Dissertations / Theses: 'Science-Technology interactions'

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Zhou, Shuting. "Casein-phenolic interactions in food." Thesis, McGill University, 2011. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=103772.

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Protein-phenolic interactions are common in foods with reported effects on nutritional and functional properties of foods. The objectives of this research were to investigate the casein-phenolic acid interactions in a model system and in chocolate as a processed food product. Casein-phenolic acid interactions were induced by heat incubation of casein with protocatechuic acid or p-coumaric acid at 55 ℃ (pH 7, 2 h); caseins were isolated from milk chocolate and white chocolate by precipitating caseins at its isoelectric point (pH 4.6). Casein-phenolic complexes were identified using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Native- and SDS-PAGE) and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Degree of hydrolysis of casein-phenolic complexes was investigated using tryptic hydrolysis; sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) were used to identify the hydrolysates of casein-phenolic complexes. Total phenolic contents of original and defatted milk chocolate and casein isolated from milk chocolate (1.905, 1.644 and 1.018 mg/g respectively) were higher than those of original and defatted white chocolate and casein isolated from white chocolate (1.678, 0.723 and 0.000 mg/g respectively) respectively. Native- and SDS-PAGE results revealed that casein-phenolic interactions were induced by heat incubation and occurred during the processing of milk chocolate; minor changes in the migration of casein fractions and aggregation of casein subunits were observed after heat incubation of casein with protocatechuic acid and in casein isolated from milk chocolate; there is no observed change with Native- and SDS-PAGE electropherograms after casein incubated with p-coumaric acid and in casein isolated from white chocolate. In vitro hydrolysis of casein control (C), casein-protocatechuic acid complex (CPA), casein-p-coumaric acid complex (CCA), casein isolated from milk chocolate (CMC) and casein isolated from white chocolate (CWC) by trypsin showed degree of hydrolysis of 19.3 %, 18.6 %, 17.7 %, 10.4 % and 17.8 % respectively; SDS-PAGE revealed that the three major casein fractions α-, β- and κ-caseins in casein control, casein-protocatechuic acid complex, casein-p-coumaric acid complex and casein isolated from milk chocolate and white chocolate were hydrolyzed. Both protocatechuic acid and p-coumaric acid affected the peptide profiles of casein hydrolysates; the peptide profile of casein isolated from milk chocolate was affected by phenolic compounds.
Les interactions protéine-phénols sont courantes dans les aliments. Les études rapportent que ces interactions affectent les propriétés nutritionnelles et fonctionnelles des aliments. Les objectifs de cette recherche étaient d'étudier les interactions caséine-acides phénols dans un système modèle et dans un produit transformé à base de chocolat. Les interactions caséine-acides phénols ont été induites par la chaleur suite à une incubation de la caséine avec de l'acide protocatéchique ou de l'acide p-coumarique à 55 ℃ (pH 7, 2 h); les caséines ont été isolés du chocolat au lait et chocolat blanc en précipitant les caséines à son point isoélectrique (pH 4,6). Les complexes à base de caséine-phénolique ont été identifiés par électrophorèse en gel de polyacrylamide (non dénaturante et SDS-PAGE) et par la chromatographie en phase liquide à haute performance en phase inversée (CLHP-PI). Le degré d'hydrolyse des complexes caséine-phénoliques a été étudié par hydrolyse tryptique; l'électrophorèse en gel de polyacrylamide contenant du laurylsulfate de sodium (SDS-PAGE) et la chromatographie en phase liquide à haute performance en phase inversée (CLHP-PI) ont servi à identifier les hydrolysats des complexes à base de caséine-phénolique. Le contenu en phénols totaux du chocolat au lait d'origine et sans gras et de la caséine isolée de chocolat au lait (1,905, 1,644 et 1,018 mg / g respectivement) était plus élevé que celui du chocolat blanc original et sans gras et de la caséine isolée de chocolat blanc (1.678, 0.723 et 0,000 mg / g respectivement), respectivement. Les résultats de la chromatographie non dénaturante et SDS-PAGE ont révélé que les interactions caséine-phénols ont été induites par une incubation à la chaleur et sont survenues pendant le procédé du chocolat au lait; des changements mineurs dans la migration des fractions de caséine et de l'agrégation de sous-unités de caséine ont été observés après une incubation à la chaleur de la caséine avec de l'acide protocatéchique et dans la caséine isolée de chocolat au lait; il n'y a pas de changement observé avec les électrophérogrammes non dénaturante et SDS-PAGE après que la caséine ait été incubée avec de l'acide p-coumarique ni avec la caséine isolée à partir de chocolat blanc. L'hydrolyse in vitro de la caséine de contrôle (C), du complexe caséine-acide protocatéchique (CPA), du complexe caséine-acide p-coumarique (CCA), de la caséine isolée du chocolat au lait (CMC) et de la caséine isolée du chocolat blanc (CWC) par la trypsine ont montré un degré d'hydrolyse de 19,3%, 18,6%, 17,7%, 10,4% et 17,8% respectivement; SDS-PAGE a révélé que les trois principales fractions de caséine α-, β- et κ-caséine dans la caséine contrôle, le complexe caséine-acide protocatéchique, le complexe caséine-acide p-coumarique et la caséine isolée du chocolat au lait et du chocolat blanc ont été hydrolysées. L'acide protocatéchique et l'acide p-coumarique ont affecté le profil en peptides de la caséine; le profil en peptides de la caséine isolée de chocolat au lait a été affecté par les composés phénoliques.

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Hassan, Mohamed S. A. "Egg protein interactions with phenolic compounds: effect on protein properties." Thesis, McGill University, 2013. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=117210.

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Interactions of egg proteins (ovalbumin, conalbumin, egg white proteins, and egg yolk proteins) with selected phenolic compounds (flavone, chrysin, quercetin, and rutin) in aqueous media were examined by electrophoresis and fluorescence spectrophotometry. SDS-PAGE and native-PAGE results showed variable changes on the electrophoretic behaviour of egg white proteins in the presence of quercetin, while conalbumin-phenolic reaction products showed interactions under non-reducing conditions only. Fluorescence quenching technique was used to investigate the nature of egg protein-phenolic interactions and to estimate the effect of glycosylation and hydroxylation of phenolic compounds on the affinity to egg proteins. Stern-Volmer data revealed that the mechanism of egg protein-phenolic interactions is the static quenching and suggest that the diffusion does not play a role in fluorescence quenching in egg protein-phenolic interactions; the binding data analysis suggests that glycosylation and hydroxylation of phenolic compounds lower the affinity to egg proteins. Fluorescence quenching results showed that fluorescence intensity of egg proteins decreased with increasing concentration of phenolics. Enzymatic hydrolysis of egg protein-phenolic products assessed by using trypsin-chymotrypsin mixture and bacterial protease revealed that in vitro egg protein digestion was adversely affected by the interaction of phenolics. Proteins extracted from muffin mixture with added phenolics were investigated by electrophoresis techniques and enzymatic hydrolysis. SDS-PAGE results showed changes in electrophoretic patterns of ovalbumin. In vitro enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins extracted from the muffin was adversely affected by the addition of phenolics.
Les interactions de protéines d'œuf (ovalbumine, conalbumine, protéines de blanc d'oeuf, protéines de jaune) avec des composés phénoliques sélectionnés (flavone, chrysine, quercétine et rutine) dans des milieux aqueux ont été examinées par électrophorèse et spectrofluorométrie. Les résultats de native-PAGE et SDS-PAGE ont montré des changements variables sur le comportement électrophorétique des protéines du blanc d'œuf en présence de la quercétine, tandis que les produits de réaction entre conalbumine et phénoliques ont montré des interactions dans des conditions non réductrices seulement. La technique extinction (quenching) de la fluorescence a été utilisé pour étudier la nature des interactions protéines d'oeuf et phénoliques, et pour estimer l'effet de la glycosylation et l'hydroxylation de composés phénoliques sur l'affinité à la protéine d'oeuf. Les données de Stern-Volmer ont révélé en utilisant un quencher « desactivateur » que le mécanisme d'interactions entre la protéine d'œuf et les composées phénoliques est de type électrostatique et suggère que la diffusion ne joue pas un rôle dans l'extinction de la fluorescence en présence d'interactions protéines d'œuf et composés phénoliques. L'analyse des données « binding » soit des liaisons, suggère que la glycosylation et l'hydroxylation des composés phénoliques réduit l'affinité pour les protéines d'oeuf. Les résultats de l'extinction de la fluorescence ont montré que l'intensité de fluorescence des protéines de l'œuf diminue avec l'augmentation de la concentration des composés phénoliques. Les produits d'hydrolyses enzymatiques des complexes protéines d'oeuf-composés phénoliques évaluées suite à une protéolyse par un mélange trypsine-chymotrypsine et de la protéase bactérienne ont révélé que la digestion in vitro des protéines d'oeuf a été affectée négativement par l'interaction des composés phénoliques. Les protéines extraites du mélange à muffins enrichis en composés phénoliques ont été étudiés par des techniques d'électrophorèse et d'hydrolyse enzymatique. Les résultats du SDS-PAGE ont montré des changements dans le modèle électrophorétique de l'ovalbumine. L'hydrolyse enzymatique in vitro des protéines extraites du muffin a été affectée négativement par l'ajout de composés phénoliques.

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Grygorczyk, Alexandra. "Biophysical studies of milk protein interactions in relation to storage defects in high protein beverages." Thesis, McGill University, 2009. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=66897.

