Manufacturing systems are complex entities comprised of people, processes, products, information systems and data, material processing, handling, and storage systems. Because of this complexity, systems must be modeled using a variety of views and modeling formalisms. In order to design and analyze manufacturing systems, the multiple views and models often need to be considered simultaneously. However, no single tool or computing environment currently exists that allows this to be done in an efficient and intelligible manner. New tools such as HTML and VRML present a promising approach for tackling these problems. They make possible environments where the different models can coexist and where mapping/linking between the models can be achieved. This research is concerned with developing a hybrid HTML/VRML environment for manufacturing systems modeling and analysis. Experiment was performed to compare this hybrid-modeling HTML/VRML environment to the traditional database environment in order to answer typical design/analysis questions associated with manufacturing systems, and to establish the potential advantages of this approach. Analyzing results obtained from the experiment indicated that the HTML/VRML approach might result in better understanding of a manufacturing system than the traditional database approach. / Master of Science

William Wordsworth was not the civic-minded public servant who is often thought of when good citizenship awards are given. However, it can be said that through his writings, he did much to arouse others to an awareness of political, religious, and educational needs of his country. This thesis examines his views in these areas and how they contributed to him as a citizen.

This paper is a study of the social ideas in the dramas of Benito Pérez Galdós.

A study of the influence of Negro slavery on Emerson's concept of freedom.

Yes / This project built on research from university and employer perspectives exploring relationships between expectations of employers, professional bodies, students and universities on what constitutes a good work placement. Qualitative information on good practice was gathered in order to identify areas for improving placement practice and to illuminate employer engagement processes. Impact and benefits of different approaches to placements and curricula and/or staff Continuing Professional Development (CPD) implications were identified, together with recommendations on how improvements in understanding are shared and disseminated among employer groups and universities. Findings included that, although there were already guidelines on placement practice from a number of bodies, good practice identified at a wide range of points seemed more the result of academic staff drawing on their own experience, formed in the light of good knowledge of professional institution requirements, rather than use of guidelines. Employers mentioned professional institution requirements almost as a matter of course. That guidelines are not used as intended by those that produce them may be a general tendency, but this project¿s guidelines specifically reflect the organised voice of employers thanks to the involvement of their senior groupings, Sector Skills Councils and similar, in addition to individual employers. This project¿s guidelines are also more up to date than others identified, including particular issues affecting provision of placements that may face universities over the next few years. Students seem to recognise the benefits of placements more in retrospect than in advance. Some universities seem more flexible than others, adapting provision of placements as economic and other conditions have changed and to meet the needs of employers and placements. As one employer put it, ¿employers gravitate towards universities that make it easier¿. Employers also want to see academic credit awarded for placement learning and understandable processes with which they can help in support of this. The guidelines will be made available through a number of channels. / Royal Academy of Engineering

A rule-based expert system was developed to evaluate landscape quality from the perspective of a landscape designer/architect. The rationale for the development of such a system is that it can provide explanations for final assessments and retain this information during the reasoning process. The system also provides for systematic consideration of a broad range of variables with complex interrelationships. The entire system is composed of four subsystems programmed in VPI PROLOG. These subsystems are each separate expert systems for the assessment of <u>man-made features</u>, <u>natural features</u>, <u>spatial organization</u> and <u>visual composition</u>. The prototype of the system has been preliminarily tested and the results of the evaluation of selected landscape photographs is encouraging. The visual quality determination along with the explicit explanations, which are the translation and interpretation of the expert rules used in the reasoning process, were shown to be important in achieving a better understanding and evaluation of the landscape visual quality. / Master of Science

