This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.

In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.

Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.

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Description
Materials with unprecedented properties are necessary to make dramatic changes in current and future aerospace platforms. Hybrid materials and composites are increasingly being used in aircraft and spacecraft frames; however, future platforms will require an optimal design of novel materials that enable operation in a variety of environments and produce

Materials with unprecedented properties are necessary to make dramatic changes in current and future aerospace platforms. Hybrid materials and composites are increasingly being used in aircraft and spacecraft frames; however, future platforms will require an optimal design of novel materials that enable operation in a variety of environments and produce known/predicted damage mechanisms. Nanocomposites and nanoengineered composites with CNTs have the potential to make significant improvements in strength, stiffness, fracture toughness, flame retardancy and resistance to corrosion. Therefore, these materials have generated tremendous scientific and technical interest over the past decade and various architectures are being explored for applications to light-weight airframe structures. However, the success of such materials with significantly improved performance metrics requires careful control of the parameters during synthesis and processing. Their implementation is also limited due to the lack of complete understanding of the effects the nanoparticles impart to the bulk properties of composites. It is common for computational methods to be applied to explain phenomena measured or observed experimentally. Frequently, a given phenomenon or material property is only considered to be fully understood when the associated physics has been identified through accompanying calculations or simulations.

The computationally and experimentally integrated research presented in this dissertation provides improved understanding of the mechanical behavior and response including damage and failure in CNT nanocomposites, enhancing confidence in their applications. The computations at the atomistic level helps to understand the underlying mechanochemistry and allow a systematic investigation of the complex CNT architectures and the material performance across a wide range of parameters. Simulation of the bond breakage phenomena and development of the interface to continuum scale damage captures the effects of applied loading and damage precursor and provides insight into the safety of nanoengineered composites under service loads. The validated modeling methodology is expected to be a step in the direction of computationally-assisted design and certification of novel materials, thus liberating the pace of their implementation in future applications.
ContributorsSubramanian, Nithya (Author) / Chattopadhyay, Aditi (Thesis advisor) / Dai, Lenore (Committee member) / Jiao, Yang (Committee member) / Liu, Yongming (Committee member) / Rajadas, John (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description
With the maturity of advanced composites as feasible structural materials for various applications there is a critical need to solve the challenge of designing these material systems for optimal performance. However, determining superior design methods requires a deep understanding of the material-structure properties at various length scales. Due to the

With the maturity of advanced composites as feasible structural materials for various applications there is a critical need to solve the challenge of designing these material systems for optimal performance. However, determining superior design methods requires a deep understanding of the material-structure properties at various length scales. Due to the length-scale dependent behavior of advanced composites, multiscale modeling techniques may be used to describe the dominant mechanisms of damage and failure in these material systems. With polymer matrix fiber composites and nanocomposites it becomes essential to include even the atomic length scale, where the resin-hardener-nanofiller molecules interact, in the multiscale modeling framework. Additionally, sources of variability are also critical to be included in these models due to the important role of uncertainty in advance composite behavior. Such a methodology should be able to describe length scale dependent mechanisms in a computationally efficient manner for the analysis of practical composite structures.

