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Air Force Institute Of Technology Research Report 2021, Air Force Institute Of Technology

AFIT Documents

This report summarizes the research activities of the Air Force Institute of Technology's Graduate School of Engineering and Management, as well as AFIT's research centers. It describes research interests and faculty expertise; list student theses/dissertations; identifies research sponsors and contributions; and outlines the procedure for contacting entities within the Institution.

Development Of A Sms Rollout Plan And Evaluation, Gabriel Dadi, Hala Nassereddine, Farshid Taherpour, Salena Pham

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Many state transportation agencies have introduced safety management systems (SMSs) to improve employee safety and health programs. These systems let employees quickly access safety and health policies, procedures, training, responsibilities, resources, and incident reporting tools, often electronically. Instituting a SMS is a critical step in adopting a proactive, data-driven approach to organizational safety. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary’s Office of Safety (SOS) worked with Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) to acquire, adapt, and rollout the Boosting Occupational Outcomes in Transportation Safety (BOOTS) system, a new SMS. Researchers assisted KYTC by conducting pre-rollout focus groups, helping to bring the system online, providing …

Forecasting Future Research Trends In The Construction Engineering And Management Domain Using Machine Learning And Social Network Analysis, Gasser G. Ali, Islam H. El-Adaway, Muaz O. Ahmed, Radwa Eissa, Mohamad Abdul Nabi, Tamima Elbashbishy, Ramy Khalef

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Construction Engineering and Management (CEM) is a broad domain with publications covering interrelated subdisciplines and considered a key source of knowledge sharing. Previous studies used scientometric methods to assess the current impact of CEM publications; however, there is a need to predict future citations of CEM publications to identify the expected high-impact trends in the future and guide new research efforts. To tackle this gap in the literature, the authors conducted a study using Machine Learning (ML) algorithms and Social Network Analysis (SNA) to predict CEM-related citation metrics. Using a dataset of 93,868 publications, the authors trained and tested two …

A Design Science And Implementation Framework For Studying Interruptions And Its Application In A Dental Clinic., Carsten Ziegler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interruptions during dental treatment are frequent, and often have detrimental effects on quality of care, patient safety and processing times, and have an impact on provider satisfaction and performance. Interruptions can significantly increase the cognitive load on dental providers, making it hard for them to concentrate on complex procedures. Frequent interruptions also disrupt the workflow in general, leading to delays in treatment, which can reduce the overall throughput of a clinic. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive approach to collectively (i) analyze interruptions in dental healthcare, (ii) design an intervention, and (iii) implement and sustain it. This research proposes a comprehensive …

Great South Metals: Slitter Head Building Process, Nabhan Karim, Evan Swierski, Raven Morin, Patrick Kelsey, Michael Williams

Senior Design Project For Engineers

Great South Metals (GSM) operates two steel slitter machines, which take large coils of flat rolled steel and cut them into smaller strips for use in customers’ applications. Setting up the working components of each machine, called the slitter head, is a precise and arduous task. This system relies on several manually performed calculations and acute attention to detail; and thus, is prone to human error. The management at GSM commissioned our team to simplify the slitter head assembly process by creating an automated computer program and make additional recommendations to improve their operations.

The program we created is a …

Design And Fabrication Of A Carbon Fiber Wheel For The Husker Motorsports Club, Benjamin Bashtovoi, Jordan Chapin, Michael Pineda, Caden Lind, Thomas Crum

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Every year, the Husker Motorsports team participates in a Formula SAE competition that challenges students to design and manufacture a Formula-style vehicle to compete against colleges from around the world. The Husker Motorsports club has sponsored this senior capstone project to improve the vehicle’s performance by reducing unsprung mass. Unsprung mass reduction has numerous benefits on vehicle dynamics, including improved acceleration, handling, and braking. To achieve these performance improvements, the team developed carbon-fiber composite wheels that weigh less than the current wheel solution and provide better rigidity. The team designed and modeled the wheel according to the 2023-2024 competition car …

