University of Central Florida
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Transformative Assignments: The Answer is in the Room
No full textEducators crowdsourcing ideas in the era of AI has led to exciting curriculum innovations. Join us for an interactive session where we consider frameworks for revising assignments. Bring an idea you would like to explore or an existing lesson you would like to transform, and prepare to connect with other educators to collaborate on curriculum updating. Examples which inspired you during this year’s conference are very welcome! We will demonstrate Turnitin’s new student writing space, Clarity, and we are most interested in creating discussion space for your ideas because we know the answer is in the room
Do not settle for one Large Language Model - leverage them all and use better tooling with QuadC AI!
No full textThis session will discuss how QuadC\u27s AI solution leverages multiple AI Large Language Models (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc.) on one platform with better tooling and more flexible licensing. This will help educators save time and effort, enable students to learn better and faster, and some improved administrative capabilities to help scale deployment. Participants will learn how the platform leverages multiple AI LLM models to provide different perspectives to encourage critical thinking and detect/challenge biases; how better tooling in the platform can save time on grading, make make working with LMS systems easier, get sentiment analysis, and provide abuse detection; and also how one can start using this platform in your organization easily in small steps starting from a single class and eventually scaling to the whole school with minimal administrative support
Lost Things
Get PDFLost Things is a novella that explores sexuality, family, and mental illness. When Pearl drops out of college following a crisis in mental health, she returns to Sunnyside, Florida, where she does not belong. Pearl’s queerness and inability to meet her mother’s harsh expectations render her an outsider in her own home. However, Pearl finds solace and companionship in Saint Anthony, a goldfish her little sister won at the school fair. Pearl and Saint Anthony devolve into mutual obsession: Pearl, with the beached blue whale that washes up a mile from her home, and Saint Anthony with the ocean. Pearl’s plans for suicide are stalled as she plots to see the whale, resolve the fragmented relationship with her first love, and confront a family secret that has haunted her since childhood. Over the course of a single summer week, Pearl must face the presumed predestination of her death and the reality of a world that may not be finished with her yet
Reimagining Main Street: Themed Experience Design as a Tool for Small Town Revitalization
No full textThe idea of the American main street is deeply embedded in popular culture, often seen through layers of nostalgia that can obscure the real-world conditions of today. While an idealized nostalgia may benefit some towns, decades of change have left many struggling to fit the mold. This thesis explores how core principles of themed experience design can be integrated into existing American main streets, reimagining the way residents interact and identify with these spaces.
Examining historical upheavals alongside decades of media portrayals brings insight into the different stories embedded in America’s small towns, many of which remain focused on the past. This thesis looks at main streets as they are today and proposes a new design approach that honors the past, celebrates the present, and looks toward the future. The proposal grounds the design elements with urban planning principles and invites broader conversation between disciplines.
