06062008-170439/.
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Chu, Tsz Lun. "The Roles of Coaches, Peers, and Parents in High School Athletes' Motivational Processes: A Mixed-Method Study." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2008. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1248411/.
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Grounded in self-determination theory and achievement goal theory, the purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the underlying motivational processes from social environments created by coaches, peers, and parents to motivational outcomes in high school athletes, with an emphasis on the relative influence of social agents in basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness). The quantitative part of this study tested a hierarchical model of high school sport motivation in a final sample of 311 student athletes (204 boys, 107 girls) using structural equation modeling: social factors (coach-, peer-, and parent-created motivational climates) -> psychological mediators (need satisfaction and frustration) -> types of motivation (autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and amotivation) -> consequences (subjective vitality, athlete burnout, and intention to drop out). Invariance across gender and across team type (varsity vs. non-varsity) was also tested. Adequate model fits were achieved in separate "brighter side" and "darker side" models across the overall sample, gender, and team type. The follow-up qualitative part of this study explored "how" beyond "what" coaches, peers, and parents contribute to the social environments, need frustration, and negative motivational outcomes in sport in a subsample of 37 student athletes (24 boys, 13 girls) who reported high amotivation/burnout and higher than average dropout intentions in the quantitative survey. Content analysis and observation were conducted to interpret the focus group interview data among athletes across gender and team type. The results of both quantitative and qualitative parts were integrated and compared to summarize the roles of coaches, peers, and parents in the "brighter and darker sides" of athletic experience in high school athletes.
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Chu, Tsz Lun. "The Roles of Coaches, Peers, and Parents in High School Athletes' Motivational Processes: A Mixed-Methods Study." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2018. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1248411/.
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Grounded in self-determination theory and achievement goal theory, the purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the underlying motivational processes from social environments created by coaches, peers, and parents to motivational outcomes in high school athletes, with an emphasis on the relative influence of social agents in basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, and relatedness). The quantitative part of this study tested a hierarchical model of high school sport motivation in a final sample of 311 student athletes (204 boys, 107 girls) using structural equation modeling: social factors (coach-, peer-, and parent-created motivational climates) -> psychological mediators (need satisfaction and frustration) -> types of motivation (autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and amotivation) -> consequences (subjective vitality, athlete burnout, and intention to drop out). Invariance across gender and across team type (varsity vs. non-varsity) was also tested. Adequate model fits were achieved in separate "brighter side" and "darker side" models across the overall sample, gender, and team type. The follow-up qualitative part of this study explored "how" beyond "what" coaches, peers, and parents contribute to the social environments, need frustration, and negative motivational outcomes in sport in a subsample of 37 student athletes (24 boys, 13 girls) who reported high amotivation/burnout and higher than average dropout intentions in the quantitative survey. Content analysis and observation were conducted to interpret the focus group interview data among athletes across gender and team type. The results of both quantitative and qualitative parts were integrated and compared to summarize the roles of coaches, peers, and parents in the "brighter and darker sides" of athletic experience in high school athletes.
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Werner, P. O. E. Mathias. "Investigation on HSS milling inserts : cutting edge and surface preparation effect on machinability : the capturing, understanding and structure of the gear manufacturing processes may lead to a dynamic link to design aspects such that more effective and reliable cutting tool system development is acheived /." Stockholm : Industriell teknik och management, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-9942.
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Santos, José Altair Ribeiro dos. "Proposta de modelo inteligente de definição de produto para atendimento à diretiva RoHS." Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, 2015. http://repositorio.utfpr.edu.br/jspui/handle/1/1379.
