Digital Commons Network^™

Active Learning In The Polytechnic Integrated Freshman Year Experience, Nathan Mentzer, Lakshmy Mohandas

Polytechnic Institute Summit

No abstract provided.

Leveraging Design Thinking Practices In Integrated Stem Environments With Implications For Assessment Opportunities, Paul Asunda

Polytechnic Institute Summit

No abstract provided.

A Re-Examination Of The University For Meeting 21st Century Learning Needs, Julia C. Lee

Polytechnic Institute Summit

No abstract provided.

Construction Project Cost Control, Joseph Orczyk

Bowen School of Construction Open Educational Resources

The purpose of Construction Project Cost Control is to present techniques that help the contractor control the cost of the required inputs to the construction process. Every member of the construction project team must work together to control costs. The individual's ability to control construction project costs determines career success in the construction industry.

This book is a study of project-level cost control. Topics covered include labor cost control, project cash flow, material cost control, and subcontract cost control. This book has been developed while the author taught the Construction Costs course from 1984-2016 in the School of Construction Management …

The Marginocentric Cultural Features Of Cities Along The Great Silk Road In The Territory Of Kazakhstan, Ainura Kurmanaliyeva, Nurlykhan Aljanova, Mira Manassova

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In their paper "The Marginocentric Cultural Features of Cities along the Great Silk Road in the territory of Kazakhstan," Ainura Kurmanaliyeva, Nurlykhan Aljanova and Mira Manassova discuss the cultural features of the Great Silk Road as a marginocentric dialogic location. Among the ancient cities in the territory of Kazakhstan, the paper focuses on the city of Otrar. The city dated from the Persian Empire, when it was known as Fārāb, meaning irrigated lands. Otrar was the birth-place of philosopher and scientist Al Farabi, also known as the 'second teacher' after Aristotle, an important influence on Avicenna and Maimonides. Al Farabi's …

Stem Education: What We Know Works, & Why It's Not Widely Done, Phillip D. Long

Polytechnic Institute Summit

No abstract provided.

Innovations In Self-Consciousness. Towards Oneness With The World, Soon-Ok Myong, Byong-Soon Chun

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In their article "Innovations in Self-Consciousness. Towards Oneness with the World" Soon-ok Myong and Byong-soon Chun examine the limitations and vulnerabilities of modern civilization. Asia is a multiethnic, multilingual and multicultural territory of over 40 countries and more than 4.4 billion people, that is, almost half of the population of the world. The One Asia community seeks to question a world made up of strong egos that make up businesses, organization and nations, and embrace communal goals, helping Asia and the world to become 'one community.' Thus, the paper suggests ways of self-innovation through forms of transitional consciousness. Although the …

Sophic Education: Where Is Your Treasure?, Tyson Anderson

Education and Culture

Challenges to education today are part of a wider cultural context. Dewey, Heidegger, and certain Russian thinkers have remarkably similar diagnoses of our post-Cartesian reductive condition. In education this complex appears as “educational materialism.” In contrast, a “sophic education” would be similar to Bulgakov’s “sophic economy.” The discovery of Chauvet Cave shows an original human situation where the practical and the spiritual were integrated and “sophic.” For Americans, Plymouth Colony’s commitment to “the general good” and Roger Williams’s advocacy of democracy and freedom of conscience were also nonreductive and suggest a direction for an integrative, sophic education.

Reconstruction Of Social Studies, William Gaudelli, Megan J. Laverty

Education and Culture

As the world grows increasingly contentious, education for citizenship demands greater attention. Yet at this perilous juncture, social studies has neglected to take up the task of preparing citizens in a democratic and global society. Social studies has become increasingly fragmented and isolated by disciplinary foci that fetishize academic pursuits over broadly social purposes, precisely what Dewey warned against and which represent but a small portion of its functions. The academic-only social studies education has created a temporal disconnection that affirms the preparation for future life rather than, as Dewey preferred, the school as life itself. Dewey tasked the school …

Children’S Negotiations Of Visualization Skills During A Design-Based Learning Experience Using Nondigital And Digital Techniques, Shaunna Smith

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

In the context of a 10-day summer camp makerspace experience that employed design-based learning (DBL) strategies, the purpose of this descriptive case study was to better understand the ways in which children use visualization skills to negotiate design as they move back and forth between the world of nondigital design techniques (i.e., drawing, 3-D drawing with hot glue, sculpture, discussion, writing) and digital technologies (i.e., 3-D scanning, 3-D modeling, 3-D printing). Participants included 20 children aged 6–12. This research was guided by Vossoughi, Hooper, and Escudé’s (2016) call for explicit attention to pedagogical practices during the integration of “making” activities. …

Making Learners: A Framework For Evaluating Making In Stem Education, Jill A. Marshall, Jason R. Harron

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

The maker movement has strong connections to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well as art and crafts, but the goals of making are not in perfect alignment with any of these disciplines. Within the problem-based paradigm, however, there is room to incorporate making as situated STEM learning, even in formal, standards-based educational settings. We report on a framework for making in STEM education and describe a rubric for assessing the presence of the essential elements of making within STEM instruction. We present examples of the application of the rubric in a STEM teacher education course.

