Systems Engineering Commons^™

Stop Blaming My Users: Illumination Of The Technocentric Mythos Bias, Ervin H. Frenzel, Richard Lightcap

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

 Abstract -This conceptual essay addresses the need for systemic and systematic transdisciplinary analytical techniques within cybersecurity and technical security. This conceptual essay is contingent upon recognition that cybersecurity is not simply technical in nature, it does not need an adversary, and more importantly it is based upon systems engineering and systems thinking.  The essay contributes a socio-technical attribution chain and field-specific ontology/taxonomy which distinguish user-triggered events from root causes, latent conditions, technical debt, validation failures, governance failures, and attribution bias before assigning responsibility to end users. It systematically defines an ontology inclusive of developer technical debt, organizational debt arising from …

Can Generative Ai Make Farming Decisions? Current Status And Future Pathways: A Case Study In Row Crop Production With Chatgpt, Nipuna Chamara, Yufeng Ge, Joe Luck, Yu Pan, Saleh Taghvaeian, Cory Walters, Christopher Proctor, Daran Rudnick, Daren Redfearn

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The agricultural decision-making process is experience-based, knowledge-dependent, time-sensitive, complex, and driven by historical data. Planting, fertilization, irrigation, and chemigation are key categories in farm decision-making, and currently there is no one-shot decision-support tool that covers all these activities. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) models are more advanced than traditional machine learning and deep learning models. These models have been trained on vast amounts of data from the internet, allowing them to accept unstructured data in various forms and generate human-like text, solutions to problems, and scenario predictions. Given this capability, we became interested in exploring the potential of generative AI in …

A Macrocognitive Design Taxonomy For Simulation-Based Training Systems: Bridging Cognitive Theory And Human-Computer Interaction, Jessica M. Johnson

Virginia Digital Maritime Center (VDMC) Faculty Publications

Simulation-based training systems are increasingly deployed to prepare learners for complex, safety-critical, and dynamic work environments. While advances in computing have enabled immersive and data-rich simulations, many systems remain optimized for procedural accuracy and surface-level task performance rather than the macrocognitive processes that underpin adaptive expertise. Macrocognition encompasses higher-order cognitive processes that are essential for performance transfer beyond controlled training conditions. When these processes are insufficiently supported, training systems risk fostering brittle strategies and negative training effects. This paper introduces a macrocognitive design taxonomy for simulation-based training systems derived from a large-scale meta-analysis examining the transfer of macrocognitive skills from …

Bridging Mission And Execution: Integrating Participatory Design In Early-Phase Mission Engineering For Stakeholder Alignment And Mission Clarity, Rafi Soule

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

This research examines mission framing during the early phase of Mission Engineering. Stakeholder interpretations diverge under ambiguity. Interoperability constraints are often not surfaced early. These conditions reduce mission clarity and weaken mission-to-system mapping readiness. The study integrates a participatory design-inspired, artifact-first workflow with RAG-enabled retrieval from a closed corpus to support evidence-grounded reasoning and traceable citations.

Phase 1 uses an online survey to establish baseline patterns in practice (N = 86). Shared understanding is positively associated with mission clarity (r = 0.60, p < 0.001). Phase 2 uses a time-bounded comparative workshop with two conditions. Expert reviewers rate mission statement quality higher for the participatory design condition (mean 3.5) than the traditional condition (mean 2.8). Technical feasibility ratings are similar across conditions. Phase 3 demonstrates RAG-enabled, closed-corpus, retrieval-supported traceability using the Referencer tool. It is reported as a proof-of-concept for evidence-grounded rationale and auditability, and as a pathway …

Statewide Corridor Evacuation Response And Re-Entry Behaviors In Florida During Hurricane Irma, Xin Wang, Yuan Zhu, Hong Yang, Kun Xie

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Hurricane Irma stands as one of the most destructive tropical storms to make landfall in the United States, particularly impacting the State of Florida, where it prompted the largest evacuation in history with approximately 7 million residents. The profound consequences of mass evacuation underscore the critical need to understand travel behaviors during hurricane evacuation and the recovery process. This research analyzes statewide evacuation and re-entry patterns, leveraging diverse datasets, including TTMS data from main corridors and GIS data. A statewide corridor-based empirical analysis framework is constructed to characterize evacuation and re-entry response patterns using sensor-based traffic observations. The results show …

