41656 research outputs found
Sort by
Multistage Random Key Genetic Algortihm Optimization for Scheduling Flexible Flow Lines with Sequence Depenedent Setup Times
Get PDFThis thesis proposes a new variation to the Random Key Genetic Algorithm (RKGA) for scheduling optimization in flexible flow line manufacturing with sequence dependent setup times. The proposed RKGA representation decodes scheduling information independently at each stage, unlike the traditional RKGA, which is only sequenced based on the first stage, limiting flexibility. The proposed method\u27s performance is compared to the traditional method with varying numbers of jobs and stages. It is compared regarding performance ratio and statistical significance of differences through the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Results show that the proposed RKGA outperformed traditional RKGA in high complexity (8 Stage system) and low complexity scenarios, and the traditional RKGA performs better and more consistently. This thesis demonstrates that a dynamic chromosome can impact solution quality
Rhetorics of Motherhood in Fiction:Motherhood as Identity and Status-Quo
No full textMotherhood has become a highly politicized and dominant topic in public discourse, with it often being a beacon of good-will and the building block of feminine identity. Lindal Buchanan’s Rhetorics of Motherhood demonstrates how motherhood has been used by all types of political ideologies to make women more palpable in public spaces. Miranda July’s All Fours explores an identity shift in an aging mother. In my collection, I explore these different identities and facets of motherhood and what that looks like for characters who struggle with infertility, loss, and addiction. My collection shows motherhood in a realistic and messy view and liberates my characters from motherhood as a moral compass
Resurrecting MSLRP The Diagnosing, Documentation, and Demonstration Of Miniaturized Sequential Liquid Lignin Recovery and Purification
No full textA pilot plant designed for the Sequential Recovery and Purification of Liquid Lignin was downsized to perform optimization and minor adjustments at a reasonable time and operational cost. Multiple failed runs proved the need for a redesign, and an analysis was performed to solve the newly discovered scaling issues.
Operators identified several common failure points of the mSLRP and theorized several methods to rectify them. This included a rework of both procedural elements, the physical construction of the pilot plant, and the actual code and control of the pilot plant’s operating system, LabVIEW.
Runs were attempted, and eventually, the corrective measures were proved successful, marking the first successful runs of the mSLRP since its downsizing. Liquid Lignin was obtained in a fraction of the time and cost the original design would have required. A complete run was logged, including a clean-up that did not require the disassembly of the SLRP. Further analysis demonstrated that the Liquid Lignin was of a higher purity than its previous iteration
Athlete Soreness Self-Reporting for Increased Sports Recovery
Get PDFWith 70-80% of athletes choosing to withhold soreness/injury-related information from sports staff (Jessiman-Perreault et al., 2016; Whatman et al., 2018), the need for more research in this sector of sports communication is apparent. This study aimed to take a step in closing that research gap by identifying barriers to soreness reporting and taking measures to try and work around those barriers in partnership with a Division I, southeastern, public university football team over the course of the 2024 season. The 2024 season’s data was then compared to data collected in the 2021-2023 seasons. Exploratory research into a Division I, southeastern, public University’s football team revealed that the athlete identity, warrior mentality, cognitive dissonance model, and health disclosure decision-making model were barriers to their players’ self-reporting soreness information. Soreness data collection was used to help training staff understand what is going on with their team members physically and help players understand what they need to focus on recovery-wise to be at their best potential. Using the exploratory research as a guide, this study looked to change existing soreness data collection strategies and implement a new soreness communication plan to increase soreness self- reporting and player-led recovery initiatives. Using individual interviews and observational data, results were collected on a weekly basis and compared with previous years. Results indicate that strategically designing communicative messages focused on increasing recovery modality use and normalizing soreness recovery practices led to an increase in soreness self-reporting by players and an increase in player-led recovery usage. Practical implications are forwarded
The Impact of Quality of Life and Recovery Capital on Inhibitory Control in Patients on Medication for Opioid Use Disorder
Get PDFThe opioid crisis persists as a global health challenge, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of the complex interplay between psychological factors and neurocognitive responses among individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD). Two such psychological factors include recovery capital, an individual\u27s internal and external resources to supporting recovery, and quality of life. Past work suggests that positive levels of recovery capital and quality of life may enhance individuals’ ability to regulate emotions and manage cravings. However, it is unclear how these variables are affected when buprenorphine is taken. This study investigates the influence of recovery capital and quality of life on inhibitory control and neural responses to drug and neutral stimuli in individuals with OUD on medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Participants (N=40) were recruited as part of a larger, ongoing randomized controlled trial. Participants completed two study sessions; session one entailed completing the recovery capital and quality of life surveys as well as demographics, while session two focused on the neurocognitive portion