Investigating Potential Improvements To Mbse Software To Support Dodaf, Jennifer Marie Kimpson

Theses and Dissertations

The integration of models created through model-based systems engineering methods with DoDAF is not a new concept. By creating DoDAF-aligned models, DoD program managers are following DoD guidelines to hopefully achieve more effective communication with stakeholders and improve efficiency of their programs. With the use of MBSE tools to create these models, DoD program managers are able to take further advantage of the benefits of MBSE methods. However, even with the use of MBSE tools, there continue to be issues throughout DoD programs. The literature has shown that a continuous improvement approach regarding the use of MBSE tools with DoDAF …

Great South Metals Processing Cost Optimization, Duy Nguyen, Pierce Morgan, Proma Dey, Rodrick Adams

Senior Design Project For Engineers

Great South Metals, a prominent service center in flat-rolled metal industry, undertook a strategic initiative to overhaul its pricing and operational strategies. The implementation of this project aimed at refining GSM's pricing matrix to accurately reflect processing costs for both GSM-owned and customer-owned materials. The project utilized a DMAIC approach, focusing on the integration of complex data sets with ERP systems and managing organizational change. Key strategies introduced include the Grandfather method, which respects longstanding customer relationships while transitioning them to new pricing structures, and Staggered Break Adjustments, which optimize machine operation and reduce downtime. The implementation of these strategies …

The Impact Of Using Standard Quality Measures Such As Iso 9001:2015 On Emerging Software Companies Created With Agile Methodologies., Elisa Orillac

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative research aimed to analyze the impact of applying quality measure standards, specifically ISO 9001:2015, in emerging software companies that have decided to manage their projects through Agile methodologies. While Agile methodologies are well known for their continuous delivery of software, the quality that results from these projects is not always guaranteed. This research aimed to evaluate what benefits in terms of cost, timely delivery of working software, and production have companies who already applied QMS had. Or, if applying the QMS had a negative result, why was this the case? The hypothesis for the research was that those …

Forecasting Future Research Trends In The Construction Engineering And Management Domain Using Machine Learning And Social Network Analysis, Gasser G. Ali, Islam H. El-Adaway, Muaz O. Ahmed, Radwa Eissa, Mohamad Abdul Nabi, Tamima Elbashbishy, Ramy Khalef

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Construction Engineering and Management (CEM) is a broad domain with publications covering interrelated subdisciplines and considered a key source of knowledge sharing. Previous studies used scientometric methods to assess the current impact of CEM publications; however, there is a need to predict future citations of CEM publications to identify the expected high-impact trends in the future and guide new research efforts. To tackle this gap in the literature, the authors conducted a study using Machine Learning (ML) algorithms and Social Network Analysis (SNA) to predict CEM-related citation metrics. Using a dataset of 93,868 publications, the authors trained and tested two …

Best Practices For Recruitment And Retention Of Transportation Professionals, Chris Van Dyke, Bryan Gibson, Sarah Mccormack, Merl Hackbart, Doug Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Many public sector agencies, including state departments of transportation (DOTs), have long found recruiting and retaining staff a daunting challenge. Lured by the promise of higher salaries in the private sector, many people are reluctant to sacrifice their long-term earnings potential to pursue public service. And with the quality of fringe benefits (e.g., retirement plans, health insurance) offered by public agencies having declined gradually, it is even more difficult to persuade prospective employees to accept a lower salary. Many studies over the past 15—20 years have looked at methods for solving the problem of recruitment and retention within the context …

Artificial Intelligence And Perception: An Empirical Study, Anthony J. Neil

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the impact of adjusting artificial intelligence explainability levels’ outputs on user perception. The overarching study extends within the Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) domain. It examines a spectrum of variables, including performance, cognizance, familiarity, transparency, system bias, and the overall impact of AI, to understand their collective and individual effects that enable effective professional use in an organization. The study aims to illuminate the relationship between the degree of explainability provided by large language models such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing AI and the performance of these models when tasked with XAI adjustments.

Studying Contribution Of Associated Stakeholders In Risk Control Of Modularized Construction Under Different Project Delivery Methods: A Graph-Restricted Cooperative Games Approach, Mohamad Abdul Nabi, Islam H. El-Adaway

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Modularization is associated with various project benefits including cost savings, schedule reduction, improved quality, among others. However, successful implementation of modular projects requires early collaboration and proactive management of various associated risks. Both project communication structures and early engagement of all project stakeholders have a great impact on risk mitigation efficiency in modular construction. The goal of this paper is to study the stakeholders' contribution in risk control of modular construction projects under different delivery methods. To this end, the authors followed a multistep methodology including (1) literature analysis to assign 17 modular risks among the various project stakeholders; (2) …

Fostering Corporate Resilience: Assessing Risk Management Committee Effectiveness In Malaysia’S Telecommunication And Media Sector Pre- And During The Covid-19, Flicia Rimin, Siti Rahayu Beli, Anastasiah Harbi, Imbarine Bujang, Jamaliah Said

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted organizations, underscoring the critical role of financial factors in determining performance. Maintaining a healthy financial stance during crises necessitates effective risk management, prompting the exploration of a Risk Management Committee (RMC) as a focal point for addressing risk issues and managing internal controls. A study spanning 2017 to 2021 assessed 11 listed companies in the Telecommunication and Media Sector, revealing that a combined RMC did not enhance financial performance, indicating its ineffectiveness during the crisis. The study advocates for a separate risk management committee due to the audit committee’s limitations in performing both functions. …

Key Issues Of Predictive Analytics Implementation: A Sociotechnical Perspective, Leida Chen, Ravi Nath, Nevina Rocco

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Developing an effective business analytics function within a company has become a crucial component to an organization’s competitive advantage today. Predictive analytics enables an organization to make proactive, data-driven decisions. While companies are increasing their investments in data and analytics technologies, little research effort has been devoted to understanding how to best convert analytics assets into positive business performance. This issue can be best studied from the socio-technical perspective to gain a holistic understanding of the key factors relevant to implementing predictive analytics. Based upon information from structured interviews with information technology and analytics executives of 11 organizations across the …

Finops-Driven Cloud Optimization Models For Enterprise Applications, Manikantha Varaprasad Inakollu

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Cloud computing has revolutionized enterprise IT infrastructure, yet escalating costs and resource inefficiencies threaten to undermine these benefits. This research examines FinOps-driven optimization models that enable organizations to balance cloud performance, cost efficiency, and business value. The study addresses the critical challenge enterprises face in managing cloud expenditures while maintaining operational excellence. Through comprehensive analysis of FinOps principles and practical optimization frameworks, we develop models that integrate financial accountability, technical efficiency, and business alignment. Our research demonstrates that organizations implementing structured FinOps practices achieve 25-40% cost reductions without compromising application performance. The study contributes both theoretical frameworks for understanding cloud …

Enhancing Erp Auditability And Compliance Using Permissioned Blockchain, A Framework For Transparent And Immutable Enterprise Resource Planning Systems., Manikantha Varaprasad Inakollu

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Enterprise Resource Planning systems serve as the backbone of modern organizational operations, yet their centralized architecture creates significant challenges for auditability and regulatory compliance. This research proposes a permissioned blockchain framework to enhance ERP auditability by creating immutable, transparent, and traceable records of all system transactions and modifications. The study addresses critical gaps in current ERP systems where transaction histories can be altered, audit trails prove insufficient, and compliance verification remains cumbersome. Through examination of existing ERP limitations and blockchain capabilities, we develop an integrated architecture that maintains operational efficiency while providing cryptographic assurance of data integrity. Our framework employs …

Advancing A Systems Perspective On Innovative Behavior, Stephen Demski

Doctoral Dissertations

"Engineering organizations pursue innovation in strategy, structure, processes, and the services and products offered to remain relevant and competitive. Identifying factors supporting or constraining innovative work behavior and recognizing the complexity of their interactions are vital to sustaining an innovative workforce, yet how factors interact has not been comprehensively studied.