Developing A Waste-To-Energy Assessment Framework Integrating Engineering And Policy Dimensions Using A Triple Bottom Line Approach, Izech Brian O. Edwin, King Harold A. Recto

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) in swiftly urbanizing Philippine cities has emerged as a critical concern in both energy and governance. Dependence on landfills is approaching critical thresholds as disposal sites near saturation, transportation costs escalate, and host communities increasingly resist garbage transfers. In response, this study proposes a comprehensive Waste-to-Energy (WtE) assessment framework that integrates engineering evaluation with policy and stakeholder analysis to support sustainable decision- making.

Using Baguio City as a case study, the framework applies a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach to evaluate three waste management scenarios: (1) current landfill-dominated practices, (2) engineered landfill with …

Data-Driven Evaluation Of Sustainable Waste-To-Energy Pathways For Intelligent Urban Systems, Izech Brian O. Edwin, King Harold A. Recto

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

The handling of municipal solid waste (MSW) in swiftly urbanizing Philippine cities poses intricate energy and governance challenges. In Baguio City, reliance on landfills has reached critical levels due to diminishing capacity, rising transport costs, and opposition to trash transfers by nearby LGUs. Although shaped by unique topographical and governance constraints, Baguio’s situation reflects issues faced by other rapidly growing Philippine cities; therefore, analyzing it offers insights for national MSW decision-making. This study applies a triple bottom line (TBL) framework to assess three management scenarios: (1) Status Quo, where all MSW is landfilled with no energy recovery; (2) Landfill with …

Engineering Risk And Indigenous Resilience Toward Intelligent Decision Support For Mining In Ancestral Lands, Izech Brian O. Edwin, King Harold A. Recto

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

Mining within ancestral territories reveals an ongoing conflict between technical viability and Indigenous consent. This collaborative study, conducted by an engineering scholar and a policy researcher of Indigenous heritage in Benguet among the Ibaloi and Kankanaey peoples, investigates how risk transparency and policy alignment can bridge existing divides, while formulating principles applicable to other Indigenous mining contexts. The study provides an initial evaluation of the feasibility of a proposed large-scale mining operation within a risk-informed, data-driven governance framework. Three elements of engineering risk were assessed utilizing literature-derived and proxy parameters: (1) Land degradation is indicated by a Soil Productivity Index …

Air And Missile Defense Threat Scenario Variation To Reduce Pretest Sensitization, Video Games As A Case Study, Julie Renee Szekerczes

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study uses fixed and variable video game types to measure pretest sensitization as a proxy for repeated and varied threat test scenarios in system performance testing of air and missile defense systems. The pretest sensitization phenomenon exists when repeated exposure to a test condition influences the participant's response. Research shows air and missile defense development correlates with video games, resulting in similar interfaces and computer operating environments. Department of Defense acquisition test and evaluation results must reflect system performance without prior knowledge of the threat scenarios confounding the results. System performance results inform acquisition decisions, such as further funding …

Carbon Accountability Scores: A Process-Oriented Approach For Carbon Offsetting Using Ai Agents, Joshit Mohanty, Vaishali Vaishali

Graduate Student Government Association Research Conference

Conventional carbon offset programs rely on quantified emissions to determine balancing requirements. While this approach offers a standardized means of measuring carbon output, it often provides industries with a loophole—allowing them to offset their emissions by purchasing equivalent credits for activities such as tree planting rather than tackling inefficiencies at the source. This research proposes a process-based framework called Carbon Accountability Scores (CA scores) to offer a proactive strategy for assessing and reducing carbon footprints. Instead of focusing on the mere balancing of emitted and sequestered carbon, CA scores integrate an organization’s operational processes into the calculation, thereby offering the …

On The Provenance Of Software Systems: Automating Software Traceability With Knowledge Graph And Large Language Model Synergy, Tyler Procko

