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- Title
- VERSATILITY AND CUSTOMIZATION OF PORTABLE CMM IN REVERSE ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS.
- Creator
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Thiraviam, Amar Raja, Hosni, Yasser, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Reverse engineering is the technique of gathering scientific knowledge about a part by physically examining it. In the computer aided manufacturing world this is referred to as Part to CAD conversion, where the geometry of physical objects are being captured as Digital 3-D CAD Data. This is vital not only to produce drawing of parts for which no CAD data exists, but also is frequently being used to produce better designs. The industry professionals to achieve this are frequently using...
Show moreReverse engineering is the technique of gathering scientific knowledge about a part by physically examining it. In the computer aided manufacturing world this is referred to as Part to CAD conversion, where the geometry of physical objects are being captured as Digital 3-D CAD Data. This is vital not only to produce drawing of parts for which no CAD data exists, but also is frequently being used to produce better designs. The industry professionals to achieve this are frequently using Coordinate Measuring Machine [CMM] among other tools. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the versatility of portable CMM as a Reverse Engineering Tool through application experiments aimed at industrial and non-industrial solutions. The thesis also researches in to the feasibility of customization options through experimentations focused on reverse engineering. Focusing further on Reverse Engineering applications, some of the interesting digitizing and CAD techniques are demonstrated and compared.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2004
- Identifier
- CFE0000219, ucf:46248
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000219
- Title
- A COMPREHENSIVE MULTI-FACETED APPROACH FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY ANALYZING ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES ESSENTIAL FOR COMPANY SUCCESS IN MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES.
- Creator
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Ferreras, Ana, Crumpton-Young, Lesia, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Profit, ergonomics, safety, employee morale, quality, efficiency, and productivity are critical components that greatly impact company success within manufacturing organizations. Therefore, it is essential that a valid and reliable systematic approach that encompasses all of these factors be developed for use by top management in today's rapidly changing manufacturing environment. Organizational-level decisions made based upon a single goal or narrow perspective that only considers one of...
Show moreProfit, ergonomics, safety, employee morale, quality, efficiency, and productivity are critical components that greatly impact company success within manufacturing organizations. Therefore, it is essential that a valid and reliable systematic approach that encompasses all of these factors be developed for use by top management in today's rapidly changing manufacturing environment. Organizational-level decisions made based upon a single goal or narrow perspective that only considers one of the aforementioned components, such as profit, while ignoring others, such as employee morale, have proven harmful to the long term viability and success of manufacturing companies. Often organizational leaders are not adequately equipped to consider multiple factors that are pertinent to company success due to the complexity associated with considering a large number of organizational variables and the lack of quantitative tools and techniques to assist in this process. Thus, valid, reliable and readily available tools, methods, and techniques for integrating into decision making multiple components of profit, ergonomics, safety, employee morale, quality, efficiency, and productivity are highly needed in today's complex manufacturing business environment. This research responds to the need to develop quantitative models by creating a company success index. This index was developed using an approach to analyze and evaluate multiple factors at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels of an organization that are essential to achieve company success in manufacturing enterprises. The resulting company success index model was validated using information on market share (Specificity = 0%, Sensitivity & Accuracy = 87.5%). Future research related to this topic area should include additional studies to expand upon model validation and verification techniques.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- CFE0002173, ucf:47504
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002173
- Title
- SUBSTITUTING LIVE TRAINING WITH VIRTUAL TRAINING BY MEANS OF A COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF, FIRST PERSON SHOOTER COMPUTER GAME AND THE EFFECT ON PERFORMANCE.
- Creator
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Kneuper II, George, Williams, Kent, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This research measures the change in Army ROTC cadets' tactical performance when up to 75% of their tactical live training is replaced with training done on a computer. An ROTC instructor from any of the 270 programs across the nation can take this research and implement a training plan utilizing a relatively cheap off the shelf computer game and save their program: cadet and cadre time, training dollars, and transportation/equipment/training area resources, while seeing no degradation in...
Show moreThis research measures the change in Army ROTC cadets' tactical performance when up to 75% of their tactical live training is replaced with training done on a computer. An ROTC instructor from any of the 270 programs across the nation can take this research and implement a training plan utilizing a relatively cheap off the shelf computer game and save their program: cadet and cadre time, training dollars, and transportation/equipment/training area resources, while seeing no degradation in their cadets' performance. Little research has been done on the effect of replacing live simulation with virtual simulation. With this in mind, six groups of individuals were run through the experiment for over five months at various levels of virtual/live training and scored across 16 leadership skills. These results were then formulated into a guideline defining how much training should be virtual training and how much live, to optimize an individual's performance.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- CFE0000962, ucf:46692
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000962
- Title
- INFORMATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND THE REACTION TO TERRORISM: A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE.
- Creator
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Roland, Nicholas, Sturm, Ray, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The purpose of this study is to measure the message terror organizations hope to convey using the financial markets as a proxy of measurement to determine patterns within the marketplace and the effects on the terrorists' ability to deliver a desired message due to the increased use of digital devices and access to instantaneous news, seen over the past decade. Using death count, geographic location, and event type, this study identified 109 attacks between 1985 and 2015 to be analyzed...
