Novel Sustainable Polymers Derived from Renewable Rosin and Fatty Acids

In the work of this dissertation, polymers derived from renewable bio-based resources prepared by various polymerization techniques were investigated. The properties of these polymeric materials were characterized and discussed. Rosin was first converted into acrylate or methacrylate monomers for atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Second, rosin was combined with vegetable oil to produce completely renewable novel polyesters by acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization. Third, degradable block copolymers were synthesized composed of polycaprolactone and rosin grafted polycaprolactone with the aid of ring-opening polymerization (ROP). Finally, degradable polyesters were produced using vegetable oil derivatives as starting materials. These new rosin and fatty acid based renewable polymer materials will have potential applications as sustainable thermoplastics, thermoplastic elastomers, etc

Organizational and Developmental Dynamics of Project Review Teams in Technology Environment

This paper is the result of a week long participant observation of a technical project review team within a large organization. A detailed log was maintained during the study and the results were analyzed to understand the relationship of the observations to prior research in organizational dynamics. Some of the existing literature implies that the current research on organizational development may be applicable to entities of various sizes. In some cases the observations from this research fell within the framework of the existing theories. However, alterations must be made to the current theories to apply specifically to small work groups who have specific missions and limited working time frames. Understanding the dynamics of these suborganization may lead to more effective management and result in a higher quality work product

African American Caregivers of Children Affected by Hiv/Aids

The Human Immunodeficiency Disease (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) have reached an epidemic proportion in many African American communities. There is a significant amount of stigma and denial associated with HIV/AIDS in these communities, leaving people with minimal knowledge about this disease. Caretakers such as grandparents, other relatives, and foster parents take on the role of surrogate parents to these children who have lost one or both of their parents to HIV/AIDS. When family members, especially women, die from this disease leaving their offspring behind these children often experience various emotional and behavioral problems. A few of the children in this study turned to drug use as coping mechanism. Not enough financial support was given to support the orphaned children, and most often the caregivers relied on religion to get them through the rough periods. The aim of this research was to describe the day-to-day experiences of these caretakers. Findings from this study revealed that when family members assume the responsibility of these children there are a host of significant problems with the children\u27s development, health of the family, financial stability and external resources

Child Welfare Workers’ Perceptions of the Influence of the Organizational Environment on Permanency Decisions for Families

The findings of this study suggest that while child welfare workers are consistently distracted by competing priorities from unexpected events, most are committed, and to understand perspectives is more inclusive and may improve retention rates. Notably, while it is recognized that permanency decisions are not made in an intellectual, legal or clinical vacuum and certain traditional aspects of the bureaucratic structure do not impact decision making, this study advances the body of knowledge on child welfare decision making. Examined in this study are child welfare case workers’ perceptions of the extent to which the organizational environment influences the permanency decisions they make to reunify or terminate parental rights of children placed out-of-home. This study includes a sample of 95 child welfare social workers employed in three public child welfare agencies in the Baltimore and Washington, DC metropolitan area. It used a cross-sectional research design, employing a survey instrument to examine bureaucratic distraction, role conflict, and supervisory adequacy as contextual factors in the organizational environment\u27s influence on permanency outcome decisions. Implications are made for child welfare policy, practice, and research

Social Learning Theory and the Influence of Male Role Models on African American Children in PROJECT 2000

This study is an assessment of observational learning commonly known as social learning theory of a group of 55 African American students who are participants in a mentoring program known as PROJECT 2000. From first through sixth grades male role models, who were largely African American, were in the classroom as teacher assistants. At the time of the study all student participants were in fifth grade. An interview was conducted featuring a short open-ended questionnaire. Students in PROJECT 2000 had an opportunity to express their feelings about the male role models that worked with them in their classroom. These interviews assisted the researcher towards understanding, how the bonding relationship between the children and the male role models in the classroom, may impact social learning

Synthesis and characterization of maleated rosin‐modified fluorosilicone resin and its fluorosilicone rubber

Imide‐containing vinyl fluorosilicone resin (MR‐VFS) was synthesized from maleated rosin (MR). And then, with MR‐VFS as a new polar cross‐linking agent in a heat curable fluorosilicone rubber composition, a series of maleated rosin‐modified fluorosilicone rubbers (MR‐FSR) were obtained. The effects of MR‐VFS on the mechanical properties, oil resistance, thermal stability, and low‐temperature performance were studied in detail. It was found that MR‐VFS could increase the tearing strength and high‐temperature thermal stability of fluorosilicone rubber. When the MR‐VFS weight content reached to 2 wt %, the tearing strength of MR‐FSR increased by 20.1% compared with that of common fluorosilicone rubber. However, MR‐FSR showed a similar low‐temperature resistance and a little worse oil resistance. The morphological study showed that incorporation of maleated rosin could intensify the microphase separation of fluorosilicone rubber. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41888.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110593/1/app41888-sup-0001-suppinfo01.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110593/2/app41888.pd

A facile and green route to terpene derived acrylate and methacrylate monomers and simple free radical polymerisation to yield new renewable polymers and coatings

We present new acrylic monomers derived directly from abundant naturally available terpenes via a facile, green and catalytic approach. These monomers can be polymerised to create new polymers with a wide range of mechanical properties that positions them ideally for application across the commodity and specialty plastics landscape; from packaging, cosmetic and medical, through to composites and coatings. We demonstrate their utility through formation of novel renewable polymer coatings

Does technology and Innovation Management improve Market Position? Empirical Evidence from Innovating Firms in South Africa

There is a growing recognition of the central role of technology and knowledge management for market success of organizations. Little is empirically know, however, about this relationship. Drawing on the South African Innovation Survey, a unique dataset on innovative behavior of South African firms in manufacturing and services, this paper investigates the question to what extent and in which ways do technology and innovation management activities affect firms’ market position. Findings show that conducting technology strategy activities pays out. Moreover, especially a combination of internal and external technology audits seems to be beneficial for organizational performance