Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Development And Validation Of A Basic Ground Skills Assessment For Equine-Assisted Services, Sarah J. Andersen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The equine-assisted services program at Utah State University produced and validated an assessment process used to test equines for suitability for equine-assisted services. Equine-assisted services incorporate the interaction of humans who face mental, physical, emotional, and/or social challenges and equines for therapeutic purposes. Recreational, physical, mental, social, and/or emotional goals are met through various equine-assisted services such as therapies, equine-assisted learning, and horsemanship.

Due to the potential for human injury while interacting with equines, it is important to ensure equines are assessed for safe behavior prior to participation in equine-assisted services. This is why our group developed and tested the …

Measuring Numeracy: Validity And The Programme For The International Assessment Of Adult Competencies (Piaac), Samuel L. Tunstall

Numeracy

A tension raised in recent scholarship is that between numeracy as a social practice and numeracy as a functional skill set. Such frameworks for conceptualizing numeracy pose a challenge to assessment because what individuals do with numeracy is not the same as what individuals can do (or express) in an assessment setting. This study builds on work related to numeracy assessment through a validity examination of a portion of a well-known assessment: the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). In following a path set out by standards for assessment, I ask: What does the PIAAC numeracy …

Organisational-Level Assessment Of Cloud Computing Adoption: Evidence From The Australian Smes, Salim Al Isma'ili, Mengxiang Li, Jun Shen, Pu Huang, Qiang He, Wu Zhan

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Cloud Computing (CC) is an emerging technology that can potentially revolutionise the application and delivery of IT. There has been little research, however, into the adoption of CC in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The indicators show that CC has been adopted very slowly. There is also a significant research gap in the investigation of the adoption of this innovation in SMEs. This article explores how the adoption of CC in Australia is related to technological factors, risk factors, and environmental factors. The study provides useful insights that can be utilised practically by SMEs, policymakers, and cloud vendors.

A Framework For Building Assessment And Learning Tools For Digital Skills, Ann Ciesla

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Technology continues to intertwine with aspects of our everyday lives, requiring a new set of skills in exploring and experimenting with user interfaces. For those who grow up and keep up with technology, these skills are second nature. But for those who do not, such as older adults, these skills can be hard to master. User interfaces are changing regularly, and it is no longer suffices to teach older adults how to solve a specific problem on a specific interface. The knowledge they gain is insubstantial because it does not help when the technology changes. They no longer understand how …

Assessment And Support For Basic Computer Skills At Community College Hispanic Serving Institutions In California, Jason Wayne Hough

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This cross-sectional survey study was conducted to determine if California community colleges designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) assess incoming students for basic computer skills, provide learning support for these skills, as well as assess the attitude of administrators towards basic computer skills of incoming students. Prior published research documented the false assumption in higher education incoming students are “digital natives”, capable of effectively using technology expected on college campuses; however, there was no research focused on community colleges designated as HSIs. The study adds to the body of literature about the assessment of and support for basic computer skills …

Towards An Assessment Framework Of Reuse: A Knowledge Level Analysis Approach, Ghassan Beydoun, Achim Hoffmann, Rafael Valencia-Garcia, Jun Shen, Asifqumer Gill

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

The process of assessing the suitability of reuse of a software component is complex. Indeed, software systems are typically developed as an assembly of existing components. The complexity of the assessment process is due to lack of clarity on how to compare the cost of adaptation of an existing component versus the cost of developing it from scratch. Indeed, often pursuit of reuse can lead to excessive rework and adaptation, or developing suites of components that often get neglected. This paper is an important step towards modelling the complex reuse assessment process. To assess the success factors that can underpin …

Applying A Universal Design Approach To Empower Children With Multiple Impairments In Assistive Technology Assessment, Trish Mackeogh, Karola Dillenburg, John Donovan

Other

Rapid developments in technology, coinciding with the shift in educational ideology towards the inclusion of children with multiple disabilities, has led to increased calls for a Universal Design (UD) approach to promoting, user-friendly, proactive, transparent, and accessible environments and to the importance of Assistive Technology (AT) applications. For children with disabilities, technologies provide opportunities for greater and more flexible access to activities then traditional interfaces if applied and matched successfully. Relatively high abandonment rates of assistive technology have been documented, often due to a lack of user involvement in the assessment process. The field of Universal Design is showing that …