Tutorial On A Theory-Driven Methodology For Identification Of Vital Properties Of Elementary Cognitive Processes: Systems Factorial Technology, James Townsend, Yanjun Liu, Brett Jefferson

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Quantification And Control Of Nonpoint Source Pollution Of Water Resources To Minimize Health Hazards, R.K. Panda, Gurjeet Singh, D. Halder

Sustainable Solution With Appropriate Technological Development and Innovation (SWADIN) Conference

No abstract provided.

Brightness Perception Involves Local Adaptation Opposed By Lateral Interaction, Qasim Zaidi, Romain Bachy, Jose-Manuel Alonso

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Understanding Qualitative 3d Shape From Texture And Shading, Benjamin Kunsberg, Steven W. Zucker

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Measuring Symmetry In Real-World Scenes Using Derivatives Of The Medial Axis Radius Function, Morteza Rezanejad, John D. Wilder, Kaleem Siddiqi, Sven Dickinson, Allan Jepson, Dirk B. Walther

MODVIS Workshop

Symmetry has been shown to be an important principle that guides the grouping of scene information. Previously, we have described a method for measuring the local, ribbon symmetry content of line-drawings of real-world scenes (Rezanejad, et al., MODVIS 2017), and we demonstrated that this information has important behavioral consequences (Wilder, et al., MODIVS 2017). Here, we describe a continuous, local version of the symmetry measure, that allows for both ribbon and taper symmetry to be captured. Our original method looked at the difference in the radius between successive maximal discs along a symmetric axis. The number of radii differences in …

The Role Of Symmetry In Computational Models Of 3d Vision, Zygmunt Pizlo

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Visual Category Learning By Means Of Basal Ganglia, Fred H. Hamker, Francesc Villagrasa, Javier Baladron, Henning Schroll, Julien Vitay

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Appropriate Kernels For Divisive Normalization Explained By Wilson-Cowan Equations, Jesus Malo, Marcelo Bertalmio

MODVIS Workshop

Cascades of standard Linear+NonLinear-Divisive Normalization transforms [Carandini&Heeger12] can be easily fitted using the appropriate formulation introduced in [Martinez17a] to reproduce the perception of image distortion in naturalistic environments. However, consistently with [Rust&Movshon05], training the model in naturalistic environments does not guarantee the prediction of well known phenomena illustrated by artificial stimuli. For example, the cascade of Divisive Normalizations fitted with image quality databases has to be modified to include a variety aspects of masking of simple patterns. Specifically, the standard Gaussian kernels of [Watson&Solomon97] have to be augmented with extra weights [Martinez17b]. These can be introduced ad-hoc using the intuition …

Consistent Saliency Benchmarking: How One Model Can Win On All Metrics, Matthias Kümmerer, Thomas S.A. Wallis, Matthias Bethge

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.

Tinkering With Logo In An Elementary Mathematics Methods Course, Keri Duncan Valentine

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

With an increased push to integrate coding and computational literacy in K–12 learning environments, teacher educators will need to consider ways they might support preservice teachers (PSTs). This paper details a tinkering approach used to engage PSTs in thinking computationally as they worked with geometric concepts they will be expected to teach in K–5. Experiences programming in Logo to construct authentic artifacts in the form of two-dimensional geometric graphics not only supported PSTs’ understanding of core geometric and spatial concepts, but also helped them to make connections between mathematics and computational literacy. Artifacts and discourse are discussed as they relate …

Ascertaining The Impact Of P–12 Engineering Education Initiatives: Student Impact Through Teacher Impact, Marissa H. Forbes, Jacquelyn F. Sullivan, Denise W. Carlson

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

The widespread need to address both science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and STEM workforce development is persistent. Underscored by the Next Generation Science Standards, demand is high for P–12 engineering-centered curricula. TeachEngineering is a free, standards-aligned NSF-funded digital library of more than 1,500 hands-on, design-rich K–12 engineering lessons and activities. Beyond anonymous site-user counts, the impact of the TeachEngineering collection and outreach initiatives on the education of children and their teachers was previously unknown. Thus, the project team wrestled with the question of how to meaningfully ascertain classroom impacts of the digital engineering education library and—more broadly—how to …

How To Shape Attitudes Toward Stem Careers: The Search For The Most Impactful Extracurricular Clubs, Fethiye Ozis, Ali Osman Pektas, Mustafa Akca, Daniel’Le April Devoss

