The conventional tube-and-wing aircraft has been around since the 1950s, with little to no innovative progress being made towards redesigning the conventional aircraft. The blended wing body (BWB) shape fuses the wing of the aircraft with the fuselage increasing structural strength while also increasing potential surface area to create lift, making it more efficient than conventional wing shapes. Today aviation has a 2 % CO2 contribution to global emissions. Aircraft manufacturers are predicting a steady rise for the aviation industry. The contribution of green-house gases is set to increase exponentially. Hydrogen fuel cells could deem a good fit between traditional combustion engine aircraft and electrical aircraft having a high efficiency but also being fuel-based. This report investigates the possibility of a prototype model of the Project ''Green Raven'' from KTH of creating a hybrid fuel cell BWB UAV with a 4 m wingspan. The analytical data is from literature and available benchmark data. First, an electrically driven subscale prototype is made and tested, and then the full-scale model is made. The prototype is pro-posed to be driven by a single two-bladed propeller with 10 x 4.7-inch dimensions running at 10000-13000 rpm with a takeoff weight of 4 kg, where 0.75 kg of the weight was from 5 Li-Po batteries. Performance parameters were calculated by given data with a given cruise speed of 30 m/s and a cruise endurance of 1 hour. The prototype will fly for close to maximum load at climb with an angle of 6°. With the Li-Po batteries with a total of 11 Ah, the aircraft has more than 10 % to spare for safety reasons.

The purpose of this study was to examine the academic, social, and emotional effects of COVID-19 on 11th- and 12th-grade students. There has been little documentation regarding the specific change that the pandemic has had on these students; it is imperative that we look at the effects of COVID-19 on the students who experienced COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection was completed through individual interviews. Analysis of data occurred in three phases: (a) categorization of data under the four organizational factors, (b) building the explanation in a phenological form, and (c) re-examination of the data. The analysis of the narrative study was based on the theoretical proposition that the teachers were focused on the whole child and not just academic standards. The humanistic theory framework was established as teachers examined the influences in their classrooms based on the well-being of their students. The credibility of the analysis was protected by triangulation of data through multiple sources of evidence, establishment of a chain of evidence, and member checking. The results revealed that the main concerns were students attending school and getting the credits needed to graduate through both in-person classes and online learning. The themes that emerged were classroom management, relationship building, communication, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed learning, and the effects of COVID-19.

Seit 2012 haben die wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Institute der Universität Leipzig und der Technischen Universität Dresden mehrere Prototypen einer innovativen komplexen Online-Lehr-Lernumgebung entwickelt und getestet (Achtenhagen & John, 1992, Schlicht et al. 2017, S. 46). Der jüngste Prototyp wurde von 2017 bis 2021 in einem Blended-Research-Based-Learning (RBL)-Kurs zu Forschungsmethoden für Bachelor-Studierende an der Universität Leipzig getestet. Die zentrale Forschungsfrage lautete: Wie lernen Erstsemester der Wirtschaftswissenschaften mit dem Blended-RBL-Kurs zu Forschungsmethoden? Die zentrale Herausforderung bestand darin, die Studierenden auf systematische Weise an wissenschaftliches Denken heranzuführen (Sektion Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik, 2014, S. 6; Schlicht et al., 2017, S. 43). Darüber hinaus war weitere Forschung zum besseren Verständnis des Lernprozesses mit dem Blended-RBL-Kurs erforderlich (Dziuban et al. 2018; Klauser, 1998; Reinmann, 2016, 2011; Schlicht, 2021, Schlicht et al., 2017, S. 48). Ein quantitatives Design wurde verwendet, um die Lernergebnisse des Blended-RBL-Kurses zu analysieren (Isaac & Michael, 1995). In Anlehnung an die Definitionen für quasi-experimentelle Designs von Campbell und Stanley (1966) wurde ein Ein-Gruppen-Pretest-Posttest-Design durchgeführt. Interessanterweise zeigen die Ergebnisse einen vollständigen Mediationseffekt (Hayes, 2013) der intrinsischen Motivation zwischen der Akzeptanz und den Kenntnissen und Fähigkeiten. Die Akzeptanz ist signifikant und positiv mit der intrinsischen Motivation verbunden, der indirekte Effekt a ist mit 0,89 hoch. Der indirekte Effekt der intrinsischen