Master of Architecture

The process of the architect involves the contradictory yet coexisting realms of form and order, the soul and the intellect, the nondiscursive and the literal. Meaning can be found in both worlds. The rational and linguistic manifests itself in the architectural; architecture, however, expresses ideas as art and reveals that which is verbally ineffable. / Master of Architecture

Master of Architecture

Master of Architecture

Groundspace to bury the deceased has become a rare commodity. As an alternative, cemeteries are beginning to build large high density mausoleums to house the dead above ground. As I began to study the building type of a mausoleum, an issue perturbed me: As time passes, the loved ones of the deceased will pass on and no longer come to visit or care for the building. Most likely there will be a lack of funds, the building will no longer be maintained. The building will eventually deteriorate and become a ruin. What happens to the mortal remains? The conventional cemetery does not have to consider this issue, as the bodies are simply allowed to deteriorate in the ground, and the grave marker is able to withstand much more abuse than a building. The manner in which I have addressed this issue is to design the mausoleum to potentially become a ruin, and thus the mortal remains are returned to the earth. “FOR DUST YOU ARE AND TO DUST YOU WILL RETURN.” (GEN 3:19 NIV) / Master of Architecture

Every architect’s work is a set of conditions which, through various relations, may add frequently does have a significant influence on all who participate in the built environment. At the same time, both architects and their work are constantly exposed to various changing relations. When one considers the network of those mutual influences of which an architect and his environment are elements, “form” may be seen as the positioning of an object within a network of conditions and their relations. This network includes visual characteristics of an object, imposed by the architect, and those independent of him, which are culturally conditioned. Such a network constitutes what is understood by “form” in this project. Among visual relations, I have chosen to recognize for example rhythm, contrast, balance, proportions and transparency. The culturally implied (given) relations are, for example, ownership, use, tradition, fashion. All these relations, imposed by an architect and implied by a culture, reveal only a small fraction of this relational network, of which I have consciously chosen to consider only a few. Within this framework, the term “function” would describe a momentary suspension of the dynamics of the network of relations. It is called momentary because all of the elements are in contrast change. Consequently, so are their relations with other elements and, therefore, the overall aspect of the form. Function allows the “freezing” of the network in order to make the observation and critique of the object possible. Such observation can be performed only within certain imposed boundaries, since the entire framework, and consequently, both form and function, are limitless in their nature. Those boundaries reveal certain aspects of the object which are constituted from groups of considerations, which in this project are called “conditions”. Some of the “conditions” are later mentioned in the book a plan, elevation, shape. Since all of them resemble each other in their tendency towards balance, different parts of the project perform in a similar way. / Master of Architecture

To incorporate users' opinions into the evaluation phase early in the software documentation development stage, the critical incident technique was used to identify usability problems in a fault free software user document. The critical incidents were used to modify the original document to improve its usability. To test whether the modified document was better in usability than the original document, an experiment was conducted to compare objective measures and subjective ratings. Four objective measures included number of errors, task completion time, document reading time, and number of personal helps requested. In addition, subjective ratings on ease of use, accuracy of information, inconsistencies, ease of learning, completeness, helpfulness of figures, and ease of understanding were compared between the two documents. The analyses showed that for 3 of 4 objective measures and 7 out of 9 subjective ratings, the new document was better and easier to use. In some cases, this difference was task specific. Generally, easier tasks accounted for better objective measures and more favorable subjective ratings. / Master of Science

Model-following control design methodology is introduced for nonlinear plants and models. The plant equations are considered to be linear in the control input. Dynamic matching conditions are presented and the resulting error dynamics are given. The stability of error dynamics is ensured, using Liapunov's second theorem; by modifying the model state rates, which effectively introduces error feedback. The methodology is applied to two problems. Motion control of an n-link manipulator with torque controllers on each linkage, and control of an aircraft lacking direct control of lift and side force. The former represents the systems where all of the degrees of freedom can be controlled, and the latter represents the systems where only some of the degrees of freedom can be controlled. The aircraft control problem is analyzed in more detail. The resulting control law does not require any explicit gain scheduling, but instead, requires estimates of the stability and control derivatives. A method is proposed to compensate for actuator dynamics. The control law is then verified by simulating some maneuvers on the aircraft model provided for the AIAA Controls Design Challenge, which includes nonlinear and full-envelope aerodynamic and engine models, and rate and position limited controls. The maneuvers simulated include a level acceleration and a 3-g turn. / Master of Science