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

It is well known that strong extracurricular STEM programs provide multiple arenas for students to expand on classroom curriculum, complementing STEM skills with creative thinking and open-ended problem solving. It has been shown that there is a relationship between the number of STEM clubs students participated in and their choice of STEM major (Sahin, 2013). Considering financial problems, including budget cuts, it gets really challenging for schools to provide a plethora of clubs. For this reason, it would be very beneficial for K–12 schools to know if certain clubs are more effective in changing attitudes toward STEM majors, and therefore …

‘‘Lend A Hand’’ Project Helps Students: Improved Spatial Visualization Skills Through Engaging In Hands-On 3-D Printed Prosthetics Project During A 9th Grade Engineering Course, Shaunna Smith, Kimberly Talley

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Research shows that high spatial ability is linked to success and persistence in STEM. Empirical investigations often report a gender gap in favor of male students. The purpose of this research study was to assess changes to 9th grade engineering students’ spatial visualization skills through engagement in a nine-week collaborative 3-D printed prosthetics project embedded within their existing ‘‘Beginning Concepts of Engineering’’ course curriculum. Using concurrent mixed methods, this study examined pre-/post-test scores on the Revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (Revised PSVT:R) in connection with gender, course grades, and level of involvement in the project. Both male and female …

Separation Of Closely-Spaced Acoustics Sources In An Under-Determined System With Convex Optimization, Tongyang Shi, J Stuart Bolton

Publications of the Ray W. Herrick Laboratories

The ability to identify acoustical source locations accurately is critical when performing sound field reconstructions. In previous work, a monopole-based, iterative equivalent source method, wideband acoustical holography, has proven able to provide accurate noise source location in complex machines even when the number of measurements was far smaller than the number of parameters that needed to be determined in the model (see: Tongyang Shi, Yangfan Liu and J. Stuart Bolton, “Diesel engine noise source visualization with wideband acoustical holography,” SAE paper 2017-01-1874). However, at some stage, when acoustical sources are too closely spaced, the current algorithm has difficulty in separating …

Community Detection In Cyber Networks, Harsha Vithalrao Deshmukh

Open Access Theses

Community detection has been widely studied and implemented across various research domains such as social networks, biological networks, neuroscience, and cybersecurity. In the context of cyber networks, it involves identifying the groups of network nodes such that the network connections are dense within the group and are sparser between the groups. Various community detection algorithms can be utilized to detect the underlying community structure of a given network. However, it is crucial to evaluate the quality of the detected communities as there are a number of ways that a particular network may be partitioned into communities, and thus, a quality …

Exploring The Effects Of A Stem Integrated Program Experience On Girl Scouts’ Pro-Environmental Intentions, Miranda E. Furrer

Open Access Theses

Youth have a natural curiosity about the world around them. However, even with this curiosity and the known benefits to spending time outdoors, many youth do not spend much time outdoors; they spend a majority of their time indoors. Through programming relating to a real-world problem, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) integrated programming, youth can begin develop an appreciation for the world around them by learning and by having an interest in spending more time outdoors. By spending more time in the outdoors, youth may develop a stronger connection to their environment, which is important in this …

Development Of A Finite Volume General Two-Phase Navier-Stokes Solver For Direct Numerical Simulations On Cut-Cells With Sharp Fixed Interface, Vishwanath Ganesan

Open Access Theses

A general two-phase solver is developed to solve Navier-Stokes equation for low Mach number incompressible fluids on a mixed grid using a finite volume approach by employing a sharp fixed interface cut-cell method. This sharp interface divides the computational domain into two sub-domains corresponding to two different phases. The Navier-Stokes equations in each sub-domain are solved separately by coupling the boundary conditions for mass and momentum at the interface. These sub-domains can either be of same media (fluid-fluid) or different media (fluid-solid or fluid-gas). For a fluid-gas media, this enables to distinguish the sub-domains clearly and establish discontinuities in the …

Youth Perceptions Of Equine Welfare Among Common Horse-Human Interactions, Brandon M.G. Rice

Open Access Theses

Animal welfare studies have explored various topics such as general care and management, human perceptions and factors associated with welfare. These studies however consistently utilize adult populations. The equine industry embodies a large number of youth members and the principles they establish as adolescents regarding specific equine activities and care and management practices are likely to carry forward through their adult lives. To move forward and enhance welfare practices, it is essential to understand youth perceptions and viewpoints towards all populations working with horses; therefore this study was conducted to explore the perceptions and awareness levels of youth towards the …

A Study Of The Piston Cylinder Interface Of Axial Piston Machines, Daniel Mizell

Open Access Dissertations

The piston cylinder interface of axial piston machines of swash plate type is one of three critical lubricating interfaces that are responsible for proper machine operation. The interface must simultaneously bear large time changing external loads while preventing excessive leakage or friction. For long term machine reliability, a full fluid film must be maintained between the piston and cylinder surfaces. The goal of this work is to further the understanding of the phenomena contributing to fluid film behavior. A novel multi-body non-isothermal fluid-structure-thermal-interaction piston cylinder interface model is introduced that considers compressible fluid flow, squeeze due to transient deformation, as …