Surface finish optimization by modification of milling cutter parameters.

This work presents the results of a series of tests undertaken to improve the mill cutting process of the finish milling station used to machine the sprocket face of an aluminum transmission housing. The tests were performed using the actual high volume, transfer line machinery. A series of twenty optimization tests were performed to understand the effects of spindle speed, feedrate, tool path, depth of cut and cutter rotation. It was determined that the optimized machining process improved the average roughness micro finish readings by 32% and 65% in the two areas of concern on the sprocket face. This was accomplished using a milling cutter that was originally producing inferior part quality with baseline parameters. It was found that the optimized process produced an acceptable micro finish of the sprocket face surface throughout the life of the milling cutter, a significant improvement from previous performance. To better understand the structural response of the complex work piece, a finite element analysis model was used to understand predicted deflections when various machining parameters were altered. Modal analysis was performed on the work piece to understand the frequency response functions to form a basis of the natural frequency characteristics of the work piece. This analysis indicated a natural frequency conflict with the second order of tooth passing frequency. This work outlines several techniques that can be used to optimize a machining process with minimal disruption to the manufacturing process.Dept. of Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2001 .P69. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 40-03, page: 0735. Adviser: Robert Gaspar. Thesis (M.A.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2001

School sport and political change

Magister Educationis - MEdThis dissertation will attempt to explain the changes that have and are taking place within south African sport and especially school sport. This will be viewed in the context of changing political developments. The central question that will be addressed is whether progressive school sports bodies can effect meaningful political change. Kuhn's theory of scientific revolutions will be used as the theoretical framework for understanding social and political change. He developed the concept of paradigms (frame of .reference) in which an established paradigm prevails, challenged by an emerging rival paradigm. This theory has been applied to the present day south African political context in which the apartheid structure is the prevailing paradigm and the democratic movement, the emerging rival paradigm

The remembering–imagining system

Remembering and imagining are intricately related, particularly in imagining the future: episodic future thinking. It is proposed that remembering the recent past and imagining the near future take place in what we term the remembering–imagining system. The remembering–imagining system renders recently formed episodic memories and episodic imagined near-future events highly accessible. We suggest that this serves the purpose of integrating past, current, and future goal-related activities. When the remembering–imagining system is compromised, following brain damage and in psychological illnesses, the future cannot be effectively imagined and episodic future thinking may become dominated by dysfunctional images of the future

Duty to God/my Dharma/Allah/Waheguru: diverse youthful religiosities and the politics and performance of informal worship

This article was published in the journal, Social and Cultural Geography [© Taylor & Francis] and the definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2012.698749This paper draws on a case study of the Scout Movement in the UK to explore the everyday, informal expressions of ‘worship’ by young people that occur outside of ‘designated’ religious spaces and the politics of these performances over time. In analysing the explicit geographies of how young people in UK scouting perform their ‘duty to God’ (or Dharma and so forth), it is argued that a more expanded concept of everyday and embodied worship is needed. This paper also attends to recent calls for more critical historical geographies of religion, drawing on archival data to examine the organisation's relationship with religion over time and in doing so contributes new insights into the production of youthful religiosities and re-thinking their designated domains

Knowledge development approaches and breakthrough innovations in technology-based new firms

Compared to large established firms, technology-based new firms (TBNF) seem well placed to produce breakthrough innovations although questions remain as to their adeptness at subsequent exploitation. Building on the innovation and strategy literatures, the study identifies two different knowledge development approaches or modes (business models) in TBNFs – internal versus external - and examines their relation to breakthrough innovation and subsequent progression of the product to market. The internal mode assembles knowledge inside the firm to generate its innovations, whereas the external mode relies heavily on alliances to develop and assemble knowledge among firms embedded in a creative network. The study uses a unique panel dataset of 69 UK new biotechnology firms over an 11-year period to explore this issue empirically. The findings show that the external knowledge development mode is associated with more breakthrough innovations and a faster movement of innovations to market. The externally focused mode is not impeded by its relative lack of internal knowledge; it uses partners to access, assemble and develop a wide scope of knowledge in a flexible manner. In addition, partners provide deep domain expertise to undertake the requisite deep-dives. In contrast, the internal mode has the huge challenge of assembling knowledge resources internally and suffers from a quicker onset of path dependence that impedes the generation of breakthroughs. This study provides a choice of business models (internal or external) that is associated with different breakthrough and speed to market performance outcomes. Going forward, policy makers and managers seeking breakthrough innovations and speedy progression of the innovations to market should consider the potential resource efficiency of the external mode and the vital role played by collaborations – small firm versus large firm and private versus public entities

Technological knowledge base, R&D organization structure and alliance formation: Evidence from the biopharmaceutical industry

We explore how an incumbent firm's internal knowledge and organization structure influences its strategic alliance formation. We propose that the firm's knowledge breadth and the centrality of its R&D organization structure positively influence its absorptive capacity, and consequently, its propensity to form strategic alliances. We also argue that the centrality of the R&D organization structure may be a substitute for the breadth of the knowledge base. We validate our ideas using data on 2647 strategic alliances formed over the period of 1993–2002 by 43 major biopharmaceutical firms in the U.S. and Europe. Our discussion focuses on the application of the knowledge-based view of the firm to strategic alliance research. The implications for public policy in the biopharmaceutical industry are also emphasized

Knowledge integration using product R&D outsourcing in biotechnology

We build on systems integration literature to explain how and why knowledge integration of non-modular products is based on a strategic choice between internalizing and outsourcing core R&D. The under-researched choice of outsourcing core R&D on an on-going basis appears to face risks of higher transactions costs and loss of control. We illuminate these choices in a comparative analysis of two longitudinal cases that compare an internally focused R&D intensive firm and an externally focused R&D intensive firm; and we show how the externally focused approach can avoid risks by framing non-modular outsourcing as modular even though it is not so and by engaging in a social process of communication to achieve a common agreement between partners concerning the direction of efforts and thus effectively reduce highly iterative knowledge exchange between modules. Our findings add to our understanding of the systems integration literature; the nature of firm product system strategies, as well as firm boundaries in a knowledge economy

The Influence of Technological Knowledge Base and Organizational Structure on Technology Collaboration

This study investigates how an incumbent company's internal characteristics influence its propensity to form learning alliances. A firm may be reluctant to enter a research alliance when it has deep knowledge in a certain technological field due to concerns about knowledge leakage and the low possibility of being able to learn much from collaboration. On the contrary, when the firm has a broad knowledge base, it may have high propensity to enter alliances due to more self-confidence in its ability to learn fast from partners. In addition, we argue that when a firm concentrates its R&D at a central location, this neutralizes the positive and negative influences of the two knowledge base features on alliance formation. We tested and found support for the hypotheses using a database of 1550 alliances undertaken by 78 large incumbent pharmaceutical, chemical, and agro-food companies active in the biotechnology sector during 1993–2002