Search results

Title: Integration of planning, design, and construction to train 21st century urban professionals
Creator: Dalton, Robert
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The built environment professions are struggling as budgets decrease and scope and importance increase. Attempting to save money, clients are turning to multidisciplinary offices for all-in-one service. Higher education can respond to these shifting trends by preparing the students for a growth mindset and openness to the ideas constructed by a team rather than an individual. Integrative learning may foster such minds. Integrative learning concerns the building of cognitive connections from...
Show moreThe built environment professions are struggling as budgets decrease and scope and importance increase. Attempting to save money, clients are turning to multidisciplinary offices for all-in-one service. Higher education can respond to these shifting trends by preparing the students for a growth mindset and openness to the ideas constructed by a team rather than an individual. Integrative learning may foster such minds. Integrative learning concerns the building of cognitive connections from one skill or piece of knowledge to the next. This study found cultural areas shared among professions as well as those distinct to one profession. These cultural attributes group into four categories: axiology, epistemology, methodology, and ontology. All professions rate learning (epistemology) the required skills best while they work in offices, rather than their time in higher education. Methodologies include the tasks accomplished to plan, design, and build a project and the tools used to do so. Each profession brings their own contributions to problem solving and uses varied software to accomplish their means. These contributions are highly related to the corresponding values (axiology), though mean ratings indicate a high value for a task even if it is not one’s own. The study concludes by assessing the products (ontology) that may be created by the professions most likely to work together. The teams coming together most often represent the professions of the exterior spaces, building and interior spaces, and the legal and real estate professions. Employers and educators alike may use this information to understand the differences among the professional cultures and how bridging these divides or allowing gaps to remain can impact the project delivery.
Show less

Title: Enhancing item pool utilization when designing multistage computerized adaptive tests
Creator: Yang, Lihong
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In recent years, the multistage adaptive test (MST) has gained increasing popularity in the field of educational measurement and operational testing. MST refers to a test in which pre-constructed sets of items are administered adaptively and are scored as a unit (Hendrickson, 2007). As a special case of Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT), a MST program needs the following components: an item response theory (IRT) model or non-IRT-based alternatives; an item pool design; module assembly;...
Show moreIn recent years, the multistage adaptive test (MST) has gained increasing popularity in the field of educational measurement and operational testing. MST refers to a test in which pre-constructed sets of items are administered adaptively and are scored as a unit (Hendrickson, 2007). As a special case of Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT), a MST program needs the following components: an item response theory (IRT) model or non-IRT-based alternatives; an item pool design; module assembly; ability estimation; routing algorithm; and scoring (Yan et al., 2014). A significant amount of research has been conducted on components like module assembly, ability estimation, routing and scoring, but few studies have addressed the component of item pool design. An item pool is defined as consisting of a maximal number of combinations of items that meet all content specifications for a test and provide sufficient item information for estimation at a series of ability levels (van der Linden et al., 2006). An item pool design is very important because any successful MST assembly is inseparable from an optimal item pool that provides sufficient and high-quality items (Luecht & Nungester, 1998). Reckase (2003, 2010) developed the p-optimality method to design optimal item pools using the unidimensional Rasch model in CAT, and it has been proved to be efficient for different item types and IRT models. The present study extended this method to MST context in supporting and developing different MST panel designs under different test configurations. The study compared the performance of the MST assembled under the most popularly studied panel designs in the literature, such as 1-2, 1-3, 1-2-2, and 1-2-3. A combination of short, medium and long tests with different routing test proportions were used to build up different tests. Using one of the most popularly investigated IRT models, the Rasch model, simulated optimal item pools were generated with and without practical constraints of exposure control. A total number of 72 optimal items pools were generated and the measurement accuracy was evaluated by an overall sample and conditional sample using various statistical measures. The p-optimality method was also applied in an operational MST licensure test to see if it is feasible in supporting test assembly and achieving sufficient measurement accuracy in practice. Results showed that the different MST panel designs achieved sufficient measurement accuracy by using the items from the optimal item pools built with the p-optimality method. The same was true with the operational item pool. Measurement accuracy was related to test length, but not so much to the routing test proportions. Exposure control affected the item pool size, but the distributions of the item parameters and item pool characteristics for all the MST panel designs were similar under the two conditions. The item pool sizes under the exposure control conditions were several times larger than those under no exposure control, depending on the types of MST panel designs and routing test proportions. The results from this study provide information for how to enhance item pool utilization when designing multistage computerized adaptive tests, facilitating the MST assembly process, and improving the scoring accuracy.
Show less