Compressive Behaviour Of Partially Frp Confined Concrete: Experimental Observations And Assessment Of The Stress-Strain Models, Weiqiang Wang, M Neaz Sheikh, Ali Qasim Al-Baali, Muhammad N. S Hadi

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

This study provides new insight on the compressive behaviour of partially fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) confined concrete with either strain-hardening or strain-softening responses. Fully FRP confined concrete, partially FRP confined concrete with different strip gaps, and unconfined concrete were tested under axial compression. Four types of axial load-axial deformation behaviours were observed for specimens with different strip gaps. Even though a high volumetric ratio of FRP was applied, the confinement effectiveness was negligible when the strip gap exceeded the diameter of the specimens. Moreover, the axial stress-axial strain behaviours of wrapped and non-wrapped concrete were observed to be different, and …

Cyberknife® Fixed Cone And Iris™ Defined Small Radiation Fields: Assessment With A High-Resolution Solid-State Detector Array, Giordano Biasi, Marco Petasecca, Susanna Guatelli, Martin A. Ebert, Garry Grogan, Benjamin Hug, Jonathan Lane, Vladimir Perevertaylo, Tomas Kron, Anatoly B. Rosenfeld

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Purpose

The challenges of accurate dosimetry for stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) with small unflattened radiation fields have been widely reported in the literature. In this case, suitable dosimeters would have to offer a submillimeter spatial resolution. The CyberKnife^® (Accuray Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, USA) is an SRT‐dedicated linear accelerator (linac), which can deliver treatments with submillimeter positional accuracy using circular fields. Beams are delivered with the desired field size using fixed cones, the InCise™ multileaf collimator or a dynamic variable‐aperture Iris™ collimator. The latter, allowing for field sizes to be varied during treatment delivery, has the potential to decrease treatment time, …

Formative Assessment To Develop Oral Communication Competency Using Youtube: Self- And Peer Assessment In Engineering, Sasha Nikolic, David Stirling, Montserrat Ros

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Obtaining oral communication competency is an important skill for engineering students to prepare them for interacting and working in any professional setting. For engineers, it is also important to be able to present technical information to non-technical audiences. To ensure oral competency, a non-graded formative assessment approach using video with self- and peer assessment was introduced into a final-year engineering thesis course. A low workload approach was used due to growing student numbers and higher pressures on academic staff. A quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the differences between traditional delivery, self-assessment and combined self-assessment with peer feedback. The study …

Crowdsourcing Management Education Assessment, Owen P. Hall Jr, Charla Griffy-Brown

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Assessment is now at the center of the new business education zeitgeist. This focus is the direct result of feedback from the business community regarding the growing gap between their needs and graduates from many business schools. Recently this divide has fallen under even closer scrutiny because of increasing student debt and the growing controversy over return-on- investment. Today business leaders are looking for web-savvy, problem-solving graduates. To this end, AACSB and regional accrediting bodies are calling for the adoption of comprehensive collaborative learning strategies to better align graduates’ skill sets with the real needs of business. Crowdsourcing, which is …

Optimizing Distributed Generation Parameters Through Economic Feasibility Assessment, Kashem M. Muttaqi, An D. T Le, Jamshid Aghaei, Esmaeil Mahboubi-Moghaddam, Michael Negnevitsky, Gerard Ledwich

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

To meet the fast growth of electricity demand, the traditional network solution tends to expand existing substations, build more new substations, and build transmission lines. Distributed Generation (DG) is posed as an alternative method for the network providers not only to accommodate the load increase and relieve network overload, but also to offer other additional technical and economic benefits. This paper addresses the issue of DG planning and has proposed a technique for optimizing the DG size and location to minimize the overall investment and operational cost of the system. The proposed optimization methodology assesses the compatibility of different generation …

Implementation Of Health Technology Assessment Work In A Hospital In Kazakhstan, Lyazzat Kosherbayeva, David M. Hailey, Kural Kurakbaev, Aleksey Tsoy, Ormanbek Zhuzzhanov, Abilay Donbay, Ainur Kumar, Kamalzhan Nadyrov

