In this thesis, I argue that Christian fundamentalism is a threat to the traditions of religious liberty and the separation of church and state in US liberal democracy. I support this claim by exploring the writings of men who were instrumental in the foundation of the US, concluding that they...
As technologies like 3D printing increase in prevalence and capabilities, having a robot hand specifically designed for a given manipulation task also becomes more feasible. Leading to the question of how to design a robot hand for a specific manipulation task. To answer this question, I propose we need three...
The undisputed cost-effectiveness of the anti-homelessness program “Housing First” is well established in the empirical literature, but fewer studies have considered the impact of the program on individual residents. This mixed-methods study examines the lives of a cohort of residents in a Portland-based Housing First project, seeking to determine whether...
Time studies of logging equipment are important to determine
production rates, calculate logging costs and locate operating inefficiencies. However, using present time study techniques, they are also costly and time consuming to complete. This project will develop a new data gathering and storage technique using the HP-75
portable computer to...
Creating effective packaging is about finding a balance between product protection during shipping and time consumption in the design process. Given time and cost constraints, it is hard to produce sufficiently protective padding while having it not be thicker than it needs to be. This thesis describes a method to...
Most philosophical discussions of moral consideration for animals focus on
animals as a single category, neglecting to differentiate them by type or role (such as
wild, domestic, laboratory, or companion). Moreover, the importance of the individual
animal in terms of relationship to humans is de-emphasised.
Animals should not be discussed...
In order to solve some classic problems in traditional topology optimization, such as unknown material distribution, checker-boarding and curse of dimensionality, this thesis introduces a new method to construct a mechanical structure that can reduce mass and increase stiffness. It uses a graph to represent the skeleton of a structure....
Wildlife behavior is a common research topic in conservation studies; however, the relationship between wildlife behavior and human disturbance, specifically in protected areas, is seldom studied. Previous studies have identified relationships between various different types of behaviors of both humans and wildlife, indicating correlations between avoidance behaviors, habituation, and physiological...
