History, Nationalism, and Public Opinion: The Memorialization of George Mason

The George Mason Memorial , built on the National Mall in 2002, captures the accomplishments of George Mason, a Founding Father, author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, and he refused to sign the U.S. Constitution. Identifying Mason\u27s history and exploring the motivations and struggles of the creation of the memorial opens a conversation for public opinion regarding the memorial\u27s physical manifestation. The height of the Jefferson Memorial, the height of the George Washington obelisk, and the beauty of the Lincoln Memorial is seen as a testament of their god-like status in American history. So, where does this leave Mason’s memorial? Is he a lowly and personable figure like the rest of us, or a figure intentionally left out of the spotlight? This project attempts to answer this question by connecting theories of memorialization and primary documents from the Gunston Hall library, Mason\u27s home. The theories include Seth C. Bruggeman\u27s construction of nationalism and individual interest, David Gobel and Dave Rossell\u27s theory of a rich past and a reflective present, and Nathan Glazer and Cynthia R. Field\u27s organic demonstration and manufactured aesthetic. The three theories, the published newspaper and journal articles of the memorial\u27s opening date, and the reports and personal notes taken by First Regent of Gunston Hall, and Senator Charles Robb are connected in their attempt to find an answer. The narrow focus of the project is used to understand how American\u27s utilize public space and select historical figures to memorialize

Quantitative 3D reconstruction of porous polymers using FIB-SEM tomography -correlating materials structures to properties of coatings for controlled drug release

Porous networks are found in a wide range of different advanced and technologically important materials and influence the materials properties. The networks are active components in for example batteries, food and pharmaceuticals. The interconnectivity of a network strongly influences the transport properties. One example is polymer film coatings for controlled drug release where the porous network acts as a transport path for drugs. The correlation between the detailed structure of the network and the transport properties illustrates the importance of quantifying the interconnectivity in 3D. One approach to image material in 3D is sequential imaging (tomography). Examples of tomography techniques are confocal laser scanning microscopy, x-ray and neutron tomography where the spatial resolution is limited to the micrometre length scale. Transmission electron microscopy tomography and focused ion beam (FIB) combined scanning electron microscope (SEM) tomography are examples of techniques with higher spatial resolution ranging from micrometre to sub-nanometre. In this work the focus is on the understanding of the correlation between the structure and materials properties of phase-separated polymer film coatings used for controlled drug release. We acquired high spatial 3D resolution data on microporous ethyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl cellulose film coatings using FIB-SEM tomography. The tomography was performed after the water soluble hydroxypropyl cellulose phase had been removed leaving a porous network providing a transport path for the drug. We optimised the FIB-SEM parameters and established a generic protocol for porous and poorly conducting materials in order to overcome challenges such as redeposition, curtaining, shadowing effects, charging and sub-surface information due to the pores. In addition, a new self-learning segmentation algorithm was introduced to enable an automatic separation between pores and matrix. The quantification of the porous network was carried out by determining the pore size distribution, tortuosity and interconnectivity. As a final step, diffusion simulations were performed on the FIB-SEM data and correlated with experimentally measured permeability

Post-operative cranial pressure monitoring system

System for monitoring of fluidic pressures in cranial cavity uses a miniaturized pressure sensing transducer, combined with suitable amplification means, a meter with scale calibrated in terms of pressures between minus 100 and plus 900 millimeters of water, and a miniaturized chart recorder covering similar range of pressures

Materials Handling in Production Systems: Design and Performance of Kit Preparation

This thesis focuses on processes for kit preparation, which are applied with the materials supply principle of kitting in production systems for mixed-model assembly. With kitting, assembly processes are supplied with portions of pre-sorted components, and each portion makes up a kit that holds the components needed for one assembly object at one or several assembly processes. When kitting is applied, picking activities, which are otherwise performed at assembly processes, are instead carried out in a process for kit preparation. Kit preparation involves collecting components designated for a particular assembly object into a single unit load that is delivered to assembly.Kitting is widely seen as beneficial for quality and flexibility in assembly processes when there are a large variety of components. Performance effects in assembly processes normally associated with kitting largely depend on the performance of kit preparation. Previous research indicates that a picking system’s design greatly impacts its performance. While research that has dealt with kit preparation points out several design aspects that can affect its performance, the available knowledge is far from exhaustive. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge of how kit preparation design aspects govern kit preparation performance.Case research, experiments, and modelling have been used to study how flexibility, kit quality and man-hour efficiency are affected by kit preparation design aspects related to work organisation, layout, policies, packaging, equipment, picking information, automation and control. Two case research studies respectively address kit preparation flexibility and kit quality, identifying how kit preparation design aspects can be configured to support these two performance areas. Two experiments focus on how picking information systems and confirmation methods affect kit preparation man-hour efficiency. One modelling study focuses on how collaborative robots can support man-hour efficient kit preparation. Through involvement in three research projects and an extensive review of the literature, this research has been guided by the needs of industry and by previously established knowledge.This thesis contributes to theory and to practice in the form of knowledge about relationships between kit preparation design aspects and the performance areas flexibility, kit quality and manhour efficiency. The theoretical contribution consists of building upon and underpinning the limitedknowledge about the topic that has been previously available, while also adding new knowledge. This includes, for example, glasses with integrated computer displays, RFID-scanning wristbands, and collaborative robots, and how they are linked to kit preparation performance. The practical contribution consists of concise yet holistic descriptions of relationships between kit preparation design and performance, which industry can readily adopt with some consideration to the situation’s characteristics