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Defining Inclusive UX Design: Key Criteria and Industry Insights for Creating Equitable User Experiences
Get PDFThis study establishes key criteria for inclusivity in UX design to aid designers in creating more inclusive practices. Analyzing inclusivity guidelines from Adobe, Slack, Microsoft, and Google, the scope expanded to include the top ten UX-related companies, such as Apple and Amazon, to reduce bias. The identified criteria are community, diversity and representation, non-discrimination and equity, and adaptability. Interviews with professionals revealed limitations in terms of diversity and highlighted the need to address power and accessibility. The study also linked inclusive design to universal design principles, emphasizing error prevention and adaptability. The final criteria consist of Inclusion, Community, Communication, and Adaptability, each aimed at fostering belonging, ensuring clear communication, and creating flexible experiences. The research highlights the importance of early user involvement and ongoing improvement, offering a comprehensive approach to inclusivity in UX design
Investigating the Benefits of Utilizing Mass Timber in Construction
Get PDFOver the past decade, mass timber—an umbrella term for engineered wood products used as primary structural elements—has gained traction in the USA as a sustainable material for multistory buildings. Mass timber is a compelling alternative to steel and concrete due to its practical construction benefits, which were discovered through interviews with architects, engineers, and contractors. The interviews reveal advantages such as a streamlined construction process, reduced site disruption, and improved structural precision thanks to off-site manufacturing. Mass timber’s biophilic aspect improves indoor occupant satisfaction and market appeal. By documenting real-world experiences, the study highlights mass timber’s benefits due to its transformative, economical, and sustainable potential in modern construction
A TurtleBot3 Hardware Testbed for Distributed Kalman Filter Localization
Get PDFThis report presents the preliminary design for a distributed localization framework for a multi-robot system. Many robotics research papers provide simulations of proposed algorithms in regards to formation control and task allocation. However, it is often that these proposals are without hardware experiments, being limited only to simulation. The objective of this framework is to provide a hardware implementation of a distributed Kalman filtering algorithm for multi-agent localization, as well as provide grounds for future multi-agent experiments. The framework is implemented on a swarm of three Turtlebot3 mobile robots. The robots can accurately localize themselves with respect to other agents within a 0.5 m radius with up to 1 cm of accuracy. Using a private WiFi network, the robots can communicate and exchange information between each other, utilizing the node/topic and publisher/subscriber scheme within the ROS 2 platform. The multi-agent system operates in an ideal 2D environment, one that is flat and free of obstacles. To evaluate system performance, the root mean square error (RMSE) of the localization data, as well as the measured positional data, is plotted by a central computer. The RMSE of 3 agents is found to be under 0.02 m after 30 iterations. These results present significant validity of this algorithm for multi-agent localization. Many formation control and task allocation algorithms assume localization as a prerequisite for collision avoidance. While many localization algorithms have been proposed and have undergone valid simulation, this framework may serve as a hardware proof of concept for a selected distributed Kalman filtering algorithm and enable future hardware testing of formation control and task allocation
Outdoor Exercise Area Renovation
Get PDFThe Outdoor Exercise Area Renovation project revitalizes a well-used outdoor exercise area located near the baseball fields at Cal Poly. The existing exercise equipment, originally donated by Maino Construction, was weathered, but the area remained well-utilized and presented potential for revitalization. This project transforms the site into a functional and resilient space by replacing the pull-up and dip bar equipment, constructing a 300 square foot pavilion, and adding a concrete slab and integrated concrete benches. The new design enhances usability, providing a multifunctional area for the Cal Poly community to exercise, socialize, relax, and enjoy scenic views.
The renovated area was designed to meet relevant building codes, including ASCE 7-16, CSU Seismic Requirements, CBC 2022, CFC 2022, ACI 318-19(22), AISC 360-23, NDS 2018, and SDPWS 2021. The roof of the pavilion features Glue-Laminated Timber (Glulam) members laid flat to form a solid roof. The roof is supported by Glulam beams which frame into steel Hollow Structural Section (HSS) columns through custom-fabricated steel connections. The foundation of the structure consists of structural reinforced concrete benches supported by continuous footings, with a non-structural concrete slab. The Glulam members are of the Southern Yellow Pine species due to its natural resistance to decay. Steel components are protected by rust-preventative paint for enhanced durability. A Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) membrane roofing assembly, achieving a “Class A” rating to comply with Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Area requirements, offers reliable fireproofing and weatherproofing.