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Much like Ultra High Temperature (UHT) processed milk, UHT processed high protein beverages suffer from storage defects including gelation and sedimentation. Although these beverages are made with milk proteins, the food system is very different and much more complex from that of milk. Thus, one cannot assume that the mechanism of development of storage defects is the same as in milk. As such, the goal of this project was to investigate the factors affecting storage stability of high protein beverages. As a first step, a method was developed to facilitate the study of milk protein solutions by Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) Spectroscopy. Scanning the proteins in solution followed by subtraction of the contribution to the absorbance by water provided the most reliable and repeatable results. Next, the suitability of the data for various forms of spectral enhancement was assessed. Finally the method was applied in a series of experiments in order to determine if the data could provide numerical information. Thermodynamic data for heating of β-lactoglobulin was obtained using three methods: transmission-FTIR spectroscopy in D2O, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in D2O and in H2O. All techniques provided equivalent results, indicating that analyzing proteins in water by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy can be used to provide quantitative information. A number of different protein products (α-lactalbumin, β-lactoglobulin, calcium caseinate, WPC, WPI, MPC, MPI) and combinations of these proteins were UHT processed and their storage stability was observed. Unfortunately, the changes were too subtle to be detected by FTIR spectroscopy and we had to rely more heavily on visual observations. From these observations it was determined that altering the protein combinations did not prevent sedimentation of caseinates. However, the presence of β-lactoglobulin changed the consistency of the sediment. Additionally, it was
Tout comme dans le cas du lait ultra haute température (UHT), les protéines contenues des les breuvages hyper protéinés sont affectées par le traitement à haute température. Ce type de traitement thermique mène à la formation de gel et de sédiments dans ces boissons. Bien que ces breuvages soient à base de protéines laitières, la composition chimique de ces boissons demeure très différente et beaucoup plus complexe que celle du lait. Ainsi, on peut supposer que le mécanisme de formation menant à des défauts de conservation est différent de celui du lait ultra haute température. Le but de ce projet était de se familiariser avec les facteurs affectant la stabilité de conservation des breuvages hyper protéinés.La première étape du projet consistait à développer une méthode pour étudier les solutions hyper protéinées à base de lait en utilisant la spectroscopie infrarouge à transformée de Fourier en réflectance totale atténuée (RTA-IRTF). Il a été déterminé que le balayage des protéines en solution suivi d'une soustraction du spectre de l'eau était la méthode la plus fiable et la plus reproductible. Une fois l'acquisition des données brutes complétée, celles-ci étaient transformées par amélioration spectrale et évaluées pour déterminer si elles pouvaient être utilisées de manière quantitative. Les données thermodynamiques sur le chauffage de la β-lactoglobuline ont été obtenus en utilisant trois méthodes: IRTF à transmission dans D2O, RTA-IRTF dans D2O et dans H2O. Ces trois méthodes ont produit des résultats équivalents indiquant que de l'information quantitative pouvait être obtenue lors de l'analyse des protéines en solution aqueuse en utilisant la spectroscopie RTA-IRTF. Un traitement UHT a été appliqué sur différentes permutations de protéines et nous avons essayé de suivre le vieillissement des protéines avec la méthode développée. Malheureusement

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Ponomariov, Branco Leonidov. "Student Centrality in University-Industry Interactions." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/11633.

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This thesis proposes and estimates a model of university scientists interactions with the private sector; in this model students are conceptualized as an important enabler of such interactions. The results of the study show that university scientists student-related behaviors such as grant support of students and research collaboration with students, and student-related attitudes such as mentoring orientation positively affect the probability that scientists will enter interactions with industry as well as the intensity of such interactions. Behaviors such as teaching and advising of students are not related to interactions with industry. This study is motivated by the increased emphasis on closer relationships between universities and industry as a means to facilitate the commercial application of university research. Today, numerous policies and programs attempt to achieve such goals. As a result, university scientists are called on to perform many tasks which on the surface seem misaligned. There is substantial study of conflict between the teaching and research missions of universities, and a growing body of study on conflict related to university based commercial and technology transfer related activities. Fewer, there are studies suggesting that these activities are not so misaligned after all. This study falls into the latter category as it posits a complementary relationship between university scientists student related activities and their work related interactions with industry, research and otherwise. Speculations regarding the importance of students in university industry relations and indirect evidence are scattered through the relevant literature, but little or no systematic empirical tests of their importance exist. This study uses data from a national survey of university researchers to discern the centrality of students to university-industry interactions. Theoretically, students are conceptualized as a dimension of university scientists respective research capacities that enable cross-sectoral processes of accumulative advantage and thereby help to enable their interactions with industry. As a component of scientists scientific and technical human capital, students help university scientists to identify and act upon on research opportunities originating in the private sector. Moreover, students increase the appeal of university scientists to industry agents seeking research partners in academe. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.

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Charlesworth, Scott. "Design of photo-switchable self-assembled monolayers for the study of protein-receptor interactions." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2012. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/3847/.

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Nano-biotechnology combines recent advances in nanotechnology with biology. It is a relatively new discipline and full of promise. One such promise is the elucidation of complex bio-molecular reactions and interactions, the elucidation of which requires the development of reliable in-vitro models. Such models could be developed through the use of self-assembled monolayer’s (SAMs). Research into this competitive field has already started and there is currently a call to develop SAMs which present specific bio-molecules in a switchable fashion; switchable SAMs can have their surface properties switched between two states, i.e. they can be switched ‘on’ or ‘off’. Such switch-ability would help such models mimic the real time changes of the bodies’ bio-chemistry and is a vital development. This thesis addresses this current research need, through the employment of azobenzene based SAMs. Currently the switch-ability (isomerisation) of numerous azobenzene SAMs has been shown to be hindered by a lack of inter-surfactant space. This hindrance to isomerisation is addressed in Chapter 4. While Chapter 5 explores the design of an azobenzene based photo-switchable SAM, for use as in-vitro model for the study of bio-molecular interactions. The two chapters are not directly related and future work would aim to bring the findings together.

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Aglieri, Vincenzo. "TAPERING RESONANT NANOANTENNAS FOR ENHANCED THz LIGHT – NANOMATTER INTERACTIONS." Doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Palermo, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10447/426934.

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Nel corso degli ultimi decenni la tecnologia terahertz (THz) è diventata un fruttuoso campo di ricerca grazie alla spinta ricevuta dal desiderio di sfruttarne le promettenti applicazioni in questa porzione dello spettro elettromagnetico. La biologia, la medicina e l’ingegneria sono soltanto alcuni dei settori che guardano con interesse alle ultime scoperte nella ricerca sulle onde THz. Questo enorme interesse nasce dalle peculiari proprietà di tali onde, come ad esempio: il carattere non ionizzante, l’opacità di svariati materiali solitamente trasparenti in altri intervalli di frequenze e per le potenziali ricadute positive nel campo della tecnologia dell’informazione. Una fra le applicazioni più interessanti consiste nell’uso delle onde THz per la spettroscopia. Infatti molti materiali presentano delle risonanze in questo campo di radiazione, e il loro studio darebbe accesso a molte e preziose informazioni che potrebbero svelare proprietà della materia ancora sconosciute. Per molti anni, tali risonanze non sono state studiate a causa della relativamente grande lunghezza d’onda corrispondente alla radiazione THz (~300 μm a 1 THz) da cui conseguiva una scarsa efficienza di accoppiamento con oggetti di dimensioni nanometriche. Tuttavia grazie alle antenne plasmoniche, che sono in grado di localizzare la luce assorbita in uno spazio il cui volume è inferiore alla lunghezza d’onda coinvolta, noto come volume modale, è possibile far interagire le onde THz con delle nano-particelle. Tale metodo ha migliorato a tal punto l’efficienza di assorbimento delle nano-particelle della radiazione THz che è stato reso possibile recuperare informazioni spettroscopiche della materia a cui prima non si aveva accesso. Inoltre grazie a questa tecnica è possibile effettuare proficuamente molti altri esperimenti nel regime THz, come ad esempio quelli sull’accoppiamento forte tra radiazione e materia. Cionondimeno le prestazioni delle antenne plasmoniche non sono ottimali e possono essere ulteriormente migliorate per aumentare il “field enhancement”, cioè il tasso di incremento del campo elettrico ottenuto dal confinamento generato dalle antenne plasmoniche all’interno del volume modale, che a sua volta influisce fortemente sull’efficienza e la qualità degli esperimenti nel regime THz. In questa tesi viene presentata una strategia per il miglioramento delle prestazioni di nano-antenne (NA) THz sia in termini di field enhancement che di volume modale. Tale strategia consiste nell’attenta rastremazione di NA cilindriche in oro, così da formare dei coni troncati. Per prima cosa, mostro attraverso un modello quasi-analitico che tale strategia, per mezzo di un angolo ottimo di rastremazione, permette di ottenere un miglioramento considerevole delle prestazioni. Successivamente il metodo di rastremazione delle antenne viene validato attraverso l’uso di un simulatore software, col quale vengono simulate coppie di antenne a diversi angoli di rastremazione, separate da un gap di 30 nm e risonanti attorno a 1 THz. Da tale studio si trova che in corrispondenza dell’angolo ottimo, le NA rastremate mostrano il doppio di field enhancement e un volume modale sette volte inferiore a quello offerto da una antenna non rastremata. Lo stesso software è utilizzato per ricavare il design di cinque campioni per la fabbricazione. Su tali campioni è stata eseguita una caratterizzazione ottica nel THz attraverso un sistema di spettroscopia THz nel dominio del tempo (THz-TDS), e il risultato è in accordo con i risultati simulati ottenuti durante il design degli stessi, confermando la validità degli studi teorici. Nell’ultima parte di questa tesi viene mostrata anche l’applicazione di questo metodo per il miglioramento della risposta delle antenne moon (caratterizzate da una geometria alternativa a forma di luna) realizzate nell’ambito di esperimenti di accoppiamento forte radiazione-materia. Inoltre lo stesso metodo viene qui mostrato essere valido anche in altri regimi di frequenza, in particolare nell’infrarosso.
In the last decades, Terahertz (THz) technology has become a fruitful research field thanks to the promise of outstanding applications. Industry, biology, medicine and engineering are only a part of the technological sectors looking into THz researches for the latest advances. Such hectic interest born from the peculiar and unique properties of the THz waves, such as the non-ionizing character, the transparency of many materials usually opaque in other frequency ranges, and the potentiality offered for information technologies, among others. One of the most promising application is spectroscopy. In fact, many materials and compounds present elementary excitation features in the THz regime. For many years, such features could not be exploited with nanosystems because of the poor efficiency with which the long wavelength associated to THz radiation (~300 μm at 1 THz) interacts with nano-sized objects (10 nm). However, thanks to plasmonic antennas, capable of localizing light in sub-wavelength volumes, it has become possible to make the long THz wave interacting with nano-particles. Such method greatly enhances nano-particle absorption allowing to retrieve spectroscopic information of nanomatter previously not accessible. Moreover, light-nanomatter interaction experiments are now possible in THz regime giving access to, e.g., strong THz light-nanomatter coupling studies. Nevertheless, the performance of plasmonic antennas can be still improved to increase the field enhancement and reduce the mode volume, which in turn impact sensing and light-matter coupling efficiency. In this thesis, a strategy is presented to improve THz nanoantenna (NA) performance in terms of near field enhancement and mode volume reduction. First, I qualitatively show through a quasi-analytical model that by judiciously tapering gold NAs, an appreciable increase of the near field at the tip can be achieved. The method is also validated through extensive finite element method simulations, where gold bow-tie NA pairs, resonating at 1 THz and coupled by a 30-nm-wide gap, show a more than two-fold enhanced near field and a seven-fold reduced mode volume in the gap when tapered with an optimum angle. Five samples at different tapering angles have been fabricated and characterized to experimentally validate such method. The THz time domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) characterizations revealed a good agreement with the simulation results, confirming the validity of the theoretical studies. In the last part of this thesis, it is shown how this method can be effectively extended to other geometries, in particular to realize “moon-shaped” NAs suitable for improved strong coupling experiments. Moreover, it is also numerically demonstrated the applicability of this method to higher frequencies, up to the infrared (IR) range.