In the research presented in this dissertation, a comprehensive nano to macro multiscale framework is developed for the mechanical and multifunctional analysis of advanced composite materials and structures. An atomistically informed statistical multiscale model is developed for linear problems, to estimate and scale elastic properties of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) and carbon nanotube (CNT) enhanced CFRPs using information from molecular dynamics simulation of the resin-hardener-nanofiller nanoscale system. For modeling inelastic processes, an atomistically informed coupled damage-plasticity model is developed using the framework of continuum damage mechanics, where fundamental nanoscale covalent bond disassociation information is scaled up as a continuum scale damage identifying parameter. This damage model is coupled with a nanocomposite microstructure generation algorithm to study the sub-microscale damage mechanisms in CNT/CFRP microstructures. It is further integrated in a generalized method of cells (GMC) micromechanics model to create a low-fidelity computationally efficient nonlinear multiscale method with imperfect interfaces between the fiber and matrix, where the interface behavior is adopted from nanoscale MD simulations. This algorithm is used to understand damage mechanisms in adhesively bonded composite joints as a case study for the comprehensive nano to macroscale structural analysis of practical composites structures. At each length scale sources of variability are identified, characterized, and included in the multiscale modeling framework.
ContributorsRai, Ashwin (Author) / Chattopadhyay, Aditi (Thesis advisor) / Dai, Lenore (Committee member) / Jiang, Hanqing (Committee member) / Rajadas, John (Committee member) / Fard, Masoud Yekani (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description
Hydrogel polymers have been the subject of many studies, due to their fascinating ability to alternate between being hydrophilic and hydrophobic, upon the application of appropriate stimuli. In particular, thermo-responsive hydrogels such as N-Isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), which possess a unique lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 32°C, have been leveraged for

Hydrogel polymers have been the subject of many studies, due to their fascinating ability to alternate between being hydrophilic and hydrophobic, upon the application of appropriate stimuli. In particular, thermo-responsive hydrogels such as N-Isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), which possess a unique lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 32°C, have been leveraged for membrane-based processes such as using NIPAM as a draw agent for forward osmosis (FO) desalination. The low LCST temperature of NIPAM ensures that fresh water can be recovered, at a modest energy cost as compared to other thermally based desalination processes which require water recovery at higher temperatures. This work studies by experimentation, key process parameters involved in desalination by FO using NIPAM and a copolymer of NIPAM and Sodium Acrylate (NIPAM-SA). It encompasses synthesis of the hydrogels, development of experiments to effectively characterize synthesized products, and the measuring of FO performance for the individual hydrogels. FO performance was measured using single layers of NIPAM and NIPAM-SA respectively. The values of permeation flux obtained were compared to relevant published literature and it was found to be within reasonable range. Furthermore, a conceptual design for future large-scale implementation of this technology is proposed. It is proposed that perhaps more effort should focus on physical processes that have the ability to increase the low permeation flux of hydrogel driven FO desalination systems, rather than development of novel classes of hydrogels
ContributorsAbdullahi, Adnan None (Author) / Phelan, Patrick (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Robert (Committee member) / Dai, Lenore (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description冷链物流主要是指食品在生产到消费者食用前始终处于适宜的温度环境,以保障食品品质、降低流通过程中的损耗。冷链物流相比于传统物流而言是一项更复杂的系统性工程,受到政策和市场需求的影响呈现迅猛发展态势。但是,冷链物流企业长期以来因规模小、固定资产少、服务范围窄、服务规范性弱而发展困难重重,核心问题是资金的问题。政府引导和鼓励打造冷链物流产业园,推动产业园投资和建设主体打造平台,实现对园区内冷链企业的聚集效应并通过金融服务解决企业发展的资金问题。通过产融结合助力冷链物流企业发展,成为目前冷链物流行业发展的主要方式和未来趋势。

本研究聚焦冷链物流产业园金融服务助力冷链物流企业发展问题,主要研究内容包括:第一,基于产融结合理论,梳理冷链物流企业与产业园之间关系,从供需两侧探索冷链物流企业和产业园的金融服务的范围、类型和特点。第二,基于平台理论,构建冷链物流企业采纳产业园金融服务的研究模型,探索金融服务影响冷链物流企业的经营因素,分析冷链物流企业采纳产业园金融服务的因素和途径。第三,基于信息不对称理论,关切信息技术支持和知识分享在冷链物流企业采纳产业园提供金融服务过程中的调节作用。同时,梳理产业园提供金融服务可能面临哪些风险,制订冷链物流企业入驻园区的标准,防范风险。