Motivation auf Wissen und Fähigkeiten ist positiv signifikant und sein Wert b ist 0,43 und der direkte Effekt der Akzeptanz auf Wissen und Fähigkeiten c' ist 0,374. Der Gesamteffekt der Akzeptanz auf Kenntnisse und Fähigkeiten hat einen standardisierten Koeffizienten von 0,3644, was bedeutet, dass für jede Einheit, die wir die Zeichensetzung in der Akzeptanzskala verbessern können, eine Verbesserung um 0,3644 in der Skala der Kenntnisse und Fähigkeiten durch den indirekten Effekt der intrinsischen Motivation, der 0,3904 beträgt, erwartet wird. Obwohl die Motivation am Ende des Kurses abnahm, zeigt diese Studie, dass durch die Verbesserung der Akzeptanz erwartet wird, dass wir sowohl die Lernergebnisse, die intrinsische Motivation als auch die Kenntnisse und Fähigkeiten steigern können.:Contents List of Abbreviations V List of Tables VII List of Figures IX List of Equations XII 1 Introduction to Researching Blended Research-Based Learning in Business Higher Education 13 1.1 General Context for Innovative Blended Research-Based Learning Offers in Higher Education During Pandemic Times 13 1.2 Blended Research-Based Learning Background at Leipzig University 16 1.3 Problems in Researching Blended Learning in Business Higher Education 18 1.3.1 Research Gaps in Online and Blended Learning for Business Higher Education 18 1.3.2 Research Gap in Blended RBL for Business Higher Education 20 1.3.3 Evaluating a Blended RBL Course at Leipzig University 22 1.4 Purpose of the Study 24 1.5 Significance of the Study 24 1.6 Research Questions 26 1.7 Organization of the Study 27 2 Model Generation for the Influence of the Acceptance on the Learning Process for Blended Research-Based Learning 30 2.1 Understanding the Learning Concept and its Implications for PBL and RBL Environments 30 2.2 Blended Learning More Than a Sort of Online Learning 32 2.2.1 Three Approaches to Blended Learning Models 36 2.2.2 Pedagogical Aspects of Designing Blended Learning for Higher Education 39 2.2.3 Complex Teaching-Learning Environments in Business Higher Education 41 2.3 Problem-Based Learning in Connection to Research-Based Learning 43 2.4 Research-Based Learning Fosters Academic Thinking by Using the Three Basic Dimensions of Teaching that Promote Learning 46 2.4.1 Research-Based Learning at the Beginning of Studies 50 2.4.2 Research-Based Learning and Blended Delivery 54 2.5 Evaluation Aspects for Blended Research-Based Learning in Business Higher Education 56 2.6 Understanding Good Teaching in Higher Education 62 2.7 Knowledge and Skills Acquisition – Cognitive Facets in the Learning Process for Blended Research-Based Learning Environments 64 2.8 Motivation Facet in the Blended Research-Based Learning Process for Business Higher Education 68 2.9 Acceptance of Blended Learning Offers in Higher Education 73 2.10 Control Variables for the Blended RBL Study 80 2.11 Proposed Conceptual Model for the Relationship Between Acceptance, Motivation, and Knowledge and Skills in Blended Research-Based Learning 82 3 Longitudinal Research Design of the Learning Process and Acceptance within the Blended RBL Course at Leipzig University 88 3.1 General Settings of the Blended RBL Course on Research Methods 88 3.1.1 Blended RBL Course Description 89 3.1.2 Portrayal of the Complex Learning Environment and the Blended RBL Course on Research Methods 91 3.2 Implementing a Quasi-Experimental Design for Understanding the Learning Process and Acceptance Within the Blended RBL Course 95 3.3 General Description of the Sample and Participants 96 3.4 Learning Process and Acceptance Instrumentation 96 3.5 Instrument Validity and Reliability 98 3.5.1 Factor analysis for Motivation, Knowledge and Skills, and Acceptance 98 3.5.2 Normality Assumption for Motivation, Knowledge and Skills, and Acceptance 99 3.5.3 Extraction and Rotation Methods Selection for EFA 103 3.5.4 Bidimensional Scale for Motivation and Unidimensional Scales for Knowledge and Skills and Acceptance 103 3.5.5 Reliability Estimates for Motivation, Knowledge and Skills, and Acceptance 105 3.6 Data Collection Procedures and Analysis 107 4 Significant Gains on the Learning Process and High Acceptance of the Blended RBL Course at Leipzig University 109 4.1 Overview of the Evaluation Analysis at Leipzig University 109 4.2 Sample Descriptive Statistics 109 4.3 Knowledge and Skills on Research Methods Increased After Attending the Blended RBL Course 110 4.4 Motivation Levels Remain Stable During the Blended RBL Course 113 4.5 The Blended RBL Course on Research Methods Achieved High Acceptance Among Business Education Students 119 4.6 Evidence of Associations Between Motivation, Knowledge and Skills, and Acceptance 121 4.7 Intrinsic Motivation and Acceptance as Good Predictors for Knowledge and Skills Acquisition 125 4.8 Total Mediation Effect of Intrinsic Motivation Between Acceptance and Knowledge and Skills 131 5 Discussion and Conclusion 137 5.1 Discussion of the Findings 137 5.2 Limitations 145 5.3 Implications for Practice 146 5.4 Recommendations for Future Research 148 References 151 Appendix A 194 Pre-test and Post-test Questionnaires in German and English 194 Appendix B 198 Histograms and Q-Q Plots by Item 198 Histograms and Q-Q Plots by Variable 212 Appendix C 214 Student’s Semester by Intrinsic Motivation 214 Appendix D 216 Nonparametric Correlations Between the Study’s Variables 216 Declaration of academic integrity according to § 8 par. 2 (1.) 218 Declaration of academic integrity according to § 8 par. 2 (2.) 219