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Mira, Isabel. "Interactions between surfactants and starch : from starch granules to amylose solutions." Doctoral thesis, Stockholm : Chemical Science and Engieering, KTH : Ytkemiska institutet, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-4123.

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Holmquist, Stephanie. "A multi-case study of student interactions with educational robots and impact on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) learning and attitudes." Scholar Commons, 2014. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5043.

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The demand for STEM trained workers continues to increase not only in the United States, but globally. Reports have indicated that the United States is not doing a good job encouraging students to pursue STEM oriented degrees. In particular, it has become increasingly important to emphasize STEM connections at an early level in order to encourage student career exploration as they continue their education. Educational robots represent a unique alternative to traditional methods, especially at the elementary level. Considering the use of educational robots have largely been ignored at this level, the purpose of this study was to describe the interactive process and outcomes using educational robots to facilitate elementary school students understanding of STEM concepts. A multi-case approach was used for the design as it is in line with the underlying conceptual framework for the study. Independent T-tests were utilized to determine student's interaction with educational robots, impact of STEM understanding, as well as their impact regarding the understanding of STEM attitudes. The study was conducted as an extracurricular program involving fourth grade students at a rural elementary school in Florida. The sample size consisted of 20 randomly selected participants assigned to either the group working with robots, or the groups without the robots, for a total of 10 participants in each group. The associated activity utilized in this study was selected due to the high level of STEM integration. Data results indicated high levels of interactivity within both groups. The group working with the robot demonstrated a significant difference in the level of substantive talk. Considering the understanding of STEM concepts, both groups demonstrated a high level regarding depth of knowledge as well as understanding. There were significant gains within groups regarding pre and post test STEM scores. When considering participants impact on STEM attitudes, the study suggested a practical significance in math attitudes for the group working with the robots. This study is significant as it yielded valuable information concerning the use of educational robots in the elementary environment. In particular, this study supports the idea that STEM concepts can be promoted utilizing authentic instructional strategies. This study suggests there is a potential impact regarding the use of educational robots in the elementary setting. This study also supported the use of authentic assessment strategies for this type of activity. Overall, both groups were actively involved and engaged, with the group working with the robot demonstrating a slightly higher depth of knowledge, substantive, conversation, as well as a slight boost in efficacy in math, science, and engineering and technology attitudes. The results of the study align with the underlying conceptual framework as well as the use of authentic assessment. This study aligns to the movement to promote STEM education at an elementary level. In addition, the type of activity associated with this study can potentially help students make sense of career oriented experiences, thus promoting career awareness within an interdisciplinary approach.

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Seby, Jean-Baptiste. "Networked interactions, graphical models and econometrics perspectives in data analysis." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2020. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/129081.

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Thesis: S.M. in Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, Technology and Policy Program, September, 2020
Thesis: S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, September, 2020
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-243).
This thesis is composed of two independent parts. In Part I, we study higher-order interactions in both graphical models and networks, i.e., interactions between more than two nodes. In the graphical model setting, we do not assume that interactions are known and our goal is to recover the structure of the graph. Our main contribution is an algebraic criterion that enables us to determine whether a set of observed variables have a single cause or multiple causes. We also prove that this criterion holds in the presence of confounders, i.e., when the causes are hidden. In the network setting, we assume that the structure of the graph is known. Our objective is then to identify what kind of information about data can be learned from the analysis of higher-order interactions. More precisely, using the generalization of the normalized Laplacian and random walks on graphs to simplicial complexes, we study a simplicial notion of PageRank centrality as defined in [Schaub et al., 2018].
Conducting numerical experiments on both synthetic and true data, we find evidence that the so-called edge PageRank is related to the concepts of local and global bridges in networks. In Part II, we analyze the determinants of yield gaps in Semi-Arid Tropics (SAT) regions in India. Analyzing a panel data of households within 30 villages over 6 years in India, we apply a fixed effects estimation method and a quantile regression with fixed effects to identify the most significant explanatory variables of yield gaps for 5 different crops. Using a correlated random effects estimator for unbalanced panel data, we can also estimate coefficients for time-invariant variables. We find that yield gaps determinants are crop specific. In addition to that, soil characteristics show the most significant effects on output rate. When statistically significant, correlations with the type of soil are negative. This result might suggest that the choice of cropping pattern is not necessarily appropriate.
Finally, results suggest that unobservable heterogeneity of households is critical in explaining farm productivity. Time-invariant variables hardly explain this heterogeneity for which more research is needed.
by Jean-Baptiste Seby.
S.M. in Technology and Policy
S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
S.M.inTechnologyandPolicy Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, Technology and Policy Program
S.M.MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology,DepartmentofElectricalEngineeringandComputerScience

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Abdallah, Athumani Ngenya. "Characterization of tick-born encephalitis and West Nile virus non-structural 5 protein interactions with host factors involved in immune evasion and cellular apoptosis." Thesis, Örebro universitet, Institutionen för hälsovetenskaper, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-50552.

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Chen, Yuxiu. "Manipulation and imaging of interactions between layer-by-layer capsules and live cells using nanopipettes and SICM." Thesis, Queen Mary, University of London, 2018. http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/54023.

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Usability of many chemical substances with significant potential for biomedical applications is limited by their poor solubility in water or limited stability in the physiological environment. One of promising strategies for therapeutic targeted delivery of these types of substances into cells and tissues is their encapsulation inside polyelectrolyte microcapsules (Volodkin et al., 2004b, Sukhorukov et al., 1998b). Successful internalisation of microcapsules loaded with various macromolecules have been observed in several types of living cells (Javier et al., 2008, Kastl et al., 2013), however the mechanisms of the uptake of capsules by living cells are not yet fully understood. Detailed understanding of physico-chemical and mechanical interactions between capsules and living cells is required for specific targeting, effective delivery, and elimination of any potential toxic side effects. This has been largely limited by capabilities of available imaging techniques and lack of specific fluorescent markers for certain types of cellular uptake. The rate of internalisation of microcapsules was primarily studied at the level of cell population using conventional optical/fluorescence microscopy, confocal microscopy, and flow cytometry (Gao et al., 2016, Ai et al., 2005, Sun et al., 2015). These conventional fluorescence methods are known to be prone to overestimating the number of internalised capsules due to their limited capability to exclude capsules which were not fully internalised and remained attached to the cell surface (Javier et al., 2006). Experimental evidence with resolution high enough to resolve the fine membrane processes interacting with microcapsules has been limited to fixed samples imaged by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (Kastl et al., 2013) capturing randomly timed "snapshots" of what is likely to be highly dynamic and complex interaction. Physical force interactions between cellular membrane and capsules during the internalisation were suggested to cause buckling of capsules based on indirect evidence obtained using fluorescence microscopy in live cells 15 (Palankar et al., 2013) and separate measurements of capsule deformation under colloidal probe atomic force microscopy (AFM) outside of the cellular environment (Delcea et al., 2010, Dubreuil et al., 2003). However, our knowledge of the mechanical properties of the fine membrane structures directly involved in the internalisation process or how these structures form during the internalisation is very limited, if non-existent. Here we employ a different approach based on a high-resolution scanning probe technique called scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM). SICM uses reduction in ionic current through the probe represented by an electrolyte-filled glass nanopipette immersed in saline solution to detect proximity of sample surface (Hansma et al., 1989, Korchev et al., 1997a). The technique has been previously used for high-resolution scanning of biological samples of complexity similar to what can be expected in case of microcapsules interacting with cells (Novak et al., 2014, Novak et al., 2009), and also for mapping mechanical properties at high resolution (Ossola et al., 2015, Rheinlaender and Schaffer, 2013). It has been proved to be able to visualise internalisation process of 200 nm carboxy-modified latex nanoparticles (Novak et al., 2014), however it is not clear whether it would be suitable for visualising internalisation of substantially larger, microscale-sized particles. The aim of this research was to visualize the live internalisation process of microcapsules entering cells by using SICM. The first two chapters of this thesis are introduction and literature review, which summarise the current state of the art. Chapter 3 states the aim and objectives of this study. Chapter 4 introduces the materials and methods we used in our research. Chapter 5, 6, 7 present the main findings of our research. Chapter 5 states the challenges we met in visualising the live internalisation of microcapsule as well as our solution for overcoming those challenges. At the end of that chapter, we describe the detailed procedure we used for recording the live internalisation of microcapsules. The results we got using this procedure are presented in chapter 6 and 7. In chapter 8, we discuss the results we found by comparing them to the results of previous research. In chapter 9, we summarise our study and give some suggestions on future work.

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Huffman, Celia A. "Student Interactions With CD-ROM Storybooks: A Look At Potential Relationships Between Multiple Intelligence Strengths And Levels Of Interaction." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1332695988.

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Norman, Albin. "Co-localization of CYP4F22 and CERS3 in HeLa and HEKn cells could point towards metabolic pathway interactions." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för medicinska vetenskaper, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-300422.

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The skin is the largest organ in the body. Its function is to protect the body from potential harm and to maintain homeostasis. The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin. Stratum corneum is the outermost layer of the epidermis, composed of corneocytes and surrounding lipids. The lipids are produced by different enzymes that all play a role in the formation and function of the skin permeability barrier. Mutations in genes coding for these enzymes can lead to barrier dysfunction and could cause autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI). Nine genes have been identified as ARCI-causative and two of them are CYP4F22 and CERS3. The purpose of this project was to study co-localization of CYP4F22 with CERS3 and also mutated CYP4F22 enzymes, by transfecting plasmids into HeLa and HaCaT cells and performing PLA on HEKn cells. Co-localization could indicate potential interactions and by studying these more in the future, novel treatment strategies can be developed for ARCI patients. Transfection attempts showed a low transfection grade of wild type genes in both HeLa and HaCaT cells. Tendencies towards co-localization was seen in both cell types and some HeLa cells showed strong correlation after image analysis. Transfection of mutated genes failed, unfortunately. PLA showed co-localization in normal keratinocytes. The obtained results indicated a co-localization, but results need to be confirmed by immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting in the future.

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Kelly, Kimberly Lynn. "Making Bodies Commensurate: The Social Construction of Humans, Animals, and Microbes as Objects of Scientific Study." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/613266.