本文运用实证研究方法,通过对国内18家冷链物流相关的产业园、物流园、冷链物流、商贸流通、金融等企业实地考察和专家访谈基础上,拟定问卷并对268家企业进行调查收集数据,使用结构方程模型进行假设检验。研究发现:金融服务的有形性、可靠性、移情性、经济性对冷链物流企业采纳产业园金融服务影响显著,而响应性的影响不显著。同时

信息技术支持和知识共享的调节作用不显著。最后,针对产业园吸引冷链物流企业提供金融服务、冷链物流企业采纳产业园金融服务的风险,提出防范策略措施。
ContributorsYang, Su (Author) / Shen, Wei (Thesis advisor) / Chen, Xinlei (Thesis advisor) / Gu, Bin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description
Nanomaterials (NMs), implemented into a plethora of consumer products, are a potential new class of pollutants with unknown hazards to the environment. Exposure assessment is necessary for hazard assessment, life cycle analysis, and environmental monitoring. Current nanomaterial detection techniques on complex matrices are expensive and time intensive, requiring weeks of

Nanomaterials (NMs), implemented into a plethora of consumer products, are a potential new class of pollutants with unknown hazards to the environment. Exposure assessment is necessary for hazard assessment, life cycle analysis, and environmental monitoring. Current nanomaterial detection techniques on complex matrices are expensive and time intensive, requiring weeks of sample preparation and detection by specialized equipment, limiting the feasibility of large-scale monitoring of NMs. A need exists to develop a rapid pre-screening technique to detect, within minutes, nanomaterials in complex matrices. The goal of this dissertation is to develop a tiered process to detect and characterize nanomaterials in consumer products and environmental samples. The approach is accomplished through a two tier rapid screening process to screen likely presence/absence of elements present in common nanomaterials at environmentally relevant concentrations followed by a more intensive three tier characterization process, if nanomaterials are likely to occur. The focus is on SiO2 and TiO2 nanomaterials with additional work performed on hydroxyapatite (Ca5(PO4)3(OH)). The five step tiered process is as follows: 1) screen for elements in the sample by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF), 2) extract nanomaterials from the sample and screen for extracted elements by LIBS and XRF, 3) confirm presence and elemental composition of nanomaterials by transmission electron microscopy paired with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, 4) quantify the elemental composition of the sample by inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry, and 5) identify mineral phase of crystalline material by X-ray diffraction. This dissertation found LIBS to be an accurate method to detect Si and Ti in food matrices (tier one approach) with strong agreement with the product label, detecting Si and Ti in 93% and 89% of the samples labeled as containing each material, respectively. In addition XRF identified Ti, Si, and Ca in 100% of food samples TEM-confirmed to contain Ti, Si, and Ca respectively. As a tier two approach, LIBS on the 0.2 micrometer filter identified nano silicon in 42% of samples confirmed by TEM to contain nano Si and 67% of TEM-confirmed samples to contain Ti. XRF identified Si, Ti, and Ca loaded on to a 0.1 µm filter and Ti in the surfactant rich phase of CPE of water and water with NOM.
ContributorsSchoepf, Jared (Author) / Westerhoff, Paul (Thesis advisor) / Dai, Lenore (Committee member) / Hristovski, Kiril (Committee member) / Herckes, Pierre (Committee member) / Lind, Mary Laura (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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Description财富管理是一个高度信息不对称的行业,因此投资人需要尽可能减少自身的不确定来做投资决策,通过文献整理,本文发现通过建立信任来消除不确定性是很多投资人都会选择的帮助投资决策的方法。纵观历史,美国2007-2008年的金融危机也恰恰导致金融市场投资人对于理财机构信任的严重缺失,相同的情况也可能发生在中国财富管理市场,因此本文将此选作研究重点,希望深入研究财富管理公司投资人对理财师的信任来得到一系列结论。本文最终发现就平台和理财师相比,投资人更看重平台的信誉度。 投资人大多认为平台的信誉度要高于理财师的信誉度,但是这并不意味着理财师不重要。本文进一步的分析发现,多数投资人会和理财师建立起一种私人联系,且该私人关系有助于加强客户和平台的联系。投资人认为行业经验、为人诚恳,说话可信以及责任心是加强这种私人关系的重要因素。最后,投资人对于钜派平台的信任主要由对于理财师的信任来维持,同时对于理财师的信任主要来自与情感信任。本文的发现对财富管理平台具有战略意义。
ContributorsWu, Qimin (Author) / Shen, Wei (Thesis advisor) / Chang, Chun (Thesis advisor) / Zhu, Hongquan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description摘要