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As empresas de manufatura necessitam integrar seus processos internos digitalmente para se tornarem mais competitivas e entregarem produtos com maior qualidade ao mercado consumidor. Informações definidas nas primeiras etapas de projeto precisam ser recuperadas em todas as fases do ciclo de vida de um produto. Para alcançar este objetivo são necessários modelos de informação que incorporem inteligência e permitam a representação do mundo real. Por outro lado, fabricantes de produtos eletroeletrônicos precisam cumprir requisitos ambientais presentes em marcos regulatórios, como a Diretiva RoHS, para poderem vender seus equipamentos em diversos países. O presente trabalho propõe a aplicação de modelos semânticos para ajudar as empresas a cumprir os requisitos estabelecidos pela Diretiva RoHS. O modelo, criado usando uma ontologia de referência, estabelece relações semânticas entre entidades que representam fases do ciclo de vida do produto, estruturas de produtos e objetos de negócios. Processos de negócio modelados permitem identificar fluxos de informação, bem como atividades que estão ligadas aos requisitos RoHS, percebidas por meio da geração de relatórios disponíveis no framework denominado Projeto Essential. O modelo semântico resultante é, portanto, útil para converter as necessidades relacionadas com o meio ambiente, endereçando requisitos através de um processo de desenvolvimento de produtos que aborda a diretiva RoHS. Um produto eletroeletrônico fabricado por indústrias nacionais foi selecionado para demonstrar a viabilidade da solução proposta.Manufacturing companies need to integrate their internal processes digitally to become more competitive and deliver higher quality products to the consumer market. Information defined at early design stages needs to be recovered at all stages of the life cycle of a product. To accomplish this, information models that incorporate intelligence and enable the representation of the real world are necessary. On the other hand, electronic products manufacturers need to comply with environmental requirements present in regulatory frameworks as the RoHS Directive in order to offer their products in several countries. The present work proposes the application of semantic models for helping companies meet the requirements established by the RoHS Directive. A model, created using a reference ontology, establishes semantic relationships between entities that represent product lifecycle stages, product structure and business objects. Business processes, modeled in the form of activity and information flows, are linked to RoHS requirements that can be viewed through the reports in the Essential Project open source framework. The resulting semantic model is, therefore, useful for converting environment-related needs to design requirements through a product development process that addresses the RoHS Directive. A consumer electronics product has been selected for demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed solution.
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Alsaffar, Ahmed J. "Process-based modeling for cradle-to-gate energy and carbon footprint reduction in product design." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/28609.
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Interest in accounting for environmental impacts of products, processes, and systems during the design phase is increasing. Numerous studies have undertaken investigations for reducing environmental impacts across the product life cycle. Efforts have also been launched to quantify such impacts more accurately. Life cycle energy consumption and carbon footprint are among the most frequently adopted and investigated environmental performance metrics. As efforts continue to incorporate environmental sustainability into product design, struggles persist in concurrent consideration of environmental impacts resulting from the manufacturing processes and supply chain network design. Thus, the objective of this research is to present a framework for reducing product cradle-to-gate energy consumption and carbon footprint through simultaneous consideration of manufacturing processes and supply
chain activities. The framework developed in this thesis relies on unit process modeling, and is demonstrated for production of a bicycle pedal. It is shown that simultaneous consideration of manufacturing and supply chain processes can impact decision-making and improve product environmental sustainability at the design stage. The work presented contributes to the state of the science in sustainable design and manufacturing research. In addition, a point of departure is established for the research community to move current efforts forward for concurrent consideration of multiple stages of the product life cycle in pursuit of environmental, economic, and social sustainability.Graduation date: 2012
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Keys, Vernon C. "Capital investment appraisal in a process environment." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6215.