Recognizing innovative work behavior as the output of a complex system of factors guided this study’s literature search that identified over one hundred individual, team, and organizational factors influencing innovative behavior, interviews of engineers to learn what factors are essential in their work environment, and Delphi survey to rank factors, …

Safety Culture Surveys: Towards A Unified Method, Brandon Judy

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationship between two aviation safety culture scales: the Airline Safety Culture Index (ASCI; Flight Safety Foundation, 2001) and the Organizational Safety Culture Questionnaire (OSCQ; Patankar, 2003). This study compared two safety culture instruments using a correlational methodology. The two scales were combined into a questionnaire distributed to hundreds of aviation students and professionals. The students were sampled using a stratified cluster sample method, and the professionals were sampled using a snowball method. There were 259 initial usable responses; after outliers were removed, the sample size was 244. A Pearson’s product-moment correlation found that the ASCI and …

Strategic Communications With China About Space, Joan Johnson-Freese

Space and Defense

In 2006, I published an article entitled “Strategic Communication with China: What Message About Space?”1 The article pointed out that difficulties encountered in trying to convey its message regarding the Global War on Terror to a global audience had convinced the United States, or at least the Defense Science Board, that it needed to use strategic communications more effectively. From there I extrapolated, “If one believes that big problems are best tackled in small bites, ‘space’ perhaps offers an area where the United States can begin to understand and tackle some of the strategic communication issues it faces.”2 Communication mishaps …

Adoption Of Pedagogical Innovations: Social Networks Of Engineering Education Guilds, Darby Riley, Kaitlin Mallouk, Courtney Faber, Alexandra Coso Strong

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

This work investigates how innovations propagate through two professional networks (guilds): the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) and the Consortium to Promote Reflection in Engineering Education (CPREE). Previous research has demonstrated that the adoption of pedagogical innovations is supported by the socialization of the innovation among potential adopters. In this work, we use social network analysis to explore the impact of professional connections on innovation adoption. Our research questions are: (1) How does overall social structure differ between guilds? (2) How do measures of social network structures relate to innovation adoption? A survey was distributed to members of KEEN and …

Advancing Airport Project Delivery: A Comparison Of Design-Build And Traditional Methods In Terms Of Schedule And Cost Performance, Ramy Khalef, Islam H. El-Adaway

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Current airport infrastructure is in a state of decline, with reports scoring it at an underperforming classification of D+. To address this issue, significant improvement and advancement of the infrastructure is needed. With backing on an authoritative level, the nation can expect an increase in the number of improvement projects. Airport stakeholders have long been accustomed to delivering their projects using traditional methods, such as design-bid-build (DBB). Design-build (DB) is an alternative delivery method that has added benefits for project metrics, such as schedule and cost performance. There is a lack of research evaluating DB within the context of airport …

China's Military Space Strategy: A Dialectical Materialism Perspective, Sam Rouleau

Space and Defense

China’s military space strategy accommodates in significant ways the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) ideological commitment to dialectical materialism. This Marxian commitment persists and manifests in China’s investment in space power despite the Party’s widely acknowledged development of state capitalism to guide China’s economy.

A Critical Realist Investigation Into The Development Of Engineering Ethics Education, Diana Adela Martin, Eddie Conlon, Brian Bowe

Research Papers

The paper reflects on the use of critical realism as a theoretical lens for examining the provision of ethics in engineering programmes and putting forward recommendations for the development of engineering ethics education. It is based on a large scale 4-year mixed methods study in which 23 engineering programmes from 6 higher education institutions in Ireland participated. The methods used include documentary analysis of programme documents, course syllabus and accreditation reports, interviews with instructors and members of accreditation panels, participant observation at accreditation events and a descriptive statistical analysis of the numerical grade used by engineering programmes to self-assess their …

Impact Of Teacher Training On Enhancing Sustainability Integration Into Engineering Education, Paula Schönach, Noora Jaakkola, Meeri Karvinen

Research Papers

Engineering education institutions face a growing demand to provide graduates with adequate skills to respond to the sustainability crisis at hand. One approach to address this is to integrate sustainability as a cross-cutting theme into programmes and courses. At the same time competence development of academic staff is seen as an essential, yet underdeveloped prerequisite for a sustainability paradigm shift.