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Students enrolled in accounting courses often struggle because of the complexity of the topic. Accounting instructors have searched for effective means of fostering student success, but the learning process continues to change. Critical thinking and problem solving abilities are vital for students and future professionals. Thus, teaching should not be limited to the transmission of information. By moving the dissemination of basic knowledge outside the classroom inversed learning allows class time for deep dives into complex topics and hands-on activities. Students who are actively involved in learning tend to be more successful in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to determine how undergraduate students in an intermediate accounting course respond to an inversed classroom structure as it relates to financial accounting. A quasi-experimental, quantitative approach was used to investigate whether the academic performance of students who received instruction in a flipped classroom significantly differed from students who received instruction in a traditional classroom. Subgroups of students within the treatment group were examined to determine their response to the intervention. The study was completed over 2 semesters. Participants were determined by pre-existing groups. Students enrolled in an intermediate accounting course during the spring 2018 semester received instruction in a traditional manner. Students enrolled in the same course during the fall 2018 semester were taught using the inversed model. The researcher for this study also served as the instructor for both groups. Academic achievement was measured by student performance on four exams administered during each semester. Six research questions were addressed using MANOVA, ANOVA, and multiple regression analyses. The results indicated students generally perform better in the inversed learning environment than in the traditionally formatted classroom. Although the comparisons were not statistically significant, students in the flipped classroom did achieve higher scores on 3 of the 4 exams. No significant interaction was found between the classroom environment and gender or learning style. Both college GPA and gender were found to be significant predictors of academic performance. The findings from this study may support faculty in the enrichment of college curriculum by promoting active learning.

Two ideas are prevalent in teacher professional development today. Teachers are finding new and innovative ways to incorporate technology into their classroom. The use of video and social media is increasing. One type of pedagogy that has emerged among the blended learning pedagogies is flipped instruction, where students participate in some of the instruction outside of the classroom. Another prevalent idea is the focus on inquiry learning and reform-based mathematics instruction. This pedagogy adheres to the idea that students can use their problem solving skills to understand complex mathematics. This qualitative content analysis outlines how one researcher sought to find a balance between the two ideas. The two ideas conflicted at times, but the researcher ultimately found innovative ways to reconcile those conflicts. The study describes how one fourth-grade class used a website to engage in mathematics conversations in a blended learning environment. This blended learning environment maintained the values of a reform-based mathematics classroom. The researcher found that students engaged in conversation online contained instances where students formed theories, questioned one another's theories, built on the thinking of other students, used precise and formal language, and used evidence to support student thinking. Teachers that implement blended learning or flipped instruction should seek out methods that adhere to an inquiry approach to teaching mathematics. The researcher also found that the development of a student in a particular conceptual understanding may have an impact on the depth of conversation they engage in.

