SHAREOK Repository
Not a member yet
49261 research outputs found
Sort by
Accountability, Ownership, and Satisfaction: An Innovative Approach to Teamwork in Engineering Education
Get PDFTeamwork skills are essential for engineers to be successful in their careers. Engineers often work in teams to solve complex problems. Unfortunately, learning power skills, such as teamwork, can pose a significant challenge for engineering-minded students. This often results in frustration for students and instructors alike. To address this issue, we implemented an innovative approach toward group lab writing in a lab class for 35 junior-level Chemical Engineering students. In this study, individual contributions were worth 30% toward the group-written lab report. Students were required to complete their individual contribution submission as a completion grade 24 hours before the group-written report was due. The group lab report was graded on quality and was worth the other 70%. The purpose of this initiative was twofold: 1) to enhance accountability among team members, as students’ individual grades now reflect their individual contributions; and 2) to foster better time management skills, reducing last-minute group efforts.
Our findings suggest that including an individual portion in lab group assignments positively impacts students. The average scores for the individual contribution portion of the lab reports were 92%. The approach was shown to increase accountability among individual members of the lab groups, as students who self-identified as “waiting to the last minute” were shown to submit individual portions on time (75%). Furthermore, the early submission requirement encouraged effective time management across all students, exemplified by the on-time submission rate of 94% on individual portions, thereby diminishing the likelihood of last-minute, hurried teamwork. Additionally, the entire class exhibited a perfect 100% on-time submission rate for group-written assignments. Finally, students found teamwork more enjoyable with this method of submission. When surveyed, students' opinions of teamwork improved by an average of 1 point (on a 5-point scale). This mixed methods, IRB approved study, highlights the potential benefits of incorporating individual portions in team assignments, paving the way for improved opinions on teamwork, promotion of accountability, and time management skills among students
A Stylistic and Pedagogical Analysis of Selected Solo Piano Works by Naoko Ikeda
No full textNaoko Ikeda (b.1964) is the first Japanese composer to sign with an American publisher, The Willis Music Company, which has exclusively published her works in the United States since 2004. As of this writing, Ikeda’s pedagogical compositions have begun to gain global appeal and are increasingly utilized in lessons, concerts, festivals, lectures, examinations, and competitions across Japan, the United States, Canada, and Europe. This document explores Naoko Ikeda’s solo piano works, presents an overview of her solo piano music, and analyzes 38 pieces from 6 selected collections from her output. Chapter 1 presents the overview, purpose, need, limitations, and procedures of the study, and includes a review of related literature. Chapter 2 offers a biographical sketch of Naoko Ikeda, shedding light on her musical upbringing and significant career accomplishments to date. Chapter 3 outlines Ikeda’s eclectic compositional style, which draws inspiration from a variety of Eastern and Western musical genres and styles. This chapter also briefly surveys her published works for piano to determine the development of her compositional style over the last two decades. To supplement this survey, chronological and leveled guides to Ikeda’s complete piano works to date are provided in Appendices A and B. Appendices C and D provide the Institutional Review Board’s Approval Letter and the Interview Guide used to conduct email interviews with Ikeda. Appendix E outlines Hal Leonard’s Copyright Permission Letter to reproduce Ikeda’s music in this document. Chapters 4 through 9 analyze 38 solo piano pieces from 6 collections: Shoukei, Book 1 (2004), Shoukei, Book 2 (2005), Moving Pictures (2006), Celestial Dreams (2007), Miyabi (2012), and Aya (2022). For each of these 6 collections, the author offers a brief discussion on the background of the piece, a compositional analysis, and a pedagogical analysis. Chapter 10 concludes the study, summarizes Ikeda’s compositional style and contributions as a composer, and suggests potential avenues for future research. By exploring Ikeda’s piano music, this document addresses the dearth of academic literature on Ikeda’s works, acknowledges her growing global importance as an educational composer, and serves as a resource for teachers and pianists interested in Ikeda’s music
Three Essays on the Ideal Worker
No full textThis dissertation comprises three interrelated (yet encapsulated) essays that seek to synthesize and expand knowledge regarding the ideal worker construct, as shown in Appendix A. The term “ideal worker” has origins in legal studies that critiqued the way in which work was organized, specifically as it related to wage labor structuration and its unfair impact on women. (The extant literature has partially—but not wholly—shifted from this original focus and generally portrays the ideal worker as an employee who is committed to work, available 24/7, and prone to overwork.) As society continues to embrace an economy founded on meritocracy—coupled with widespread social changes—the ideal worker has become an increasingly appropriate lens for understanding organizational phenomena. Nevertheless, despite accumulating research that seeks to explore the ideal worker, the construct remains detached from a grounding nomological network, and our understanding remains relatively static and descriptive. Indeed, the construct is rarely explicitly measured—either qualitatively or quantitatively—and is typically employed post hoc to explain rather than predict. To wit, scholars have considered the ideal worker, but to move forward, a well-grounded investigation of the construct’s nature, nomological network, relationship to employees’ lived experiences, psychometric properties, and predictive power is warranted.
In Essay 1, I present a literature review of the ideal worker. This review surveys a broad range of literatures that employ the construct (e.g., communications, organizational psychology, family studies). My summary includes insights into the term’s epistemological and historical adoption. By bringing together dispersed conversations, I critically explore empirical studies on the ideal worker—which have mostly been qualitative—and synthesize how the ideal worker relates to three themes (i.e., challenging, controlling, localized). Notably, these three themes outline the content of the ideal worker social norm (localized), its purpose (controlling), and responses to this social norm (challenging). First, in regard to the content of the ideal worker, I unpack how the construct is exceptionally versatile and “fuzzy” in that it is often attached to other attributes beyond those traditionally explored. I argue that addressing “what is” the ideal worker remains the primary task of this body of literature. Second, in relation to its purpose, I detail that the ideal worker can be understood as it relates to “controlling” employees’ behavior; third and finally, I discuss how employees respond to these pressures, usually in the form of “challenging” the status quo. Taken together, these three themes serve as the background to the main thrust of this essay, which is a unifying conceptualization and a research agenda of the ideal worker.
Essay 2 (which is related but distinct from Essay 1) explores the taken-for-granted nature of the human body via an interpretive ontology. In particular, a palpable tension exists between physiological needs (e.g., sleeping, proper hygiene, nutrition) and the demands of the ideal worker. The ideal worker is wholly committed to work; however, attending to the needs of the human body often competes with the expectations of the ideal worker. In this way, the body serves as a potential sensebreaking device that triggers employees to reconsider their beliefs regarding the ideal worker. To explore this research question, I collect qualitative data via semi-structured interviews. Contrarian findings reveal that bodily sacrifices do not necessarily align with the ideal worker concept and that bodily sacrifices are often part of a more balanced approach to work. This finding juxtaposes the implications from the existing literature (see Essay 1) and suggests the ideal worker may be exaggerated in its ubiquity in organizational contexts. To conclude this second essay, I discuss the limitations of my data collection and analysis and also outline future directions for how additional research can deepen our understanding of the ideal worker social norm.
Finally, in Essay 3, I explore how being an ideal worker impacts interpersonal workplace relationships via social comparisons. Recall that the ideal worker primarily represents the employer’s perspective of what constitutes the “ideal” employee—i.e., one who is committed, available, and prone to overwork. Given the social nature of the workplace, employees’ approaches to work are often relative in that they are interpreted in context, and one person’s behaviors (especially when considered “ideal”) have implicit ramifications for others with whom they are interdependent. As predicted by social comparison theory, I argue that employees compare themselves with ideal workers and that this comparison process generates feelings of admiration and resentment in the observer. To unpack the boundary conditions of this effect, I draw upon both social comparison theory and the ideal worker literature to suggest that family values serve a moderating role in determining which emotional reaction is more salient. Finally, given that the ideal worker and social comparisons are rooted in discourse, I posit that these emotional reactions lead participants to react via positive and negative gossip, respectively. I test my model via study in two experiments (vignette and recall) and a multi-sample, time-separated field survey. Across three studies, I find mixed results, providing preliminary support for my model and prompting further inquiry into the nature of the ideal worker construct
CARBON DIOXIDE AND WATER INJECTION-INDUCED FRACTURING: IMPLICATIONS FOR CARBON GEOSEQUESTRATION
Get PDFTo safely sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) in the subsurface, it is vital to maintain the injection pressure below the formation breakdown pressure, which is dominantly governed by lithology, principal stresses, and presence of natural fractures. Injecting CO2 at pressures below formation breakdown prevents the creation of injection-induced fractures and associated microseismicity which are undesirable occurrences for CO2 sequestration projects. However, higher injection pressure allows more formation fluids to be displaced, thus enhancing the effective storage capacity of the sequestration zone which benefits CO2 project economics. Leak-off tests are typically conducted with a water-based fluid to determine the breakdown pressure. But, considering the significant dissimilarity in the fluid properties of water and CO2 the resulting breakdown pressure (Pb), failure mechanism and extent of damage can vary. In this study, we investigate how different injectates (CO2 and water) impact rock breakdown pressure and fracturing and the implications for CO2 sequestration.
Multiple true triaxial fracturing tests were performed on 2.5% KCl brine saturated samples using CO2 and water. The tests were done on CO2 non-/exposed samples which were cylindrical with dimensions of 4” in diameter and 5.5” in length. Samples with different petrophysical and elastic properties were used. The injection pressure and acoustic emissions were simultaneously recorded in real time. We mounted an array of sixteen (16) 1 MHz piezoelectric transducers around the samples to capture acoustic emissions (AEs) which were used to calculate the events’ location, and attributes. After the fracturing tests, we took vertical plugs along the main fracture and measured permeability under confining pressure. We also imaged the fractures using the scanning electron microscope (SEM).
For all samples, CO2 reduced Pb noticeably as compared to water. The percentage by which Pb was reduced varied among the different sandstones. Similar Pb was observed for non-exposed and exposed samples fractured with CO2. The permeability of fractures induced by CO2 was consistently one order of magnitude greater than water induced fracture permeability, over the entire range of confining pressure (1000 psi to 4000 psi). Physical examination of the fractured samples revealed that CO2 fracturing created bi-wing fractures that spanned the entire length of samples, whereas fractures generated by water fracturing traversed only half of the sample length. The number of AEs in CO2 fracturing was considerably greater, and the AEs had broader distribution perpendicular to the fracture plane, compared to that of water fracturing. CO2 and water induced AEs had similar moment magnitudes, failure mechanism and frequency. SEM imaging of fractures revealed wider fracture aperture ( 1.4-6 times), several lose grains, rough fracture edges, secondary branching, and regions of intense microcracking in fractures created by CO2 injection than by water injection.
Based on the experimental results, we have observed that fracturing with CO2 occurs at a lower breakdown pressure; therefore, the Pb estimated from leak-off test (using a water based fluid) would be an overestimation of the actual Pb of the formation. Similarity in breakdown pressure of exposed and non-exposed quartz rich rocks means that the geomechanical response of a predominantly quartz rich formation during and before CO2 injection will likely remain similar. The lower breakdown pressure could be attributed to the lower viscosity and greater percolation ability of CO2, enabling it to reach pores and crack tips more easily to promote crack propagation. CO2 fracturing results in larger damage in both fracture propagation extent and permeability due to the sudden expansion of CO2, which releases energy to further the crack extension. Consequently, generated fractures can propagate over longer distances vertically which can potentially compromise the integrity of the seal above and below the storage zone. They also have greater transmissivity and thus could facilitate CO2 leakage by providing a pathway for migration. Therefore, precise knowledge of the formation's Pb during CO2 injection is essential for optimizing injectivity which consequently will promote accurate project economic evaluation and environmental protection. But the comparability between magnitudes, focal mechanism and frequency of acoustic emissions induced by water and CO2 injection means that lessons can be learnt from the abundant experience of conventional water injection. Laboratory measurements provide a controlled means to ascertain the true Pb and other geomechanical responses to CO2 injection. In terms of reservoir stimulation, CO2 as a fracturing fluid has the potential to lower operations cost, increase production, and minimize environmental impacts
Elucidating Quaternary High-frequency Depositional Sequences and Incised Valley Evolution Using High-resolution 3D Seismic Data: Gulf of Mexico, USA
Get PDFResolution limitations of conventional seismic methods prohibit the subsurface investigation of high-frequency—fourth and fifth-order—depositional sequences and their associated fluvial features. However, modern high-frequency 3D seismic methods provide sufficient resolution for such analyses. This study utilized high-resolution 3D seismic data to investigate Quaternary high-frequency depositional sequences and incised valley evolution on the northwestern Gulf of Mexico’s inner shelf. Within the shallowest 200 milliseconds of the subsurface, three major unconformities were identified and mapped. Through a seismic attribute analysis and the employment of machine learning algorithms, fluvial features along each unconformity—likely related to the Brazos and/ or Trinity Rivers—were delineated and determined to be incised valleys which are known to have formed during eustatic lowstand events. Using a tripartite seismic stratigraphic scheme, systems tracts—lowstand systems tracts, transgressive systems tracts, and highstand systems tracts—were identified within each defined sequence, and sequence boundaries (i.e., unconformities) were correlated to lowstand events on a eustatic sea level curve. Incised valley evolution was then investigated which revealed that such systems maintain a tendency to become increasingly sinuous and dendritic in response to rapid transgression. Finally, various seismic attributes were employed in a principal component analysis which facilitated an understanding of lithologic distribution throughout the seismic volume. This study underscores the significance of high-resolution seismic data, seismic attributes, and machine learning in understanding high-frequency sea level cycles and provides insight into Late Quaternary depositional processes on the Gulf of Mexico’s inner shelf. Knowledge of these high-frequency depositional sequences in the shallow subsurface may aid in understanding the small-scale heterogeneity of deeper reservoirs where such features are unresolvable through conventional seismic methods
A Descriptive Study of Principals' Use of Transformative Leadership Conversation
Get PDFLeadership at the level of a school site matters with the school principal serving as a central source of influence (Dodson, 2015; Wallace Foundation, 2013). Leithwood et al. (2004) found principal leadership just behind teaching in terms of the impact on student learning among school-related factors. School principals are tasked with being or becoming leaders of learning who can develop a team who delivers the multifaceted aspects of effective instruction with transformational effects (Kim, 2020). Transformative Leadership Conversation (TLC) was constructed for the purpose of leading transformation in schools yet is atypical of most discourse leveraged by school leaders (Adams et al., 2023a). This study defines TLC and describes its elements. The case for principals’ use of TLC is made by describing the relational and contextual nature of principal leadership and the power of conversation to influence the minds and actions of people. This study describes the extent to which teachers report principals using the structural elements of TLC including reflective questions, deep listening, and affirming language. Teachers did not report routine use of TLC. The study also demonstrates school leaders need training to use elements of TLC, missing elements of TLC are vital to sensemaking and learning dialogue, and context of school leadership conversations matter, particularly in regards to the types of schools and the school accountability grade where principals and teachers perform their work
BLACK BUREAUCRATS: IDENTITY AND REPRESENTATION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
No full textThe research investigates the motivations behind Black bureaucrats’ behavior and their engagement in representative work, their challenges, and their perceptions of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Incorporating representative bureaucracy theory, I aim to better understand how identity influences bureaucratic behavior and representation in public organizations, especially in spaces where the work of these bureaucrats is explicitly racialized through expectations about which clients they will serve, which issues they will focus on, and what types of work will be expected of them.
A mixed-methods approach was employed, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with Black bureaucrats from federal, state, and local levels across various U.S. regions. Additionally, a survey was administered through Prolific and the National Forum of Black Public Administrators, gathering responses from 110 participants
LONELINESS AS IT STANDS IN RELATION TO THE HUMAN CONDITION: DAVID FOSTER WALLACE’S GRAPPLING WITH LONELINESS, DEPRESSION, AND A DESIRE TO LESSEN THE PAIN OF EACH
Get PDFDavid Foster Wallace’s unique writing style hinges on difficulty. His approach to storytelling challenges the reader’s expectations, forcing them to actively engage with the characters and scenes rather than passively observing the story. Wallace developed this method because he was bothered by the societal tendency to encourage passivity; in a sense, his fiction is a wake-up call, pointing out modern problems and begging us (the readers) to acknowledge their existence. By writing authentically about American culture—specifically the challenges of living in a consumerist age—Wallace creates a bond between himself (as an author) and his readers: a community is forged. Struggling with clinical depression for most of his life, Wallace knew the pitfalls and hopelessness associated with loneliness. In other words, he knew the difficulties that arose from these intense feelings of isolation. In his first short story, “The Planet Trillaphon As It Stands In Relation To The Bad Thing”, Wallace provides a detailed assessment of how difficult depression is. I analyze this story partially because I find it to be understudied in current scholarship, but chiefly because Wallace envisions unadulterated empathy as a key answer to the difficulty of loneliness. Ultimately, I argue that empathetic communities are a life-line, allowing members to admit in safe spaces that life is difficult so that they can be affirmed and push past their struggles. Wallace’s difficult style is one type of empathetic community; sharing his pain through fiction helps others recognize they aren’t as alone as they feel. By focusing my argument on this story, I aim to prove that Wallace’s earlier work is more than worthy of our attention and that contemporary difficulties such as loneliness cannot (and should not) define us
Impacts of Multiscale Predictors on Random Forest Based Probabilistic Forecasts of Severe Weather Hazards
Get PDFMachine learning (ML) algorithms utilized for post-processing of convection-allowing model/ensemble (CAM/CAE) output has been a major area of research to handle limitations with CAM/CAE forecasts. ML has been used to correct systematic biases, relate observed variables to numerical output, and synthesize extremely large data into probabilistic forecasts. In particular, numerous studies have shown random forests (RFs) to be successful in severe weather forecasting applications utilizing predictors from global scale and/or CAE output. However, predictors used in the RF models are typically fixed and treated independently when training the RF models. This can consequently leave out important information about the large-scale flow pattern that is necessary for assessing severe weather risk. This thesis develops a method for manifesting multiscale flow-dependence into RF models through direct incorporation of CAE-based predictors that are pre-processed at increasing spatial
length scales. The different length scales account for different scales of motion with the goal to improve probabilistic forecast skill for a variety of severe weather hazards for next-day (12-12 UTC) - or 24hr and 4hr (20-00 UTC) forecasts. In order to verify the impacts of the multiscale predictors on the skill of the RF models, a control (CTLRF) and experimental (EXPRF) set of RF models were created. The CTLRF models were trained with only predictors pre-processed to 80 kilometers (km) and the EXPRF models were trained with predictors pre-processed to 80 km in addition to larger, spatially smoothed 80 km predictors.