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This dissertation utilizes three independent research projects to examine one overarching theoretical question: How do people understand, contest, negotiate, and / or rationalize the ways in which bodies-human, animal, and microbial - are socially constructed as commensurate, or not, in science? Using three unique projects focusing on either the human, animal, or microbial body, this dissertation broadly explores the social processes inherent in the construction of "bodies" for scientific research. This dissertation explores the complexity of how bodies are used in science, how this is understood by individuals, and the impacts this has not only on science but also the intertwined lives of animals, humans, and their microbes. Each paper explores a key set of questions drawing from a shared set of theoretical lenses, including local biology and biolooping, commensuration, the biovalue of bodies, and the microbiome. Specifically this dissertation presentation will explore these questions: 1) How are Japanese bodies socially constructed as different from other bodies in ethnobridging clinical trials?; 2) How is local biology employed as a technique of commensuration at the site of the Japanese body, by the government, and the global pharmaceutical industry and what does this mean for scientific studies utilizing it in this way?; 3) How do scientists construct nonhuman primates as appropriate proxies for humans in biomedical research experiments?; 4) How do individuals understand themselves and their health in relation to pet dogs and microbes?; and 5) How do humans understand the ways in which humans, animals, and microbes co-create their biological and social worlds? This dissertation shows how the construction of the body as an object of scientific study is negotiated, contested, and taken up in daily life, and how this is flexible, malleable, and not at all uniform. It explores the ways in which biomedical knowledge of the body is socially constructed and how it co-creates the animal, microbial, environmental, and cultural worlds in which it circulates. Through doing so and using techniques and lenses grounded in biosocial anthropology, this dissertation adds to the literature on the body in both medical and multispecies anthropology.

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Ali, Samer Shaur. "Fundamental interactions and physical properties of starch, poly vinyl alcohol and montmorillonite clay based nanocomposites prepared using solution mixing and melt extrusion." Thesis, Kansas State University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/6983.

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Master of Science
Department of Grain Science and Industry
Sajid Alavi
Plastics from petroleum sources are the main raw materials used for producing food packaging films. But these plastic films cause a great environmental concern due to their non-degradable nature and non-renewable source. Biodegradable polymers like starch can be used as a base material which can replace petroleum based plastics packaging. In this study, starch (0-80%) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) (20-100%) were used as base polymers to produce nanocomposites. Glycerol (30%) and sodium montmorillonite (0-20%) were used as a plasticizer and nano-filler, respectively. Nanocomposites were produced through two methods: solution and melt extrusion method. Extrusion method resulted in greater exfoliation of nanocomposites than solution method because it provided more shear stress to disrupt the layered silicate structure. In extrusion method, a lab scale extruder was used to produce these nanocomposites and films were made by casting. Process parameters, including screw speed (200-400 RPM) and barrel temperature (145-165[superscript]oC), were varied systematically. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were conducted to characterize the nanostructure of these nanocomposites. Thermal characterization of these films was carried out through differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) studies. Results from XRD and TEM explained the phenomenon of intercalation and exfoliation in these nanocomposites. Structural and thermal data indicated important role for Na[superscript]+MMT along with process parameters in controlling exfoliation and glass transition temperature of the nanocomposites. These results also helped in understanding the fundamental interactions among all the components. The tensile strength and elongation at break of films ranged from 4.72 to 23.01MPa and 63.40 to 330.15% respectively, while water vapor permeability ranged from 1.68 to 0.79g.mm/kPa.h.m[superscript]2. These results provide a great understanding for further improvements in order to bring these films close to commercial plastic films which have superior tensile strength (10-80MPa), elongation at break (200-800%) and water vapor permeability (0.002- 0.05g.mm/kPa.h.m[superscript]2). The cost for polyethylene is approximately $0.70/lb while the raw material cost for this starch based films is approximately $0.85/lb.

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Bandyopadhyay, Avra Sankar. "Light Matter Interactions in Two-Dimensional Semiconducting Tungsten Diselenide for Next Generation Quantum-Based Optoelectronic Devices." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2020. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1752376/.

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In this work, we explored one material from the broad family of 2D semiconductors, namely WSe2 to serve as an enabler for advanced, low-power, high-performance nanoelectronics and optoelectronic devices. A 2D WSe2 based field-effect-transistor (FET) was designed and fabricated using electron-beam lithography, that revealed an ultra-high mobility of ~ 625 cm2/V-s, with tunable charge transport behavior in the WSe2 channel, making it a promising candidate for high speed Si-based complimentary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Furthermore, optoelectronic properties in 2D WSe2 based photodetectors and 2D WSe2/2D MoS2 based p-n junction diodes were also analyzed, where the photoresponsivity R and external quantum efficiency were exceptional. The monolayer WSe2 based photodetector, fabricated with Al metal contacts, showed a high R ~502 AW-1 under white light illumination. The EQE was also found to vary from 2.74×101 % - 4.02×103 % within the 400 nm -1100 nm spectral range of the tunable laser source. The interfacial metal-2D WSe2 junction characteristics, which promotes the use of such devices for end-use optoelectronics and quantum scale systems, were also studied and the interfacial stated density Dit in Al/2D WSe2 junction was computed to be the lowest reported to date ~ 3.45×1012 cm-2 eV-1. We also examined the large exciton binding energy present in WSe2 through temperature-dependent Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy, where localized exciton states perpetuated at 78 K that are gaining increasing attention for single photon emitters for quantum information processing. The exciton and phonon dynamics in 2D WSe2 were further analyzed to unveil other multi-body states besides localized excitons, such as trions whose population densities also evolved with temperature. The phonon lifetime, which is another interesting aspect of phonon dynamics, is calculated in 2D layered WSe2 using Raman spectroscopy for the first time and the influence of external stimuli such as temperature and laser power on the phonon behavior was also studied. Furthermore, we investigated the thermal properties in 2D WSe2 in a suspended architecture platform, and the thermal conductivity in suspended WSe2 was found to be ~ 1940 W/mK which was enhanced by ~ 4X when compared with substrate supported regions. We also studied the use of halide-assisted low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with NaCl to help to reduce the growth temperature to ∼750 °C, which is lower than the typical temperatures needed with conventional CVD for realizing 1L WSe2. The synthesis of monolayer WSe2 with high crystalline and optical quality using a halide assisted CVD method was successfully demonstrated where the role of substrate was deemed to play an important role to control the optical quality of the as-grown 2D WSe2. For example, the crystalline, optical and optoelectronics quality in CVD-grown monolayer WSe2 found to improve when sapphire was used as the substrate. Our work provides fundamental insights into the electronic, optoelectronic and quantum properties of WSe2 to pave the way for high-performance electronic, optoelectronic, and quantum-optoelectronic devices using scalable synthesis routes.

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Mwamadzingo, Mohammed. "The interaction of universities and industry in science and technology in Kenya." Thesis, University of Sussex, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.321477.

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De, Cino Thomas James. "A Usability and Learnability Case Study of Glass Flight Deck Interfaces and Pilot Interactions through Scenario-based Training." NSUWorks, 2016. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/gscis_etd/948.

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In the aviation industry, digitally produced and presented flight, navigation, and aircraft information is commonly referred to as glass flight decks. Glass flight decks are driven by computer-based subsystems and have long been a part of military and commercial aviation sectors. Over the past 15 years, the General Aviation (GA) sector of the aviation industry has become a recent beneficiary of the rapid advancement of computer-based glass flight deck (GFD) systems. While providing the GA pilot considerable enhancements in the quality of information about the status and operations of the aircraft, training pilots on the use of glass flight decks is often delivered with traditional methods (e.g. textbooks, PowerPoint presentations, user manuals, and limited computer-based training modules). These training methods have been reported as less than desirable in learning to use the glass flight deck interface. Difficulties in achieving a complete understanding of functional and operational characteristics of the GFD systems, acquiring a full understanding of the interrelationships of the varied subsystems, and handling the wealth of flight information provided have been reported. Documented pilot concerns of poor user experience and satisfaction, and problems with the learning the complex and sophisticated interface of the GFD are additional issues with current pilot training approaches. A case study was executed to explore ways to improve training using GFD systems at a Midwestern aviation university. The researcher investigated if variations in instructional systems design and training methods for learning glass flight deck technology would affect the perceptions and attitudes of pilots of the learnability (an attribute of usability) of the glass flight deck interface. Specifically, this study investigated the effectiveness of scenario-based training (SBT) methods to potentially improve pilot knowledge and understanding of a GFD system, and overall pilot user experience and satisfaction. Participants overwhelmingly reported positive learning experiences from scenario-based GFD systems flight training, noting that learning and knowledge construction were improved over other training received in the past. In contrast, participants rated the usability and learnability of the GFD training systems low, reporting various problems with the systems’ interface, and the learnability (first-time use) of the complex GFD system. However, issues with usability of the GFD training systems did not reduce or change participant attitudes towards learning and mastering GFD systems; to the contrary, all participants requested additional coursework opportunities to train on GFD systems with the scenario-based flight training format.

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Newsome, Sherrica Shawnyae. "A case study in science and technology diplomacy : understanding diplomats' technical competency and interaction with technical experts." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/59774.

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Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2010.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-70).
As science and technology are increasingly at the center of global issues, diplomats are less capable of effectively completing their work without heavily relying on scientists and engineers for clarification and insight. This thesis is motivated by a desire to determine if convincing evidence exists that the lack of diplomats' technical knowledge and/or existing relational difficulties between the diplomat and the technical expert have negative effects on international agreements. The first required step, the focus of this thesis, is to gain an understanding of the technical expert and the diplomat's relationship. This thesis has examined, as a case study, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of External Relations' (OER) diplomats - officially known as international program specialists (IPS). The IPSs were interviewed and the data was analyzed using the grounded theory coding process. Statistics and charts were produced from pre-interview questionnaires and competency data and used as supporting evidence for the interview data. The thesis question is expressed and answered through its three sub-questions: What is the IPS's working relationship with scientists and engineers? How do IPSs go about writing the technical content of agreements? What is the IPS' technical competence? The collective answer is that an IPS does not generate the technical content of agreements, but relies heavily on the technical expert for both the content and its clarification. This lack of technical competence is supported by the fact that only 1% of reported OER's employees' competencies are technical (hard math and science) and only 4% are technically related. Additionally, hypotheses were drawn: An evaluation of the current IPS orientation process and OER training procedures may show that, despite perceived difficulties, the practices are the best available; An increased understanding of the IPS's role, on behalf of the technical experts - especially the field experts, should improve the relationship between the IPS and the technical expert; The technical competence of an IPS is, to some degree, dependent on both (1) the working relationship an IPS has with the technical expert and (2) the IPS' capability, capacity, and desire to learn. The study largely implies that the lack of understanding of the diplomat's role may also be apparent in other technical organizations where the method of diplomacy aiding science and technology is practiced.
by Sherrica Shawnyae Newsome.
S.M.in Technology and Policy

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Kaddoura, Mohamad Khaled. "Monitoring human interaction in the WITS virtual reality training environment." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0023/MQ50627.pdf.