Show moreThe purpose of this study is to measure the message terror organizations hope to convey using the financial markets as a proxy of measurement to determine patterns within the marketplace and the effects on the terrorists' ability to deliver a desired message due to the increased use of digital devices and access to instantaneous news, seen over the past decade. Using death count, geographic location, and event type, this study identified 109 attacks between 1985 and 2015 to be analyzed against 5 market indices and 5 securities. Measuring the effects within a 10-day sample window from the time of the attack (+ or - 5 days) using average abnormal returns, standard deviation, Sharpe Ratio and the initial reactions in the market place as a percentage of total attacks, the effects on average abnormal returns on the market proxies were measured on three levels; The entire sample period from 1985 to 2015; the first half of the sample period 1985-1999; and the second half of the sample period 2000-2015. Analyzing trends in abnormal returns and standard deviation, the results of the study were inconclusive.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFH0000232, ucf:44672
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0000232
- Title
- REVIEW OF INSTRUMENTS TO MEASURE BREASTFEEDING BELIEFS AND INTENT AMONG NULLIPAROUS BLACK COLLEGE WOMEN.
- Creator
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Eunice, Jaime, Waldrop, Julee, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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United States breastfeeding rates are below Healthy People 2020 national goals, with African American women at the lowest rates. According to the theory of planned behavior, intention is a strong determinant of actual behavior. The purpose of this review is to uncover how researchers can best measure attributes that influence the intention to breast feed in the African American college aged population of nulliparous women. Tools to measure breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, cultural...
Show moreUnited States breastfeeding rates are below Healthy People 2020 national goals, with African American women at the lowest rates. According to the theory of planned behavior, intention is a strong determinant of actual behavior. The purpose of this review is to uncover how researchers can best measure attributes that influence the intention to breast feed in the African American college aged population of nulliparous women. Tools to measure breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, cultural and social norms will be identified. Searches of health databases and Google Scholar located peer-reviewed journals using keywords such as Black, African American, instrument, female and student. The literature was searched and this review found that there are no published sources that specifically study the Black female college student population. However, numerous tools that have been used in research with other modern, Western university students groups may also be used with this population. Factors determined to be important to intention included exposure, knowledge, individual attitudes toward breastfeeding, with a focus on psychosocial embarrassment and social norms. The findingssupport researchers by suggesting future interventions, and development of tools that can be used to measure effectiveness.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0004074, ucf:44800
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004074
- Title
- SILICON CARBIDE AND AGILE OPTICS BASED SENSORS FOR POWER PLANT GAS TURBINES, LASER BEAM ANALYSIS AND BIOMEDICINE.
- Creator
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Sheikh, Mumtaz, Riza, Nabeel, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Proposed are novel sensors for extreme environment power plants, laser beam analysis and biomedicine. A hybrid wireless-wired extreme environment temperature sensor using a thick single-crystal Silicon Carbide (SiC) chip embedded inside a sintered SiC probe design is investigated and experimentally demonstrated. The sensor probe employs the SiC chip as a Fabry-Perot (FP) interferometer to measure the change in refractive index and thickness of SiC with temperature. A novel temperature sensing...
Show moreProposed are novel sensors for extreme environment power plants, laser beam analysis and biomedicine. A hybrid wireless-wired extreme environment temperature sensor using a thick single-crystal Silicon Carbide (SiC) chip embedded inside a sintered SiC probe design is investigated and experimentally demonstrated. The sensor probe employs the SiC chip as a Fabry-Perot (FP) interferometer to measure the change in refractive index and thickness of SiC with temperature. A novel temperature sensing method that combines wavelength-tuned signal processing for coarse measurements and classical FP etalon peak shift for fine measurements is proposed and demonstrated. This method gives direct unambiguous temperature measurements with a high temperature resolution over a wide temperature range. An alternative method using blackbody radiation from a SiC chip in a two-color pyrometer configuration for coarse temperature measurement and classical FP laser interferometry via the same chip for fine temperature measurement is also proposed and demonstrated. The sensor design is successfully deployed in an industrial test rig environment with gas temperatures exceeding 1200 C. This sensor is proposed as an alternate to all-electrical thermocouples that are susceptible to severe reliability and lifetime issues in such extreme environments. A few components non-contact thickness measurement system for optical quality semi-transparent samples such as Silicon (Si) and 6H SiC optical chips such as the one used in the design of this sensor is proposed and demonstrated. The proposed system is self-calibrating and ensures a true thickness measurement by taking into account material dispersion in the wavelength band of operation. For the first time, a 100% repeatable all-digital electronically-controlled pinhole laser beam profiling system using a Texas Instruments (TI) Digital Micro-mirror Device (DMD) commonly used in projectors is experimentally demonstrated using a unique liquid crystal image generation system with non-invasive qualities. Also proposed and demonstrated is the first motion-free electronically-controlled beam propagation analyzer system using a TI DMD and a variable focus liquid lens. The system can be used to find all the parameters of a laser beam including minimum waist size, minimum waist location and the beam propagation parameter M2. Given the all-digital nature of DMD-based profiling and all-analog motion-free nature of the Electronically Controlled Variable Focus Lens (ECVFL) beam focus control, the proposed analyzer versus prior-art promises better repeatability, speed and reliability. For the first time, Three Dimensional (3-D) imaging is demonstrated using an electronically controlled Liquid Crystal (LC) optical lens to accomplish a no-moving parts depth section scanning in a modified commercial 3-D confocal microscope. The proposed microscopy system within aberration limits has the potential to eliminate the sample or objective motion-caused mechanical forces that can distort the original sample structure and lead to imaging errors. A signal processing method for realizing high resolution three dimensional (3-D) optical imaging using diffraction limited low resolution optical signals is also proposed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002922, ucf:47995
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002922
- Title
- INITIAL VALIDATION OF NOVEL PERFORMANCE-BASED MEASURES: MENTAL ROTATION AND PSYCHOMOTOR ABILITY.