Both models were verified against the storm prediction center (SPC) reports quantitatively and qualitatively. Results show that the EXPRF models had higher brier skill score’s (BSS) than the CTLRF models for all sub-significant severe weather hazards for both forecast periods, but significantly higher BSS’s when forecasting any severe weather hazard (24hr and 4hr), wind (24hr), hail (24hr and 4hr), and significant winds (24hr). The EXPRF forecasts generally had the best resolution component of the brier score (BS), of which some severe weather hazards were significantly higher than CTLRF forecasts. Furthermore, both models
generally had small calibration error. However, the CTLRF 24hr and 4hr wind forecasts had significantly lower calibration error compared to EXPRF. In general, neither model’s probabilistic forecasts were consistently more reliable than the other. Predictor contributions determined via tree interpreter (TI) showed when severe weather did not occur, on average, the meso-γ scale storm-attribute predictors contributed more to forecast skill than the meso-β scale storm-attribute predictors for 24hr forecasts. Whereas the opposite was true for the 4hr forecasts. When severe weather did occur, on average, the meso-β scale
storm-attribute predictors contributed the most to skill in general. Meanwhile, the meso-γ scale environmental predictors dominated environment-related contributions to forecast skill, but in general, most multiscale predictors still contributed to skill. Through case-studies, it was found that the meso-β and meso-α scale storm-attribute predictors accounts for spatial
uncertainty of simulated storms similar to neighborhood-based CAM forecasts. Meanwhile the environment predictors, in particular the convective environment predictors, had greater sensitivity to smoothing and sometimes did not benefit from losing sharp gradients and local extremes that can be associated with synoptically predictable features
Cyclic Miscible Injection in Unconventional Reservoirs: Upscaling, Soaking, Containment, and Asphaltene Deposition
No full textDespite numerous cyclic miscible injection studies and field pilot tests being carried out in unconventional shale reservoirs over the last 15 years, governing mechanisms are yet to be fully understood, as there is a discrepancy between experimental results and field observations. Generally, the pilot field tests demonstrate much lower recoveries than what was originally predicted by laboratory and simulation studies. Hence, this research aims to develop a systematic approach to upscale the lab results across spatial scales, improve injectant performance, and optimize the process to achieve better recoveries. Disparate topics impacting the performance of cyclic miscible injection, including upscaling, soaking, containment, and asphaltene deposition, are addressed.
A new mathematical model is developed using classical equations to mimic the cyclic huff-and-puff miscible process. Traditionally, constant pressure or constant flow rate boundary conditions are used to describe flow between the fracture network and matrix during the injection and soaking phases, which is not realistic. The complex fracture network in this study is characterized as an ensemble of rock pillars separated by fracture discontinuities to represent field conditions better. Two scaling factors are developed to upscale the laboratory results to the field scale, and an upscaling equation is derived to better predict the recovery factors across spatial scales.
Next, the significance of the soaking phase in the cyclic process is evaluated within the complex fracture network and the mixing of the various injectants with the remaining oil. By better understanding various injectants penetration depths and mixing/swelling recovery mechanisms, recommendations are made to tailor the huff-and-puff process to improve oil recovery.
Finally, a novel liquid solvent is presented that shows potential transformative benefits compared to typical gas injectants. Compositional modeling and simulation of a volatile oil pilot in the Eagle Ford show promising results with the liquid solvent due to a more efficient recovery mechanism and improved accessibility to the remaining oil, resulting in a much better recovery improvement than gas injectants. The advantages of the liquid solvent application are complemented by significantly lower implementation costs compared to CO2 and typical hydrocarbon solvents.
A better understanding of the cyclic miscible injection processes and further optimization can extend the life of unconventional shale wells by unlocking a significant amount of hydrocarbon resources currently left behind undrained