Industry professionals were consulted throughout the design and construction phases, and significant donations were secured. Maino Construction contributed construction labor, concrete, equipment, formwork, and reinforcement. Additional material donations included Glulams from Anthony Forest Lumber, steel from Metal Supermarkets, connection hardware from Simpson Strong-Tie, roofing from Quaglino Roofing, and lumber from Weyrick Lumber. Structural plans and calculations were reviewed and stamped by Michelle McCovey-Good, P.E., Principal/CEO of T&S Structural. Expert advice was provided by Aleeta Dene, P.E., Dwoyne Keith, Jeong Woo, Michelle Kam-Biron, P.E., S.E., Rachel Holland, P.E., and Wyatt Banker-Hix, P.E. The project received approval from Cal Poly Facilities, Cal Poly Risk Management, the Office of Fire Safety, the State Fire Marshal, Cal Poly Planning, Cal Poly Athletics, and the ROTC program. Most of the funding was secured through donations, with the remaining expenses covered by a CAED Teacher Scholar Award. With funding in place, construction of the Outdoor Exercise Area Renovation was completed successfully and on schedule
Evaluating the Viability of Shared Electric Vehicle Fleet Services for a Higher Education Campus Through an Assessment of Current Commuter Behaviors
Get PDFThe transportation sector remains the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, with single-occupant personal automobile travel accounting for a significant portion of total emissions. While sustainable mobility solutions such as electric vehicles (EVs) and shared transportation services have emerged as potential strategies to reduce environmental impact, adoption rates remain slow due to behavioral, economic, and infrastructural barriers. This research explores the feasibility of a shared electric vehicle fleet service to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and improve mobility in and around college campuses, using California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, as a case study.
Through a two-phase survey approach, this study analyzes the commuting behaviors and preferences of university students, faculty, and staff to determine the factors influencing shared EV adoption. The first survey assessed existing travel patterns, identifying high-VMT user groups and their openness to alternative transportation. Insights from this assessment informed the design of the second survey, which aim to measure the user\u27s willingness to adopt shared EV services based on cost, convenience, route flexibility, and environmental impact. Findings indicate that while students are generally receptive to shared mobility, staff and faculty—who have the highest VMT—are more resistant to shifting from personal vehicles. Additionally, while environmental consciousness plays a role in transportation choices, financial and logistical considerations ultimately drive adoption decisions.
The results suggest that for shared electric fleets to be a viable alternative, universities must implement strategic policy measures such as ride subsidies, integrated multimodal transit options, and infrastructure investments to increase accessibility and affordability. If properly designed, such a service could significantly reduce VMT, alleviate parking congestion, and contribute to campus-wide sustainability goals. Furthermore, universities serve as ideal testing grounds for broader urban applications, offering insights that could inform regional and municipal transportation planning. This research contributes to the growing discourse on sustainable mobility by demonstrating how shared electric vehicle fleets can bridge the gap between climate-conscious transportation goals and real-world commuter needs
Correlations Between Social Media, Body Image Perceptions, and Disordered Eating Prevalence in Postpartum Women: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study
No full textPostpartum women are a high-risk population for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behavior due in part to the plethora of hormonal and physiological changes. Despite this, research examining this issue among postpartum women remains limited.
This pilot cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between social media use, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating behavior among women up to 13 months postpartum. For this study, the following research questions were asked: Is high social media usage associated with higher levels of disordered eating among women up to 13 months postpartum? Is the association between social media usage and disordered eating mediated by a lower level of body satisfaction? Participants were recruited through online parenting groups, local bulletin boards, and breastfeeding support groups. Weekly social media screen time was collected per platform. The assessment of eating attitudes and disordered eating behavior was measured with the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) and body image perception was assessed with the Body Image States Survey (BISS). Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the sample, while bivariate fit analysis and linear regression analyses were conducted to examine associations and mediational effects.