- Creator
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Fatolitis, Philip, Jentsch, Florian, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Given the high-risk nature of military flight operations and the significant resources required to train U.S. Naval Aviation personnel, continual improvement is required in the selection process. In addition to general commissioning requirements and aeromedical standards, the U.S. Navy utilizes the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) to select commissioned aviation students. Although the ASTB has been a good predictor of aviation student performance in training, it was proposed that...
Show moreGiven the high-risk nature of military flight operations and the significant resources required to train U.S. Naval Aviation personnel, continual improvement is required in the selection process. In addition to general commissioning requirements and aeromedical standards, the U.S. Navy utilizes the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) to select commissioned aviation students. Although the ASTB has been a good predictor of aviation student performance in training, it was proposed that incremental improvement could be gained with the introduction of novel, computer administered performance-based measures: Block Rotation (BRT) and a Navy-developed Compensatory Tracking task. This work constituted an initial validation of the BRT, an interactive virtual analog of Shepard-Metzler's (1971) Mental Rotation task that was developed with the intention of quantifying mental rotation and psychomotor ability. For Compensatory Tracking, this work sought to determine if data gathered concord with results in extant literature, confirming the validity of the task. Data from the BRT were examined to determine task reliability and to formulate relevant quantitative/predictive performance human models. Results showed that the BRT performance is a valid spatial ability predictor whose output can be modeled, and that Compensatory Tracking task data concord with the psychometric properties of tracking tasks that have been previously presented in the literature.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- CFE0002413, ucf:47764
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002413
- Title
- Rethinking Routing and Peering in the era of Vertical Integration of Network Functions.
- Creator
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Dey, Prasun, Yuksel, Murat, Wang, Jun, Ewetz, Rickard, Zhang, Wei, Hasan, Samiul, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Content providers typically control the digital content consumption services and are getting the most revenue by implementing an (")all-you-can-eat(") model via subscription or hyper-targeted advertisements. Revamping the existing Internet architecture and design, a vertical integration where a content provider and access ISP will act as unibody in a sugarcane form seems to be the recent trend. As this vertical integration trend is emerging in the ISP market, it is questionable if existing...
Show moreContent providers typically control the digital content consumption services and are getting the most revenue by implementing an (")all-you-can-eat(") model via subscription or hyper-targeted advertisements. Revamping the existing Internet architecture and design, a vertical integration where a content provider and access ISP will act as unibody in a sugarcane form seems to be the recent trend. As this vertical integration trend is emerging in the ISP market, it is questionable if existing routing architecture will suffice in terms of sustainable economics, peering, and scalability. It is expected that the current routing will need careful modifications and smart innovations to ensure effective and reliable end-to-end packet delivery. This involves new feature developments for handling traffic with reduced latency to tackle routing scalability issues in a more secure way and to offer new services at cheaper costs. Considering the fact that prices of DRAM or TCAM in legacy routers are not necessarily decreasing at the desired pace, cloud computing can be a great solution to manage the increasing computation and memory complexity of routing functions in a centralized manner with optimized expenses. Focusing on the attributes associated with existing routing cost models and by exploring a hybrid approach to SDN, we also compare recent trends in cloud pricing (for both storage and service) to evaluate whether it would be economically beneficial to integrate cloud services with legacy routing for improved cost-efficiency. In terms of peering, using the US as a case study, we show the overlaps between access ISPs and content providers to explore the viability of a future in terms of peering between the new emerging content-dominated sugarcane ISPs and the healthiness of Internet economics. To this end, we introduce meta-peering, a term that encompasses automation efforts related to peering (-) from identifying a list of ISPs likely to peer, to injecting control-plane rules, to continuous monitoring and notifying any violation (-) one of the many outcroppings of vertical integration procedure which could be offered to the ISPs as a standalone service.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007797, ucf:52351
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007797
- Title
- Assessing the Safety and Operational Benefits of Connected and Automated Vehicles: Application on Different Roadways, Weather, and Traffic Conditions.
- Creator
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Rahman, Md Sharikur, Abdel-Aty, Mohamed, Eluru, Naveen, Hasan, Samiul, Yan, Xin, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies have recently drawn an increasing attention from governments, vehicle manufacturers, and researchers. Connected vehicle (CV) technologies provide real-time information about the surrounding traffic condition (i.e., position, speed, acceleration) and the traffic management center's decisions. The CV technologies improve the safety by increasing driver situational awareness and reducing crashes through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to...