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The present dissertation delineates a system that enables those engaged in software development to automatically generate and maintain project life cycle provenance. All projects are implemented and made manifest with the development of artifacts, e.g., papers, code files, etc. Tools exist to accelerate artifact creation, but little focus is paid to the processes that produce them. In terms of Ontology, or, from Ancient Greek, the study of being, the two most basic entities in reality are Continuant and Occurrent, or, roughly, “Artifact” and “Process”. This dissertation posits that for any created artifact, its process of creation, i.e., its life …

A Comparative Study Of Electronic And Paper Ballot Systems In Modern U.S. Elections, Gianna M. Wadowski

Open Access Master's Theses

In-person voting processes that rely on paper ballots have long dominated voting in the U.S. However, following the implementation of the Help America Vote Act in 2002, states rapidly adopted new voting technologies that dramatically changed the in-person voting experience. Since then, states have continued to adopt new voting technologies as new challenges and opportunities have emerged. Although scholarship has demonstrated that new voting technologies can offer benefits, reported improvements to the in-person voting experience are inconsistent. Despite changes in voting equipment and voting methods, voters continue to wait in long lines, affecting turnout and voter confidence. Using observational time …

Smart Manufacturing Readiness Assessment - Analysis Of A Modern Tool From A Sociotechnical Perspective, Todd Lemon

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Smart Manufacturing has emerged out of the pervasive buzzwords in publications as a competitive strategy, characterized by the intensive use of digital information and technology throughout the production processes; shop-floor, people, and systems are married by the Internet creating services critical to manufacturing. The work completed and presented here extends the research in the area of Smart Manufacturing (SM) readiness to include a more comprehensive approach to production floor implementation. The overarching goal is to explore SM implementation in attempt to identify underlying latent factors that relate to preparedness from a joint social and technical perspective, striving for a model …

Advances Towards A Robotic Management Vehicle Suited To Nurse Row Crops To More Efficient Outcomes, Adam Mk Gronewold

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Enhancing agricultural production while reducing input costs remains a central challenge in modern row-crop management. Recent advances in computation, imagery, and sensors are enabling more efficient practices across various agricultural domains, and automation technologies are increasingly available to manage tasks central to perennial crop development. Automation in row-crop agriculture, by contrast, lags behind. This thesis explores utilizing small, unmanned ground vehicles to transform row cropping through the implementation of unconventional, in-season management strategies. The first focus of this work considers improvements to nitrogen fertilization using small, autonomous vehicles. An agronomy experiment in corn assessed the effects of gradually applying nitrogen …

An Agent-Based Modeling Framework For Evaluating The Linkage Between Disaster Facility Damage And Mental Health, Emily S. Reeves

Theses and Dissertations

This research establishes a novel agent-based modeling framework to establish the linkage between disaster-induced facility damage and mental health outcomes and the evaluation of treatment methods within the civilian and USAF mental health spheres. The study models the degradation and recovery of agent mental health using simulated data and evaluates the efficacy of three distinct treatment approaches through statistical methods. The methodology integrate agent-based modeling with resilient engineering concepts to simulate mental health resilience curves based on vulnerability, exposure, and facility damage. Agents’ mental health indices were tracked through phases of degradation, stagnation, and recovery based on the three treatments …

Designing An Interactive Application To Prevent Runway Incursion: A Systems Engineering Approach, Yixuan Cheng, Dahai Liu, Dennis Vincenzi, Donald S. Metscher

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Runway incursion is a leading cause of serious incidents and accidents at airports. A common cause of runway incursions is unfamiliarity with the airport layout. To address this, we designed an electronically interactive application intended as a practice tool for pilots during flight preparation. The aim of this application is to improve pilots’ familiarity with airports, ultimately helping to reduce runway incursions, with the goals of being interactive, affordable, easily accessible, and designed for use on mobile devices. We applied a systems engineering approach that adheres to human factors engineering principles to ensure user-friendly design and optimization of the interaction …

Leveraging Transformer-Based Ocr Model With Generative Data Augmentation For Engineering Document Recognition, Wael Khallouli, Mohammad Shahab Uddin, Andres Sousa-Poza, Jiang Li, Samuel Kovacic