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M.Ing.As the manufacturing environment evolved over the past century, the nature of investments in manufacturing capabilities changed dramatically. Automation can be seen as the single biggest driver of this evolution; enabling the manufacturing fraternity to develop smarter technology in order to exploit the opportunities that were created by the volatility that exist in most markets. This lead to the development of flexible manufacturing technology. Constructing a definition of manufacturing flexibility is difficult mainly due to the various views and perspectives that exist of flexibility. In short, flexibility can be defined as the ability to react ( to any change ) with little penalty in time, effort, cost or performance. These technologies that enable a manufacturing system to be flexible in a certain manner are generally difficult to justify in terms of traditional financial yardsticks. This can be contributed to the diverse benefits to be gained from these investments; and often these benefits are of a nonfinancial nature. Furthermore, when reviewing investments in flexible manufacturing technology within a process environment there appears to be an even bigger problem. The relatively fixed nature of the design output of process equipment, and the enormous quantities of capital outlay initially required to erect and commission process plants, often makes it near impossible to justify any investment that does not deliver good financial returns within the short term. Thus it becomes clear that the traditional methods of investment appraisal within the process environment have become generally unsuitable; and this call for a re-evaluation of the processes applied to guide value adding investments. This study set out to deliver a logical approach to appraising investments in manufacturing flexibility by defining a framework to be applied. The proposed framework consists of the following 4 primary steps. Firstly the strategic direction followed by the business is defined; then an analysing of the manufacturing flexibility required is performed. The third step is to evaluate the manufacturing technology available and furthermore a suitable performance measured criteria is defined to evaluate the proposed investment. This model is set within the strategic context of the manufacturing strategy of a business and thus should ensure the development of manufacturing capabilities that will ensure business growth over the medium to long term.
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Buser, Deborah Elaine. "Occupational exposure characterization of vacuum pump maintenance technicians in a semiconductor manufacturing environment." Thesis, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/34320.
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In the semiconductor industry, numerous potential occupational exposures exist as a result of the diversity of chemical and physical hazards unique to integrated circuit manufacturing. The hazards associated with maintenance tasks are challenging because the sporadic nature of the tasks make exposure monitoring difficult. In particular, vacuum pump maintenance is hazardous due to the close contact with chemical waste by-products. The purpose of this study was to characterize the chemical and physical occupational exposures associated with vacuum pump maintenance (VPM) in a semiconductor manufacturing environment. The study population consisted of 9 VPM technicians at a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Oregon. VPM tasks were observed and prioritized according to potential risk of exposure. For each task studied, an exposure monitoring strategy was developed to quantify both chemical and noise exposures. Personal and area air samples of potential waste gases were conducted during maintenance tasks. All air samples were below established governmental standards. Detectable levels were found for three tasks: 0.040 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m��) of hydrochloric acid, 0.014 mg/m�� of chlorine, and 0.08 mg/m�� of fluoride containing gases during tasks associated with the metal etch tool, polynitride etch tool, and tungsten deposition tool, respectively. Several bulk samples of waste residues collected during the tasks where corrosive having low pH levels. Representative noise sampling was conducted
during a 12 hour shift to characterize noise exposures. Noise samples revealed that 43% of the samples were above the 80 dBA action limit thus requiring the VPM technicians to be involved in a hearing conservation program. Field observations revealed that there were many chemical hazards associated with waste gases and residues, therefore it is likely that occupational exposures occur even though they were not detected at significant levels in this study. In addition, there were several ergonomic risk factors associated with dismantling the pump during the maintenance activities. Specific improvements in personal protective equipment, general work practices, ergonomics, and engineering controls will help to reduce the potential for occupational exposures unique to VPM. Results from this study indicate the need to conduct in depth hazard evaluations of high risk populations such as the VPM technicians.Graduation date: 1997
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Eastlick, Dane 1985. "Assisting decision making in component design for sustainable manufacturing." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/28567.
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Current life cycle assessment tools are often deficient in assisting design for sustainable manufacturing efforts. Integrating an improved assessment method into a decision support framework will provide a means for designers and engineers to better understand the impacts of their decisions. A unit process modeling-based sustainability assessment method is presented to assist design decision making by accounting for and quantifying economic, environmental, and social attributes. A set of these sustainability metrics is defined as a basis for comparison of component design alternatives. The method is demonstrated using two titanium component production alternatives that represent typical design for manufacturing scenarios. The modeling method significantly increases the resolution of sustainable manufacturing metrics over conventional assessment techniques, and is one aspect of the overall decision support framework developed. Additionally, fixed sum importance weighting, weighted sum modeling, and scenario analysis were selected as easily employed and transparent design decision techniques to provide the remaining elements of the framework. The demonstration of the decision support framework for titanium component manufacturing illustrates that the sequential approach developed can assist engineers in developing more sustainable components and products.Graduation date: 2012
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Renna, Megan Elizabeth. "Perseveration and health: An experimental examination of worry and relaxation on autonomic, endocrine, and immunological processes." Thesis, 2019. https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-4z8g-c520.