Purpose - This dissertation in practice is an evaluation study conducted at Iowa State University, entitled, Learning Ecosystem Assessment Review of Needs (LEARN). The evaluation posed these questions: (a) What educational technologies are currently used and what technologies will be needed in the future? (b) What are the attitudes and practices of faculty and students toward online and blended learning? (c) What academic technology support services are used? What are the perceptions of the support provided for the application of academic technologies? Methodology/design - The study was a mixed-methods design employing interviews with deans and focus groups and surveys of faculty and students. Findings - Iowa State University faculty and students use a wide array of academic technologies both in physical and virtual classrooms. The prevailing sentiment regarding the need for future academic technologies is not for new offerings and new features but for easier to use, more reliable technologies, and more timely support. Although Iowa State University has formally adopted online learning by offering numerous programs and courses, the university is in the early stages of adopting blended learning. Implications - The results and implications of the study inform the university on next steps to ready the institution for leveraging technology and preparing for the transformation toward strategic adoption of online and blended learning. The author outlines an organizational learning approach to manage change and promote adoption of blended learning.

Online education has received excessive attention in recent decades as its characteristics and potential have undergone intense debate and scrutiny. Similar debate and scrutiny surround the content of first-year composition (FYC) courses. As we continue to define what composition studies entails, we redefine what we study in FYC. Yet discussions of blended delivery mode---using both online and on-ground teaching methods---get lost amid these debates. This dissertation addresses the dearth of research on blended online writing instruction by asserting the essential nature of connections between the content and the delivery of FYC courses. Through case studies of two experienced instructors teaching FYC in a blended environment for the first time, this dissertation evaluates the composition--both as a noun and as a verb-of FYC courses in light of the technology involved. Through an analysis of interviews with instructors, students, and faculty involved with FYC, I highlight the points of contact--the interfaces-that themselves create the experience of a class. This analysis applies interface theory from rhetoric and composition to the pedagogical acts of teaching FYC and reveals how attention to classroom interfaces can benefit our pedagogy. This project also incorporates student performance data (in the form of portfolio evaluations), student perception data (in the form of surveys), and comparative institutional data (in the form of website analysis) to better understand the varied causes, effects, and implementations of blended learning. By looking outside the classroom environment, I show how schools influence the way blended courses are perceived by those who create them. The differences in student and instructor expectations for this kind of class emerged as particularly influential in determining how successful a blended course can be. The perspective taken by an instructor in terms of experience and expertise also emerged as a significant determinant of perceived success, particularly for instructors themselves. This dissertation reveals the delicate balance instructors must navigate between relying on expertise in the field and exploring the course delivery as a novice. This balance allows instructors to be responsive, flexible, and dynamic in their classes while also assisting students in their efforts to better understand FYC course content. Overall, this dissertation defines and advocates for a hybrid approach to FYC instruction as an essential evolution of our pedagogical praxis. Students lead increasingly hybrid lives and learn in increasingly hybrid ways. Instructors must adopt hybridity in their classes to accommodate not only students' changing learning styles but also the changing nature of composition as a field and writing as its subject matter. And finally, institutions must consistently define and implement principles of hybridity to help reduce confusion and frustration across the disciplines. Suggestions for educators and institutions alike are provided to help meet the needs of today's students.

Orthophosphates and polyphosphates are rarely present at significant levels in raw water source but are purposefully added to the water in various forms to inhibit corrosion, iron oxidation (red water), or calcium carbonate precipitation (scale formation). Orthophosphates serve as building blocks for polyphosphates, which includes structures in linear chain, branched chains (metaphosphate) and "glassy" polyphosphate polymers. The advantage of polyphosphates over ortho phosphates lies in the fact that they slowly revert to orthophosphates and thus provide corrosion inhibition action over longer period of time in distribution systems. A study was completed for Tampa Bay Water on water distribution systems in a changing water quality environment. Blended orthophosphates was used as one of the corrosion inhibitors to study its effects on metal release and thus justify its application in comparison to other corrosion inhibitors like orthophosphates, zinc orthophosphates and silicates. This work focuses on the study of reversion of polyphosphates to ortho phosphates. A first-order model was developed that quantifies reversion as a function of the hydraulic residence time and initial poly phosphate concentration. The same model was used in two different forms - one for the hybrid lines and the other for single material lines. The results from single material lines (estimated by a non linear least square regression using ANOVA) showed that the reversion rate was highest for galvanized pipe followed by unlined cast iron, lined cast iron and the lowest rate in PVC. The first-order reversion rate constant in PVC was almost two log orders less than galvanized line. A high first-order rate constant for the galvanized pipe could be attributed to a rougher surface, large surface area, reaction with the wall surface, pipe material or a combination of these effects. The results from the hybrid PDSs (estimated by an algebraic manipulation of the first-order reaction) substantially agree with the results obtained from the single material lines, with the exception of the PVC material. The data from the hybrid lines confirms that the reversion rate constant is greatest for exposure to galvanized pipe materials, but the hybrid data indicate that the rate constant associated with PVC is somewhat larger than the constants determined for either LCI or UCI. Once an overall first-order rate expression was established, efforts were made to find a relation between polyphosphate reversions with bulk water quality. None of the major water quality parameters were found to significantly affect the reversion. This observation may be attributable to a similar water quality over the study duration. A positive correlation was found between first-order reversion rate constant and temperature. An empirical equation (modified Arrhenius equation) that relates the first-order reversion rate constant with temperature was developed that showed a strong sensitivity to temperature. The results from this study could be used to predict the stability of polyphosphates in distribution systems with varying pipe materials and temperature.

