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A Discourse Analysis of Mahfouz's Attitude to Women and to Religion: A Translation Perspective
No full textA Master of Arts thesis in Translation and Interpreting MATI (English/Arabic/English) by Asrar A. Al Naeem entitled, "A Discourse Analysis of Mahfouz's Attitude to Women and to Religion: A Translation Perspective," submitted in April 2016. Thesis advisor is Dr. Basil Hatim. Soft and hard copy available.This study aims to investigate the issues related to translating literary work from Arabic into English. In particular, it focuses on the theory of foreignization and domestication. Two main ideological perspectives are investigated: the reference to religion and the reference to women. The data are drawn from three novels by Naguib Mahfouz: قصر الشوق Palace of Desire (1957), أولاد حارتنا Children of Gabalawi (1959), and الحرافيش Alharafish (1994). The religious expressions are classified into four main categories: Holy Quran verses and Prophet Muhammad's hadith, idiomatic expressions with reference to religion, supplication, and miscellaneous. The reference to women section highlights the main female character and the way women are addressed and referred to in the novels. The findings of the study indicate that translators of the novels are in favor of foreignization over domestication, while dealing with religious expressions and reference to women. This finding can be attributed to several reasons. The fact that translators are concerned about the different interpretations that such expressions may present could force them to rely on the safest method in translation: foreignization. Another reason is the tendency, on the part of the translators, to faithfully preserve the cultural and ideological images reflected in such religious and cultural expressions.College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Arabic and Translation StudiesMaster of Arts in English/Arabic/English Translation and Interpreting (MATI
Reliability Centered Maintenance Actions Prioritization Using Fuzzy Inference Systems
No full textReliability centered maintenance (RCM) is a systematic maintenance philosophy/approach used to analyze system's performance in terms of the impact of a potential failure and select the most efficient maintenance tasks along with their timings in order to mitigate failures risks. In this paper, a comprehensive RCM actions prioritization method is proposed using four criteria: severity, benefit to cost ratio, customer satisfaction, and easiness of action implementation. The method utilizes fuzzy inference system (FIS) to incorporate subject matter experts feedback into the decision making process. The output of the FIS, which takes the form of a numerical weight that assesses the relative importance of each criterion, is then fed into a binary integer program (BIP) that selects the optimal maintenance actions out of a set of possible actions. A real life example of a hydraulic brake system is also provided to illustrate the proposed methodology
Contactless Power Transfer (CPT) System in Electric Vehicles (EV’s)
Get PDFA poster submitted in ENG 207 taught by Dr. David Prescott for the Fall 2016 semester.The usage of Electric Vehicles (EV’s) is increasing in European countries because of the low tax rates for low-emission vehicles in these nations. However, the inconvenient charging procedures associated with EV’s have always discouraged consumers from buying and using EV’s regularly. Charging of an EV requires the car to be stationary for at least 4 hours. Therefore, current manufacturers of EV’s are trying to somehow improve EV’s in order to make them more easy to handle for people
Structural Behavior of Strand Reinforced Concrete Members without Prestressing
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Civil Engineering by Alaa Maher Al Hawarneh entitled, "Structural Behavior of Strand Reinforced Concrete Members without Prestressing," submitted in December 2016. Thesis advisor is Dr. Sami Tabsh. Soft and hard copy available.One way to reduce the large amount of steel present in reinforced concrete members that are subjected to high loads is to use high strength materials. In this study, use of high strength steel, seven-wire strands with tensile strength of 1860 MPa instead of mild steel rebars, is explored as longitudinal reinforcement in concrete beams and columns without prestressing. The use of such reinforcement is not addressed in design codes since the idea is new. Thus, appropriate strength reduction factors with high strength reinforcement is not established. The stress-strain relationship for the high strength steel strands does not have a clear yield point and lacks adequate ductility compared with conventional mild steel with yield strength less than 520 MPa. The study addresses the issue through both experimental tests and computational studies. The experimental program considers eight flexural tests of 2.2 m long beams subjected to 2-point loading, another six flexural tests of 1.7 m short beams subjected to a single point load, and four axial compression tests of 1 m tall columns. The variables considered in the study are the steel reinforcement