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The field of psychoneuroimmunology seeks to examine the impact of stress and other psychological processes on physical health. While some theories suggest that processes such as worry may have a significant impact on prolonging the physiological stress response and subsequently increasing risk for long-term health issues, to date, this research has not yet thoroughly examined the impact of worry on physical health processes. The current study sought to combine theories from clinical and health psychology to investigate the impact of experimentally-induced worry and relaxation on cortisol, heart rate variability (HRV), and inflammation. Participants (N = 85) were community members from the New York City area. They completed worry and relaxation inductions within the laboratory while HRV was collected continuously. Three blood samples were taken throughout the study to test for inflammation and cortisol. Results indicated changes in HRV, IL-6, and IFN-γ throughout the study conditions that were not moderated by levels of trait worry. HRV, cortisol, and inflammation did not covary throughout the different experimental conditions and changes in cortisol and/or HRV did not temporally precede changes in inflammation throughout the study. Overall, the findings from the current study offer insight into the contrasting impact that worry and relaxation have on physiological biomarkers and highlights important directions for future research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology.
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Manyenga, Johannes. "A study of efficiency and competitiveness in a chemicals manufacturing company (Chemplex Animal & Public Health)." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/1709.
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The study dwells on one of the few companies making animal and public health chemicals in Zimbabwe. It is fairly a new company and the industry is old globally even in Zimbabwe. Chemplex has a varied product range covering grain protection, insecticides, pesticides in addition to the animal chemicals. However, Chemplex's viability is under serious threat because the existing strategies are not competitive enough for global participation. The manufacturing of products has been scaled down due to critical shortage of foreign currency. The intent of this paper is to suggest that the use of a quantitative research methodology can inform today's decision-making managers in the animal and public health chemicals manufacturing company. While not claiming to be predictive, the research seeks to develop intelligent forecasts and strategic inclinations concerning what is possible while indicating strategies for working toward desired goals. In a time of accelerating change and globalization of markets, the methodology can help in revealing to managers how to cope successfully with uncertainty and move confidently into tomorrow. In that regard, a quantitative and case study approach will be implemented. The research has proposed ISO certification, strategic alliances, outsourcing and licensing agreements as recommendations that Chemplex should seriously consider. These have been identified as highly necessary given the global trends and Chemplex's competitive potential since manpower and facilities are greatly underutilized. Chemplex does not have all the necessary resources to embark on meaningful growth and expansion on its own at the moment. The foreign currency generation will be expected to improve under such strategies as well toenable Chemplex to compete independently in future.Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.
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Joubert, J. M. (Jacobus Marthinus). "Optimising fall out dust monitoring at a cement manufacturing plant." Thesis, 2012. http://encore.tut.ac.za/iii/cpro/DigitalItemViewPage.external?sp=1000566.
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Thesis (MTech. degree in Environmental Health)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2012.Fall out dust sampling and monitoring is becoming one of the preferred methods to determine dust pollution impact from industries/or mines on the receiving environment. Fall out dust monitoring is a useful and cost effective method of providing trend analysis of dust deposition over a period of time. It also provides an indication of the main areas of dust generation and can be conducted for both health and nuisance purposes.The aim of the study was to develop a positioning guideline for fall out dust monitoring equipment in order to optimise the existing fall out dust programme.
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Zhang, Hao. "Integrating sustainable manufacturing assessment into decision making for a production work cell." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/30450.