Show moreConnected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies have recently drawn an increasing attention from governments, vehicle manufacturers, and researchers. Connected vehicle (CV) technologies provide real-time information about the surrounding traffic condition (i.e., position, speed, acceleration) and the traffic management center's decisions. The CV technologies improve the safety by increasing driver situational awareness and reducing crashes through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I). Vehicle platooning with CV technologies is another key element of the future transportation systems which helps to simultaneously enhance traffic operations and safety. CV technologies can also further increase the efficiency and reliability of automated vehicles (AV) by collecting real-time traffic information through V2V and V2I. However, the market penetration rate (MPR) of CAVs and the higher level of automation might not be fully available in the foreseeable future. Hence, it is worthwhile to study the safety benefits of CAV technologies under different MPRs and lower level of automation. None of the studies focused on both traffic safety and operational benefits for these technologies including different roadway, traffic, and weather conditions. In this study, the effectiveness of CAV technologies (i.e., CV /AV/CAV/CV platooning) were evaluated in different roadway, traffic, and weather conditions. To be more specific, the impact of CVs in reduced visibility condition, longitudinal safety evaluation of CV platooning in the managed lane, lower level of AVs in arterial roadway, and the optimal MPRs of CAVs for both peak and off-peak period are analyzed using simulation techniques. Currently, CAV fleet data are not easily obtainable which is one of the primary reasons to deploy the simulation techniques in this study to evaluate the impacts of CAVs in the roadway. The car following, lane changing, and the platooning behavior of the CAV technologies were modeled in the C++ programming language by considering realistic car following and lane changing models in PTV VISSIM. Surrogate safety assessment techniques were considered to evaluate the safety effectiveness of these CAV technologies, while the average travel time, average speed, and average delay were evaluated as traffic operational measures. Several statistical tests (i.e., Two sample t-test, ANOVA) and the modelling techniques (Tobit, Negative binomial, and Logistic regression) were conducted to evaluate the CAV effectiveness with different MPRs over the baseline scenario. The statistical tests and modeling results suggested that the higher the MPR of CAVs implemented, the higher were the safety and mobility benefits achieved for different roadways (i.e., freeway, expressway, arterials, managed lane), weather (i.e., clear, foggy), and traffic conditions (i.e., peak and off-peak period). Interestingly, from the safety and operation perspective, at least 30% and 20% MPR were needed to achieve both the safety and operational benefits of peak and off-peak period, respectively. This dissertation has major implications for improving transportation infrastructure by recommending optimal MPR of CAVs to achieve balanced mobility and safety benefits considering varying roadway, traffic, and weather condition.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007709, ucf:52442
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007709
- Title
- Improving Traffic Safety at School Zones by Engineering and Operational Countermeasures.
- Creator
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Rahman, Md Hasibur, Abdel-Aty, Mohamed, Lee, JaeYoung, Zaki Hussein, Mohamed, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Safety issues at school zone areas have been one of the most important topics in the traffic safety field. Although many studies have evaluated the effectiveness of various traffic control devices (e.g., sign, flashing beacon, speed monitoring display), there is a lack of studies exploring different roadway countermeasures and the relationship between school-related factors and crashes. In this study, the most crash-prone school zone was identified in Orange and Seminole Counties, Florida,...
Show moreSafety issues at school zone areas have been one of the most important topics in the traffic safety field. Although many studies have evaluated the effectiveness of various traffic control devices (e.g., sign, flashing beacon, speed monitoring display), there is a lack of studies exploring different roadway countermeasures and the relationship between school-related factors and crashes. In this study, the most crash-prone school zone was identified in Orange and Seminole Counties, Florida, based on crash rate. Afterward, a microsimulation network was built in VISSIM environment to test different roadway countermeasures in the school zones. Three different countermeasures: two-step speed reduction (TSR), decreasing the number of driveways (DD), and replacing the two-way left-turn lane (TWLTL) to the raised median (RM) were implemented in the microsimulation. Three surrogate safety measures-: (1) time exposed time to collision (TET), (2) time integrated time to collision (TIT) and (3) time exposed rear-end crash risk index (TERCRI) were utilized in this study as indicators for safety evaluation. The higher value of surrogate safety measures indicates higher crash risk. The results showed that both TSR and DD reduced TET, TIT and TERCRI values significantly compare to the base condition. Moreover, the combination of TSR and DD countermeasures outperformed their individual effectiveness. The One-way ANOVA analysis showed that all the sub-scenarios were significantly different from each other. Sensitivity analysis result has proved that all the sub-scenarios in TSR and DD reduced TET, TIT and TERCRI values significantly for different value of TTC threshold. On the other hand, for converting the TWLTL to RM, the crash risk was higher than the base condition because of the turning movements of vehicle. The results of this study could help transportation planners and decision makers to understand the effect of these countermeasures to improve safety at school zones.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007708, ucf:52409
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007708
- Title
- HYDROGEN SULFIDE FLUX MEASUREMENTS AND DISPERSION MODELING FROM CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION (C&D) DEBRIS LANDFILLS.
- Creator
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Eun, Sangho, Reinhart, Debra, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Odor problems are a common complaint from residents living near landfills. Many compounds can cause malodorous conditions. However, hydrogen sulfide (h2s) has been identified as a principal odorous component from construction and demolition (c&d)debris landfills. Although several studies have reported the ambient concentrations of h2s near c&d landfills, few studies have quantified emission rates of h2s. The most widely used and proven technique for measuring gas emission rates from...
Show moreOdor problems are a common complaint from residents living near landfills. Many compounds can cause malodorous conditions. However, hydrogen sulfide (h2s) has been identified as a principal odorous component from construction and demolition (c&d)debris landfills. Although several studies have reported the ambient concentrations of h2s near c&d landfills, few studies have quantified emission rates of h2s. The most widely used and proven technique for measuring gas emission rates from landfills is the flux chamber method. Typically the flux chamber is a cylindrical enclosure device with a spherical top which limits the gas emission area. Pure zero grade air is introduced into the chamber, allowed to mix with emitting gases captured from the landfill surface, and then transported to the exit port where concentrations can be measured. Flux measurements using the flux chamber were performed at five different c&d landfills from june to august, 2003. The flux rates of h2s measured in this research were three to six orders of magnitude lower than the flux rates of methane reported in the literature. In addition to the h2s flux measurements, dispersion modeling was conducted, using the epa dispersion model, industrial source complex short term (iscst3), in order to evaluate impacts on landfill workers and communities around the landfills. The modeling results were analyzed to estimate the potential ground level maximum h2s concentrations for 1-hr and 3-min periods and the frequency (occurrences per year) above the h2s odor detection threshold for each landfill. Odor complaints could be expected from four among five landfills selected for this study, based on 0.5-ppb odor detection threshold.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2004
- Identifier
- CFE0000169, ucf:52837
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000169
- Title
- Truly Accomplished: Effectiveness of a Measurement and Feedback Approach to Lifestyle Change.