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Objectives: The aim of this study was to implement health technology assessment (HA) in the First General City Hospital in Astana, Kazakhstan. Methods: We organized trainings to familiarize hospital staff with the purpose and details of HTA. An HTA committee was established, with representation from hospital physicians and managers, and criteria for prioritization of health technologies determined. Clinical departments of the hospital were asked to prepare applications for new technologies for their services. Results: The HTA committee reviewed five applications and selected a technology from one of these, on single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS), for assessment. A short HTA report …

Field Assessment Of Ballasted Railroads Using Geosynthetics And Shock Mats, Sanjay Nimbalkar, Buddhima Indraratna

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The ballasted railroads form an integral part of the modern transportation infrastructure in Australia. However, they are subjected to large stresses especially on mixed traffic lines, where heavy freight trains are operated. Under such adverse operational conditions, ballast progressively degrades contributing to overall track deformations and frequent maintenance. Maintaining geometry of ballast embankments is necessary to improve safety and efficiency of railway operations. The use of artificial inclusions (geosynthetics and shock mats) as well as recycled (discarded) ballast in track can be economically viable options. In order to gain more insight, the CGRE has conducted extensive field trials on two …

A Process Of Prioritizing Topics For Health Technology Assessment In Kazakhstan, Lyazzat Kosherbayeva, David M. Hailey, Kural Kurakbaev, Adlet Tabarov, Ainur Kumar, Gulnara Gutzskaya, Elena Stepkina

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop criteria for the prioritization of topics for health technology assessment (HTA) in the healthcare system of Kazakhstan. Methods: Initial proposals for criteria were suggested through consultation with Ministry of Health (MoH) policy areas. These were refined through a workshop attended by HTA department staff, persons from medical universities and research institutes, and MoH policy makers. The workshop included discussion on methods used in international HTA practice. Opinions of participants on selection of criteria from those specified in a review of prioritization processes were used to define a list for inclusion in …

Assessment Of Interface Shear Behaviour Of Sub-Ballast With Geosynthetics By Large-Scale Direct Shear Test, Mohammad Mahdi Biabani, Buddhima Indraratna, Sanjay Nimbalkar

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

A series of large-scale direct shear test were conducted to study the interface shear strength of subballast reinforced with different types of geomembranes and geogrids. The impact of normal stress (σn), shearing rate (SR), relative density (DR) and open area (OA%) on the behaviour of granular material was investigated in unreinforced and reinforced condition. The results revealed that the performance of material was markedly influenced by σn and OA. The results also showed that geogrids provided a greater value of passive resistance owing to have transverse ribs, but the mobilised passive resistance became smaller with increase in OA. The triaxial …

Influence Of Health Technology Assessment And Its Measurement, David M. Hailey, Sophie Werko, Mans Rosen, Karen Macpherson, Susan Myles, Veronica Gallegos Rivera, Cecilia Hipolito-Olivares, Sinnika Sihvo, Jasmine Pwu, Wen-Wen Yang, Yong-Chen Chen, Ana Perez Galan, Alicia Aleman, Elena Villamil

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to obtain information on methods used to measure health technology assessment (HTA) influence, decisions that were influenced, and outcomes linked to HTA. METHODS: Electronic databases were used to locate studies in which HTA influence had been demonstrated. Inclusion criteria were studies that reliably reported consideration by decision makers of HTA findings; comparative studies of technology use before and after HTA; and details of changes in policy, health outcomes, or research that could be credibly linked to an HTA. RESULTS: Fifty-one studies were selected for review. Settings were national (24), regional (12), both national …

From Stem To Steam: Reframing What It Means To Learn, Nicole M. Radziwill, Morgan C. Benton, Cassidy Moellers

The STEAM Journal

Although involvement in art and design have been shown to play an essential role in catalyzing STEM research, true integration is still an area of active research. The realization of STEM education via STEAM lends itself to interactive and participatory dialogic art; this juncture provides a nonjudgmental space to cultivate the question-making aspect of inquiry, the ability to comfortably hold uncertainty, and a sensitivity to the process of discovery. Even though STEM education can (and often is) inquiry-based, assessments still tend to focus on whether knowledge or skills have been obtained, and this is no different than the current general …

Power Quality Emission Assessment Of Photovoltaic Inverters Based On Iec Technical Report 61000-3-15:2011, Devinda Perera, Philip Ciufo, Lasantha G. Meegahapola, Sarath Perera