Previous investigations have shown that metabolic rate remains elevated for a period of time after the cessation of exercise. While other investigations have examined the effect of intensity and duration of prior exercise, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of exercise mode and the employment of different muscle masses on the elevation of post-exercise metabolic rate (EPOC). Fifteen non-smoking, physically active females (21.1 ± 1.3 years; 21.4 ± 4.6 %BF) volunteered for this investigation. Each subject completed a graded maximal exercise test (GXT) on the Monark 880 cycle ergometer (Max HR=192.5 ± 2.3 bpm; Max V02=2.68 ± O.lll/min; Max RPE=19.5 ± 0.1) from which a heart rate corresponding to 70% V02max was chosen. Subjects then exercised on either a Monark 880 cycle ergometer (LE) or the Schwinn Airdyne (ALE) in random order for thirty minutes at the prescribed heart rate (HR). Exercise bouts were separated from each other and from the GXT by at least 48 hours. Workloads were monitored in five minute intervals and adjusted to maintain the appropriate heart rate. The mean exercise heart rates were 172.5 ± 2.8 bpm for the LE bout and 170.0 ± 2.8 bpm for the ALE bout, respectively. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed no significant difference \r >0.05) between exercise treatments in terms of HR or V02. Repeated measures trend analYSis revealed no significant difference in either EPOC or post-exercise heart rate between the two treatments across a one-hour seated recovery period. There was also no significant difference (p>O.05) in excess post-exercise caloric expenditure during the recovery period as a result of the different exercise treatments. Therefore, this suggests that neither exercise modality nor the distribution of work over a larger muscle mass had an effect on EPOC when exercise intensity and duration were held constant. / Master of Science

This study investigated the effects of group cohesiveness on group conformity, and on member satisfaction. In this study, group cohesiveness, group conformity, and member satisfaction were considered to be constructs. The definition of the construct of group cohesiveness included the interrelated components of psychological closeness, interpersonal liking, group affiliation, and trust. The definition of group conformity included the components of compliance and acceptance. The definition of member satisfaction included the components of satisfaction with the group decision, satisfaction with the group process, and satisfaction with the group atmosphere. The major research hypotheses suggested that group cohesiveness has an effect on member satisfaction, on acceptance of social influence, and on compliance with the group. The study examined also the role of the moderating variables of self-esteem, sociometric status, and gender. A total of 77 undergraduate students at Virginia Tech participated in a decision-making experiment. The students were led to believe they were assigned to congenial work groups based on their responses to pre-experimental questionnaires. In fact, the students were randomly assigned to groups, and randomly assigned to one of the two treatment conditions high or low cohesiveness. Verbal and written manipulation instructions were used to induce high and low cohesiveness in the groups. This manipulation was significant, and moderately successful. During the experiment, the subjects had to work on two rank-ordering exercises as individuals, and as groups. The experimental results suggested that group cohesiveness and member satisfaction are significantly correlated. Subjects who perceived their group to be highly cohesive were more satisfied with the experimental group meeting than subjects who perceived their group to be less cohesive. There was no evidence for a relationship between group cohesiveness and acceptance of social influence. This finding, however, should not be generalized since it is possible that group cohesiveness has no immediate impact on acceptance in emerging groups. The results also suggest there is a relationship between group cohesiveness and compliance. Students who were assigned to the high cohesiveness treatment complied more frequently with their group than students who were assigned to the low cohesiveness treatment. / Master of Science