- Creator
-
Wright, Natalie, Pritchard, Robert, Fritzsche, Barbara, Sims, Valerie, Roth, Colin, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Individuals' personal improvement efforts are pervasive and the benefits associated with successful self-improvement are both tangible (e.g., healthier lifestyles, more intimate relationships) and intangible (e.g., personal accomplishment, enhanced well-being). As evidenced by research on work-family spillover, self-improvement also has important implications for organizations, as there is considerable crossover between work and non-work domains. The current study tested the effectiveness of...
Show moreIndividuals' personal improvement efforts are pervasive and the benefits associated with successful self-improvement are both tangible (e.g., healthier lifestyles, more intimate relationships) and intangible (e.g., personal accomplishment, enhanced well-being). As evidenced by research on work-family spillover, self-improvement also has important implications for organizations, as there is considerable crossover between work and non-work domains. The current study tested the effectiveness of Truly Accomplished, an intervention designed to help individuals develop personalized systems for measuring and improving behavior, and examined the extent to which the outcomes associated with such behavior change exhibit positive spillover effects into the workplace. Participants (N = 44) experienced large gains in effectiveness (d = 2.93). Effectiveness gain was predicted by conscientiousness (r = .40), core self-evaluations (r = .42), and psychological safety (r = .64). Learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation interacted with perceived goal difficulty to predict effectiveness gain. Overall effectiveness gain was negatively related to stress and positively related to future change efficacy, job-related efficacy, and satisfaction with the intervention. Job satisfaction and job efficacy increased following feedback, providing some evidence of spillover.Results have implications for individual behavior and attitude change, and its impact seems to extend into subjective well-being above and beyond actual behavior change. Evidence of spillover has implications for organizations, suggesting that TA may be used as a mechanism through which job-related outcomes can be improved.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004231, ucf:48998
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004231
- Title
- DEVELOPMENT OF OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY FOR TISSUE DIAGNOSTICS.
- Creator
-
Meemon, Panomsak, Rolland, Jannick, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Microvasculature can be found in almost every part of the human body, including the internal organs. Importantly, abnormal changes in microvasculature are usually related to pathological development of the tissue cells. Monitoring of changes in blood flow properties in microvasculature, therefore, provides useful diagnostic information about pathological conditions in biological tissues as exemplified in glaucoma, diabetes, age related macular degeneration, port wine stains, burn-depth, and...
Show moreMicrovasculature can be found in almost every part of the human body, including the internal organs. Importantly, abnormal changes in microvasculature are usually related to pathological development of the tissue cells. Monitoring of changes in blood flow properties in microvasculature, therefore, provides useful diagnostic information about pathological conditions in biological tissues as exemplified in glaucoma, diabetes, age related macular degeneration, port wine stains, burn-depth, and potentially skin cancer. However, the capillary network is typically only one cell in wall thickness with 5 to 10 microns in diameter and located in the dermis region of skin. Therefore, a non-invasive flow imaging technique that is capable of depth sectioning at high resolution and high speed is demanded. Optical coherence tomography (OCT), particularly after its advancement in frequency domain OCT (FD-OCT), is a promising tool for non-invasive high speed, high resolution, and high sensitivity depth-resolved imaging of biological tissues. Over the last ten years, numerous efforts have been paid to develop OCT-based flow imaging techniques. An important effort is the development of phase-resolved Doppler OCT (PR-DOCT). Phase-resolved Doppler imaging using FD-OCT is particularly of interest because of the direct access to the phase information of the depth profile signal. Furthermore, the high speed capability of FD-OCT is promising for real time flow monitoring as well as 3D flow segmentation applications. However, several challenges need to be addressed; 1) Flow in biological samples exhibits a wide dynamic range of flow velocity caused by, for example, the variation in the flow angles, flow diameters, and functionalities. However, the improvement in imaging speed of FD-OCT comes at the expense of a reduction in sensitivity to slow flow information and hence a reduction in detectable velocity range; 2) A structural ambiguity so-called 'mirror image' in FD-OCT prohibits the use of maximum sensitivity and imaging depth range; 3) The requirement of high lateral resolution to resolve capillary vessels requires the use of an imaging optics with high numerical aperture (NA) that leads to a reduction in depth of focus (DOF) and hence the imaging depth range (i.e. less than 100 microns) unless dynamic focusing is performed. Nevertheless, intrinsic to the mechanism of FD-OCT, dynamic focusing is not possible. In this dissertation, the implementation of PR-DOCT in a high speed swept-source based FD-OCT is investigated and optimized. An acquisition scheme as well as a processing algorithm that effectively extends the detectable velocity dynamic range of the PR-DOCT is presented. The proposed technique increased the overall detectable velocity dynamic range of PR-DOCT by about five times of that achieved by the conventional method. Furthermore, a novel technique of mirror image removal called ÂÂ'Dual-Detection FD-OCTÂÂ' (DD-FD-OCT) is presented. One of the advantages of DD-FD-OCT to Doppler imaging is that the full-range signal is achieved without manipulation of the phase relation between consecutive axial lines. Hence the full-range DD-FD-OCT is fully applicable to phase-resolved Doppler detection without a reduction in detectable velocity dynamic range as normally encountered in other full-range techniques. In addition, PR- DOCT can utilize the maximum signal-to-noise ratio provided by the full-range