Title: Advances in oscillometric blood pressure measurement
Creator: Chandrasekhar, Anand
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: High blood pressure (BP) is a major cardiovascular risk factor that is treatable, yet hypertensionawareness and control rates are low. Ubiquitous BP monitoring technology could improve hypertensionmanagement, but existing devices require an inflatable cuff and are not compatible withsuch anytime, anywhere measurement of BP. Oscillometry is the blood pressure (BP) measurementprinciple of most automatic cuff devices. We extended the oscillometric principle, which is usedby most automatic cuff...
Show moreHigh blood pressure (BP) is a major cardiovascular risk factor that is treatable, yet hypertensionawareness and control rates are low. Ubiquitous BP monitoring technology could improve hypertensionmanagement, but existing devices require an inflatable cuff and are not compatible withsuch anytime, anywhere measurement of BP. Oscillometry is the blood pressure (BP) measurementprinciple of most automatic cuff devices. We extended the oscillometric principle, which is usedby most automatic cuff devices, to develop a couple of instruments to measure cuff-less BP usinga smartphone-based device and standalone iPhone application. As the user presses her/his fingeragainst the smartphone, the external pressure of the underlying artery is steadily increased while thephone measures the applied pressure and resulting variable amplitude blood volume oscillations.A smartphone application provides visual feedback to guide the amount of pressure applied overtime via the finger pressing and computes systolic and diastolic BP from the measurements.We prospectively tested the smartphone-based device for real-time BP monitoring in humansubjects to evaluate usability (n = 30) and accuracy against a standard automatic cuff-based device(n = 32). We likewise tested a finger cuff device, which uses the volume-clamp method of BPdetection. About 90% of the users learned the finger actuation required by the smartphone-baseddevice after one or two practice trials. The device yielded bias and precision errors of 3.3 and 8.8mmHg for systolic BP and [Special character(s) omitted]5:6 and 7:7 mmHg for diastolic BP over a 40 to 50 mmHg range of BP.These errors were comparable to the finger cuff device. Cuff-less and calibration-free monitoringof systolic and diastolic BP may be feasible via a smartphone. In addition, we tested the iPhoneapplication. The application yielded bias and precision errors of -4.0 and 11.4 mmHg for systolicBP and -9.4 and 9.7 mmHg for diastolic BP (n = 18). These errors were near the finger cuff deviceerrors. This proof-of-concept study surprisingly indicates that cuff-less and calibration-free BPmonitoring may be feasible with many existing and forthcoming smartphones.These devices use empirical algorithms, already descried in the literature, to estimate bloodpressure. Hence, the next objective was to establish formulas to explain three popular empiricalalgorithms- the maximum amplitude, derivative, and fixed ratio algorithms. A mathematicalmodel of the oscillogram was developed and analyzed to derive parametric formulas for explainingeach algorithm. Exemplary parameter values were obtained by fitting the model to measuredoscillograms. The model and formulas were validated by showing that their predictions correspondto measurements. The formula for the maximum amplitude algorithm indicates that it yields aweighted average of systolic and diastolic BP (0.45 and 0.55 weighting) instead of commonlyassumed mean BP. The formulas for the derivative algorithm indicate that it can accurately estimatesystolic and diastolic BP (<1.5 mmHg error), if oscillogram measurement noise can be obviated.The formulas for the fixed ratio algorithm indicate that it can yield inaccurate BP estimates, becausethe ratios change substantially (over a 0.5-0.6 range) with arterial compliance and pulse pressureand error in the assumed ratio translates to BP error via large amplification (>40). The establishedformulas allow for easy and complete interpretation of perhaps the three most popular oscillometricBP estimation algorithms in the literature while providing new insights. The model and formulasmay also be of some value towards improving the accuracy of automatic cuff BP measurementdevices.
Show less

Title: The design and organisation features of two online courses : a case study of their emergence and evolution
Creator: Richards, Kari
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This study reports the findings of a qualitative case study that examined how elements of design and organization were conceptualized and enacted in two graduate level online courses, and, how these conceptualizations and enactments evolved. Data was collected through interviews and ‘think-alouds’ with the course instructors and through screen captures of the course home pages. The Community of Inquiry Framework (CoI) (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) was used as a lens to analyze the data...
Show moreThis study reports the findings of a qualitative case study that examined how elements of design and organization were conceptualized and enacted in two graduate level online courses, and, how these conceptualizations and enactments evolved. Data was collected through interviews and ‘think-alouds’ with the course instructors and through screen captures of the course home pages. The Community of Inquiry Framework (CoI) (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) was used as a lens to analyze the data for the Design & Organization element of the framework’s concept of Teaching Presence. The analysis identified patterns in the five features of the Design & Organization element: Setting Curriculum, Designing Methods, Establishing Time Parameters, Utilizing the Medium, and Establishing Netiquette. The data shows variation in the way most of the features are conceptualized and enacted in the online courses, with some exceptions. These variations reflect the different experiences, expectations, and logic of the two instructors, while the exceptions reflect the influence of external norming agents such as the Learning Management System or institutional guidelines. The results indicate a wider range of possibilities in course design and organization than the CoI framework has been conceptualized to account for, which has implications for the various programs and institutions using the framework as an instrument for their evaluation of online courses.
Show less

Title: Evaluation and validation of soft robotic end effectors for produce harvesting
Creator: Dutcher, Zachary F.
Date: 2018
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Global population is expected to exceed 9 billion people by 2050 which will require a 70% increase in net global food production. 75% of global farm holdings are considered small at 2.5 acres or less. While contemporary industrial farming gains efficiency through increased mechanization, it comes with significant environmental costs. Industrial farming practices such as frequent tillage, monocropping and use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are unsustainable practices that...
Show moreGlobal population is expected to exceed 9 billion people by 2050 which will require a 70% increase in net global food production. 75% of global farm holdings are considered small at 2.5 acres or less. While contemporary industrial farming gains efficiency through increased mechanization, it comes with significant environmental costs. Industrial farming practices such as frequent tillage, monocropping and use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides are unsustainable practices that will continue to degrade the surrounding ecosystem. Small scale farms present an opportunity to utilize regenerative farming practices; however, they are potentially challenging to scale up and expensive to automate with conventional automation solutions. In this thesis, soft robotic end effectors are explored as a potential means of harvesting on regenerative (as well as conventional) farms. Three end effector designs are testing for parameters including grasp variability, grasp effectiveness and real-world simulation on apple orchards at Michigan State University. Apple harvesting metrics including detachment force, diameter and weight have been collected for one hundred early harvest Spartan-Macintosh variety apples. Results of this evaluation show promise for the application of these low-cost technologies; however, much work is needed before a complete and viable soft robotic harvesting system is available.
Show less

Title: Design patterns for developing dynamically adaptive systems
Creator: Ramirez, Andres J.
Date: 2008
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Natural landscaping, a comparison of design treatments in a surface mine setting
Creator: Wang, Lishuang
Date: 2013
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Planners, designers, scientists, and citizens are interested in rehabilitation, reclamation and protection of the post-mining environment. Consequently, a fair amount of research from scholars is focused on the technical aspects concerning the revegetation of the landscape and the science of reclamation; while only a small portion of the literature concerns planning and design. In this thesis, a case study in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is used to explore post-ming treatments: abandoned...
Show morePlanners, designers, scientists, and citizens are interested in rehabilitation, reclamation and protection of the post-mining environment. Consequently, a fair amount of research from scholars is focused on the technical aspects concerning the revegetation of the landscape and the science of reclamation; while only a small portion of the literature concerns planning and design. In this thesis, a case study in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is used to explore post-ming treatments: abandoned mine, resort development. a super hotel resot, and natural vegetation communities. The treatments (k=4) were evaluated with an environmental quality measure upon 10 images from each treatment (b=10). The results indicated that the resort and the natural community were best treatments, significantly better than the abandoned mine treatment (p<0.05). The super hotel was ranked as the third, which is less preferred than the two best treatments, but much better than the abandoned mine treatment (p<0.05). By identifying difference between each treatment, the results shows people have preference for natural environment and natural landscape is beautiful in their views.
Show less

Title: Impact of color on children's play behaviors
Creator: Safferman, Bridget Nicole
Date: 2015
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: IMPACT OF COLOR ON CHILDREN’S PLAY BEHVIORSByBridget Nicole SaffermanThis research examines the effects of differently colored playground balls on the play behaviors of children between the ages of three and four. Color vision in human beings triggers certain physical and psychological responses that can influence behavioral changes; the goal of this observational study is to determine if these responses are strong enough to influence the type and durations of children’s play. This...
Show moreIMPACT OF COLOR ON CHILDREN’S PLAY BEHVIORSByBridget Nicole SaffermanThis research examines the effects of differently colored playground balls on the play behaviors of children between the ages of three and four. Color vision in human beings triggers certain physical and psychological responses that can influence behavioral changes; the goal of this observational study is to determine if these responses are strong enough to influence the type and durations of children’s play. This observational study was conducted on children between the ages of 36 and 60 months old who were enrolled in a children’s daycare and child development research facility. Results of this study produced trends that indicate that certain colors do have an impact on the level of activity in which children play, namely, that children exhibit a greater number of play behaviors on traditional playgrounds, but play longer on nature playgrounds. Additionally, trends suggested that red and yellow, warm colors, increase the number of active and low active play behaviors observed and blue, a cool color, increases the durations of play behaviors. This knowledge suggest that color could be a viable tool in designing play spaces to meet specific needs and promoting different play behaviors in childrenKeywords: Color, Children’s Play Behaviors, Children’s Play Durations, Level of Activity
Show less

Title: Design and simulation of a microwave powered microplasma system for local area materials processing
Creator: Narendra, Jeffri Julliarsa
Date: 2010
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: A microwave powered microplasma source is developed and tested for materials processing on spatially localized areas. A small diameter stream of plasma (less than 2 mm in diameter) is created by focusing microwave energy inside a discharge tube. The discharge then flows out the end of the tube onto the surface being processed delivering ions and reactive radicals. The diameter of the plasma stream from the tube to the material being processed can be controlled by an aperture mounted at the...
Show moreA microwave powered microplasma source is developed and tested for materials processing on spatially localized areas. A small diameter stream of plasma (less than 2 mm in diameter) is created by focusing microwave energy inside a discharge tube. The discharge then flows out the end of the tube onto the surface being processed delivering ions and reactive radicals. The diameter of the plasma stream from the tube to the material being processed can be controlled by an aperture mounted at the end of the tube. The spot size of the localized plasma stream ranges from 2 mm down to 10's micrometers depending on the aperture size. The discharge is created by using 2.45 GHz microwave energy that is coupled into the discharge using a small foreshortened cylindrical cavity that has a hollow inner conductor and a small capacitive gap at the end of the cavity. A processing gas mixture is fed through a 2 mm inner diameter quartz tube which is located inside the hollow inner conductor of the cavity. This tube is exposed to a high electric field at the small gap end of the cavity thus generating a surface wave plasma. The length of the surface wave discharge in the tube can be extended by increasing the microwave power to the discharge so that the plasma reaches the aperture. The operating pressures range from 0.5 Torr to 100 Torr and the microwave power utilized ranges from a few Watts to 10's Watts. Several properties of the discharge including plasma power density, electron density and electron temperature are measured. The power densities of argon and Ar/O₂ plasma discharges vary from 10's to over 450 W/cm3. The plasma density and electron temperature of argon discharges are measured using a double Langmuir probe placed in the materials processing area. The plasma densities are in the range of 1011 - 1013 cm-3.Computational modeling of the plasma discharge and the microwave excitation of the discharge is performed using a finite element analysis. The goal of the modeling study is to complement and understand the design, development and operation of the microwave powered microplasmas. A self-consistent model of the foreshortened cylindrical cavity and plasma discharge is presented with results compared to experimental measurements. The microplasma system is incorporated into a micromanufacturing system that integrates the plasma source with an atomic force microscope for surface measurements and nanomanipulation of the surface. Selected applications of the micromachining system demonstrated include using the microplasma as a spatially localized etcher, free radical source, and ultraviolet light source. Silicon and ultrananocrystalline (UNCD) diamond etching is performed using Ar/SF₆ and Ar/O₂ discharges, respectively, with etching rates of 0.2 - 2 μm/min and 0.6 - 2 μm/hr. Localized removal of photoresist is done by using the microplasma as a free radical source and photoresist is exposed to ultraviolet light from the microplasma source to create spatially localized patterns.
Show less

Title: Compact, low-power microelectronic instrumentation for wearable electrochemical sensor arrays in health hazard monitoring
Creator: Li, Haitao
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Biological and chemical hazards threaten human health and are of growing world concern. Wearable sensors offer the potential to monitor local exposure of individual users while enabling distribution across a global scale. However, achieving this goal is challenged by the lack of autonomous high performance sensors with the power and size features required for wearable implementation. Wearable sensors need sensing techniques having high-performance in power, sensitivity, and selectivity for...
Show moreBiological and chemical hazards threaten human health and are of growing world concern. Wearable sensors offer the potential to monitor local exposure of individual users while enabling distribution across a global scale. However, achieving this goal is challenged by the lack of autonomous high performance sensors with the power and size features required for wearable implementation. Wearable sensors need sensing techniques having high-performance in power, sensitivity, and selectivity for biological and chemical hazards within a small volume. The autonomous operation of wearable sensors demands electronics to intelligently analyze, store, and transmit the data and generate alerts, within the strict constraints of power, and size. Electrochemical sensors have many characteristics that meet the challenging performance requirements of wearable sensors. However, the electrochemical instrumentation circuits are too heavy, bulky, expensive and consume too much power for wearable applications. Modern complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology provides an ultra-small, low-cost, low-power and high-performance solution for wearable sensors. This dissertation investigates CMOS circuit design for wearable electrochemical sensor arrays in health hazard monitoring. Multiple electrochemical modes provide orthogonal data to sensor array algorithms to improve sensor sensitivity and selectivity. A unique multi-mode resource-sharing instrumentation circuit was developed to integrate amperometric and impedance sensing abilities, and share electronics components among recording channels, with reduced size, cost, and power. A wearable sensor array can measure multiple hazardous targets in a wide range of concentrations. To address the wide dynamic range of such a sensor array, a new CMOS amperometric circuit that combines digital modulation of input currents and a semi-synchronous incremental Σ∆ ADC was developed. The new circuit simultaneously achieves a combination of wide dynamic range (164 dB), high sensitivity (100 fA), high power efficiency (241 μW) and compact size (50 readout channels on a 3×3 mm2 chip) that is not available in any existing instrumentation circuits. While the circuits above addressed key challenges in gas sensors, electrochemical biosensors offer a different set of challenges. In particular, miniaturized biosensors based on nanopore interfaces, including ion channel proteins, have great potential for high-throughput biological study and wearable biosensing. However, they require electrochemical instrumentation circuits that are compact, low power, and highly sensitive, high bandwidth. To address this need, a shared-segment interleaved amperometric readout circuit was developed, and measurement results show it has superior performance in terms of power and area compared to other known current sensing circuits for the same biological targets. This circuit achieves 7.2 pArms noise in a 11.5 kHz bandwidth, over 90 nA bidirectional input current range with only 21 μW power consumption, and allowing over 400 channels to be integrated on a single chip. The combined results of this research overcome many challenges for the development of wearable electrochemical sensor array in health hazard monitoring applications.
Show less

Title: Efficient and secure system design in wireless communications
Creator: Song, Tianlong
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Efficient and secure information transmission lies in the core part of wireless system design and networking. Comparing with its wired counterpart, in wireless communications, the total available spectrum has to be shared by different services. Moreover, wireless transmission is more vulnerable to unauthorized detection, eavesdropping and hostile jamming due to the lack of a protective physical boundary.Today, the two most representative highly efficient communication systems are CDMA (used...
Show moreEfficient and secure information transmission lies in the core part of wireless system design and networking. Comparing with its wired counterpart, in wireless communications, the total available spectrum has to be shared by different services. Moreover, wireless transmission is more vulnerable to unauthorized detection, eavesdropping and hostile jamming due to the lack of a protective physical boundary.Today, the two most representative highly efficient communication systems are CDMA (used in 3G) and OFDM (used in 4G), and OFDM is regarded as the most efficient system. This dissertation will focus on two topics: (1) Explore more spectrally efficient system design based on the 4G OFDM scheme; (2) Investigate robust wireless system design and conduct capacity analysis under different jamming scenarios. The main results are outlined as follows.First, we develop two spectrally efficient OFDM-based multi-carrier transmission schemes: one with message-driven idle subcarriers (MC-MDIS), and the other with message-driven strengthened subcarriers (MC-MDSS). The basic idea in MC-MDIS is to carry part of the information, named carrier bits, through idle subcarrier selection while transmitting the ordinary bits regularly on all the other subcarriers. When the number of subcarriers is much larger than the adopted constellation size, higher spectral and power efficiency can be achieved comparing with OFDM. In MC-MDSS, the idle subcarriers are replaced by strengthened ones, which, unlike idle ones, can carry both carrier bits and ordinary bits. Therefore, MC-MDSS achieves even higher spectral efficiency than MC-MDIS.Second, we consider jamming-resistant OFDM system design under full-band disguised jamming, where the jamming symbols are taken from the same constellation as the information symbols over each subcarrier. It is shown that due to the symmetricity between the authorized signal and jamming, the BER of the traditional OFDM system is lower bounded by a modulation specific constant. We develop an optimal precoding scheme, which minimizes the BER of OFDM systems under full-band disguised jamming. It is shown that the most efficient way to combat full-band disguised jamming is to concentrate the total available power and distribute it uniformly over a particular number of subcarriers instead of the entire spectrum. The precoding scheme is further randomized to reinforce the system jamming resistance.Third, we consider jamming mitigation for CDMA systems under disguised jamming, where the jammer generates a fake signal using the same spreading code, constellation and pulse shaping filter as that of the authorized signal. Again, due to the symmetricity between the authorized signal and jamming, the receiver cannot really distinguish the authorized signal from jamming, leading to complete communication failure. In this research, instead of using conventional scrambling codes, we apply advanced encryption standard (AES) to generate the security-enhanced scrambling codes. Theoretical analysis shows that: the capacity of conventional CDMA systems without secure scrambling under disguised jamming is actually zero, while the capacity can be significantly increased by secure scrambling.Finally, we consider a game between a power-limited authorized user and a power-limited jammer, who operate independently over the same spectrum consisting of multiple bands. The strategic decision-making is modeled as a two-party zero-sum game, where the payoff function is the capacity that can be achieved by the authorized user in presence of the jammer. We first investigate the game under AWGN channels. It is found that: either for the authorized user to maximize its capacity, or for the jammer to minimize the capacity of the authorized user, the best strategy is to distribute the power uniformly over all the available spectrum. Then, we consider fading channels. We characterize the dynamic relationship between the optimal signal power allocation and the optimal jamming power allocation, and propose an efficient two-step water pouring algorithm to calculate them.
Show less

Title: Cognitive and motivational impacts of learning game design on middle school children
Creator: Akcaoglu, Mete
Date: 2013
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In today`s complex and fast-evolving world, problem solving is an important skill to possess. For young children to be successful at their future careers, they need to have the skill and the will to solve complex problems that are beyond the well-defined problems that they learn to solve at schools. One promising approach to teach complex problem solving skills is using visual programming and game design software. Theoretically and anecdotally, extant research enlightened us...
Show moreIn today`s complex and fast-evolving world, problem solving is an important skill to possess. For young children to be successful at their future careers, they need to have the skill and the will to solve complex problems that are beyond the well-defined problems that they learn to solve at schools. One promising approach to teach complex problem solving skills is using visual programming and game design software. Theoretically and anecdotally, extant research enlightened us about the cognitive and motivational potential of these software. Due to lack of empirical evidence, however, we are far from knowing if these claims are warranted. In this quasi-experimental study, I investigated the cognitive (i.e., problem solving) and motivational (i.e., interest and value) impacts of participating at the Game Design and Learning Courses (GDL) on middle school children (n = 49), who designed games following a curriculum based on problem solving skills. Compared to students in a control group (n =24), students who attended the GDL courses showed significantly higher gains in general and specific (i.e., system analysis and design, decision-making, troubleshooting) problem solving skills. Because the survey data seriously violated statistical assumptions underlying the analyses, I could not study the motivational impacts of the GDL courses further. Nevertheless, the GDL intervention bears implications for educators and theory.
Show less

Title: On the evolution of mutation bias in digital organisms
Creator: Rupp, Matthew
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Mutation is one of the primary drivers of genetic change. In this work I study mutation biases, which are sets of different genetic-state inflow probabilities. Mutation biases have the potential to change the composition of genomes over time, leading to divergent short- and long-term evolutionary outcomes. I use digital organisms, self-replicating computer programs, to explore whether or not mutation biases are capable of altering the long-term adaptive behavior of populations; whether...
Show moreMutation is one of the primary drivers of genetic change. In this work I study mutation biases, which are sets of different genetic-state inflow probabilities. Mutation biases have the potential to change the composition of genomes over time, leading to divergent short- and long-term evolutionary outcomes. I use digital organisms, self-replicating computer programs, to explore whether or not mutation biases are capable of altering the long-term adaptive behavior of populations; whether mutation biases can be competitive traits; and whether mutation biases can evolve. I find that mutation biases can alter the long-term adaptive behavior of mutation bias-obligate populations in terms of both mean fitness and complex trait evolution. I also find that mutation biases can compete against one another under a variety of conditions, meaning mutation bias can selectable over relatively-short periods of time. The competitive success of a mutation bias does not always depend upon the presence of beneficial mutations, implicating an increase in the probability of neutral mutations as a sufficient mechanism for bias selection. Finally, I demonstrate that by giving organisms a mutable mutation bias allele, populations preferentially evolve to possess specific biases over others. Overall, this work shows that mutation bias can act as a selectable trait, influencing the evolution of populations with regard to both their internal-genetic and external environments.
Show less

Title: A study of Pakistani decorative textile design motifs adapted for use in western-style contemporary homes
Creator: Wasi, Surraya
Date: 1962
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: A unique approach to frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar design
Creator: Charvat, Gregory Louis
Date: 2003
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: System identification and control design for internal combustion engine variable valve timing systems
Creator: Ren, Zhen
Date: 2011
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Variable Valve Timing (VVT) systems are used on internal combustion engines so that they can meet stringent emission requirements, reduce fuel consumption, and increase output. Also, VVT plays a critical role in order for the engine to smoothly transit between spark ignition (SI) and homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion modes. In order to achieve these performance benefits and SI/HCCI transition, it is required that the VVT system be controlled accurately using a model...
Show moreVariable Valve Timing (VVT) systems are used on internal combustion engines so that they can meet stringent emission requirements, reduce fuel consumption, and increase output. Also, VVT plays a critical role in order for the engine to smoothly transit between spark ignition (SI) and homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) combustion modes. In order to achieve these performance benefits and SI/HCCI transition, it is required that the VVT system be controlled accurately using a model based controller. This work studies hydraulic and electric VVT system modeling and controller design. The VVT system consists of electric, mechanical, and fluid dynamics components. Without knowledge of every component, obtaining physical-based models is not feasible. In this research, the VVT system models were obtained using system identification method. Limited by the sample rate of the crank-based camshaft position sensor, a function of engine speed, the actuator control sample rate is different from that of cam position sensor. Multi-rate system identification is a necessity for this application. On the other hand, it is also difficult to maintain the desired actuator operational condition with an open-loop control. Therefore, system identification in a closed-loop is required. In this study, Pseudo Random Binary Sequence (PRBS) q-Markov Cover identification is used to obtain the closed-loop model. The open-loop system model is calculated based on information of the closed-loop controller and identified closed-loop system model. Both open and closed-loop identifications are performed in a Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) simulation environment with a given reference model as a validation process. A hydraulic VVT actuator system test bench and an engine dynamometer (dyno) are used to conduct the proposed multi-rate system identification using PRBS as excitation signals. Output covariance constraint (OCC) controllers were designed based upon the identified models. Performance of the designed OCC controller was compared with those of the baseline proportional integral (PI) controller. Results show that the OCC controller uses less control effort and has less overshoot than those of PI ones. An electric VVT (EVVT) system with planetary gear system and local speed controller was modeled based on system dynamics. Simulation results of the EVVT system model provided a controller framework for the bench test. The EVVT system test bench was modified from the hydraulic VVT bench. Multi-rate closed-loop system identification was conducted on the EVVT system bench and a model based OCC controller was designed. The bench test results show that the OCC controller has a lower phase delay and lower overshoot than a tuned proportional controller, while having the same or faster response time. It is also observed that engine oil viscosity has a profound impact on the EVVT response time. The maximum response speed is saturated at a slow level if the viscosity is too high. From the bench and dyno tests, it is concluded that multi-rate closed-loop identification is a very effective way to retrieve controller design orientated VVT models. It is possible to use an OCC controller to achieve lower energy consumption, lower overshoot, and better tracking compared to PI and proportional controllers on both hydraulic and electric VVT systems.
Show less

Title: Design and engineering of novel starch-based foam and film products
Creator: Nabar, Yogaraj Umesh
Date: 2004
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: Design and evaluation of a health care needs assessment tool for adults with cerebral palsy and mental retardation
Creator: Clark, Nuala Catherine
Date: 1991
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Title: A cluster analysis comparison of garden activities in classical Chinese gardens and American gardens
Creator: Wang, Xiaoyi (Graduate of Michigan State University)
Date: 2019
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Activities that occurred in Chinese classical gardens and American gardens are an important part of their traditional culture. The purpose of this study is to explore the similarities and differences between Chinese classical gardens and American gardens. Six classical Chinese gardens in China and five American gardens in the United States were selected to test. Eighty-five possible activities were selected based on site visits and from historical documents. A method named principal component...
Show moreActivities that occurred in Chinese classical gardens and American gardens are an important part of their traditional culture. The purpose of this study is to explore the similarities and differences between Chinese classical gardens and American gardens. Six classical Chinese gardens in China and five American gardens in the United States were selected to test. Eighty-five possible activities were selected based on site visits and from historical documents. A method named principal component analysis with plots was applied to this research. After applying the variables into the software SAS, a number of eigenvalues were generated, and the first three eigenvalues representing almost 75% of the variance were used for further analysis. The result shows a distinctive difference between Chinese garden and American garden. The first principal component indicates the major element that differ the Chinese garden and American garden, with activities occurred only in Chinese gardens such as literati gathering, writing calligraphy, and examine antiques; and activities occurred only in American gardens such as barbecuing, making bonfires, and playing ball games. The second and third principal components explained the difference between Chinese gardens, which varies primarily because of the garden owner's lifestyle.
Show less

Title: Wide-band antenna design for use in minimal-scan, microwave tomographic imaging
Creator: Klaser, Jacob
Date: 2013
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Microwave tomography is widely used in biomedical imaging and nondestructive evaluation of dielectric materials. A novel microwave tomography system that uses an electrically-conformable mirror to steer the incident energy for producing multi-view projection data is being developed in the Non-Destructive Evaluation Laboratory (NDEL). Such a system will have a significant advantage over existing tomography systems in terms of simplicity of design and operation, particularly when there is...
Show moreMicrowave tomography is widely used in biomedical imaging and nondestructive evaluation of dielectric materials. A novel microwave tomography system that uses an electrically-conformable mirror to steer the incident energy for producing multi-view projection data is being developed in the Non-Destructive Evaluation Laboratory (NDEL). Such a system will have a significant advantage over existing tomography systems in terms of simplicity of design and operation, particularly when there is limited-access of the structure that is being imaged. The major components of a mirror-based tomography system are the source mirror assembly, and a receiver array for capturing the multi-view projection data. This thesis addresses the design and development of the receiver array. This imaging array features balanced, anti-podal Vivaldi antennas, which offer large bandwidth, high gain and a compact size. From the simulations, as well as the experimental results for the antenna, the return loss (S11) is below -10dB for the range from 2.2GHz to 8.2GHz, and the gain is measured to be near 6dB. The data gathered from the receiver array is then run through MATLAB code for tomographic reconstruction using the Filtered Back-Propagation algorithm from limited-view projections. Initial results of reconstruction from the measured data shows the feasibility of the approach, but a significant challenge remains in interpolating the data for a limited number of receiving antenna elements and removing noise from the reconstructed image.
Show less

MSU Libraries

Digital Repository

Enabled Filters

Pages

Pages

MSU Libraries

Digital Repository

You are here

Search results

Pages

Pages