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The long-standing practice of document-based engineering has resulted in the accumulation of a large number of engineering documents across various industries. Engineering documents, such as 2D drawings, continue to play a significant role in exchanging information and sharing knowledge across multiple engineering processes. However, these documents are often stored in non-digitized formats, such as paper and portable document format (PDF) files, making automation difficult. As digital engineering transforms processes in many industries, digitizing engineering documents presents a crucial challenge that requires advanced methods. This research addresses the problem of automatically extracting textual content from non-digitized legacy engineering documents. We introduced …

Leveraging Physiological Signal Activity And Self-Report Data To Assess Students’ Trust In “My Friendly Mind” App And Its Impact On Their Mental Health Knowledge: A Mixed-Method Phase 1 Clinical Trial Focusing On Depression And Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder From Human Factors Standpoint., Yeganeh Shahsavar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mental health issues have become a significant global public health concern, especially among younger generations. The growing number of mental health challenges, combined with limited access to quality care, makes the problem even worse. Studies reveal that over 70% of individuals worldwide in need of mental health services do not receive appropriate care. Digital health technologies have the potential to enhance mental health services by making them more accessible and affordable. Despite the increasing popularity of mental health mobile applications (mHealth), there remains a lack of robust evidence of their effectiveness and the level of user trust, particularly in areas …

The Effect Of Need For Cognition & Need For Affect On Human Reliance And Artificial Intelligence Interactions, Aliyah Mcgowan

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Abstract

With the increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) automations in fields like medical diagnoses and mental health queries, there are concerns regarding an individual’s trust and reliance on the technology. Reliance on AI output may lead an individual to accept inaccurate or incorrect information without further analysis. Trust may influence reliance and trust formation may be a product of affective processing. This study investigated the relationship between Need for Affect (NFA), Need for Cognition (NFC), and trust and reliance on AI interactions. Participants were assessed on the NFA scale for willingness to approach or avoid emotional stimuli, the NFC …

Harnessing Social Media For Disaster Response: Intelligent Identification Of Reliable Rescue Requests During Hurricanes, Wael Khallouli

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Hurricanes pose a significant threat to both human lives and infrastructure. Decision-makers face substantial challenges during such events, as they must act quickly to address victims’ needs. Social media platforms provide a valuable source for quick and real-time information. Recent hurricane events have shown that people turn to social media to call for help when official communication channels, such as 911, are overwhelmed. However, extracting actionable information from the massive number of messages posted on social media is challenging. Furthermore, verifying social media messages posted by the public is a critical concern for disaster response practitioners, making them hesitant to …

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.

Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …

The Hazard Prediction Problem, Mary E. Helander, Brendan Smith, Sylvia Charchut, Erika Swiatowy, Calvin Nau, Gregory Cavaretta, Timothy Schuler, Adam Schunk, Héctor Ortiz-Peña

Social Science - All Scholarship

This work formulates the hazard prediction problem while addressing the research question: Can machine learning create a model to automatically recognize patterns that correspond to hazard state conditions during a mission-critical operation? Supervised learning models were trained and tested on data observed from mission simulators, which allowed for safe observation of dynamic system states and undesirable casualty events. The prediction task was formulated as a binary classification problem, producing the probability of being in a hazard state at time t and providing situational awareness of a possible imminent loss. Several modeling architectures were investigated: neural networks, logistic regression, a support …

Towards Agile Academia: An Approach To Scientific Paper Writing Inspired By Software Engineering, Tyler Procko

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The construction of scientific papers is performed in service of the greater scientific community. This iterative process is, in effect, an academic economy, where all members benefit from well-written papers. However, many published scientific papers are poorly written; they often lack sufficient detail to allow replication, there is improper usage of citations or a lack of regard to relevant work, reporting is vague or without linked empirical data to allow verification, figures do not correspond to text or are non-sensical, literary elements, e.g., bulleted lists, are used ineffectively, formatting renders certain sections unreadable, and grammatical errors abound. The issues of …

Strengthening Urban Resilience: Understanding The Interdependencies Of Outer Space And Strategic Planning For Sustainable Smart Environments, Ulpia-Elena Botezatu, Olga Bucovetchi, Adrian V. Gheorghe, Radu D. Stanciu

