2014 MU theses - Access restricted to UM
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Item Etiological teleosemantics and theories of nonconceptual content(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014) Swerling, David; Melnyk, Andrew[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Within the philosophy of mind, discourse regarding the relation between human thought and its objects refers to ‘intentional content’, the information conveyed by mental states to a subject. A broad and intuitive distinction has standardly been made between two kinds of intentional content; ‘conceptual content’ is that conveyed by states of rational reflection (such as beliefs), whereas ‘nonconceptual content’ is that conveyed by states of perceptual awareness (such as visual experience.) An ongoing debate in the philosophy of perception is whether this intuitive distinction reflects merely a difference in the theoretical terminology applied to two contexts of representation, or rather points to a metaphysically significant difference in kind between the information conveyed by each representational system. In ‘Etiological Teleosemantics and Theories of Nonconceptual Mental Content’, I apply the teleosemantic theory pioneered by Ruth Garrett Millikan to the conceptualist/nonconceptualist debate, arguing that teleosemantics provides an independently plausible account of mental representation which also undermines any motivation for strong nonconceptualism.Item The applied usage and modeling of activated carbon storage systems(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014) Bick, Paul; Suppes, Galen J.[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Storage of natural gas by adsorption or Adsorbed Natural Gas (ANG) has the potential to emerge as a viable option to relieve a major share of the transportation industry’s energy needs. However in spite of the many advantages associated with ANG storage methods over liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) there are some design concerns that must be properly addressed on the performance of charge and discharge cycles on and ANG system. One major problem with ANG technologies is the thermal effects during adsorption and desorption phenomena as it tends to have a negative effect on storage capacities. At the level of the storage bed, the release of significant heat during adsorption and cooling during desorption has detrimental effects on the performance of the storage system. Hence, in order to design an ANG storage system, the vessel’s heat and mass transfer properties must be carefully managed and controlled to maximize the performance of the bed. With the intentions of improving the understanding of the mass and energy transport within the ANG storage system, a 1D model was developed as a means to simulate charging and discharge cycles within the ANG tank. A major innovation from current literature in ANG is the use of parametric studies to effectively model mass and energy transfer in a commercial bus or commercial truck fleets. Predictable daily routes of these vehicles would make the use of ANG very favorable for managing the thermal effects during the operating conditions during both charging and discharging. Various usage scenarios and parameters are used to monitor mass and energy transfer and tank cycling within the system as a part of daily usage scenarios. Adsorbent materials, thermodynamic properties for carbon bed are also quantitatively measured from experimental uptake data for methane on ALL-CRAFT activated carbons at temperatures ranging from 223-298 K and pressures up to 700 psia to analyze the ability of ALL-CRAFT carbons in these usage scenarios. Employing the proposed simulations and thermodynamic approaches, this thesis examines the theoretical framework for adsorption applying fundamentals of adsorption and desorption for the charge and discharge processes of an ANG storage system for understanding the behaviors of natural gas in an ANG vessel.Item Investigation of portable nuclear power systems(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014) O'Donnell, Eugene F.; Bernards, Matthew T.[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Energy needs for modern society are an ever-changing and complex problem. One of the most diverse areas of energy needs is portable energy generation. Many electronic devices do not simply plug into the power grid, due to their size, use, or distance from infrastructure. The use of nuclear power is well-established in large-scale power production, but mostly unutilized in small-scale applications. One potential candidate for small-scale power production would be the use of tritium as a power supply for betavoltaic batteries. Such a battery could last for years without need of maintenance, and be small enough to be carried around by a person. An experiment was designed to use a GE PETtrace cyclotron to synthesize a tritium power source using LiC6 as a starting material. Another small-scale nuclear power system option is the use of thorium as a fuel for a subcritical Energy Amplification device. This would use a particle accelerator to generate neutrons, which would breed and fission U-233 to produce power. Initial simulations were done using TRITON as a simulation package to determine its viability for more complex simulations. The results indicate that it is possible to produce a tritium-based power source using LiC[subscript 6] and a cyclotron. Furthermore, TRITON simulations yield results that are logical and promising for future simulations.Item The influence of nanofiller particle size and surface treatment on dental composite(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014) Ji, Mengqi; Li, Hao, 1975-[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] In the present study, the effect of the size-scale combination of silica on the mechanical and optical properties of acrylate-based (50% BisEMA and 50% UDMA by weight) composites is examined, with the aim of investigating and optimizing the properties of nano-sized particle-filled composites typically used in restorative dentistry. Three classes of light-cured composites were prepared with various size-scale combinations of silica (7 nm + 0.7 [micro]m; 12 nm + 0.7 [micro]m; 40 nm + 0.7 [micro]m) as the filler. The weight fraction of fillers was 60 wt%, and the weight fraction of fumed silica ranged from 1 wt% to 9 wt%, with an increment of 2 wt% and two more group with 0 wt% as contro and 4 wt% as additional contrast. The flexural strength and Vickers hardness were characterized as mechanical properties. The microstructure of the fractured surfaces of samples were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The characterizations showed a well and even dispersion. For each nano-sized fumed silicaincorporated composite, there is a relatively optimal weight percentage range and surface treatment parameter to yield ideal flexural strength. In general, adding fumed silica increased the hardness. 7 nm reinforced composites with 4 wt% had the highest surface hardness with about a 35% increase. The optical properties were investigated on a VITA Easyshade compact spectrophotometer. Based on the CIELAB system, larger particles incorporated into a composite tended to make the sample brighter, yellower and greener. In terms of translucency parameter, particle size did not dramatically influence the translucency parameter. Higher weight percentage of fumed silica yielded a lower translucency parameter and opaque material. In general, adding fumed silica increased viscosity. Small particles and higher weight percentage yielded higher viscosity.Item The psychological effects of star rating numeracy cues and customer review feedback on information processing of electronic word-of-mouth(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014) Ledo, Courtney Robinette; Rodgers, Shelly (Shelly Lannette), 1965-[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This 2x3x2 factorial experiment examined the psychological effects of star rating numeracy cues and customer review feedback of online consumer product reviews on attitude toward the review, attitude toward the reviewer, perceived usefulness of the review and purchase intent. The literature nearly exclusively focuses on eWOM as a static form of promotion, but this research treats eWOM as a dynamic process. The Internet has enabled consumers to return to product reviews they previously wrote and update their opinions based on product use by making changes to the star rating and narrative information. Overall, the study found that reviews with high star ratings generate more positive attitudes toward the review and reviewer, as well as higher purchase intent, but were found to be less useful than reviews with low star ratings. Dynamic positive reviews generated more positive attitudes toward the review and reviewer, as well as higher purchase intent, but static reviews were found to be more useful than either form of dynamic review. This research adds to existing eWOM research by examining the impact of this dynamic process on consumer attitudes and purchase behaviors. This research also has practical applications for retailers who are still attempting to understand and leverage eWOM's influence on consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions.