Time Efficient Assessment and Feedback Methods for Large Computer-Aided-Design Cohorts

Timely and individualized feedback on coursework is desirable from a student perspective as it facilitates formative development and encourages reflective learning practice. Faculty however are faced with a significant and potentially time consuming challenge when teaching larger cohorts if they are to provide feedback which is timely, individualized and detailed. Additionally, for subjects which assess non-traditional submissions, such as Computer-Aided-Design (CAD), the methods for assessment and feedback tend not to be so well developed or optimized. Issues can also arise over the consistency of the feedback provided. Evaluations of Computer-Assisted feedback in other disciplines (Denton et al, 2008), (Croft et al, 2001) have shown students prefer this method of feedback to traditional “red pen” marking and also that such methods can be more time efficient for faculty.
Herein, approaches are described which make use of technology and additional software tools to speed up, simplify and automate assessment and the provision of feedback for large cohorts of first and second year engineering students studying modules where CAD files are submitted electronically. A range of automated methods are described and compared with more “manual” approaches. Specifically one method uses an application programming interface (API) to interrogate SolidWorks models and extract information into an Excel spreadsheet, which is then used to automatically send feedback emails. Another method describes the use of audio recordings made during model interrogation which reduces the amount of time while increasing the level of detail provided as feedback.
Limitations found with these methods and problems encountered are discussed along with a quantified assessment of time saving efficiencies made.

Insight of the interface of electroless Ni-P/SiC composite coating on aluminium alloy, LM24

Electroless nickel composite coatings with silicon carbide, SiC, as reinforcing particles deposited with Ni–P onto aluminium alloy, LM24, having zincating as under layer were subjected to heat treatment using air furnace. The changes at the interface were investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) to probe the chemistry changes upon heat treatment. Microhardness tester with various loads using both Knoop and Vickers indenters was used to study the load effect clubbed with the influence of second phase particles on the coating at the vicinity of the interface. It was observed that zinc was absent at the interface after elevated temperature heat treatment at 400–500 °C. Precipitation of copper and nickel with a distinct demarcation (copper rich belt) along the coating interface was seen with irregular thickness of the order of 1 μm. Migration of copper from the bulk aluminium alloy could have been the factor. Brittleness of the coating was confirmed on heat treatment when indented with Vickers. However, in composite coating the propagation of the microcrack was stopped by the embedded particles but the microcracks continue in the matrix when not interrupted by second phase particles (SiC).

The Restorability Assessment and Endodontic Access Cavity Interface

Successful root canal treatment requires management of the bacterial infection within the root canal space and protection of residual tooth structure with direct/indirect restorations. Long-term success depends upon prevention of re-infection of the root canal space as well as ensuring favorable distribution of the occlusal forces throughout the residual tooth structure. Appropriate planning and design of the final restoration prior to initiating root canal treatment is paramount in achieving this objective. This article describes simultaneous restorability assessment and access cavity preparation to optimize outcome of both endodontic and prosthodontic treatment of the endodontically involved tooth.

An Automated Design Framework for Assembly Task Simulation

This paper presents an automated design framework for the development of individual part forming tools for a composite stiffener. The framework uses parametrically developed design geometries for both the part and its layup tool. The framework has been developed with a functioning user interface where part / tool combinations are passed to a virtual environment for utility based assessment of their features and assemblability characteristics. The work demonstrates clear benefits in process design methods with conventional design timelines reduced from hours and days to minutes and seconds. The methods developed here were able to produce a digital mock up of a component with its associated layup tool in less than 3 minutes. The virtual environment presenting the design to the designer for interactive assembly planning was generated in 20 seconds. Challenges still exist in determining the level of reality required to provide an effective learning environment in the virtual world. Full representation of physical phenomena such as gravity, part clashes and the representation of standard build functions require further work to represent real physical phenomena more accurately.

Learning about probability from text and tables: Do color coding and labeling through an interactive-user interface help?

Learning from visual representations is enhanced when learners appropriately integrate corresponding visual and verbal information. This study examined the effects of two methods of promoting integration, color coding and labeling, on learning about probabilistic reasoning from a table and text. Undergraduate students (N = 98) were randomly assigned to learn about probabilistic reasoning from one of 4 computer-based lessons generated from a 2 (color coding/no color coding) by 2 (labeling/no labeling) between-subjects design. Learners added the labels or color coding at their own pace by clicking buttons in a computer-based lesson. Participants' eye movements were recorded while viewing the lesson. Labeling was beneficial for learning, but color coding was not. In addition, labeling, but not color coding, increased attention to important information in the table and time with the lesson. Both labeling and color coding increased looks between the text and corresponding information in the table. The findings provide support for the multimedia principle, and they suggest that providing labeling enhances learning about probabilistic reasoning from text and tables

Metodologia de selecção de materiais em design: base de dados nacional

Desde a Pré-História que a escolha de materiais esteve relacionada com a Arte. Mais tarde, durante a Idade Moderna vai ganhando uma importância cada vez maior. Atingida que foi a Idade Contemporânea, nomeadamente após a Revolução Industrial e durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, devido ao aumento do número de materiais disponíveis, é que se pode falar de uma verdadeira seleção de materiais. É também após a Revolução Industrial que se clarificam as relações entre a evolução dos materiais e os movimentos e correntes das Artes Plásticas. Neste contexto, estudaram-se as interligações entre o processo de design e as metodologias de seleção, assim como as diversas tipologias de ferramentas existentes para esse efeito. Deste estudo, consideradas as respetivas vantagens e limitações, foi possível identificar bases de dados essencialmente técnicas, ou ao invés, ferramentas para inspiração com muitas imagens e pouca informação sobre as propriedades dos materiais. Para completar este levantamento crítico sobre processos e ferramentas de seleção, inquiriram-se cinquenta e três profissionais que trabalhavam em diferentes gabinetes de design portugueses. As perguntas dirigidas aos designers portugueses versaram sobre problemas relacionados com a escolha de materiais, abrangendo o tipo de matériasprimas empregues, processos utilizados e a qualidade da informação obtida. Na sequência deste estudo, verificou-se a existência de diversas lacunas relativamente aos meios disponíveis, rotinas de seleção, qualidade da informação existente e metodologias utilizadas. Foi neste contexto que se iniciou o projeto de criação de uma nova metodologia suportada por uma ferramenta digital. Os principais aspetos inovadores são: uma melhor interligação entre a metodologia de design e o processo de seleção de materiais e a sua sincronização; a informação necessária em cada etapa e o destaque dos fatores catalisadores da seleção de materiais. Outro elemento inovador foi a conjugação de três formas deferentes de seleção de materiais numa só ferramenta (a geral, a visual e a específica) e a hipótese de aceder a diferentes graus de informação. A metodologia, no contexto dos recursos disponíveis, foi materializada sob a forma de ferramenta digital (ptmaterials.com). O protótipo foi aferido com testes de usabilidade de cariz heurístico, com a participação de dezanove utilizadores. Foram detetadas diversas falhas de interação que condicionaram a liberdade e o controlo da navegação no seio da interface. Os utilizadores também mencionaram a existência de lacunas na prevenção de erros e a ligação do sistema à lógica habitual de outras aplicações já existentes. No entanto, também constituiu um estímulo a circunstância da maioria dos designers avaliarem o sistema como eficaz, eficiente, satisfatório e confirmarem o interesse da existência dos três tipos de seleção. Posteriormente, ao analisar os restantes resultados dos testes de usabilidade, também foram evidenciadas as vantagens dos diferentes tipos de informação disponibilizada e a utilidade de uma ferramenta desta natureza para a Indústria e Economia Nacionais. Esta ferramenta é apenas um ponto de partida, existindo espaço para melhorar a proposta, apesar da concretização de uma ferramenta digital ser um trabalho de grande complexidade. Não obstante se tratar de um protótipo, esta ferramenta está adequada aos dias de hoje e é passível de evoluir no futuro, tendo também a possibilidade de vir a ser preferencialmente utilizada por outros países de língua portuguesa.

Control design for multicast-aware class-based networks

The expectations of citizens from the Information Technologies (ITs) are increasing as the ITs have become integral part of our society, serving all kinds of activities whether professional, leisure, safety-critical applications or business. Hence, the limitations of the traditional network designs to provide innovative and enhanced services and applications motivated a consensus to integrate all services over packet switching infrastructures, using the Internet Protocol, so as to leverage flexible control and economical benefits in the Next Generation Networks (NGNs). However, the Internet is not capable of treating services differently while each service has its own requirements (e.g., Quality of Service - QoS). Therefore, the need for more evolved forms of communications has driven to radical changes of architectural and layering designs which demand appropriate solutions for service admission and network resources control. This Thesis addresses QoS and network control issues, aiming to improve overall control performance in current and future networks which classify services into classes. The Thesis is divided into three parts. In the first part, we propose two resource over-reservation algorithms, a Class-based bandwidth Over-Reservation (COR) and an Enhanced COR (ECOR). The over-reservation means reserving more bandwidth than a Class of Service (CoS) needs, so the QoS reservation signalling rate is reduced. COR and ECOR allow for dynamically defining over-reservation parameters for CoSs based on network interfaces resource conditions; they aim to reduce QoS signalling and related overhead without incurring CoS starvation or waste of bandwidth. ECOR differs from COR by allowing for optimizing control overhead minimization. Further, we propose a centralized control mechanism called Advanced Centralization Architecture (ACA), that uses a single state-full Control Decision Point (CDP) which maintains a good view of its underlying network topology and the related links resource statistics on real-time basis to control the overall network. It is very important to mention that, in this Thesis, we use multicast trees as the basis for session transport, not only for group communication purposes, but mainly to pin packets of a session mapped to a tree to follow the desired tree. Our simulation results prove a drastic reduction of QoS control signalling and the related overhead without QoS violation or waste of resources. Besides, we provide a generic-purpose analytical model to assess the impact of various parameters (e.g., link capacity, session dynamics, etc.) that generally challenge resource overprovisioning control. In the second part of this Thesis, we propose a decentralization control mechanism called Advanced Class-based resource OverpRovisioning (ACOR), that aims to achieve better scalability than the ACA approach. ACOR enables multiple CDPs, distributed at network edge, to cooperate and exchange appropriate control data (e.g., trees and bandwidth usage information) such that each CDP is able to maintain a good knowledge of the network topology and the related links resource statistics on real-time basis. From scalability perspective, ACOR cooperation is selective, meaning that control information is exchanged dynamically among only the CDPs which are concerned (correlated). Moreover, the synchronization is carried out through our proposed concept of Virtual Over-Provisioned Resource (VOPR), which is a share of over-reservations of each interface to each tree that uses the interface. Thus, each CDP can process several session requests over a tree without requiring synchronization between the correlated CDPs as long as the VOPR of the tree is not exhausted. Analytical and simulation results demonstrate that aggregate over-reservation control in decentralized scenarios keep low signalling without QoS violations or waste of resources. We also introduced a control signalling protocol called ACOR Protocol (ACOR-P) to support the centralization and decentralization designs in this Thesis. Further, we propose an Extended ACOR (E-ACOR) which aggregates the VOPR of all trees that originate at the same CDP, and more session requests can be processed without synchronization when compared with ACOR. In addition, E-ACOR introduces a mechanism to efficiently track network congestion information to prevent unnecessary synchronization during congestion time when VOPRs would exhaust upon every session request. The performance evaluation through analytical and simulation results proves the superiority of E-ACOR in minimizing overall control signalling overhead while keeping all advantages of ACOR, that is, without incurring QoS violations or waste of resources. The last part of this Thesis includes the Survivable ACOR (SACOR) proposal to support stable operations of the QoS and network control mechanisms in case of failures and recoveries (e.g., of links and nodes). The performance results show flexible survivability characterized by fast convergence time and differentiation of traffic re-routing under efficient resource utilization i.e. without wasting bandwidth. In summary, the QoS and architectural control mechanisms proposed in this Thesis provide efficient and scalable support for network control key sub-systems (e.g., QoS and resource control, traffic engineering, multicasting, etc.), and thus allow for optimizing network overall control performance.