Aiming at enhancing sustainability integration into engineering education, this study investigates the impact of pedagogical training on the skills and motivations of teachers to embed sustainability into their teaching. A new pedagogical course (3 ECTS) on sustainability in teaching was …

Towards Sustainability - Fostering Gender Dimensions For Inclusiveness In Science Technology Engineering And Production (Step) Fields, Ann Sharon Lourens, Nicole Truter

Research Papers

Statistics from the Engineering Council of South Africa indicate that a large number of women who enter the engineering sector leave their careers in the early stages because they felt isolated and experienced discrimination in this traditionally maledominated industry. Furthermore, research on global trends have highlighted the importance of an inclusive atmosphere as a result of the increase in the proportion of female decision-makers, racial and ethnic background differences, persons with disabilities and generation gaps with resulting different learning styles and needs. Literature also suggests that workforce diversity that maximises inclusion and minimises resistance, allows organisations to create change that …

Systems Thinking Applied To Higher Education Curricula Development, Reza Rahdar, Mark London, Yuetong Lin, Hong Jiang

Publications

Systems Thinking (ST) is a general and yet nebulous term that describes an approach to understanding and working with complexity in the real world. ST seeks to evaluate different behaviors of individual system elements when they operate in isolation as opposed to when they are integrated as part of a larger system and placed within a particular operating environment. The education environment consists of multiple systems with different digital content, learning goals/outcomes that serve different stakeholders including teachers, learners, and administrators. The inherent complexity and interaction among these various educational system elements and functions make this environment a worthy candidate …

Nexus Between Intellectual Capital And Financial Performance Sustainability: Evidence From Listed Jordanian Firms, Ali M. Alrabei, Leqaa N. Al-Othman, Thaer A. Abutaber, Mustafa S. Alathamneh, Tareq M. Almomani, Mohammed H. Qeshta

Applied Mathematics & Information Sciences

Purpose: The authors observe the effect of exploring the reality of Intellectual Capital (IC) and its impact on the financial performance of Jordanian industrial firms in Amman Stock Exchange. This empirical research explores the effect of intellectual capital on financial performance using data from 36 Jordanian industrial firms listed in Amman Stock Exchange for the period 2016-2020. The Value-Added Intellectual coefficient (VAIC) was adopted to measure the intellectual capital, while the return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and earnings per share (EPS) were adopted as measures of the companys financial performance. The effect of IC was tested by …

The Characteristics Of Successful Military It Projects: A Cross-Country Empirical Study, Helene Berg, Jonathan D. Ritschel

Faculty Publications

In the armed forces, successful digitalization is crucial to ensure effective operations. Much of the existing literature on project factors during the planning and execution phases of public IT projects do not focus specifically on military sector projects. Therefore, the paper aims to provide empirical insights into the characteristics of successful military IT projects. Data from such projects in NATO countries and agencies were collected through interviews and project documents. The findings relating to the main variable of interest, “delivery of client benefit,” supported previous findings on IT project performance. Medium-sized projects performed better than small and large projects, and …

An Embedded Case Study To Understand The Barriers To Cultural Progression In Aviation, Scott Phillip Trepinski

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative, revelatory, embedded case study was to understand the barriers to cultural progression aviation leaders experience within airlines based in the United States. The study was guided by the research question: What can be learned about the barriers hindering the progression of safety culture within the aviation industry? The research design used a single embedded case study model utilizing participants responsible for managing, participating in, and designing programs and policies associated with an organization's safety management system. The study's theoretical framework was the cognitive dissonance theory and the dialogue-supported organizational learning theory. Data was collected utilizing …