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The conventional approach to urban planning has predominantly focused on horizontal dimensions, disregarding the potential risks originating from outer space. This paper aims to initiate a discourse on the vertical dimension of cities, which is influenced by outer space, as an essential element of strategic urban planning. Through an examination of a highly disruptive incident in outer space involving a collision between the Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 satellites, this article elucidates the intricate interdependencies between urban areas and outer space infrastructure and services. Leveraging the principles of critical infrastructure protection, which bridge the urban and outer space domains, and …

Enablers And Barriers Of Communication In Virtual Engineering Teams: The Role Of Teamwork Skills And Emergent Conflict, Pilar Pazos, Francisco Cima

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Communication is a critical process that facilitates team members' coordination, expertise exchange, decision-making, and, consequently, team elfectiveness. A focus on effective communication is critical in virtual teams due to their lack of face-to-face interactions and social presence. Communication becomes challenging in remote settings, and specific skills emerge as more essential to success. It is known that effective teams rely on planning, execution, and interpersonal skills to be successful. Still, the specific impact of these skills on virtual team effectiveness is not well understood. Additionally, conflict can emerge as a significant barrier to collaboration for remote teams that can hinder their …

Computational Decision Support For Socio-Technical Awareness Of Land-Use Planning Under Complexity—A Dam Resilience Planning Case Study, Andreas Tolk, Jennifer A. Richkus, F. Leron Shults, Wesley J. Wildman

VMASC Publications

Land-use planning for modern societies requires technical competence as well as social competence. We therefore propose an integrative solution enabling better land-use planning and management through better-informed decision-making. We adapt a method developed for cross-disciplinary team building to identify the stakeholders and their various objectives and value systems. We use these results to populate artificial societies embedded into a dynamic data analytics framework as a tool to identify, explore, and visualize the challenges resulting from the different objectives and value systems in land-use planning and management. To prove the feasibility of the proposed solution, we present two use cases from …

An Ioe Blockchain-Based Network Knowledge Management Model For Resilient Disaster Frameworks, Amir Javadpour, Farinaz Sabz Ali Pour, Arun Kumar Sangaiah, Weizhe Zhang, Forough Ja'far, Ashish Singh

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The disaster area is a constantly changing environment, which can make it challenging to distribute supplies effectively. The lack of accurate information about the required goods and potential bottlenecks in the distribution process can be detrimental. The success of a response network is dependent on collaboration, coordination, sovereignty, and equal distribution of relief resources. To facilitate these interactions and improve knowledge of supply chain operations, a reliable and dynamic logistic system is essential. This study proposes the integration of blockchain technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), and the Internet of Everything (IoE) into the disaster management structure. The proposed disaster …

Investigating Collaborative Explainable Ai (Cxai)/Social Forum As An Explainable Ai (Xai) Method In Autonomous Driving (Ad), Tauseef Ibne Mamun

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Explainable AI (XAI) systems primarily focus on algorithms, integrating additional information into AI decisions and classifications to enhance user or developer comprehension of the system's behavior. These systems often incorporate untested concepts of explainability, lacking grounding in the cognitive and educational psychology literature (S. T. Mueller et al., 2021). Consequently, their effectiveness may be limited, as they may address problems that real users don't encounter or provide information that users do not seek.

In contrast, an alternative approach called Collaborative XAI (CXAI), as proposed by S. Mueller et al (2021), emphasizes generating explanations without relying solely on algorithms. CXAI centers …

Second Victim Syndrome And Organizational Support For Healthcare Providers: A Scoping Review, K R. Petryszyn, J P. Young, E R. Neil, J E. Benedict, L E. Eberman

Clinical Practice in Athletic Training

Introduction: Healthcare providers may experience critical incident, medical error, or other adverse patient events in their clinical practice. Those that do encounter such events, may experience second victim syndrome (SVS), a condition in which providers feel psychological, cognitive, or physical reactions rendering care in these instances. Those with SVS may experience symptoms such as anxiety, depression, or burnout. Organizational support may mediate the impacts of SVS after an adverse patient event. We conducted a scoping review to explore and synthesize the literature on the support strategies implemented by healthcare organizations in the United States, for healthcare providers, after adverse patient …