在复杂多变的商业环境中,企业传统的人力资源管理已经难以应对日益频发的员工职业倦怠、人际间矛盾冲突、频繁跳槽等局面与问题。企业员工工作的价值与意义早已不再是传统的雇佣模式下,通过出卖劳动力或智力从而获得工资以实现“养家糊口”的目的那么单纯与简单,员工也希望通过辛勤的工作,以获得个体的幸福感、荣誉感与认同感等。对于现代企业的管理者而言,员工追求事业的提升、个人价值的实现,不仅体现在薪酬、福利待遇的提升,更重要的是员工个人的成长以及潜能和竞争力的提升。

随着组织行为学和心理学的不断发展与演变,与员工幸福感相关的研究备受关注。对现代企业而言,管理者借助制度设计对员工幸福积极管理,可以最大限度地发挥员工的积极性、主动性与创造性,实现员工与企业之间的利益相趋同,从而更为高效地实现组织的目标。基于此,本文以民营企业员工工作幸福感作为研究的切入点,借助理论分析、问卷调查和实证分析相结合的研究方法,系统深入地研究我国民营企业员工工作幸福感的构成、可控前因和绩效后果等问题。

本文研究发现:

第一,员工薪酬的提高有助于员工工作幸福感的提升,薪资对基层员工幸福感的影响显著高于其对高层员工幸福感的影响;

第二,完善的晋升机制对于中层员工而言更能提升其幸福感,完善的晋升机制更有利于中层员工;

第三,公平性的提高有助于提高员工工作幸福感,而且这种正效应更多体现在基层员工群体之中;

第四,高层员工更注重自我价值的实现,高层员工的工作挑战性越高,其自我实现需求获得的满足感则约高,但是对于基层员工和中层员工而言,其效果则恰恰相反,基础员工和高层员工更多地将工作挑战性和压力看作是一种负面的因素;

第五,员工幸福感的确会给企业带来正向的绩效。

本文的研究框架和实证结论不仅可以丰富学术界有关员工工作幸福感的研究,而且为企业管理者进行绩效管理以及员工工作质量的提升提供理论和实证借鉴。
ContributorsShu, Man (Author) / Shen, Wei (Thesis advisor) / Wu, Fei (Thesis advisor) / Chen, Xin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description当前,上市公司的盈余管理问题已是我国资本市场中普遍存在的突出问题。一般来说,一些企业为了满足资本市场对于上市、增发等条件的要求,以及为有效推动企业的并购、重组等行为的顺利实现,甚至为了谋求公司管理层的个别利益,往往运用盈余管理等举措实施公司财报及关键指标的粉饰修正,让不知情的股民蒙受一定的损失。普遍分析显示,我国股市中民营企业比其他企业遭遇的问题和压力更多、更大、更突出,因此民营企业从客观上来说拥有更强的盈余管理动机。而从当前我国资本市场的实际情况来看,我国相关专家学者对盈余管理的系统性深入研究,一般都瞄准了上市企业群体或持续亏损企业,对盈余管理的研究不系统、不全面、不深入,这将对我国进一步提升盈余管理监管水平构成一定不利影响。当前,由于我国民企在自身管理及发展动力方面的特殊性,我国民企的管理、盈余管理特点和国外上市公司还存在着很大的不同,进一步深入研究我国民企上市公司自身管理方面的突出特点,以及其对企业盈余管理等方面的深层次影响,有助于监管层对症下药,更有针对性地研究出台全新的监管措施,进一步提升管理水平。这还可以为公司发展的决策层及相关会计信息使用人员提供一定的决策参考, 因此其拥有十分重要的意义。