Hokie BugFest is an annual free event designed by the Entomology Department at Virginia Tech to translate the importance of entomology to the public. The event has grown from 2,000 attendees in 2011 to over 8,000 attendees in 2017. Entomology faculty, staff, graduate students and alumni partner with Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia 4-H, and other entities to provide an educational experience to the public. The goal of this outreach event is to showcase entomological research, increase public awareness, elevate the appreciation of entomology, develop better public perceptions of insects and other arthropods, and educate participants about pesticide safety and pest management practices. Although many institutions host entomology outreach events like Hokie BugFest (Frazier, 2002; Hamm and Rayor, 2007; Hvenegaard et al., 2013), little research has been conducted to compare the impact of these activities. Whether these events impact public attitudes toward insects and other arthropods is also lacking (Pitt and Shockley, 2014). Several studies have been conducted in other states to investigate public attitudes toward arthropods and pesticides (Baldwin et al., 2008; Byrne et al., 1984; Frankie and Levenson, 1978; Hahn and Ascerno, 1991; Potter and Bessin, 1998); however, research is missing in Virginia. In order to contribute to this literature, three surveys were developed. One survey focused on investigating entomology outreach events similar to Hokie BugFest. Results revealed that event structure, attendance, funding sources, and popular exhibits impact the hosting institution and the surrounding communities. The other two surveys focused on gauging the impacts Hokie BugFest has on youth and adult attendees. Results indicated the event has a positive impact on attendee perceptions of insects, other arthropods, and pesticides. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / Each year, the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech hosts Hokie BugFest, a free event designed to emphasize the importance of entomology to the public. The event began in 2011 and has grown from 2,000 attendees to over 8,000 attendees in 2017. Hokie BugFest is collaboratively organized by Entomology faculty, staff, graduate students and alumni who partner with Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia 4-H, and other entities to provide an educational experience to the public. The goal of this outreach event is to showcase entomological research, increase public awareness and appreciation of entomology, and educate attendees about pesticide safety and pest management practices. Although many institutions host entomology outreach events like Hokie BugFest, little is known of the impact of these activities and how they influence public attitudes toward entomology. Information is available for other states concerning public attitudes toward arthropods and pesticides, however is lacking in Virginia. In order to contribute to this body of work, this study focused on investigating entomology outreach events similar to Hokie BugFest. Results revealed information on event structure, attendance, funding sources, popular exhibits, and impacts on the hosting institution and surrounding communities. This study also focused on gauging the impacts of Hokie BugFest on youth and adult attendees. Results indicated the event has a positive impact on attendee perceptions of insects, other arthropods, and pesticides.

No description available.

This study determined and compared the views of New River Community College graduates and leavers of occupational programs on the optimal amount and importance of general education. Data were collected via mail and telephone surveys from a random sample of 400 New River Community College occupational graduates and leavers. Specifically, subjects were asked to provide information pertaining to: actual proportions of general education taken, optimal amount of general education desired, importance of general education competencies, importance and number of general education classes taken, and demographic variables influencing program completion. Results suggested that actual amounts of general education differed from the optimal amount desired. All AAS and certificate graduates and leavers had taken proportionately more general education than desired, in particular certificate leavers. Analysis of the importance of general education competencies revealed that communication skills, critical thinking skills, mathematics skills, and vocational adjustment were rated high by all groups. Knowledge of arts and literature, knowledge of health and fitness, and ethical perspectives were rated as least important. Low correlations were common between importance and number of general education courses taken. The study identified sufficient consciousness among the groups surveyed to suggest that community college administrators should reevaluate required proportions of the general education component in the occupational curriculum. Focus should be placed on the amount of general education required in occupational programs, necessary outcomes of general education, and need of general education courses for occupational students. / Ed. D.

Yes / Integrating and extending new growth theory and resource-based views, this paper provides a theoretical foundation for the catch-up hypothesis. It examines the role of technology gap, technological capability, and cultural proximity in local firms’ catch-up with MNEs. Hypotheses are developed and tested with a dynamic model on a large firm-level panel dataset from Chinese manufacturing. The results confirm that catch-up is positively related to technology gap and technological capability. Furthermore, in the presence of cultural proximity, the speed of local Chinese firms’ catch-up with MNEs from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan is not significantly lower than that with other MNEs. / The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC: 71302179 and 71240026); the Project of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ministry of Education, China (Project No. 11XJA630001), and the “211 project” of the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.