Practical software improve design and performance of a randomly packed air stripping column for removing volatile organic compounds from water

STRIPPING is a software application developed for the automatic design of a randomly packing column where the transfer of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from water to air can be performed and to simulate it’s behaviour in a steady-state. This software completely purges any need of experimental work for the selection of diameter of the column, and allows a choice, a priori, of the most convenient hydraulic regime for this type of operation. It also allows the operator to choose the model used for the calculation of some parameters, namely between the Eckert/Robbins model and the Billet model for estimating the pressure drop of the gaseous phase, and between the Billet and Onda/Djebbar’s models for the mass transfer. Illustrations of the graphical interface offered are presented.

Design de Comunicação Para Sistemas Educativos não Formais

Relatório de Actividade Profissional apresentado para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências da Comunicação – vertente de Novos Média e Práticas Web

Back to Basics: Exploring gestural habits as cues for anticipating self-injurious episodes in a child with Autism and Deafness

This research project is a longitudinal qualitative case study. It contributes to an understanding of self-injurious behaviour (SIB) by inviting the reader through the narrative of the lived experience of a fifteen year old child-informant and the network of individuals in his life. The value and importance of a case-study is that it focuses on the authenticity of the experience of living with disability. Through the use of detailed field observations, interviews and photo documents, the study thoroughly explores three main areas: quality of movements, potential cues as pre-cursors to episodes of self-injury, and purposeful communication. The research begins with a review of literature on Autism, Deafness and Self-injury, formulates the research design and orientation of Physical Education, Phenomenology and Semiotics, and then systematically explores four distinct phases in the analytical process. The aim was to explore self-injurious episodes in the child informant in hopes to translate the meaning of the behaviour and potentially utilize this to provide more opportunities for adapted physical activity. The findings reveal distinct patterns of movement cues utilized for different purposes. The implications of the findings are self-injurious episodes in the child informant are preceded by distinct patterns of movement that are potentially communicative. Suggested future direction of the research is expanding the scope to other disabilities for which verbal communication is challenging, and standardizing the translating tools to assist in understanding the communication of movement.

Évaluation des systèmes symboliques des symptômes biomédicaux pour la création d’une interface graphique pluriculturelle de l’échelle de triage canadien

Au croisement de l’anthropologie médicale, de la communication, du design industriel et des nouvelles technologies de l’information, ce mémoire se penche sur les difficultés communicatives rencontrées par le personnel médical et les patients de provenances culturelles variées dans le milieu des urgences hospitalières à Montréal. Dans l’optique d’améliorer l’échange au poste de triage, la réflexion porte principalement sur la pertinence et les caractéristiques d’un support visuel d’appoint. Elle aborde la problématique par l’étude des concepts de perception, de compréhension, d’interprétation et de représentation graphique sous les angles théoriques de la communication visuelle (Benjamin, Berger, Dibi-Huberman), de la sémiologie du discours social (Verón) et du jeu herméneutique (Gadamer). Les systèmes symboliques de cent cinquante images, illustrant sur Internet trois symptômes propres à la gastro-entérite, ont été analysés d’après une méthodologie mixte quantitative et qualitative afin d’identifier leurs sens dénotatifs et connotatifs. Les résultats appuient le recours à des images pour contourner les barrières langagières et révèlent l’existence d’une culture médicale visuelle internationale dont le code iconographique est hybride et pluriculturel. Ces nouvelles informations indiquent des critères de performance et des hypothèses concernant les changements occasionnés par l’ajout d’un support visuel dans la dynamique communicationnelle de l’ETC. La recherche ouvre aussi une piste vers l’étude herméneutique du produit en design industriel.