of the study. In the second session, participants completed a Go/NoGo task with both neutral and drug cues while having a four-channel EEG recording. Paired sample t-test results demonstrated that individuals receiving early MOUD treatment had lower accuracy and lower alpha and beta power EEG activity in the right frontal lobe for drug relative to neutral NoGo cues. This result demonstrated that individuals on early MOUD treatment exhibited greater difficulty inhibiting their response to drug relative to neutral inhibitory cues. However, hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that neither recovery capital nor quality of life significantly influenced these effects. These results may point to the right frontal brain region involved in attentional and inhibitory control as a potential neuromodulation targets that could amplify the therapeutic impact of MOUD treatment by directly enhancing cognitive capacities critical to recovery
Multilingual learners\u27 digital book composing: Examining circulation of translingual, multimodal resources in an elementary classroom
Get PDFMultilingual learners (MLs) often attend English-medium schools in the U.S. An important area of research is understanding how teachers can support MLs’ literacy practices, such as translingual composing, in these contexts. This paper draws on theories of translanguaging and multimodality to explore the semiotic choices of second graders as they engaged in digital book composing following instruction that invited translanguaging. Specifically, we ask: 1) What multimodal, translingual resources did students initially deploy when invited to use their full semiotic (including linguistic) resources to compose texts? And 2) How were these semiotic resources used across time, resulting in students’ creation of multimodal, translingual texts? Data come from a qualitative project and include audio/video recordings of instruction and images of student texts. Findings from descriptive and thematic coding illustrate the multiple multimodal, multilingual resources, including text, image, and audio, that students used to compose their eBooks. Findings also show how students created these texts over time through discussion about and use of translingual and multimodal resources. Implications for translanguaging theory and pedagogy are discussed
Evolution of Teachers’ Perspectives on Family Engagement: Building Dual Capacity for Multilingual Learners
Get PDFFamily engagement in multilingual learner education offers benefits associated with improved academic performance, stronger parent-teacher communication, and more inclusivity of cultural and linguistic diversity. Responding to calls for professional development that enables teachers to meaningfully involve families, this paper draws from surveys and course assignments to examine how teachers expanded their perceptions about the incorporation of multilingual learner families in a graduate program. We conclude by discussing implications for teacher professional development with specific attention to how teachers can integrate multilingual learner families
A Study on Student Experience In Graphic Communications 1040/1 Summer Accelerated Course
Get PDFThe Department of Graphic Communications at Clemson University offered a 10-day accelerated summer course for students enrolled in Graphic Communications I. This study involved a small sample size, with only four students enrolled in the course, limiting the distribution of data. To evaluate its effectiveness and help determine whether the course should be offered in the future, the researcher asked students to complete a course experience survey. Based on student feedback and survey results, the researcher concluded that the department should continue offering this course. Students identified the flexible class schedule and small class size as key factors contributing to the course\u27s success. Additionally, the accelerated format enabled non-traditional students to catch up on credit hours, helping them stay on track for graduation and enhancing the value of the department\u27s summer course offerings
Wires, Roads, and Real-World Challenges: An Interdisciplinary Case Study Bridging Roadway and Electric Utility Design
Get PDFElectric utilities are a foundational component of modern society and depend heavily on civil engineers for planning, design, construction, and maintenance. However, educational content related to this industry is often underrepresented in civil engineering programs. To bridge this gap, a case study activity was implemented in two transportation engineering courses at Clemson University. The case study introduced students to the integration between electric utility infrastructure and roadway design by simulating a realistic and common conflict scenario faced by Departments of Transportation (DOTs) nationwide.
Students were placed in interdisciplinary teams, with each member assigned a specialized role such as Land Agent, Environmental Specialist, Transportation Engineer, or Electric Utility Specialist. The case study objective was to mitigate conflict between a proposed DOT roundabout and an existing high-voltage transmission line. The students were tasked with developing a realistic recommendation for relocating the transmission line away from the planned roundabout. Each group was also asked to create a cost estimate and project schedule. To reflect real-world challenges, they were given randomly assigned constraints, ranging from protected environmental areas to material shortages. The addition of these constraints required students to practice adaptability and creativity.
This exercise highlighted the significance of civil engineers in the electric utility sector, where roles span from transmission line design to site development and project management. With the national electrical grid in dire need of modification and expansion, exposing civil engineering students to electric utility work is timely and critical. By simulating real-world challenges, regulatory constraints, and industry dynamics, this case study promoted practical skill development and encouraged students to prepare for the integrated nature of modern infrastructure design.