本文首先认真总结分析了有关上市企业治理结构和盈余管理等方面的历史文献资料,依托当前资本市场上普遍运用的委托代理、内部人控制和契约等理论,系统研究了我国民企上市公司在自身治理结构方面的突出特征以及其对盈余管理方面所构成影响的深层次原理。在此基础上,本文通过2015-2017年我国上市企业数据,基于截面Jones模型对民营企业和非民营企业盈余管理程度进行测算和比较分析,发现民营企业盈余管理程度更高;从四个层面系统研究民企公司自身的治理结构突出特点,设立回归模型论证了民营企业独特的公司治理结构特征对盈余管理程度确实会产生影响;最后,本文进一步利用修正的费尔萨姆一奥尔森估价模型对民营上市公司盈余管理有公司价值的关系进行了验证,发现两者具有显著相关性。
ContributorsChen, Hui (Author) / Shen, Wei (Thesis advisor) / Chang, Chun (Thesis advisor) / Huang, Xiaochuan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description中国律师制度自“文化大革命”结束后恢复至今,已有近四十年。中国律师行业伴随着中国改革开放的进程,得到了飞速的发展,当然,同时也面临着诸多的问题。重要的问题之一便是,中国律师事务所采用“加盟制合伙人”模式和采用“权益制合伙人”模式之争。本文试图从回顾企业边界的三大理论出发,提出“加盟制合伙人”模式和 “权益制合伙人”模式与合伙人律师的业务专业化程度、业务复杂化程度以及大客户和律师事务所规模关系的四个假设,通过实证分析的方式,试图以企业边界三大理论解释前述四个假设中的关系,并以此期望对律师行业的发展有所启发。
ContributorsChu, Xiaoqing (Author) / Pei, Ker-Wei (Thesis advisor) / Cheng, Shijun (Thesis advisor) / Shen, Wei (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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Description中国水环境行业当前正处在以质量驱动、效率提升为主导的发展阶段,为积极响应国家政策以及环境发展导向,平衡公众日益增长的公共品需求同公共品短缺、低效之间的矛盾,抓住市场发展机遇,提高企业市场竞争中的核心能力,水环境行业必须要明确资本驱动、效率导向、服务标准提高要求下的价值流方向,加快行业发展动力的创新改革。因此,本文立足政府充分授权下的水环境企业战略联盟模式(具体体现为BOT模式)影响因素研究,包括如下几部分内容:

第一,界定政府充分授权下水环境企业战略联盟内涵,分析其形成的理论基础、水环境企业战略联盟的类型、发展差异性及战略联盟动因。通过梳理战略联盟理论国内外研究现状回顾及评述,提出政府充分授权下水环境企业战略联盟模式研究的主要问题。

第二,探索政府充分授权下水环境企业战略联盟模式的影响因素。通过对水环境基础设施战略联盟项目合同关键内容的深入分析,识别出政府充分授权下水环境企业战略联盟模式的关键影响因素。

第三,实证分析各关键因素对政府充分授权下水环境企业战略联盟模式效果的影响。运用回归分析方法对项目规模、政府政策、监督管理、激励机制、风险分配和投资回报对联盟模式效果的影响进行实证检验,验证了各影响因素对政府充分授权下水环境企业战略联盟模式效果的正向作用。

最后,对政府充分授权下水环境企业战略联盟模式影响因素及作用研究的结论进行总结。
ContributorsLi, Zhensheng (Author) / Pei, Ker-Wei (Thesis advisor) / Yu, Xiaoyun (Thesis advisor) / Shen, Wei (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019