The relationship between product design and business models in the context of sustainability

Dans les sphères du développement durable, des modèles d’affaires et du design de produit, certains leviers rendent le croisement de ces trois sphères de plus en plus pertinent. Au croisement de ces trois sphères se trouve une opportunité de comprendre les relations existantes entre le design de produit et les modèles d’affaires afin d’aider les décideurs à développer des solutions davantage durables. L’approche méthodologique de cette recherche utilise un système complexe et est basée sur un paradigme pragmatique. En vue de répondre à la question « Dans quelle mesure des modèles d’affaires et le design de produit sont liés dans un contexte de développement durable? », cette recherche a soigneusement analysé trois cas: Better Place, une compagnie californienne ayant développé une infrastructure permettant le chargement des voitures électriques; Interface Inc., un manufacturier mondial de tuiles de tapis commerciales établi à Atlanta; et Métacycle, un concept d’entreprise développé par une équipe de chercheurs en design à Montréal. Chaque cas a été analysé en corrélant des aspects du design de produit à des éléments de leur modèle d’affaires. Les résultats montrent que dans le contexte du développement durable, le design de produit et les modèles d’affaires sont interdépendants. Les résultats peuvent être résumés en six points: il existe des relations applicables universellement; les innovations de design substantielles jouent un rôle important dans le développement durable; la « durabilité » peut être une qualité émergente d’un modèle d’affaires; les partenariats peuvent être vitaux pour l’intégration des systèmes; un modèle de services a des bénéfices et des limitations considérables; le design peut agir comme levier à l’utilisation d’énergies renouvelables. Pratiquer simultanément l’innovation du modèle d’affaires et du produit peut apporter une valeur ajoutée, susciter des opportunités et augmenter l’efficience sur plusieurs facettes. Toutefois, les risques et les coûts de tels procédés sont souvent très élevés. En aidant à comprendre et définir comment les trois sphères mentionnées plus tôt sont interdépendantes, cette recherche pourrait idéalement inspirer des recherches supplémentaires sur le sujet. L’application par des organisations de la méthodologie et des apprentissages résultant de cette recherche peut permettre à d’autres d’utiliser le croisement entre l’innovation de produit et l’innovation du modèle d’affaires afin de résoudre des enjeux sociaux et environnementaux complexes.

Design Techniques for Sigmadelta based ADC for Wireless Applications

Analog-to digital Converters (ADC) have an important impact on the overall performance of signal processing system. This research is to explore efficient techniques for the design of sigma-delta ADC,specially for multi-standard wireless tranceivers. In particular, the aim is to develop novel models and algorithms to address this problem and to implement software tools which are avle to assist the designer's decisions in the system-level exploration phase. To this end, this thesis presents a framework of techniques to design sigma-delta analog to digital converters.A2-2-2 reconfigurable sigma-delta modulator is proposed which can meet the design specifications of the three wireless communication standards namely GSM,WCDMA and WLAN. A sigma-delta modulator design tool is developed using the Graphical User Interface Development Environment (GUIDE) In MATLAB.Genetic Algorithm(GA) based search method is introduced to find the optimum value of the scaling coefficients and to maximize the dynamic range in a sigma-delta modulator.