capability. This capability is particularly useful for imaging of blood flow that locates deep below the sample surface, such as blood flow at deep posterior human eye and blood vessels network in the dermis region of human skin. Beside high speed and functional imaging capability, another key parameter that will open path for optical diagnostics using OCT technology is high resolution imaging (i.e. in a regime of a few microns or sub-micron). Even though the lateral resolution of OCT can be independently improved by opening the NA of the imaging optics, the high lateral resolution is maintained only over a short range as limited by the depth of focus that varies inversely and quadratically with NA. Recently developed by our group, ÂÂ'Gabor-Domain Optical Coherence MicroscopyÂÂ' (GD-OCM) is a novel imaging technique capable for invariant resolution of about 2-3 microns over a 2 mm cubic field-of-view. This dissertation details the imaging protocol as well as the automatic data fusion method of GD-OCM developed to render an in-focus high-resolution image throughout the imaging depth of the sample in real time. For the application of absolute flow measurement as an example, the precise information about flow angle is required. GD-OCM provides more precise interpretation of the tissue structures over a large field-of-view, which is necessary for accurate mapping of the flow structure and hence is promising for diagnostic applications particularly when combined with Doppler imaging. Potentially, the ability to perform high resolution OCT imaging inside the human body is useful for many diagnostic applications, such as providing an accurate map for biopsy, guiding surgical and other treatments, monitoring the functional state and/or the post-operative recovery process of internal organs, plaque detection in arteries, and early detection of cancers in the gastrointestinal tract. Endoscopic OCT utilizes a special miniature probe in the sample arm to access tubular organs inside the human body, such as the cardiovascular system, the lung, the gastrointestinal tract, the urinary tract, and the breast duct. We present an optical design of a dynamic focus endoscopic probe that is capable of about 4 to 6 microns lateral resolution over a large working distance (i.e. up to 5 mm from the distal end of the probe). The dynamic focus capability allows integration of the endoscopic probe to GD-OCM imaging to achieve high resolution endoscopic tomograms. We envision the future of this developing technology as a solution to high resolution, minimally invasive, depth-resolved imaging of not only structure but also the microvasculature of in vivo biological tissues that will be useful for many clinical applications, such as dermatology, ophthalmology, endoscopy, and cardiology. The technology is also useful for animal study applications, such as the monitoring of an embryoÂÂ's heart for the development of animal models and monitoring of changes in blood circulation in response to external stimulus in small animal brains.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003442, ucf:48392
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003442
- Title
- EDUCATIONAL VIDEO GAME EFFECTS UPON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT AND MOTIVATION SCORES: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY EXAMINING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SEXES.
- Creator
-
Kappers, Wendi, Hirumi (Co-Chair: Witta), Atsusi (Co-Chair: Lea), University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
An experimental research study using a mixed-method analysis to was conducted to examine educational video game effects on mathematics achievement and motivation between sexes. This study examined sex difference in a 7th grade mathematics (Mathematics 2/Mathematics 2 Advanced) classroom (n=60) learning algebra. Attributes and barriers relating to educational video game play, preference, and setting characteristics were explored. To examine achievement and motivation outcomes, a repeated...
Show moreAn experimental research study using a mixed-method analysis to was conducted to examine educational video game effects on mathematics achievement and motivation between sexes. This study examined sex difference in a 7th grade mathematics (Mathematics 2/Mathematics 2 Advanced) classroom (n=60) learning algebra. Attributes and barriers relating to educational video game play, preference, and setting characteristics were explored. To examine achievement and motivation outcomes, a repeated-measure (SPSS v14) test was used. The analysis included ethnographic results from both student and teacher interview and observation sessions for data triangulation. Results revealed a statistically significant academic mathematics achievement score increase (F =21.8, df =1, 54, p<.05). Although, mathematics class motivation scores did not present significance (F =.79, df =1, 47, p>.05), both sexes posted similar data outcomes with regard to mathematics class motivation after using an educational video game as treatment during an eighteen-week term in conjunction with receiving in-class instruction. Additionally, there was an increase in male variability in standard deviation score (SDmotivationpre=8.76, SDmotivation post=11.70) for mathematics class motivation. Lastly, self-reported differences between the sexes for this limited sample, with regard to game design likes and dislikes and observed female game play tendencies, were also investigated. The data presented customization as a unified, but most requested, game design need between the sexes. Between sex differences were found only to be superficial other than a female delay in game acceptance with regard to time and game play comfort.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002586, ucf:48270
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002586
- Title
- EVALUATION OF A QUALITY MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE AND HIV AMBULATORY SERVICES PERFORMANCE IN THAILAND.
- Creator
-
Meemon, Natthani, Wan, Thomas, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
The accomplishment of pilot implementation of the HIVQUAL-T model, an innovative HIV care quality management tool, has led to an authoritative decision to scale up the use of the model nationwide in Thailand. However, the level of implementing this model varies across target hospitals. Some hospitals have fully adopted the model by conducting quality improvement (QI) activities following performance measurement (PM) results while others have partially adopted only PM or have not used this...