Dr Philip Ciufo

The International Electrotechnical Committee Technical Report IEC 61000-3-15:2011 provides electromagnetic compatibility requirements and test conditions for distributed generators up to 75 A per phase. In the current research, two commercially available photovoltaic (PV) inverters up to the capacity of 3600 W were tested following the guidelines proposed in IEC 61000-3-15 in relation to low order harmonic emission and flicker emission. In addition, the harmonic and flicker emission behaviour of the PV inverters were investigated under varying irradiation conditions. Both PV inverters were observed to comply with the emission requirements prescribed by the technical report under most conditions except for even …

Voltage Unbalance Emission Assessment: Sources Of Contribution And Their Ranking, U Jayatunga, Sarath Perera, P Ciufo, A P. Agalgaonkar

Dr Philip Ciufo

etermining sources of voltage unbalance (VU) and quantifying their individual contributions in an interconnected network is a complex task due to multiple interactions that take place between them. Post-connection VU emission assessment techniques in relation to customer installations are important not only in compliance assessment according to IEC/TR 61000-3- 13:2008 Limits - Assessment of emission limits for the connection of unbalanced installations to MV, HV and EHV power systems, but also in determining the various emission contributors in the power system being considered. This paper presents a case study on the application of a recently developed post-connection VU emission assessment …

A Phantom Assessment Of Achievable Contouring Concordance Across Multiple Treatment Planning Systems, Elise M. Pogson, Jarrad Begg, Michael Jameson, Claire Dempsey, Drew Latty, Vikneswary Batumalai, Andrew Lim, Kankean Kandasamy, Peter E. Metcalfe, Lois C. Holloway

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In this paper, the highest level of inter- and intra-observer conformity achievable with different treatment planning systems (TPSs), contouring tools, shapes, and sites have been established for metrics including the Dice similarity coefficient (DICE) and Hausdorff Distance. High conformity values, e.g. DICEBreast_Shape = 0.99 ± 0.01, were achieved. Decreasing image resolution decreased contouring conformity.

Dce-Mri For Pre-Treatment Prediction And Post-Treatment Assessment Of Treatment Response In Sites Of Squamous Cell Carcinoma In The Head And Neck, Ann D. King, Steven Kwok Keung Chow, Kwok-Hung Yu, Frankie Kwok Fai Mo, David K. W. Yeung, Jing Yuan, Benjamin King Hong Law, Kunwar S. Bhatia, Alexander C. Vlantis, Anil T. Ahuja

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Background and Purpose It is important to identify patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) who fail to respond to chemoradiotherapy so that they can undergo post-treatment salvage surgery while the disease is still operable. This study aimed to determine the diagnostic performance of dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE)-MRI using a pharmacokinetic model for pre-treatment predictive imaging, as well as post-treatment diagnosis, of residual SCC at primary and nodal sites in the head and neck. Material and Methods Forty-nine patients with 83 SCC sites (primary and/or nodal) underwent pre-treatment DCEMRI, and 43 patients underwent post-treatment DCE-MRI, of which 33 …

Urinary Continence Care In Australian Nursing Homes, Ping Yu, Victoria Traynor, David Hailey

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Objective Exploring urinary continence (UC) assessment and management practices in Australian nursing homes. Design Mixed method using a questionnaire and interviews. Setting Five nursing homes in Australian metropolitan cities. Subjects Participants 121 staff: mostly female (91%) with a range of roles including personal care assistants (PCAs) (63%), enrolled nurses (ENs) (11%), registered nurses (RNs) (20%) and managers (4%). Main outcomes measure(s) Compliance with and perceptions about UC assessment and management. Results 77% (n=71) of care staff (PCAs, ENs and RNs) were compliant with the UC management protocol of checking for wetness every 2 to 2.5 hours. Toileting time and frequency …

An Assessment Of Image Distortion And Ct Number Accuracy Within A Wide-Bore Ct Extended Field Of View, Bradley Beeksma, D Truant, Lois C. Holloway, Sankar Arumugam

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Although wide bore computed tomography (CT) scanners provide increased space for patients, the scan field of view (sFOV) remains considerably smaller than the bore size. Consequently, patient anatomy which spans beyond the sFOV is truncated and the information is lost. As a solution, some manufacturers provide the capacity to reconstruct CT images from a partial dataset at an extended field of view (eFOV). To assess spatial distortion within this eFOV three phantoms were considered a 30 x 30 x 20 cm³ slab of solid water, the Gammex electron density CT phantom and a female anthropomorphic phantom. For each phantom, …