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Sustainability has been the focus of intense discussions over the past two decades, with topics around the entire product life cycle. In the manufacturing phase, research has been focused solely on environmental impact assessment or environmental impact and cost analysis in its assessment of sustainability. However, few efforts have investigated sustainable production decision making, where engineers are required to concurrently consider economic, environmental, and social impacts. An approach is developed to assess broader sustainability impacts by conducting economic assessment, environmental impact assessment, and social impact assessment at the work cell level. The results from the assessments are then integrated into a sustainable manufacturing assessment framework, along with a modified weighting method based on pairwise comparison and an outranking decision making method. The approach is illustrated for a representative machining work cell producing stainless steel knives. Economic, environmental, and social impact results are compared for three production scenarios by applying the sustainable manufacturing assessment framework. Sensitivity analysis is conducted to study the robustness of the results. For future research, it is desired that a tool which integrates manufacturing information system information and the sustainable manufacturing assessment approach can be built to assist production engineers in considering sustainability performance when making decisions.Graduation date: 2012
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Choun, Soyoung. "Dynamic linkages of personality and health : the effect of traits and states in predicting health-goal progress." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/30233.
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Optimal aging is strongly related to personality factors along with health-behavior habits. Personality has played a key role in understanding the interactions between human behavior and the environment and as a vital predictor in determining health outcomes of individuals. Although previous studies have found links between personality traits and health, less is known about more process-oriented personality constructs, such as goals and self-regulatory strategies as linkages between traits and health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to explore the dynamic linkages of personality and health by examining how daily health-goal progress is associated with daily positive and negative affect as well as whether the association between health-goal progress and positive and negative affect can be predicted by personality traits of neuroticism and conscientiousness. Main research questions are: 1) Are daily positive and negative affect associated with daily health-goal progress? 2) To what extent are the traits of neuroticism and conscientiousness related to the overall levels of daily health-goal progress over a 100-day time period? 3) Do neuroticism and conscientiousness moderate the relationships between daily positive affect and daily health-goal progress as well as between negative affect and daily health-goal progress? This study was guided by developmental systems theory (Ford & Lerner, 1992) and the six-foci model of personality (Hooker & McAdams, 2003). This study utilized data from the "Personal Understanding of Life and Social Experiences" (PULSE) project that was a 100 day internet-based, daily study of Oregon residents over the age of 50. The sample for this study (N = 76) included participants who have participated at both baseline (initial survey) and the microlongitudinal phase (over 100 days). Personal health goals, neuroticism, and conscientiousness were measured at baseline. Daily health-goal progress, daily positive affect, and negative affect were measured over 100 days. Multilevel modeling analysis was used to examine within-person variations and between-person differences in daily health-goal progress and daily positive and negative affect by estimating an intercept (initial status) and slope (change) for each individual. The results of this study show that first, daily health-goal progress was positively coupled with daily positive affect and negatively coupled with daily negative affect within persons. Second, the associations between daily positive affect and daily health-goal progress and between daily negative affect and daily health-goal progress varied between individuals. Third, health-goal progress on the previous day was positively related to concurrent positive affect and negatively related to concurrent negative affect. Fourth, individuals high in neuroticism and individuals high in conscientiousness were only marginally likely to experience higher levels of health-goal progress over the 100-day period compared to those with low scores. Fifth, individuals high in neuroticism when experiencing high levels of negative affect tended to report lower levels of daily health-goal progress. These findings may provide enhanced knowledge of patterns of day-to-day variability within persons and lead to better health care. Moreover, the findings of the current study suggest that health-improving interventions could be targeted individually to participants based on knowledge of the linkages between daily goal progress and daily affect and personality traits. Ultimately, the personality of older adults may act as risk factors and/or protective factors in the processes of aging during the second half of life.Graduation date: 2013
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Reddy, Tarryn Marisca. "The feasibility of including Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAEs) in the annual medical surveillance test battery for the identification of noise-induced hearing loss in a group of workers in a beverage manufacturing industry." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/10135.