This paper presents the structure, implementation, and educational outcomes of the case study, using a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative results from the pre- and post-surveys showed statistically significant improvements in student-reported understanding of utility design (p \u3c 0.01). Student responses to open-ended survey questions were coded using a thematic analysis. These qualitative results revealed five key themes: (1) complexity of utility design, (2) impact of constraints, (3) societal and environmental impact, (4) realism and practical application, and (5) teamwork and role-based collaboration. The mixed-method findings of this study support the value of integrating interdisciplinary, utility-focused content into civil engineering curricula.
Keywords: civil engineering education, electric utility infrastructure, transportation design, interdisciplinary, utility relocation, case study, real-world constraint
Childhood Vaccination: An Exploration of Vaccine Message Effectiveness, Vaccine Literacy, and Parental Vaccine Hesitancy
No full textChildhood vaccination rates in the United States (US) have declined in recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, due to reasons such as forgetfulness, lack of knowledge, lack of awareness about vaccines and their availabilities, and lack of confidence in vaccine safety and effectiveness, which led to lower demand in vaccines post-pandemic. With the decrease in childhood vaccination and the increase in the risk of vaccine preventable disease outbreaks, vaccine promotion initiatives utilize communication strategies to promote vaccination to increase confidence and trust among parents, which can help them make informed vaccine decisions for their children. The goal of this research is to explore the effects of a series of evidence-based vaccine messages that were designed to be used in a vaccine promotion campaign in South Carolina.
This dissertation was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of the campaign messages from the perspective of participants, as well as to understand the impact of factors such as vaccine literacy level, vaccine hesitancy, and vaccine hesitancy among participants. A cross-sectional, web-based survey was developed to assess these measures. Eligible participants included residents of South Carolina (SC) aged 18 years and older. A total of 347 individuals who met the eligibility criteria and completed the survey contributed data to the three studies of my dissertation. Three chapters make up this dissertation; each chapter focuses on a different factor that contributes to vaccine uptake.
The first chapter explores the characteristics of the messages used in the campaign and the overall perceived message effectiveness (PME). In addition, it examines whether vaccine literacy (VL) skills are predictors of PME and the modifying effects of vaccine hesitancy (VH) and prior exposure in this relationship. VL is defined as people’s knowledge, language skills (functional VL), and cognitive skills (interactive-critical VL) to understand and evaluate vaccine-related information. The cross-sectional survey first captured the baseline data, such as VL and VH. Participants were then shown a series of vaccine messages, each followed by questions assessing PME. The survey concluded with questions about participants’ sociodemographic demographics. Results from multiple linear regression indicated that core message likability, believability, and applicability are predictors of PME. VL skills were not indicators of PME. Vaccine VH and prior exposure to the messages were moderators of the relationship between VL and PME. Message effectiveness was perceived as lower by individuals who had higher VH scores, while PME was higher among those who previously saw the messages. Additional multi-variable modeling studies are needed to explore other potential effect modifies such as sociodemographic characteristics. Findings demonstrate the critical characteristics of the messages that are perceived positively by the audience and the importance of modifying factors that can increase PME (e.g., prior exposure to messages) or decrease it (e.g., VH).
The second chapter explores disparities related to VL skills in participants, along with associations between childhood vaccine behaviors (delay, denial, religious exemption, indecision), VL, and sociodemographic factors. These measures were assessed using the same cross-sectional survey instrument. Functional VL skills were higher than interactive-critical VL among participants. In addition, functional VL was identified to be a consistent predictor across all vaccine behaviors. Gender, age, and employment status were among the sociodemographic characteristics associated with vaccine behaviors. These findings offer insight into the importance of some sociodemographic characteristics, such as access to healthcare providers, age, gender, and VL skills in relation to childhood vaccine behaviors.
The third chapter investigates the impact of brief exposure to the series of vaccine messages on parental VH, vaccine misconceptions, and vaccine beliefs about safety and efficacy. A within-subject pretest-posttest design was used to assess the effects of viewing the messages on the three outcome measures. Before and after viewing these messages, participants completed pretest and posttest surveys (one-group design) to measure their beliefs and perceptions about vaccines. Statistical analysis showed there was no significant change in any of the measures between pre and post-test, which could be explained by the low dose of the intervention. These findings offer insight into the importance of repeated exposure to the messages over time in order for the messages to influence vaccine beliefs