A Refined General Summation Law For Vu Emission Assessment In Radial Networks, Jayatunga Vitharanage Upuli Priyadarshani Jayatunga, Sarath Perera, Philip Ciufo, Ashish P. Agalgaonkar

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Voltage unbalance (VU) management of power systems requires the development of well researched engineering practices to maintain acceptable VU levels while utilising the total VU absorption capacity of the power system. In this regard, IEC/TR 61000-3-13:2008 prescribes a VU emission allocation methodology based on a stochastic approach which uses a general summation law in order to aggregate numerous sources of unbalance to take into account their random variations. On the other hand, recent deterministic studies on VU emission assessment at the post-connection stage of unbalanced installations present a complex VU factor based approach to determine constituent components of the post-connection …

Interfacial Assessment Of Cao-Al2o3-Sio2-Mgo Slags On Mgal2o4 Spinel, Hamed Abdeyazdan, Neslihan Dogan, M Akbar Rhamdhani, Michael Chapman, Brian J. Monaghan

Brian Monaghan

Steel cleanness is an important and growing research area driven by the demands to produce high quality steel. Lowering the inclusion content in steel is an important criterion for clean steel. It is therefore important to better understand the interaction between inclusions and slag to improve the removability of inclusions from liquid steel. For efficient inclusion removal the inclusions must attach/bond with the slag phase. The strength of the attachment can be characterised by the wettability of the slag on the inclusions. In this study, the dynamic wetting of ladle slags of the CaO-Al2O3-SiO2- MgO system on a solid spinel …

Safety Culture Perceptions In A Collegiate Aviation Program: A Systematic Assessment, Daniel Kwasi Adjekum

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

An assessment of the perceptions of respondents on the safety culture at an accredited Part 141 four year collegiate aviation program was conducted as part of the implementation of a safety management system (SMS). The Collegiate Aviation Program Safety Culture Assessment Survey (CAPSCAS), which was modified and revalidated from the existing Commercial Aviation Safety Survey (CASS), was used. Participants were drawn from flight students and certified flight instructors in the program. The survey captured the perceptions of participants on the status of the safety culture in the program. There were significant variances in the perception of respondents on the safety …

Performance Based Seismic Assessment Of Bridges Designed According To Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code, M Neaz Sheikh, Frederic Legeron

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Recent research efforts have focused on the development of performance based seismic design methodologies for structures. However, the seismic design rules prescribed in the current Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CHBDC) is based largely on force based design principles. Although a set of performance requirements (performance objectives) for different return period earthquake events have been specified, there is no explicit requirement in the CHBDC to check the attainment of such performance objectives for the designed bridges. Also, no engineering parameters have been assigned to the specified performance objectives. This paper correlates seismic performance objectives (both qualitative and quantitative) with engineering …

Evolving Formative Assessment For And With Ubiquitous Technologies, Nadine Adams, Anne Porter

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Formative assessment is a vital part of the learning process. It guides student learning and prepares them for summative assessment. The feedback that accompanies formative assessment is valuable for students' learning. The combination of formative assessment and feedback facilitate the development of self-efficacy. Technology is not only changing the way students study and learn but also how assessment is conducted and managed. Globalisation and corporatisation of universities has changed the way academics work and has had an effect on teaching, assessment and feedback. This paper looks at how formative assessment in an enabling mathematics course has been developed to take …

Mr-Less Surface-Based Amyloid Assessment Based On 11c Pib Pet, Luping Zhou, Oliver Salvado, Vincent Dore, Pierrick Bourgeat, Parnesh Raniga, S Lance Macaulay, David Ames, Colin L. Masters, Katherine A. Ellis, Victor L. Villemagne, Christopher Rowe, Jurgen Fripp

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Background: b-amyloid (Ab) plaques in brain’s grey matter (GM) are one of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and can be imaged in vivo using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with 11C or 18F radiotracers. Estimating Ab burden in cortical GM has been shown to improve diagnosis and monitoring of AD. However, lacking structural information in PET images requires such assessments to be performed with anatomical MRI scans, which may not be available at different clinical settings or being contraindicated for particular reasons. This study aimed to develop an MR-less Ab imaging quantification method that requires only PET images for …