The impact of blended orthophosphate (BOP) inhibitor addition on the corrosion of iron, copper, and lead in drinking water distribution systems was studied under changing water quality environment. Release of iron, copper, and lead were monitored at varying inhibitor doses and changing blends of source waters (groundwater, surface water, and desalinated water). Solid corrosion products on pipe surfaces under BOP treatment were evaluated with surface characterization techniques. Performance of the BOP inhibitor was compared to other corrosion control strategies. Iron scales for iron and galvanized steel coupons incubated in different blended waters in the presence of BOP inhibitor were analyzed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) for surface composition. Identified iron corrosion products were ferric oxide (Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3O4), and hydrated ferric oxide (FeOOH), in addition to ferric phosphate (FePO4) on coupons exposed to BOP inhibitor. Variations of water quality did not significantly affect the distribution of solid iron forms on surface films. Thermodynamic modeling indicated siderite (FeCO3) was the controlling solid phase of iron release. XPS indicated addition of BOP inhibitor produced a solid phosphate film in the iron scale which could inhibit iron release. Impact of BOP, orthophosphate, and pH adjustment on iron release in a distribution system was examined. Iron release was sensitive to water quality variations (alkalinity and chloride) associated with source and blends of finished water. Finished waters with high alkalinity content (between 149 and 164 mg/L as CaCO3) consistently mitigated iron release regardless of inhibitor use. Dissolved iron constituted about 10% of total iron release. Empirical models were developed that related water quality, inhibitor type and dose to iron release. The BOP inhibitor minimized total iron release followed closely by increasing pH (between 7.9 and 8.1), while orthophosphate dose did not affect iron release. Temperature (ranged from 21.2 to 25.3) had limited influence on iron release with BOP treatment. Monitoring copper release showed that dissolved copper was the dominant form in the effluent, at about 88%. BOP inhibitor doses of 0.5 to 2.0 mg/L proved beneficial in controlling copper concentrations to an average of below 0.5 mg/L. Control of copper release improved with increasing BOP dose, despite changes in alkalinity. Elevation of pH by 0.3 unit beyond pHs (between 7.9 and 8.1) resulted in noticeable decrease in copper concentrations of about 30%, but was more sensitive to higher alkalinity (146 to 151 mg/L as CaCO3) than BOP treatment. Developed empirical models confirmed the importance of BOP inhibitor dose, pH increase, and alkalinity content on copper release. Statistical comparison of the corrosion control strategies proved the advantage of BOP inhibitor, at all doses, over pH elevation in controlling copper release. The BOP inhibitor mitigated lead release below action level, and consistently outperformed pH elevation, in all water quality conditions. XPS analysis identified lead dioxide (PbO2), lead oxide (PbO), cerussite (PbCO3), and hydrocerussite (Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2) as the corrosion products in the scale of lead/tin coupons exposed to BOP inhibitor. XPS and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis suggested cerussite or hydrocerussite is the controlling solid phase of lead release. Thermodynamic models for cerussite and hydrocerussite grossly over predicted actual concentrations. Solubility and equilibrium relationships suggested the possibility of a lead orthophosphate solid that would describe the effectiveness of BOP inhibitor, although no lead-phosphate solid was detected by surface analysis. BOP inhibitor appeared to have mitigated lead release by forming a surface film between lead scale and the bulk water.