Design, implementation and application of a generic framework for integrated regional land-use modeling

Land use is a crucial link between human activities and the natural environment and one of the main driving forces of global environmental change. Large parts of the terrestrial land surface are used for agriculture, forestry, settlements and infrastructure. Given the importance of land use, it is essential to understand the multitude of influential factors and resulting land use patterns. An essential methodology to study and quantify such interactions is provided by the adoption of land-use models. By the application of land-use models, it is possible to analyze the complex structure of linkages and feedbacks and to also determine the relevance of driving forces. Modeling land use and land use changes has a long-term tradition. In particular on the regional scale, a variety of models for different regions and research questions has been created. Modeling capabilities grow with steady advances in computer technology, which on the one hand are driven by increasing computing power on the other hand by new methods in software development, e.g. object- and component-oriented architectures. In this thesis, SITE (Simulation of Terrestrial Environments), a novel framework for integrated regional sland-use modeling, will be introduced and discussed. Particular features of SITE are the notably extended capability to integrate models and the strict separation of application and implementation. These features enable efficient development, test and usage of integrated land-use models. On its system side, SITE provides generic data structures (grid, grid cells, attributes etc.) and takes over the responsibility for their administration. By means of a scripting language (Python) that has been extended by language features specific for land-use modeling, these data structures can be utilized and manipulated by modeling applications. The scripting language interpreter is embedded in SITE. The integration of sub models can be achieved via the scripting language or by usage of a generic interface provided by SITE. Furthermore, functionalities important for land-use modeling like model calibration, model tests and analysis support of simulation results have been integrated into the generic framework. During the implementation of SITE, specific emphasis was laid on expandability, maintainability and usability. Along with the modeling framework a land use model for the analysis of the stability of tropical rainforest margins was developed in the context of the collaborative research project STORMA (SFB 552). In a research area in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, socio-environmental impacts of land-use changes were examined. SITE was used to simulate land-use dynamics in the historical period of 1981 to 2002. Analogous to that, a scenario that did not consider migration in the population dynamics, was analyzed. For the calculation of crop yields and trace gas emissions, the DAYCENT agro-ecosystem model was integrated. In this case study, it could be shown that land-use changes in the Indonesian research area could mainly be characterized by the expansion of agricultural areas at the expense of natural forest. For this reason, the situation had to be interpreted as unsustainable even though increased agricultural use implied economic improvements and higher farmers' incomes. Due to the importance of model calibration, it was explicitly addressed in the SITE architecture through the introduction of a specific component. The calibration functionality can be used by all SITE applications and enables largely automated model calibration. Calibration in SITE is understood as a process that finds an optimal or at least adequate solution for a set of arbitrarily selectable model parameters with respect to an objective function. In SITE, an objective function typically is a map comparison algorithm capable of comparing a simulation result to a reference map. Several map optimization and map comparison methodologies are available and can be combined. The STORMA land-use model was calibrated using a genetic algorithm for optimization and the figure of merit map comparison measure as objective function. The time period for the calibration ranged from 1981 to 2002. For this period, respective reference land-use maps were compiled. It could be shown, that an efficient automated model calibration with SITE is possible. Nevertheless, the selection of the calibration parameters required detailed knowledge about the underlying land-use model and cannot be automated. In another case study decreases in crop yields and resulting losses in income from coffee cultivation were analyzed and quantified under the assumption of four different deforestation scenarios. For this task, an empirical model, describing the dependence of bee pollination and resulting coffee fruit set from the distance to the closest natural forest, was integrated. Land-use simulations showed, that depending on the magnitude and location of ongoing forest conversion, pollination services are expected to decline continuously. This results in a reduction of coffee yields of up to 18% and a loss of net revenues per hectare of up to 14%. However, the study also showed that ecological and economic values can be preserved if patches of natural vegetation are conservated in the agricultural landscape. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Collaborative design procedures for architects and engineers

This book argues for novel strategies to integrate engineering design procedures and structural analysis data into architectural design. Algorithmic procedures that recently migrated into the architectural practice are utilized to improve the interface of both disciplines. Architectural design is predominately conducted as a negotiation process of various factors but often lacks rigor and data structures to link it to quantitative procedures. Numerical structural design on the other hand could act as a role model for handling data and robust optimization but it often lacks the complexity of architectural design. The goal of this research is to bring together robust methods from structural design and complex dependency networks from architectural design processes. The book presents three case studies of tools and methods that are developed to exemplify, analyze and evaluate a collaborative work flow.