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Sushmita, Shanu. "Study of result presentation and interaction for aggregated search." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2012. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3289/.

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The World Wide Web has always attracted researchers and commercial search engine companies due to the enormous amount of information available on it. "Searching" on web has become an integral part of today's world, and many people rely on it when looking for information. The amount and the diversity of information available on the Web has also increased dramatically. Due to which, the researchers and the search engine companies are making constant efforts in order to make this information accessible to the people effectively. Not only there is an increase in the amount and diversity of information available online, users are now often seeking information on broader topics. Users seeking information on broad topics, gather information from various information sources (e.g, image, video, news, blog, etc). For such information requests, not only web results but results from different document genre and multimedia contents are also becoming relevant. For instance, users' looking for information on "Glasgow" might be interested in web results about Glasgow, Map of Glasgow, Images of Glasgow, News of Glasgow, and so on. Aggregated search aims to provide access to this diverse information in a unified manner by aggregating results from different information sources on a single result page. Hence making information gathering process easier for broad topics. This thesis aims to explore the aggregated search from the users' perspective. The thesis first and foremost focuses on understanding and describing the phenomena related to the users' search process in the context of the aggregated search. The goal is to participate in building theories and in understanding constraints, as well as providing insights into the interface design space. In building this understanding, the thesis focuses on the click-behavior, information need, source relevance, dynamics of search intents. The understanding comes partly from conducting users studies and, from analyzing search engine log data. While the thematic (or topical) relevance of documents is important, this thesis argues that the "source type" (source-orientation) may also be an important dimension in the relevance space for investigating in aggregated search. Therefore, relevance is multi-dimensional (topical and source-orientated) within the context of aggregated search. Results from the study suggest that the effect of the source-orientation was a significant factor in an aggregated search scenario. Hence adds another dimension to the relevance space within the aggregated search scenario. The thesis further presents an effective method which combines rule base and machine learning techniques to identify source-orientation behind a user query. Furthermore, after analyzing log-data from a search engine company and conducting user study experiments, several design issues that may arise with respect to the aggregated search interface are identified. In order to address these issues, suitable design guidelines that can be beneficial from the interface perspective are also suggested. To conclude, aim of this thesis is to explore the emerging aggregated search from users' perspective, since it is a very important for front-end technologies. An additional goal is to provide empirical evidence for influence of aggregated search on users searching behavior, and identify some of the key challenges of aggregated search. During this work several aspects of aggregated search will be uncovered. Furthermore, this thesis will provide a foundations for future research in aggregated search and will highlight the potential research directions.

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Hoggan, Eve Elizabeth. "Crossmodal audio and tactile interaction with mobile touchscreens." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2010. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/1863/.

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Touchscreen mobile devices often use cut-down versions of desktop user interfaces placing high demands on the visual sense that may prove awkward in mobile settings. The research in this thesis addresses the problems encountered by situationally impaired mobile users by using crossmodal interaction to exploit the abundant similarities between the audio and tactile modalities. By making information available to both senses, users can receive the information in the most suitable way, without having to abandon their primary task to look at the device. This thesis begins with a literature review of related work followed by a definition of crossmodal icons. Two icons may be considered to be crossmodal if and only if they provide a common representation of data, which is accessible interchangeably via different modalities. Two experiments investigated possible parameters for use in crossmodal icons with results showing that rhythm, texture and spatial location are effective. A third experiment focused on learning multi-dimensional crossmodal icons and the extent to which this learning transfers between modalities. The results showed identification rates of 92% for three-dimensional audio crossmodal icons when trained in the tactile equivalents, and identification rates of 89% for tactile crossmodal icons when trained in the audio equivalent. Crossmodal icons were then incorporated into a mobile touchscreen QWERTY keyboard. Experiments showed that keyboards with audio or tactile feedback produce fewer errors and greater speeds of text entry compared to standard touchscreen keyboards. The next study examined how environmental variables affect user performance with the same keyboard. The data showed that each modality performs differently with varying levels of background noise or vibration and the exact levels at which these performance decreases occur were established. The final study involved a longitudinal evaluation of a touchscreen application, CrossTrainer, focusing on longitudinal effects on performance with audio and tactile feedback, the impact of context on performance and personal modality preference. The results show that crossmodal audio and tactile icons are a valid method of presenting information to situationally impaired mobile touchscreen users with recognitions rates of 100% over time. This thesis concludes with a set of guidelines on the design and application of crossmodal audio and tactile feedback to enable application and interface designers to employ such feedback in all systems.

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Robinson, Ashley Renee. "The Attitudes of African American Middle School Girls Toward Computer Science: Influences of Home, School, and Technology Use." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/52277.

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The number of women in computing is significantly low compared to the number of men in the discipline, with African American women making up an even smaller segment of this population. Related literature accredits this phenomenon to multiple sources, including background, stereotypes, discrimination, self-confidence, and a lack of self-efficacy or belief in one's capabilities. However, a majority of the literature fails to represent African American females in research studies. This research used a mixed methods approach to understand the attitudes of African American middle school girls toward computer science and investigated the factors that influence these attitudes. Since women who do pursue computing degrees and continue with graduate education often publish in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in greater proportions than men, this research used an intervention to introduce African American middle school girls to computational thinking concepts using HCI topics. To expand the scope of the data collected, a separate group of girls were introduced to computational thinking concepts through Algorithms. Data were collected through both quantitative and qualitative sources, and analyzed using inferential statistics and content analysis. The results show that African American middle school girls generally have negative attitudes toward computer science. However, after participating in a computer science intervention, perceptions toward computer science become more positive. The results also reveal that four factors influence the attitudes of African American middle school girls toward computer science, such as the participation in an intervention, the intervention content domain, the facilitation of performance accomplishments, and participant characteristics like socioeconomic status, mother's education, school grades, and the use of smart phones and video game consoles at home.
Ph. D.

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Flint, Thomas Edmund. "Appropriating interaction." Thesis, Edinburgh Napier University, 2016. http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/453421.

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This thesis is concerned with the fact that people routinely appropriate interactivetechnology. Much of the work in this project was conducted at The Public, aninteractive art gallery in West Bromwich. Examples of appropriation that arepresented range from interactive art, the game Minecraft™, to mundane objectsencountered in daily life. Research Questions posed in this study are: • What are the dynamics of appropriation? • What is the relationship of appropriation to affordance? • How do individuals experience appropriation? Appropriation is the mechanism by which we make objects in the world relevant and personal. This PhD has revealed three dimensions of appropriation namely: • Control: both in terms of ownership and virtuosity. • Ensoulment: the mechanism through which we ascribe personal significance to artefacts. • Affordance: the experiential relationship to artefacts concerned with action on and with them. Appropriation is revealed as a mechanism through which people understand potential action with technology. A traditional view is that people learn how to use a system and once its canonical use is established new uses or appropriations are discovered. What is revealed in this study is that appropriation is bound to our perception of action with technology, commonly explained through the concept of affordance. Appropriation is revealed as the initial act in human encounters with technology.

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Åstrand, Bengt. "ePrescribing : Studies in Pharmacoinformatics." Doctoral thesis, Högskolan i Kalmar, Naturvetenskapliga institutionen, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hik:diva-32.

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Det övergripande syftet med den här avhandlingen har varit att, inom området läkemedelsinformatik, studera utvecklingen av elektroniska stöd inom läkemedelsförskrivning; för klinisk praxis, uppföljning och forskning. Under århundraden har det handskrivna receptet varit det sätt, med vilket läkare förmedlat sina läkemedelsordinationer till apotekare, vilket också för patienten blivit en informationskälla för hur läkemedel ska användas för att göra bästa nytta. Nu genomgår receptet en förändring från pappersbaserat till elektroniskt meddelande och att anpassa en traditionell process till en ny elektronisk era innebär både möjligheter och utmaningar. Studierna som ingår i avhandlingen har visat att exponeringen av förskrivna läkemedel i en allmän befolkning har ökat under de senaste tre decennierna. Risken för potentiella interaktioner mellan läkemedel, varmed avses den risk som finns att olika läkemedel kan påverka varandras effekter och biverkningar, har också visat sig öka starkt desto fler läkemedel som används av en individ. Denna ökade samtidiga användning av flera olika läkemedel, så kallad polyfarmaci, medför att det finns en större anledning för förskrivare och farmacevter att uppmärksamma risken för potentiella interaktioner mellan läkemedel. De nyinrättade nationella receptregistren över uthämtad receptförskriven medicin bör användas bland annat för att upptäcka potentiella läkemedelsinteraktioner, såväl i vårdens utövning som inom läkemedelsepidemiologisk forskning. Den svenska läkemedelsförteckningen, som omfattar information om uthämtade receptförskrivna läkemedel för huvuddelen av den svenska befolkningen, bedöms ha en stor klinisk potential. Den enskilde individens historiska information om uthämtade läkemedel är tillgänglig för individen på Internet med hjälp av e-legitimation; även förskrivare och farmacevter på apotek kan ta del av informationen med den enskildes samtycke. Brist på tillgång till enhetliga och säkra autenticeringsmetoder inom hälso- och sjukvården kan dock fördröja tillgången på individuell läkemedelsinformation för förskrivare. I och med att de flesta recepten i Sverige nu skrivs och överförs elektroniskt är det viktigt att kvalitetsmässiga aspekter tas tillvara så att en iakttagen ökad risk för receptförskrivningsfel inte överförs i informationskedjan. Avhandlingens slutsats är att e-förskrivning, med kommunikation och användning av lagrad information om receptexpeditioner, möjliggör att läkemedelsbehandling som process kan följas och studeras på ett helt nytt
The thesis aimed to study the developments, in the area of pharmacoinformatics, of the electronic prescribing and dispensing processes of drugs - in medical praxis, follow-up, and research. For hundreds of years, the written prescription has been the method of choice for physicians to communicate decisions on drug therapy and for pharmacists to dispense medication. Successively the prescription has also become a source of information for the patient about how to use the medication to maximize its benefit. Currently, the medical prescription is at a transitional stage between paper and web, and to adapt a traditional process to the new electronic era offers both opportunities and challenges The studies in the thesis have shown that the exposure of prescribed drugs in the general population has increased considerably over three decades. The risk of receiving potentially interacting drugs was also strongly correlated to the concomitant use of multiple drugs, polypharmacy. The pronounced increase in polypharmacy over time constitutes a growing reason for prescribers and pharmacists to be aware of drug interactions. Still, there were relatively few severe potential drug interactions. Recently established national prescription registers should be evaluated for drug interaction vigilance, both clinically and epidemiologically. The Swedish National Pharmacy Register provides prescription dispensing information for the majority of the population. The medication history in the register may be accessed online to improve drug utilization, by registered individuals, prescribers, and pharmacists in a safe and secure way. Lack of widespread secure digital signatures in healthcare may delay general availability. With a relatively high prevalence of dispensed drugs in the population, the National Pharmacy Register seems justified in evaluating individual medication history. With a majority of prescriptions transferred as ePrescriptions, the detected increased risk for prescription errors warrants quality improvement, if the full potential of ePrescriptions is to be fulfilled. The main conclusion of the studies was that ePrescribing with communication of prescribed drug information, storing and retrieving dispensed drug information, offers new opportunities for clinical and scientific

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Åberg, Susanne. "Science in Business Interaction : A Study of the Collaboration between CERN and Swedish Companies." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Företagsekonomiska institutionen, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-187776.