ratio, compressive strength of the concrete, and loading condition. The experimental results showed that the load-deflection relationship for strand reinforced beams is much different than that for rebar reinforced beams. Both the stiffness prior to steel yielding and the ductility in the high strength steel beams are lower than in the mild steel beams. These findings were closely predicted by the theoretical part of the study that involved modeling the concrete by the Thornfeldt model and the steel by an elasto-plastic relationship. The correlation between steel strain and curvature ductility for strand reinforced sections is used to predict new strain limits for compression-controlled and tension-controlled regions to achieve similar ductility as the mild steel reinforced sections. The new strain limits for Grade 1860 MPa steel for compression-controlled and tension-controlled sections are 0.01 and 0.02, respectively. The limited tests conducted on columns showed that the strength of strand reinforced columns is about 10% lower than the theoretical prediction for ideal conditions by the code, with no appreciable effect on ductility.College of EngineeringDepartment of Civil EngineeringMaster of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE
Produced Water Treatment Using Naturally Abundant Pomegranate Peel
No full textPomegranate peel powder (PPP) was employed as a low cost adsorbent for the removal of crude oil from simulated produced water (SPW). The effect of contact time, adsorbent dosage, pH, as well as temperature on the efficiency of oil removal was investigated. The optimum parameters for oil removal were: pH 9.5, adsorbent dose = 2.33 g/L, contact time = 50.0 min, and adsorption temperature = 55.0°C. The results showed that as the adsorbent dosage, pH, and salinity of SPW were increased, the removal efficiency increased. The adsorption of crude oil by PPP was found to follow the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, with adsorption capacity of 555 mg/g. The adsorption kinetics of crude oil are best described by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, with a rate constant of 3.75 × 10−4 g/mg h. These results render PPP as an excellent adsorbent for the removal of oil from produced water with an efficiency exceeding 92% in 50 min
Novel method for water purification using activated adsorbents developed from sewage sludge
No full textSewage sludge from Dubai was characterized using inductively coupled plasma and CHN elemental analysis. Selected sludge samples were washed with deionized water until constant conductivity was achieved. The sludge samples (washed and unwashed) were carbonized at 680°C in a semi-static steam environment that was self-generated inside a homemade reaction chamber and with the absence of any external flow. The carbonized materials were then activated by impregnation with sodium hydroxide at 3:1 mass ratio followed by thermal treatment at 680°C in the presence of water. The activated products were characterized using SEM/EDS, CHN elemental analysis, and sorption of nitrogen. The results showed that washing the sludge prior to the carbonization step significantly enhanced the surface area of the final activated product. Activation efficiencies were lower than the carbonization efficiencies. The surface area of the activated adsorbent developed from the washed sludge was 1,552 m2/g compared to 1,182 m2/g of the unwashed sample. Pore size distribution showed slight shift to higher average pore size in the washed sample. The activated adsorbent with the highest surface area was then evaluated for the adsorption of lead. The adsorption capacity of the activated product for lead removal was determined using Toth isotherm. The maximum adsorption capacity for the activated washed sludge was found to be 95 mg/g. The energy contents of the washed raw sludge and the tar by-products that were produced during the carbonization process were found to be 14.8 and 38.1 kJ/g, respectively
Effect of Diverse Seismic Hazard Estimates on Performance and Overall Cost of RC Shear Wall Buildings in Dubai, UAE
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Civil Engineering by Nader Essam Aly entitled, "Effect of Diverse Seismic Hazard Estimates on Performance and Overall Cost of RC Shear Wall Buildings in Dubai, UAE," submitted in January 2016. Thesis advisor is Dr. Mohammad AlHamaydeh. Soft and hard copy available.During the last two decades or so, many iconic buildings have been built in Dubai as a result of the rapid economic growth. Unfortunately, several probabilistic seismic hazard studies are reporting substantially diverse estimates for Dubai seismicity. Additionally, the current minimum requirements of Dubai municipality are based on the 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC'97) with a seismic zone that was recently upgraded following an earthquake in 2013. The aim of this research is to investigate and quantify the impact of the seismic design level on the structural performance and overall cost of contemporary RC Shear wall buildings in Dubai. Twelve reference buildings with heights varying from 6 to 12 stories are designed and detailed following 2012 