The design is presented through a 3D model, showcasing three themed areas and an overarching story that weaves into an existing main street. With a variety of interactives and engagement styles, each area works toward building a new vision of community and identity in America’s main streets
Characterization Of Turbulent Flames In Confined Combustors
No full textAs industry transitions to a net-zero carbon future, turbulent premixed combustion will remain an integral process for power generating gas turbines and are also desired for aviation engines due to their ability to minimize pollutant emissions. However, accurately predicting the behavior of a turbulent reacting flow field remains a challenge. To better understand the dynamics of premixed reacting flows, this study experimentally investigates the evolution of turbulence in a high-speed bluff-body combustor. The combustor operates across a range of equivalence ratios from 0.7-1 to quantify the role of heat release and flame scales on the evolution of turbulence as the flow evolves from reactants to products. High-speed particle image velocimetry and CH* chemiluminescence imaging systems are simultaneously employed to quantify turbulent flame and flow dynamics. The results demonstrate that the flame augments turbulence fluctuations as the flow evolves from reactants to products for all cases. However, turbulence fluctuations increase monotonically with the heat of combustion and corresponding turbulent flame speed. Nondimensional spatial profiles of turbulence are used to develop a correlation to predict the increase in turbulent fluctuations in extended progress variable space. A Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) decomposition is also explored to better characterize the effects of heat release on turbulence evolution dynamics. The correlations and RANS decomposition can guide modeling capabilities to better predict confined turbulent reacting flows and accelerate design strategies for premixed turbines with carbon-free fuels
MEMS-based Airflow Sensor for Apnea Detection Using Time-of-Flight Technique
No full textSleep is essential for overall human health, influencing cognitive, emotional, and physical well-being. Respiratory-related sleep disorders, particularly obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), require early detection and effective treatment to prevent serious health complications. This dissertation explores innovative advancements in respiratory monitoring sensor development techniques, aiming to improve the diagnosis and management of sleep disorders. The sensor in this work incorporates a pair of Thin-film Piezoelectric on Substrate (TPoS) MEMS resonators operating at ~25 MHz, embedded in two oscillator circuits where frequency variations reflect changes in temperature and humidity caused by respiratory airflow. By precisely measuring airflow travel time between the resonators, the sensor calculates real-time flow rates and velocities with high sensitivity to subtle breathing pattern changes. A laminar airflow channel is carefully designed to minimize turbulence, ensuring more accurate Time-of-Flight-based airflow measurements. The system has undergone extensive experimental validation, including tests with a controlled respiration simulator that replicates human breathing patterns. Results show high precision and linearity, with the sensor accurately measuring flow rates between 0 and 10 L/min and velocities from 0 to 2 m/s, achieving an accuracy of 97.85%. Additionally, the system demonstrates excellent stability, featuring low phase noise, strong frequency response, and a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The use of MEMS-based oscillators further enhances system robustness, while its low power consumption makes it ideal for continuous, real-time monitoring in both clinical and home settings
Older Adult Centered Robot Assessment: Usability, Social Presence, and Acceptance. Building Towards a Better Robot.
No full textThis dissertation investigated factors influencing older adults\u27 perceptions of Misty, a voice-enabled social robot designed for caregiving interactions. Three sequential studies explored how voice characteristics (pitch and speech rate), robot persona (personable vs. robotic), and task guidance (Misty guiding through timed up and go and four stage balance task) influenced usability, social presence, acceptance, and perceptions of medical assistant competence. Study 1 employed thematic and quantitative usability analyses, identifying that lower-pitched, moderately paced voices optimized user satisfaction, while repetitive activation phrases ( Hey Misty ) significantly reduced usability. Study 2 examined how persona framing (personable vs. robotic) influenced perceptions of social presence and trust, revealing that despite persona enhancements, usability limitations overshadowed social benefits, although the personable condition enhanced perceived affective understanding. Study 3 found mixed perceptions of Misty as a medical assistant for structured tasks, and emotional engagement and deeper trust remained limited. Regression analyses indicated comprehension was critical for perceived service quality, although trust and emotional engagement remained barriers to acceptance. Overall, findings emphasize that usability—particularly conversational fluidity—strongly impacts older adults’ acceptance and social perceptions of assistive robots. Future research should prioritize wake-free interaction models and sustained interactions to enhance emotional engagement, trust, and perceived medical credibility in socially assistive robots