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The aim of this thesis is twofold; to gain and understanding of how CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, interacts with industry; and to gain an understanding of how CERN can become a resource for industry. Both parts of the purpose also have implications for the issue of CERN’s usefulness to industry. Starting from the popular argument that scientific research can be useful for society through its potential benefits for industry; the thesis investigates the interaction between CERN and Swedish industry. As a complex research organisation is not a homogenous entity, CERN is regarded as a collection of heterogeneous resources which companies can relate to, and benefit from, in different ways. It is argued that, in order to understand how CERN can be useful for industry, it is important to understand what CERN is. A substantial part of the thesis is therefore dedicated to describing CERN and its context. Apart from a description of CERN’s activities, structures, and history; the case specifically describes two of the main contact points between CERN and industry; technology transfer and procurement. Of the 15 Swedish companies that constitute the industry part of the study, two of the CERN-industry relationships are elaborated on (Ericsson and ABB). The case is primarily based on interviews with over 90 people carried out at CERN and in Sweden, as well as informal conversations and observations during extended visits at CERN. The findings suggest that companies can gain knowledge (and technologies) from CERN, but that it is through interaction rather than through specialised structures that these resources are acquired. The interaction between CERN and industry is restricted by CERN’s procurement rules, which affects what interaction is possible. The increased focus at CERN on knowledge transfer issues may result in increased transfer, but the study indicates that for this to happen an increased focus on interaction is necessary.

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Nickerson, Louise Valgerður. "Overviews and their effect on interaction in the auditory interface." Thesis, Queen Mary, University of London, 2013. http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/8687.

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Auditory overviews have the potential to improve the quality of auditory interfaces. However, in order to apply overviews well, we must understand them. Specifically, what are they and what is their impact? This thesis presents six characteristics that overviews should have. They should be a structured representation of the detailed information, define the scope of the material, guide the user, show context and patterns in the data, encourage exploration of the detail and represent the current state of the data. These characteristics are guided by a systematic review of visual overview research, analysis of established visual overviews and evaluation of how these characteristics fit current auditory overviews. The second half of the thesis evaluates how the addition of an overview impacts user interaction. While the overviews do not improve performance, they do change the navigation patterns from one of data exploration and discovery to guided and directed information seeking. With these two contributions, we gain a better understanding of how overviews work in an auditory interface and how they might be exploited more effectively.

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Mourad, Atallah. "Human interface and interaction in the WITS training system." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape11/PQDD_0027/MQ50643.pdf.

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Lamos, Erin Elisabeth. "The Emergence of Bioengineering Departments in the United States: Density Dependence or Strategic Interaction?" Thesis, Available online, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007, 2007. http://etd.gatech.edu/theses/available/etd-07092007-132606/.

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Vernhes, Gabriel. "Les relations entre sciences, technologies et territoires au cœur de la souveraineté nationale : une approche structurale sur longue période." Electronic Thesis or Diss., Institut polytechnique de Paris, 2024. http://www.theses.fr/2024IPPAE002.

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Cette thèse explore la dimension territoriale des échanges de connaissances scientifiques et technologiques essentiels au processus d'innovation sur des domaines technologiques intéressant la défense, tels que l'armement, l'équipement aérospatial et l'impression 3D. Elle explore l'intégration des avancées scientifiques dans le développement technologique et analyse l'autonomie stratégique des territoires en tant que capacité à produire, utiliser et diffuser des connaissances de manière indépendante. Cette autonomie dans les secteurs stratégiques de l'innovation de défense est au coeur des enjeux contemporains de souveraineté nationale. Adoptant une perspective institutionnaliste, cette recherche positionne le processus d'innovation au sein d'un système d'innovation national, envisageant le territoire comme une entité sociale, politique et culturelle qui facilite l'échange de connaissances. Notre démarche empirique repose sur l'utilisation de données de brevets d'invention et d'articles scientifiques à grande échelle pour créer des réseaux de connaissances mondiaux, fondés sur les citations et la proximité sémantique. Nous adoptons pour cela une approche structurale qui mobilise la théorie des graphes d'influence, combinée à des méthodes économétriques robustes pour interpréter nos mesures.Nous observons l'existence de deux réseaux de connaissances à l'échelle mondiale. Le premier, composé de connaissances explicites, facilement diffusables et assimilables par les différents territoires. L'analyse de ces réseaux permet de comparer la maîtrise des connaissances stratégiques entre territoires, identifiant des situations de domination ou de dépendance vis-à-vis des productions extérieures. Le second réseau, plus ancré localement, inclut des connaissances tacites, incarnées dans les individus et leurs réseaux d'interactions sociales et donc géographiquement bornées. Ce réseau permet d'expliquer la persistance des expertises nationales à long terme, malgré l'internationalisation des échanges de connaissances facilitée par la mondialisation et le développement des technologies de l'information et de la communication.Nous démontrons que la coexistence de ces réseaux est cruciale dans le processus de maturation des connaissances. Bien que l'activité scientifique soit plus codifiée et globalisée que l'activité technologique, elle présente un fort ancrage territorial, stimulant l'innovation locale par des échanges de connaissances tacites. Ces résultats soutiennent le financement de certains domaines scientifiques comme vecteur pour renforcer la souveraineté nationale sur les innovations stratégiques
This thesis delves into the territorial dimension of scientific and technological knowledge exchange, a pivotal aspect of the innovation process. It focuses on defence-related technological fields, such as weaponry, aerospace equipment and 3D printing, to scrutinize how scientific advancements are integrated into technological development. Furthermore, our analysis focuses on measuring strategic autonomy of national territories, assessing their capacity to independently produce, use and disseminate knowledge. This form of autonomy in critical defence innovation sectors is a key factor in current discussions on national sovereignty.From an institutionalist viewpoint, this manuscript situates the innovation process within the national innovation system framework. In this context, territory is understood as a social, political and cultural construct that facilitates interactions and the exchange of knowledge.Our empirical method mobilizes quantitative methods using a large number of patent data and scientific publications to establish global knowledge networks, based on citations and semantic proximity. In this regard, we employ a structural approach, integrating influence graph theory consolidated with econometric models.Our findings reveal two distinct global knowledge networks. The first, encompassing explicit knowledge, can be easily disseminated, and assimilated across various territories. The analysis of these networks permits a comparative evaluation of the control over strategic knowledge among different territories, highlighting situations of dominance or dependence on external sources of knowledge. The second network, with more local roots, comprises tacit, applied knowledge that is intrinsic to individuals and their social interaction networks, thereby being geographically bounded. This network accounts for the sustained presence of national expertise over an extended period, notwithstanding the globalized nature of knowledge exchange driven by globalisation and the advancement of information and communication technologies.Our study shows that the coexistence of these networks is essential in knowledge maturation. Despite the more codified and globalized nature of scientific activity compared to technological, it retains strong territorial ties, fostering local innovation through tacit knowledge exchange. These insights suggest that investments in specific domains are crucial for enhancing national sovereignty in strategic innovation

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Sharp, Michael D. "Analysis of Vanilla Compounds in Vanilla Extracts and Model Vanilla Ice Cream Mixes Using Novel Technology." The Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1258043461.

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Lindblom, Jessica. "Minding the Body : Interacting socially through embodied action." Doctoral thesis, Linköping : Department of Computer and Information Science, Linköping University, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-9523.

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Brittell, Megen. "Improving Accessibility of Spatial Information: A Technique Using Parametrized Audio to Symbolize Lines." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/12168.

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xi, 79 p. ： ill. (some col.)
Graphics provide a rich display medium that facilitates identification of spatial patterns but are inaccessible to people who are blind or low vision. Audio provides an alternative medium through which to display information. Prior research has explored audio display of lines representing functions and location of screen objects within a graphical user interface; however, presentation of spatial attributes of lines (angle, number of segments, etc.) of geographic data has received limited attention. This thesis explores a theoretical foundation for designing audio displays and presents an experimental evaluation of line symbology. Sighted users who were blindfolded and blind users performed a line following task and a matching task to evaluate the line symbology. Observed differences between the conditions did not reach statistical significance. User preferences and observed strategies are discussed.
Committee in charge: Dr. Michal Young， Chair

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Kolagani, Vijay Kumar. "Gesture Based Human-Computer Interaction with Natural User Interface." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1542601474940954.

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Burke, Jason Timothy. "Study of 14O as a test of the unitarity of the CKM matrix and the CVC hypothesis." Berkeley, Calif. : Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ; distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy, 2004. http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/840334-xlgiB7/native/.

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Thesis (Ph.D.); Submitted to the University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA (US); 1 Jun 2004.
Published through the Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information. "LBNL--56278" Burke, Jason Timothy. USDOE Director. Office of Science. Office of High Energy and Nuclear Physics. Division of Nuclear Physics (US) 06/01/2004. Report is also available in paper and microfiche from NTIS.

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Finnegan, David Jesse. "Knowledge sharing in the introduction of a new technology : psychological contracts, subculture interactions and non-codified knowledge in CRM systems." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2005. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/1186/.