Full textAbstract:
The study investigated the feasibility of including DPOAEs in the annual medical surveillance test battery for the identification of NIHL in a group of employees in a manufacturing industry in KwaZulu-Natal. Feasibility was investigated by exploring the sensitivity, specificity and predictive efficiency of DPOAEs, the ability of DPOAEs to detect subtle noise-induced cochlea
changes, the test-retest reliability of DPOAEs and lastly, the duration of time taken to conduct the DPOAE test bilaterally. A cross-sectional and repeated measures within-in participant design was utilized in the study. A purposive convenience sampling technique was used, as well as a
stratified sampling approach in order to realize objective two of the study. The study consisted of 60 participants, which were further stratified into four test groups, i.e. Group A: 0-3 years, Group B: 3.1-6 years and Group C: 6.1-9 years and Group D: 9.1-13 years of working within the beverage manufacturing industry. A high sensitivity and negative predictive value was reported in the current study, suggesting that DPOAEs may be able to identify those who present with subtle cochlea changes as a result of exposure to occupational noise. The sensitivity of DPOAEs was 100% at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8kHz in the right ear and at 4 and 6kHz in the left ear. The specificity of DPOAEs in the current study ranged between 55%-97% across the frequency range in the right ear and 49%-88% in the left ear. A negative predictive value of 100% was obtained bilaterally across the frequency range, except at 8kHz in the left ear. Visual inspection of the DPgram in the current study revealed a bilateral reduction in DPOAE amplitudes for all test groups in the high frequency region of the DP-Gram, namely, 5477Hz and 7303Hz, in the absence of a statistically significant difference (p>0.05). A greater frequency range appears to be affected in
this group of workers, indicating that the type of noise, namely, impulse noise, may result in cochlea changes. Corresponding changes on the pure tone audiogram were not observed, however, noise notch configurations were observed for the groups with a longer history of noise exposure. This was not seen bilaterally as is typically expected with NIHL. Good test-retest
reliability across the frequency range obtained in the current study further indicates the feasibility of including DPOAEs in the annual medical surveillance test battery. Additionally, the current study calculated an average of 86 seconds (1 minute 26 seconds) to conduct the DPOAE
test bilaterally, confirming that DPOAEs are a quick test to administer. The findings of this study suggest that DPOAEs may be used to monitor early subtle noise-induced cochlea changes for workers exposed to noise in the beverage manufacturing industry as part of the annual medical
surveillance test battery.Thesis (M.Comm.Path.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2013.
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Kark, Maureen. "The long-term weight maintenance narratives of women following their participation in an integrative, transactional analysis, non-diet programme." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/22282.
Full textAbstract:
Text in EnglishIn order to address the paucity of knowledge in regard to the psychological and physiological processes associated with lifelong weight loss (>20 years), this study adopts a qualitative approach informed by phenomenology to explore the experience of lifelong weight loss and maintenance of women who participated in the ITAND Programme. The research questions guiding the exploration of the current research are: (i) Which strategies from the ITAND Programme do women perceive as assisting with initial weight loss? (ii) What are the processes mediating lifelong weight loss? (iii) What strategies and skills mediate the maintenance of lifelong weight loss? (iv) What feelings or beliefs motivate women to continue attempts to lose weight after experiencing multiple failures on diets? and (v) Which psychological, cognitive and behavioural processes are identified as mediating lifelong weight loss? Eight overweight and obese women were invited to write their narratives and engage in interviews in regard to exploring their relationships with food, their bodies and their weight, after a period of more than 20 years following their participation in an integrative, transactional analysis, anti-diet programme (the ITAND Programme). Narratives were used to explore their beliefs about constructs, processes and strategies mediating long-term weight loss maintenance. The participants’ narratives and interviews were analysed through applying narrative analysis and interpretive phenomenological analysis. In addition to a non-diet paradigm, four processes definingweight loss maintenance were identified, including the adult learning process of transformative learning, the psychological process of transactional analysis, the physiological process of intuitive eating and the cognitive-behavioural processes relating to weight loss maintenance. This study contributes an integrative, transactional analysis, non-diet treatment model (ITAND model) which is enabled by the processes of transformative learning, intuitive eating and cognitive-behaviour modification to the successful long- term treatment of overweight and obesity. This model may be applied in whole or in part in a primary health care or community context. The findings of this study may be used to inform future research into the development and implementation of non-diet weight loss maintenance interventions in the treatment of overweight andobesity.
Psychology
D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)