Show moreThe accomplishment of pilot implementation of the HIVQUAL-T model, an innovative HIV care quality management tool, has led to an authoritative decision to scale up the use of the model nationwide in Thailand. However, the level of implementing this model varies across target hospitals. Some hospitals have fully adopted the model by conducting quality improvement (QI) activities following performance measurement (PM) results while others have partially adopted only PM or have not used this model at all. The differential level of implementation could be a contributing factor accounting for discrepancies in the quality of care across different HIV ambulatory care facilities. A cross-sectional study was conducted by using two main datasets, including Thailand's national HIV care performance results and an online survey of all public hospitals nationwide. A total of 382 hospitals responded to the survey, accounting for a response rate of 50%. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) method was performed to examine the validity of latent constructs developed from the diffusion of innovation theory. Structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was employed to investigate the relationship between the determinants of organizational decision-making and their contribution to organizational outcomes, under the context-design-performance framework. Furthermore, using a panel model of hospitals that reported performance results across a 3-year period, the improvement in HIV ambulatory services performance among the adopters was examined. The results indicated that two innovation attributes -relative advantage and simplicity perceived by HIV care practitioners in hospitals- were found to be positively associated with the level of the HIVQUAL-T model implementation. Two structural characteristics -interconnectedness and organizational slack- appeared to be positively associated with the level of model implementation, while rate of adoption in the region also had significant positive contribution. Ultimately, the extensiveness of the HIVQUAL-T model implementation demonstrated a proportionate impact on the variation in hospitals' HIV ambulatory services performance. It was noted that the implementers considerably improved their performance within two years of implementing the model. The study findings imply that adoption is more likely when individual practitioners assess the innovation and find it to be easy to comprehend and operate and also worthwhile to implement. Furthermore, hospitals' decision making is likely influenced by their relations to external environment. The findings suggest more emphasis on individual and hospital-level capacity building for meaningful use of this quality management initiative, accompanied by an adjustment of performance measurement software with valid, reliable, and interpretable indicators.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0003753, ucf:48785
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003753
- Title
- More is not always better: Unpacking the cognitive process underlying introspective psychological measurement.
- Creator
-
Lapalme, Matthew, Wang, Wei, Fritzsche, Barbara, Jentsch, Florian, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
For decades, psychometricans have measured non-cognitive constructs with little attention paid to the underlying cognitive processes of response. Previous advancement in psychometrics suggests that traditional cognitive oriented approaches may, in fact, yield construct deficiency and spurious results when applied to non-cognitive measurement. This thesis highlights the importance of specifying an ideal point response process for non-cognitive measurement and empirically demonstrates that an...
Show moreFor decades, psychometricans have measured non-cognitive constructs with little attention paid to the underlying cognitive processes of response. Previous advancement in psychometrics suggests that traditional cognitive oriented approaches may, in fact, yield construct deficiency and spurious results when applied to non-cognitive measurement. This thesis highlights the importance of specifying an ideal point response process for non-cognitive measurement and empirically demonstrates that an ideal point response processes undergirds self-reported personality and attitude measurement. Furthermore, this thesis also advances current understanding on the limitations of ideal point assumptions by exploring the moderating effects of various individual differences in motivation and ability.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0006223, ucf:51074
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006223
- Title
- Enhancing the effectiveness of Human-Robot teaming with a closed-loop system.
- Creator
-
Teo, Grace, Szalma, James, Jentsch, Florian, Hancock, Peter, Matthews, Gerald, Reinerman, Lauren, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
With the development in robotics and the increasing deployment of robots, human-robot teams are set to be a mainstay in the future. However, our understanding of the effectiveness and impact of this new form of teaming is limited. Previous experience with technology and automa-tion has shown that technological aids do not always result in the intended consequences of im-proved performance and alleviation of workload and stress. No doubt a large part of this is due to the fact that the...
Show moreWith the development in robotics and the increasing deployment of robots, human-robot teams are set to be a mainstay in the future. However, our understanding of the effectiveness and impact of this new form of teaming is limited. Previous experience with technology and automa-tion has shown that technological aids do not always result in the intended consequences of im-proved performance and alleviation of workload and stress. No doubt a large part of this is due to the fact that the relationships among taskload, workload and performance are complex as hu-man operators interact dynamically with tasks and technology. Measures of workload are also varied and differentially sensitive. There is also the added challenge posed by multi-tasking envi-ronments which typify most real-world situations. Given all this, efforts in designing technologi-cal aids, such as an adaptive robot aid in the context of human-robot teaming, would require a workload model that reflects the intricate relationship between taskload and the individual opera-tor's experience of workload. Such a model can then be used to drive a closed-loop system on which adaptive robot aiding can be based. The present research sought to investigate the effec-tiveness of a closed-loop system, based on a model of workload, in enhancing performance in a simulated military mission involving a human-robot team. Results showed that adaptive robot aid driven by workload needs as assessed by physiological measures resulted in greater improve-ments in performance compared to robot aid that was imposed by the system.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0006403, ucf:51485
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006403
- Title
- Implementation of Optical Interferometry and Spectral Reflectometry for High Fidelity Thin Film Measurements.