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This longitudinal comparative study using a multidisciplinary approach, applies a processual analysis (Pettigrew, 1985; Pettigrew, 1990; Pettigrew, 1997) from a knowledge sharing perspective, to the implementation of what the literature shows to be a relatively under researched area of Customer Relationship Management( CRM) systemsi n contemporary (2001-2004) situations within Birmingham City Council and IBM. A specific focus is given to areas neglected in previous CRM studies - sub-cultures, psychological contracts, how tacit/non-codified knowledge is surfaced and shared, and with what effects on implementation. It investigates how the system stakeholders and the information system (IS) itself evolved through encountering barriers, sharing knowledge, finding new uses and inventing workarounds. A rich picture emerges of how sub-cultural silos of knowledge linked with psychological contracts and power-based relationships influence and inhibit adoption and acceptance of the CRM system. A major contribution of this processual study is to focus on the relatively neglected 'R' in CRM systems implementations. Hitherto, there has been little attempt to analyse the micro elements in the implementation of CRM systems using the lens of a multidisciplinary approach in a longitudinal study. The investigation of knowledge sharing (in particular non-codified knowledge sharing) across the key sub-cultures in the implementation process of CRM systems remains understudied. Scholars such as Lawrence and Lorch (1967), Boland and Tenkasi (1996), Newell et al. (2002) and Iansiti (1993) write of 'knowing of what. others know', 'mutual perspective taking', 'shared mental space' and 'T- shaped skills', as aids to tacit /non-codified knowledge sharing. However, they do not address fully the micro processes that lead to the above. This research aims to fill this knowledge gap, by investigating the micro elements (including in our study the psychological contracts) that lead to 'mutual perspective taking', enabling tacit/noncodified knowledge sharing across the key sub-cultures and their impacts on the adaptation and acceptance of a CRM system. This processual study lays a strong foundation for further research along the route of investigating multiple micro level elements in the process of implementation of a CRM system in order to enhance understanding of such phenomena in a contemporary situation. This qualitative study compares the CRM implementations at IBM. COM and Birmingham City Council. It penetrates the knowledge sharing issues faced by practitioners in a system integration environment. We highlight and discuss the importance of psychological contracts and their interdependencies on sub-cultural interactions and knowledge sharing. We have been able to relate and discuss real life issues in the light of existing academic theories, in order to enhance our understanding of the relatively neglected knowledge sharing phenomena in a CRM environment. The processual analysis framework extensively used and further developed in this research provides keys to its further use in enhancing the richness of future IS implementation studies at a micro level. The research contributes to the study of IS development by providing an integrative approach investigating the existing academic understandings at a micro level in a contemporary situation. A major contribution is also a detailed insight into the process of Boland and Tenkasi's (1996) 'mutual perspective taking' through the investigation of psychological contracts and their interdependencies on sub-cultural interaction and knowledges haring. An interesting finding has been that the distinctive contexts of the two cases have had lesser effects than the distinctive nature of CRM Systems and the implementation processes adopted. The study shows that irrespective of sectoral backgrounds the two organisations studied in this research failed to address adequately a range of common issues related to human behaviour, psychology, organisational characteristics, sub-cultural interactions and knowledge sharing. According to our research findings these factors have greater explanatory power for the results achieved than the distinctive contexts in which the two organisations operated.

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Rossiter, James. "Multimodal intent recognition for natural human-robotic interaction." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2011. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/1469/.

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The research questions posed for this work were as follows: Can speech recognition and techniques for topic spotting be used to identify spoken intent in unconstrained natural speech? Can gesture recognition systems based on statistical speech recognition techniques be used to bridge the gap between physical movements and recognition of gestural intent? How can speech and gesture be combined to identify the overall communicative intent of a participant with better accuracy than recognisers built for individual modalities? In order to answer these questions a corpus collection experiment for Human-Robotic Interaction was designed to record unconstrained natural speech and 3 dimensional motion data from 17 different participants. A speech recognition system was built based on the popular Hidden Markov Model Toolkit and a topic spotting algorithm based on usefulness measures was designed. These were combined to create a speech intent recognition system capable of identifying intent given natural unconstrained speech. A gesture intent recogniser was built using the Hidden Markov Model Toolkit to identify intent directly from 3D motion data. Both the speech and gesture intent recognition systems were evaluated separately. The output from both systems were then combined and this integrated intent recogniser was shown to perform better than each recogniser separately. Both linear and non-linear methods of multimodal intent fusion were evaluated and the same techniques were applied to the output from individual intent recognisers. In all cases the non-linear combination of intent gave the highest performance for all intent recognition systems. Combination of speech and gestural intent scores gave a maximum classification performance of 76.7% of intents correctly classified using a two layer Multi-Layer Perceptron for non-linear fusion with human transcribed speech input to the speech classifier. When compared to simply picking the highest scoring single modality intent, this represents an improvement of 177.9% over gestural intent classification, 67.5% over a human transcription of speech based speech intent classifier and 204.4% over an automatically recognised speech based speech intent classifier.

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Lu, Gan. "Real-time immersive human-computer interaction based on tracking and recognition of dynamic hand gestures." Thesis, University of Central Lancashire, 2011. http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/2816/.

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With fast developing and ever growing use of computer based technologies, human-computer interaction (HCI) plays an increasingly pivotal role. In virtual reality (VR), HCI technologies provide not only a better understanding of three-dimensional shapes and spaces, but also sensory immersion and physical interaction. With the hand based HCI being a key HCI modality for object manipulation and gesture based communication, challenges are presented to provide users a natural, intuitive, effortless, precise, and real-time method for HCI based on dynamic hand gestures, due to the complexity of hand postures formed by multiple joints with high degrees-of-freedom, the speed of hand movements with highly variable trajectories and rapid direction changes, and the precision required for interaction between hands and objects in the virtual world. Presented in this thesis is the design and development of a novel real-time HCI system based on a unique combination of a pair of data gloves based on fibre-optic curvature sensors to acquire finger joint angles, a hybrid tracking system based on inertia and ultrasound to capture hand position and orientation, and a stereoscopic display system to provide an immersive visual feedback. The potential and effectiveness of the proposed system is demonstrated through a number of applications, namely, hand gesture based virtual object manipulation and visualisation, hand gesture based direct sign writing, and hand gesture based finger spelling. For virtual object manipulation and visualisation, the system is shown to allow a user to select, translate, rotate, scale, release and visualise virtual objects (presented using graphics and volume data) in three-dimensional space using natural hand gestures in real-time. For direct sign writing, the system is shown to be able to display immediately the corresponding SignWriting symbols signed by a user using three different signing sequences and a range of complex hand gestures, which consist of various combinations of hand postures (with each finger open, half-bent, closed, adduction and abduction), eight hand orientations in horizontal/vertical plans, three palm facing directions, and various hand movements (which can have eight directions in horizontal/vertical plans, and can be repetitive, straight/curve, clockwise/anti-clockwise). The development includes a special visual interface to give not only a stereoscopic view of hand gestures and movements, but also a structured visual feedback for each stage of the signing sequence. An excellent basis is therefore formed to develop a full HCI based on all human gestures by integrating the proposed system with facial expression and body posture recognition methods. Furthermore, for finger spelling, the system is shown to be able to recognise five vowels signed by two hands using the British Sign Language in real-time.

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Liu, Ariel. "The relationship between engagement and learning in school students' interactions with technology-driven multimodal exhibits in museums." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5c8405d5-a834-4b0f-b160-56c988f452f8.

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This thesis reports a qualitative study of the use of multimodal technologies in museums— specifically, it examines the relationship between visitor engagement and learning, focusing on the use of multimodal technologies during school trips. The study was conducted in the Natural History Museum and the Churchill Museum, both in London, with participants from several secondary schools. These sites were chosen due to their concern for the added value of learning and public engagement, including their education-orientated investments in technology, museum activities, and architecture. In the course of data collection, visits were made to six schools and both museum sites; the participants included 117 students, 18 teachers, three museum educators, and eight museum curators and media designers. The study used a combination of video data analysis, stimulated recall interviews, document analysis, and engaging students in talk and reflection about their visit both at the museum and afterwards. The qualitative approach and multimodal analysis identify how the students’ social interactions help them construct learning through decontextualised bodily movements, which trigger contextualised discussion. The study demonstrates how multimodal analysis can be used in research to capture a wide scope of information, while maintaining a micro-level of analysis and understanding—here, capturing the detail of students’ interactions and perceptions. The findings suggest that the learning experience in museums is produced through multiple layers of interaction and through the exchange of physical and psychological behaviour among people, resources, and space. Here, the multimodal technologies with which the students engaged essentially acted as initial platforms for sensory stimuli and social interaction, supporting their peer communication and motivating them to further explore both the given topic and their own understanding of their learning methods. It was the students’ further conversation, observation, and participation, however, that created a more meaningful and entertaining learning experience in the museums.

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Siegelman, Lia. "Ageostrophic dynamics in the ocean interior A correction for the thermal mass–induced errors of CTD tags mounted on marine mammals, in the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 35 (6), June 2018 Submesoscale ocean fronts act as biological hotspot for southern elephant seal, in Scientific Reports 9, 2019 Ocean‐scale interactions from space, in Earth and Space Science 6(5), May 2019 Correction and accuracy of high- and low-resolution CTD data from animal-borne instruments, in the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 36 (5), May 2019 Diagnosing ocean‐wave‐turbulence interactions from space, in Geophysical Research Letters 46(15), August 2019 Sub‐mesoscale fronts modify elephant seals foraging behavior, in Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 4(6), December 2019." Thesis, Brest, 2019. http://www.theses.fr/2019BRES0094.