International Building Code (IBC'12) standards. The buildings are designed with special/ordinary Reinforced Concrete (RC) shear walls for three seismicity levels representing the range of possible estimates in Dubai, namely the high, moderate and low estimates. The seismic performance of the reference buildings is evaluated using pseudo-static nonlinear (push-over) analysis as well as Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA). The nonlinear simulation is performed using fully detailed finite element models for the reference buildings. Construction cost and earthquake losses are evaluated and compared for the reference buildings in order to arrive at solid conclusions and sound recommendations. It is found that medium-rise and high-rise RC shear wall buildings are susceptible to significant higher-mode effects. Hence, the current design practice is recommended to account for and consider higher-mode effects and ultimately, trade-off between performance and cost. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that designing for a more conservative (high) seismic hazard level yields substantial enhancements in the overall structural performance. The resulting enhancements in seismic performance are found to outweigh the apparent increase in initial investment by significantly reducing repair and downtime costs. Finally, even when the use of ordinary RC shear walls is permitted by design code (at low seismicity levels), the utilization of special RC shear walls substantially improves the structural response. This structural response improvement is associated with marginal impact on initial investment and a noticeable reduction in repair and down time costs.College of EngineeringDepartment of Civil EngineeringMaster of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE
Personalizing Group Instruction Using Knowledge Space Theory and Clustering Techniques
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Engineering Systems Management by Rim S. Zakaria entitled, "Personalizing Group Instruction Using Knowledge Space Theory and Clustering Techniques," submitted in May 2016. Thesis advisor is Dr. Imran A. Zualkernan. Soft and hard copy available.In the competitive market today, availability of appropriate skills and competencies that are aligned with an organization's objectives and that contribute to the organization's long-term success and survival is not always guaranteed. Lack of such alignment leads to a Skill Gap. A Skill Gap is the gap between an organization's current capabilities and the skills the employees must have to achieve an organization's goals. This is especially true for engineering companies where the half-life of knowledge is relatively short. One cause of Skill Gap is inefficient and standardized training programs. Due to high costs, most training programs are not personalized, and deliver generic training to employees which may not be very effective in addressing individual or group Skill Gaps. This thesis explores personalizing and optimizing the content delivery decisions made by workforce trainers and instructors. The proposed approach is data driven and combines a set-theoretic framework called the Knowledge Space Theory (KST) with analytic techniques like cluster analysis. In specific, K-Means, DBSCAN and EM clustering techniques are used in conjunction with KST to cluster learners based on currently acquired skills, and on skills they are ready to acquire next. These clusters of learners can be used to design personalized training/instructional programs. Various internal measures like Compactness, Separation, Dunn Index, and Davies-Bouldin Index, and external measures like Purity, Entropy, Normalized Mutual Information, and Adjusted Random Index are used to compare alternative clustering techniques. Sensitivity analysis was also carried out. In general, K-Means seems to perform better than DBSCAN and EM for this type of data. However, there is no systematic preference between prior learning as opposed to affordance for future learning to cluster data.College of EngineeringDepartment of Industrial EngineeringMaster of Science in Engineering Systems Management (MSESM
Targeting the Folate Receptor: Effects of Conjugating Folic Acid to DOX Loaded Polymeric Micelles
No full textIn this paper, we report on a potential cancer drug delivery system that utilizes the ligand targeting of the folate receptor. Our drug delivery system consists of Pluronic-P105 micelles, targeted with folic acid moieties. A melanoma folate positive (FR+) (B16-F10), and a fibroblast folate negative (FR-) (NIH-3T3) cell lines are used to compare the cellular accumulation of a chemotherapeutic drug (Doxorubicin) when the delivery is mediated by folated Pluronic P105 micelles. In order to obtain a proper comparison, we corrected for the quenching of Doxorubicin by folic acid molecules and illustrated the significant effect of quenching on the analysis of similar systems. Results show an 80% increase in the accumulation of the antineoplastic agent in the FR+ cell line, when compared to the FR- cell line, thus providing evidence that the efficacy of Pluronic micelles, as drug delivery vehicles, can be enhanced via folic acid targeting