The data analysis included 25 participants. 12% of respondents scored over 20 on the EAT-26 indicating a greater level of concern regarding dieting, problematic eating behaviors, and body weight. Results did not show a statistically significant mediational effect of body dissatisfaction on the association between social media and disordered eating. Contrary to the hypothesis, increased social media usage was not significantly associated with elevating levels of disordered eating among women up to 13 months postpartum. At no level of mediation from body dissatisfaction was social media and disordered eating statistically associated. These findings suggest that social media may moderate the strength of the association between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behavior. Further research with a larger sample size with a broader demographic is warranted to determine causality and increase generalization. These results begin to fill the identified gap in eating disorder research among postpartum women. Furthermore, these findings illustrate how screening for eating disorder behavior among the postpartum population should be a standardized practice in perinatal care beginning in pregnancy
Machine-Checked Proofs for Correctness Guarantees in Containment Architectures
Get PDFModern computing systems are increasingly susceptible to attacks at the hardware and software levels. Formal methods offer promising guarantees as to the correctness and security of systems. However, these methods tend to scale poorly and are thus insufficient to protect complex systems. Leveraging minimal amounts of trusted hardware and software to ensure the security of whole systems is a promising approach to gain the benefits of formal methods without having to overcome the scaling problem. TrustGuard realizes this approach: a containment architecture model that requires all outgoing communication from the host computer to be validated by a small, external hardware module called the Sentry. In essence, the trusted Sentry ensures that only correct behavior of the host computer system is visible outside of the system. The nature of TrustGuard requires precise coordination and synchronization of the host and the Sentry. Previous work has provided a paper-based proof of the correctness of this host-Sentry relationship. However, proofs done on paper are inherently susceptible to human error and may contain subtle gaps. This thesis provides the first step towards a formally verified TrustGuard system. Leveraging Agda, an automated theorem prover, we present a mechanically-checked proof of the host-Sentry relationship. Additionally, we implement a framework to verify arbitrary programs within this system
Leveraging Machine-Learning Algorithms in Two Car Crash Detection Systems on a Custom Dataset
Get PDFTraffic accidents pose a significant threat to public safety, causing millions of deaths and injuries worldwide each year. While efforts to reduce accidents have seen limited progress in recent years, improving emergency response times through automated detection systems is a promising avenue for saving lives. This thesis describes the development of machine learning-based traffic accident detection systems, exploring both video classification and image detection models. The models are trained on a new dataset deemed the Cal Poly Traffic Accident Dataset, an extension of the existing Car Accident Detection and Prediction (CADP) dataset with a precise collision annotations. Two systems were developed and evaluated. The first is centered around the R(2+1)D video classification model, in which the system processes temporal information in isolated regions of videos. And the second, is the YOLOv8-nano image detection model, which detects accidents on a frame-by-frame basis without temporal context. Experimental results revealed that despite lacking temporal awareness, the YOLO-based model outperformed the system with the R(2+1)D model. This suggests that ensuring strong spatial feature extraction is crucial before incorporating temporal processing in crash recognition systems
Development of Ex-situ Accelerated Chemical Stress Test Protocol for Common Anionic Exchange Membrane Chemistries
Get PDFThe development of sustainably produced hydrogen fuel (“green hydrogen”) is key for the transition to clean energy sources. Green hydrogen is produced via water electrolysis. As with many clean energy sources, one of the major barriers for scaling water electrolysis is cost. A newer category of water electrolysis is Anionic Exchange Membrane (AEM) water electrolysis. AEM electrolysis systems have the potential to cost less as they do not require the expensive precious metal catalysts the current high preforming Proton Exchange Membrane water electrolysis technologies do. However, AEM lifetimes must be long enough to be cost competitive and AEM chemical durability is of question. This work focuses on the development of an ex-situ accelerated stress test (AST) protocol for AEMs that assesses the chemical durability. Hydroxide and radical attack were the dominant chemical degradation pathways identified in literature for AEMs. Furthermore, Hofmann elimination and nucleophilic substitution were identified as dominant hydroxide attack mechanisms. After iterating through experimental protocols, a final AST protocol was developed where both hydroxide and radical attack were observable through analysis of mol% composition, molecular weight, ionic conductivity, Areal Swell, and ultimate tensile strength. Hofmann elimination was observed, and multiple hydroxide attack mechanisms appear to be at play. This work enables others to quickly assess the chemical durability of different AEM chemistries & has the potential to help evaluate prototypes durability
Experimental Characterization and Finite Element Analysis of the Effects of Pitting Corrosion on the Mechanical Properties of Stainless Steel
No full textMany structures do not fail from poor design, but instead from environmental degradation. Corrosion is one mode whose effects can be diminished, but not eliminated, by employing corrosion resistant materials, such as 304 stainless steel, which are still subject to pitting corrosion. Pitting corrosion is a chemical process of the localized removal of material leaving cavities. Despite the prevalence of pitting corrosion, there has been limited testing conducted of the effect of stress during corrosion. This study conducted accelerated controlled corrosion experiments with and without mechanical loading and various corrosion times. Pit morphology of different conditions was analyzed with statistical methods including characterizing the probability distribution of pit depths and pit effective radii. Several distributions were fit to the resulting data, and it was determined that both the log-normal and Pearson Type III distributions had better goodness-of-fit than the generally used Gumbel or Generalized Extreme Value distributions. Additionally, there was found to be little correlation between the depth of the deepest pits and their apparent size.
To quantify the effect on performance of plate members subjected to pitting corrosion, pitted samples were mechanically tested. Mechanical properties including yield strength, ultimate strength, and modulus of elasticity were identified and the corresponding reduction identified. Additionally, a preliminary finite element model was created using test results, producing a model which exhibited a strength reduction due to pitting