Additively Manufactured Engineered Transparent Ceramics For Laser Gain Media
No full textTransparent ceramics (TCs) offer a key advantage over single crystals as solid-state laser materials, in that their composition can be spatially varied to improve laser performance. In this work, additive manufacturing (AM) techniques were applied to TC fabrication to produce laser gain media with engineered gain and index profiles. We have used direct ink write (DIW) to fabricate laser rods and channel waveguides and introduced ink-spraying, a new technique, to realize multilayer planar waveguides. Modifications to the DIW process, including the use of sacrificial drying layers to promote uniform drying, the optimization of the drying, burnout and calcination steps all led to the successful scale up of AM’ed laser rods to 13 cm long and 1 cm in diameter. Using this technique, Nd3+ and Cr4+ co-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) laser rods were produced and tested in self Q-switched operation. These generated pulses of 20 to 50 nanoseconds with up to 273 mJ per pulse, the first TC self Q-switched laser of this type. The use of DIW to fabricate channel waveguides (CWGs) was also pioneered. Yb:YAG laser CWGs, with diameters as small as 50 µm, were fabricated and demonstrated a high optical-optical laser slope efficiency of 61%. Additionally, a new method of fabricating TC planar waveguides (PWGs) was developed by spraying a colloidal nanoparticle suspension on a powder bed to produce uniform, thin (\u3c 10 µm) layers enabling the manufacture of intricate PWGs. Via ink-spraying, single and multilayer waveguides, for mode selective ribbon lasers, with total thicknesses of 40 to 69 µm were produced and lased with similar slope efficiencies, up to 31%. Through these novel processes the versatility of high optical quality AM’ed TC laser gain media has been demonstrated, paving the way for future laser gain media with improved thermal management, beam quality, compactness, and laser operation
Characterizing Conditioned Pain Modulation and Quadriceps Motor Unit Recruitment Among Older Adults with Chronic Knee Pain
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Over 25% of U.S. older adults experience chronic knee pain, which worsens with inactivity, creating a cycle of pain, disability, and sedentary behavior. However, a limited understanding of its underlying mechanisms hinders the development of effective treatments. PURPOSE: This study integrated assessments of Conditioned Pain Modulation (CPM) and motor unit control to elucidate the role of pain sensitization and neuromuscular impairments specific to chronic knee pain. METHODS: Seventy-five participants were divided into three groups: young adults (n=25), older adults without pain (n=30), and older adults with chronic pain (n=20). CPM efficiency was evaluated using heat and pressure test stimuli alongside a cold-water bath conditioning stimulus. Motor unit assessments involved isometric contractions of the dominant/painful quadriceps at 50% of maximal torque, with surface electromyographic signals recorded from the vastus lateralis. RESULTS: Independent of chronic knee pain, older adults demonstrated more efficient heat-CPM than young adults (p=0.014, ηp2=0.080). The slope of the mean firing rate versus recruitment threshold relationship indicated that older adults showed greater firing rates for high threshold motor units, independent chronic knee pain (p=0.010, ηp2=0.136). The y-intercept of this relationship was greater in younger versus chronic-pain older adults (p=0.024, ηp2=0.111). CONCLUSION: Contrary to our hypothesis, older adults displayed more efficient heat-CPM, independent of chronic pain. Similarly, motor unit control was mostly influenced by age but not chronic knee pain. These findings suggest that age-related changes in pain modulation and motor unit behavior may play a greater role in neuromuscular function than the presence of chronic pain itself
Beyond Graduation: A Quantitative Analysis of Earned Wage Outcomes for Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities Participating in Florida Postsecondary Comprehensive Transition Programs
No full textThe study examined how person-centered planning goal setting and integrated paid work experiences predict postsecondary employment stability and earned wages for individuals with intellectual disabilities who completed Florida Postsecondary Comprehensive Transition Programs. Findings indicated that structured transition planning significantly predicts higher postsecondary earnings, while integrated, paid work experiences contribute to greater employment stability and wage progression over time. Institutional differences shape employment trajectories, underscoring the need to evaluate programmatic factors influencing postsecondary outcomes. Limitations include institutional variability in data reporting, unmeasured confounding variables, and the specificity of the sample to FPCTPs in one state. Program implementation differences and regional labor market conditions may affect generalizability. Despite these limitations, results provide empirical evidence to strengthen transition planning, expand work-based learning, and refine program evaluation frameworks. Findings support policies that enhance employment opportunities and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with ID. Future research should explore additional factors affecting long-term employment outcomes to inform inclusive postsecondary education practices