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L'océan est le plus grand réservoir d'énergie solaire de notre planète. La quantité de chaleur qu'il est capable de stocker est modulée par sa circulation complexe, opérant sur une vaste gamme d’échelles allant du centimètre à la dizaine de milliers de kilomètres. Cette thèse s'intéresse à deux types de processus océaniques: les tourbillons de mésoéchelle, d'une taille de 100 à 300 km, et les fronts de sous-mésoéchelle, d'une taille inférieure à 50 km. L'idée communément admise est que les mouvements agéostrophiques de sous-mésoéchelle sont principalement confinés à la couche de mélange océanique de surface et sont faibles dans l'océan intérieur. Cette vision classique de la dynamique océanique repose sur l'hypothèse que l'océan intérieur est en équilibre quasi-géostrophique, empêchant la formation de forts gradients de densité en profondeur. Cette thèse remet en question ce paradigme en se basant sur des observations CTD in situ à haute résolution collectées par des éléphants de mer instrumentés, des images satellite d’élévation de la surface de l’océan, et des sorties de modèle à haute résolution dans le Courant Circumpolaire Antarctique.Les résultats indiquent que les mouvements agéostrophiques sont (i) générés par le champ tourbillonnaire de mésoéchelle via des processus defrontogenèse, et (ii) ne sont pas limités à la couche de mélange de surface ; bien au contraire, ils pénètrent dans l'océan intérieur jusqu'à 1000 m deprofondeur. Ces fronts agéostrophiques de sous-mésoéchelle sont associés à d'importants flux de chaleur dirigés de l'intérieur de l'océan vers la surface, d'une amplitude comparable aux flux air-mer.Cet effet peut potentiellement altérer la capacité de stockage de chaleur de l'océan et devrait être le plus fort dans les zones tourbillonnaires telles que le Courant Circumpolaire Antarctique, le Kuroshio et le Gulf Stream, les trois courants clefs du système climatique. Il apparaît ainsi que les fronts agéostrophiques de sous-mésoéchelle représentent une voie importante, mais encore largement méconnue, pour le transport de chaleur, de nutriments et de gaz entre l'intérieur et la surface de l'océan, avec des répercussions potentiellement majeures pour les systèmes biogéochimique et climatique
The ocean is the largest solar energy collector on Earth. The amount of heat it can store is modulated by its complex circulation, which spans a broad range of spatial scales, from centimeters to thousands of kilometers. This dissertation investigates two types of physical processes: mesoscale eddies (100-300 km size) and submesoscale fronts (£ 50 km size). To date, ageostrophic submesoscale motions are thought to be mainly trapped within the ocean surface mixed layer, and to be weak in the ocean interior. This is because, in the classical paradigm, motions below the mixed layer are broadly assumed to be in quasigeostrophic balance, preventing the formation of strong buoyancy gradients at depth. This dissertation introduces a paradigm shift; based on a combination of high-resolution in situ CTD data collected by instrumented elephant seals, satellite observations of sea surface height, and high-resolution model outputs in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, we show that ageostrophic motions (i) are generated by the backgound mesoscale eddy field via frontogenesis processes, and (ii) are not solely confined to the ocean surface mixed layer but, rather, can extend in the ocean interior down to depths of 1 000 m. Deepreaching ageostrophic fronts are shown to drive an anomalous upward heat transport from the ocean interior back to the surface that is larger than other contributions to vertical heat transport and of comparable magnitude to air-sea fluxes. This effect can potentially alter oceanic heat uptake and will be strongest in eddy-rich regions such as the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the Kuroshio Extension, and the Gulf Stream, all of which are key players in the climate system. As such, ageostrophic fronts at submesoscale provide an important, yet unexplored, pathway for the transport of heat, chemical and biological tracers, between the ocean interior and the surface, with potential major implications for the biogeochemical and climate systems

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Ehlers, Megan Elizabeth. "Student-teacher Interaction Through Online Reflective Journals in a High School Science Classroom: What Have We Learned?" Scholar Commons, 2015. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5871.

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Three challenges in current secondary school science classrooms are (a) meaningful integration of technology, (b) integration of reading and writing in content courses, and (c) differentiation of instruction to meet individual student needs in courses. This is an exploratory study of an urban, high school marine science course in which a teacher added communication with her students via asynchronous online journals. This intervention was intended to enable the teacher to understand how students were constructing knowledge and their understanding of marine science topics. Data included journal postings from all students and the teacher throughout the semester, as well as the teacher's personal journal.

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Senechal, Annie. "Initial stages of adhesion of enterococcus faecalis responsible for biofilm formation on medical devices : quantification of bacterial adhesion and measurement of cell-surface interaction forces." Thesis, McGill University, 2003. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=80142.

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The presence of a microbial biofilm on medical implants and devices remains a serious clinical problem since it can increase the risk of infection. To prevent biofilm formation, it is important to study the initial stages of bacterial adhesion. The aim of this study was to compare the initial interactions of the uropathogen Enterococcus faecalis with different medical grade polymers. To accomplish this, kinetics of E. faecalis adhesion were followed using a DNA quantification assay. The influence of biomaterial surface properties, including surface wettability and roughness, was investigated. Moreover, the distribution and morphology of the adhered bacteria were studied. Finally, quantification of bacterial adhesion forces was achieved using AFM through cell detachment measurements.
The results showed significant differences in E. faecalis adhesion between the studied polymers suggesting that precautions should be made for the choice of polymers in the design of medical applications in order to prevent subsequent biofilm formation.

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Shaw, Haley N. "Exploring the Role of In-Gallery Technology-Based Interactives on Visitor-Object Experience." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1574365068794488.

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Staberg, Else-Marie. "Olika världar, skilda värderingar : Hur flickor och pojkar möter högstadiets fysik, kemi och teknik." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Pedagogiska institutionen, 1992. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-16590.

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This study investigates how Swedish pupils meet science (chemistry and physics) and technology in compulsory school. It explores girls' and boys' actions in and thoughts about these subjects. The study has a feminist perspective focusing on girls. Two teaching groups were followed from the start in grade 7 in compulsory school, when the pupils were 13 years old, until they made their choice of study programmes in upper secondary school in grade 9. The main methods were classroom observations and taped interviews. The results have been divided into the following four parts: the pupils' family background and recreation interests, classroom interactions, girls' and boys' approaches to science, and their choices of study programmes in upper secondary school. Girls and boys have different experiences and interests when they first meet science in grade 7 and boys have, thanks to their recreation interests, greater opportunities to participate in or take an interest in science/technology. The pupils come from different worlds determined by gender and social background. In the classroom girls get and take upon themselves the role of keeping the lessons together, thus fostering a responsible rationality, while boys strive to dominate the public arena. The process of shaping diligent, working, responsible girls as opposed to more childish, playful and competing boys continues in grades 7-9. Girls and boys prefer different subject areas. Boys have a practical while girls have a more theoretical approach to science. Even if there are important differences between girls, primarily owing to family background, there are significant differences between girls and boys. Girls seek "connected knowledge" and even the successful girls question their own understanding, which can be interpreted as a result of their learning style but also of their knowledge of the historical construction of women as unfit for science. The majority of the girls have, over the years, come to construct femininity - and maturity - as being opposed to enjoying experiments which are regarded as boys' play and as part of the masculine world. Boys also criticize girls for both failure and success and they try to get power over the subject content and the apparatus. This is interpreted as a reconstruction of the masculinity of the subjects. Girls who, nevertheless, take an interest in physics and chemistry often have supporting scientist fathers or at least parents with a higher education. Technology is rejected by all girls. The mutual construction and reconstruction of gender and of science/technology contribute to gendered choices of study programmes in upper secondary school.
digitalisering@umu

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White, Peg. "Crossing the East West devide : new perspectives on East-West interaction /." View thesis, 1999. http://library.uws.edu.au/adt-NUWS/public/adt-NUWS20030908.104240/index.html.

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Thesis (Ed.D) -- University of Western Sydney, Nepean, 1999.
"Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Education 1999, School of Lifelong Learning and Educational Change, University of Western Sydney Nepean" Includes bibliographical references.

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Williams, Keir. "Digital media in a special educational needs classroom : a study." Thesis, Queen Mary, University of London, 2016. http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/23784.

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This thesis presents a series of design-led case studies concerned with the use of digital technology and the practice of interaction design for children within the context of UK special educational needs classrooms. It explores the use and development of accessible digital systems to support groups of students who have a range of special educational needs. Working with groups of mixed ability students has found to be the most typical situation for teaching in the participant schools and is a rich but underexplored area of concern for interaction design research. This thesis presents detailed accounts and grounded analysis of four embedded, design-led, case studies in two UK special needs schools. It makes three main contributions to the community of researchers, designers and educational practitioners who are concerned with the use of digital technology with children and more specifically working within the field of interaction design for children with special educational needs. These contributions are: A set of design guidelines developed through an analysis of the detailed and thorough accounts of four embedded design-led research projects in two special needs school in the UK. A discussion of the development of the research approach taken in this thesis. A set of design personas of teaching staff interaction designers are likely to encounter when working in a UK special needs school.

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Gustafson, Jonas. "Using Machine Learning to Identify Potential Problem Gamblers." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för tillämpad fysik och elektronik, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-163640.

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In modern casinos, personnel exist to advise, or in some cases, order individuals to stop gambling if they are found to be gambling in a destructive way, but what about online gamblers? This thesis evaluated the possibility of using machine learning as a supplement for personnel in real casinos when gambling online. This was done through supervised learning or more specifically, a decision tree algorithm called CART. Studies showed that the majority of problem gamblers would find it helpful to have their behavioral patterns collected to be able to identify their risk of becoming a problem gambler before their problem started. The collected behavioral features were time spent gambling, the rate of won and lost money and the number of deposits made, all these during a specific period of time. An API was implemented for casino platforms to connect to and give collected data about their users, and to receive responses to notify users about their situation. Unfortunately, there were no platforms available to test this on players gambling live. Therefore a web based survey was implemented to test if the API would work as expected. More studies could be conducted in this area, finding more features to convert for computers to understand and implement into the learning algorithm.

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Gobel, Balazs. "Beyond the Big Red Button: Science Fiction as a Resource For Generating Novel Interaction Design Concepts For Emergency Situations." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-21490.

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In this thesis I take up the challenge to see whether designers would benefit from using science fiction in order to extend their resources when generating novel interaction design concepts for emergency situations. I discuss the relationship between the nature of fiction and design, and trademarks for emergency situations. I choose four scenes from different media types to analyse, further ideate and evaluate in order to derive final concepts, which I submitted to user testing. I argue that designers may well take science fiction into consideration when generating novel interaction design concepts in a successful way.

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Khouryieh, Hanna Anton Michael. "Rheological characterization of Xanthan-guar mixtures in dilute solutions." Diss., Manhattan, Kan. : Kansas State University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/208.

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Quitmeyer, Andrew J. "Digital naturalism: Designing a digital media framework to support ethological exploration." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/54327.

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This research aims to develop and evaluate a design framework for creating digital devices that support the exploration of animal behaviors in the wild. In order to carry out this work, it both studies ethology’s foundational ideas through literature and also examines the contemporary principles at a rainforest field station through on-site ethnographies, workshops, design projects, and interactive performances. Based upon these personal and practical investigations, this research then synthesizes a framework to support digital-ethological practice. Finally, this framework is utilized to design additional ethological expeditions and activities in order to assess the framework itself. The resulting framework encourages digital technology that supports four key concepts. Technological Agency pushes for devices that promote understanding of their own internal functions. The tenet of Contextual Crafting leads designers and ethologists to create devices in close proximity to their intended use. Behavioral Immersion promotes visceral interactions between the digital and organismal agents involved. Finally, Open-Endedness challenges researchers to create adaptable tools which strive to generate questions rather than answering them. Overall, this research, referred to as Digital Naturalism, explores a developing design space for computers in the wild.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Science-Technology interactions'

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