- Creator
-
Arends-Rodriguez, Armando, Putnam, Shawn, Chow, Louis, Kauffman, Jeffrey, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
An in-house reflectometer/interferometer has been built to investigate the varying curvature and thickness profiles in the contact line region of air, acetone, iso-octane, ethanol, and water on various types of substrates. Light intensity measurements were obtained using our reflectometer/interferomter and then analyzed in MATLAB to produce thickness and curvature profiles. The apparatus is based on the principle of a reflectometer, consisting of different optical elements, probe, light...
Show moreAn in-house reflectometer/interferometer has been built to investigate the varying curvature and thickness profiles in the contact line region of air, acetone, iso-octane, ethanol, and water on various types of substrates. Light intensity measurements were obtained using our reflectometer/interferomter and then analyzed in MATLAB to produce thickness and curvature profiles. The apparatus is based on the principle of a reflectometer, consisting of different optical elements, probe, light source, and spectrometer. Our reflectometer/interferomter takes measurements in the UV-Vis-IR range (200nm-1000nm). This range is achieved by using a light source that has both a deuterium light (190nm-800nm), a tungsten halogen light (400nm-1100nm), a Metal-Core Printed Circuit Board LED (800nm-1000nm) and a Metal-Core Printed Circuit board cold white LED (400nm-800nm, 6500 K). A UV-VIS-IR spectrometer reads the light response after light is focused on the region of interest. Then a CCD camera (2448x2048) records the profiles for image analyzing interferometry. The readings were then validated based on results in the literature and studies with cylindrical lens samples.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006559, ucf:51328
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006559
- Title
- Fire safety and emergency evacuation training for occupants of building using 3D virtual simulation.
- Creator
-
Bhide, Sayli, Rabelo, Luis, Lee, Gene, McCauley, Pamela, Ahmad, Ali, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
With advancement in technology, building structures are becoming bigger and more complex. Incidences of horrifying fires that occur in such complex structures resulting in loss of property as well as lives are recorded worldwide. Emergency evacuation training can play a crucial role in mitigating damage not only in cases of fire, explosion or chemical spill but also in cases of natural calamities like floods and hurricanes. Conventional safety training provided in industries mostly comprises...
Show moreWith advancement in technology, building structures are becoming bigger and more complex. Incidences of horrifying fires that occur in such complex structures resulting in loss of property as well as lives are recorded worldwide. Emergency evacuation training can play a crucial role in mitigating damage not only in cases of fire, explosion or chemical spill but also in cases of natural calamities like floods and hurricanes. Conventional safety training provided in industries mostly comprises of unidirectional flow of information. Due to this passive learning style, response of employees in real life emergency situations is known to be ineffective. The proposed research focuses on the development of virtual emergency evacuation safety training for residents, workers and employees. This research developed a 3 dimensional (3D) virtual fire safety and emergency evacuation training for building occupants. A 3D model of a real engineering college building in the University of Central Florida (UCF) was developed in a virtual world and participants could interact with various objects and scenarios in this virtual building on a standard desktop computer using keyboard and mouse. Expert interviews and literature review were utilized to develop contents of fire safety and emergency evacuation training. Also, a slide based fire safety and emergency evacuation training was developed based on same contents and made available through a website. An effort was made to develop both trainings- virtual and slide based to be comparable in terms of contents. A case study with two sets of experiments comprising of 143 participants from UCF community was conducted to understand factors such as fidelity, simulation sickness, engagement and effectiveness of 3D virtual and slide based fire safety and emergency evacuation training. Results of fidelity and simulation sickness validated use of 3D virtual training for training building residents on fire safety and emergency evacuation. Data analysis of knowledge tests allowed to compare short terms and long term effectiveness of 3D virtual training and slide based training. To further understand engagement, physiological measure- electroencephalograph (EEG) of 40 healthy participants was recorded in second set of experiments. Ratio of Beta and Alpha frequency bands was studied to understand attention paid by trainees in 3D virtual and slide based training.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0006935, ucf:51647
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006935
- Title
- An Analysis of the School Board of Brevard County Instructional Personnel Performance Appraisal Instrument and the Validity of its Components.
- Creator
-
Mela, Carol, Murray, Barbara, Murray, Kenneth, Taylor, Rosemarye, Hahs-Vaughn, Debbie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This study examined the relationship between the professional practices components of the School Board of Brevard County Instructional Personnel Performance Appraisal System Instrument and student achievement as measured by a teacher's value-added measurement score. A Pearson Product-Moment Correlation was the statistical test used to analyze the data. The population included Brevard Public School instructional personnel assigned to Grades 4-10 who taught reading and/or mathematics measured...
Show moreThis study examined the relationship between the professional practices components of the School Board of Brevard County Instructional Personnel Performance Appraisal System Instrument and student achievement as measured by a teacher's value-added measurement score. A Pearson Product-Moment Correlation was the statistical test used to analyze the data. The population included Brevard Public School instructional personnel assigned to Grades 4-10 who taught reading and/or mathematics measured by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test during the 2011-2012 school year and who received teacher aggregated value-added measurement scores.Findings indicated that there was a small to moderate statistically significant, positive relationship between all eight professional practices component variables and value-added measurement scores. Correlation coefficients ranged from .089 for collaborative inquiry to .218 for quality of instruction. All of the components combined had a correlation of .231, confirming the strength of multiple evaluation measures.Recommendations were provided for future research aimed at further data analysis in Brevard Public Schools as well as other school districts in order to identify the combination of evaluation components that most accurately reflect teaching effectiveness resulting in student learning as well as to pinpoint weaknesses upon which additional training could be based and the fidelity of implementation improved.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004719, ucf:49810
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004719
