The fabrication of new and novel materials contributes to qualitative enhancement of human life. Among the various branches of fabrication, nanolithography is an emerging neoteric fabrication technology. Even though nanofabrication procedures and the techniques can be precisely controlled through various error prevention techniques and algorithms, there is always a probability of human or instrumental error in a fabrication process. Minimization or rectification of errors during the fabrication process would increase the productivity and reduce cost per unit of the fabricated devices. Therefore there is a compelling need for an error rectification system. Compared to the number of techniques available for fabrication using nanolithography, the techniques available for error rectification are very limited. Successful implementation of more error rectification techniques may have a huge impact in device fabrication and manufacturing processes. The main focus our work is the development of a lithographic error rectification system that we named as Polymeric Submicron Editor (POSE). This system is made of submicron "pens" and "erasers" made from flexible polymers. The pens and erasers were made of polydiemethylsiloxane (PDMS) and agarose hydrogel respectively. They are fabricated by template synthesis from anisotropically track etched conical micropores in glass. The polymeric pens mounted to piezoelectric motors were used to deposit and remove submicron patterns driven by diffusion. This entire deposition system is housed on an inverted microscope to optically track and register the area of deposition so that if required it can be erased and rectified by agarose hydrogel erasers and PDMS pens. POSE can deposit, erase and rectify patterns with submicron resolution. Apart from the development of POSE, this process also led to the development of techniques for, (i) two dimensional gradient etching in tracked glass, (ii) mask less photolithography and with tracks etched glass and (iii) polymeric microfabrication which will also be covered in detail in this dissertation

The growing number of mobile devices used today and the increasing dependency on them in the workplace makes understanding how users interact with these devices critical. This study looks to find how different generational groups commit errors on different types of devices. Participants completed tasks consisting of word and character input on two different devices, a physical keypad and touchscreen device. The number of errors and types of error, corrected and permanent were collected for each participant. It was found that participants committed more errors when using character input and physical keypad devices but also corrected more of their errors when using them. When looking at number of errors and the amount of corrected errors, the optimal input content and input method paired combination is using word input on the key device. The results of this study can help guide industries in choosing the right devices for their users.

A large portion of irrigated soybean in Mississippi are planted on raised beds spaced 96.52 cm apart. There is recent interest in growing soybean in narrower rows. Previous research indicates that narrower row spacing can provide advantages over wider arrangements, including increased light interception, improved weed management and greater seed yield. Soybean was planted in 96.52 cm single rows, 96.52 cm twin rows and 50 cm rows on wide beds (200 cm) at three seeding rates. Canopy closure was monitored throughout the growing season. Soybean planted in narrow rows had consistently faster canopy closure than single rows at all site years. Similarly, there was a 10% to 13% seed yield advantage for the narrow row spacing over the single row spacing at each site year. With the introduction of novel technology, such as the twin row planter, comes equipment malfunction and/or misuse that could reduce seed yield. Producer decisions in the event of a planting/planter error can be challenging. The economic loss due to a planter error may vary by soil type due to differences in plant development. The purpose of this research is to determine the agronomic effects associated with multiple potential twin row planter errors on two distinct soil types across multiple maturity groups commonly found in Mississippi. Canopy closure of each planting error was monitored throughout the growing season. Seed yield was reduced by 9 to 18% when a whole twin row was missing compared to the untreated check at all site years.

The use of remotely sensed imagery (e.g. Landsat TM) for developing forest inventory strata has become increasingly more common in recent years as data have become more readily available. Errors are inherent with the use of this technology, either from user mis-classification of conditions represented in the imagery or due to flaws in the technology. Knowledge of these errors is important, as they can inflate the variance of inventory estimates. Forest inventory estimates from the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory (MIFI) were applied to determine the extent that classification errors affect volume and area estimates. Forest strata (e.g. hardwood, mixed, and pine) determined by the classification of imagery and used for inventory design were compared with field verification data obtained during the inventory. Mis-classified plots were reallocated to their correct strata and both area and volume estimates were obtained for both scenarios (i.e. mis-classified and correctly classified plots). The standard error estimates for mean and total volume decreased when plots were re-allocated to their correct strata. Mis-classification scenarios were then performed, introducing various levels of mis-classification in each stratum. When the scenarios were performed for the Doyle volume unit the statistical efficiencies were larger than for cubic foot volume. Care should be taken when utilizing moderate resolution satellite imagery such as Landsat TM as image mis-classification could lead to large losses in the precision of volume estimates. The increased efficiency obtained from a correct classification/forest stratification scheme, as demonstrated here, could lead to the exploration of additional image classification methods or the use of higher resolution satellite data. Knowledge of these errors in advance could be useful to investors seeking a minimum-risk area for a forest products mill location.

Numerical oceanographic models are constantly improving and must be validated when improvements are made. One means of determining how to improve these models and performing validations is to compare model predictions to the future observed outcome, which is measured many ways, including satellite imagery. Comparisons of model forecasts to future satellite images result in error measurements. One common problem with modern oceanographic models is spatial error, i.e., the incorrect placement and shape of ocean features, rendering traditional error metrics such as mean-square and cross-correlation ineffective. Such problems are common in meteorological forecast verification as well, so the application of spatial error metrics have been a recently popular topic in that field of study. Spatial error metrics separate model error into a displacement component and an amplitude component, providing a more reliable assessment of numerical model inaccuracies and a more descriptive portrayal of model prediction skill.The application of spatial error metrics to oceanographic models has been sparse, and significantly further advances exist in the medical imaging and registration field. These advances are presented, along with modifications necessary for application to oceanographic model output and satellite imagery. Standard approaches and options for those methods in the literature are explored, and where the best arrangements of options are unclear, comparison studies are conducted. The first of these trials require the reproduction of synthetic displacements in conjunction with synthetic amplitude perturbations across 480 Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) temperature fields from various regions of the globe throughout 2009. Results revealed the success of certain approaches novel to both meteorology and oceanography, including B-spline transforms and mutual information. That, combined with other common methods, such as quasi-Newton optimization and land masking, could best recover the synthetic displacements under various synthetic intensity changes. The second set of trials compare temperature fields from NCOM and Navy Layered Ocean Model (NLOM), both 1/16-degree and 1/32-degree, to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery. Lessons learned from the first trials were applied and extended. The resulting methods algorithmically reproduced portions of a previous hand-analyzed study and were successful in separating spatial from amplitude (temperature) errors.

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Introduction: This thesis hypothesized that synchronous feedback which is supportive in nature would have a positive impact on the learning and transfer of the skills of visual and auditory cue identification in osteopathic diagnostic procedures. It was believed that the positive impact of supportive feedback would be evident through accurate identification of both visual and auditory cues. The categories of cues were visually identifiable asymmetrical motion, visual or auditory expressions of pain, and visually identifiable cues of a possible soft tissue tear or motor nerve issue. Methods: All participants received the same video-based learning resource which was optimized for content (what/how) and cognition (why) followed by the same instructions for the practice phase. During the practice phase all participants were shown a video of a previously learned diagnostic procedure which contained visual and auditory cues. Between videos, participants were all asked the same questions in the same order. In the Supportive Feedback with Specific Content (SC) group participants would receive supportive comments regardless of accuracy of answers and, if they had identified an appropriate physical phenomenon but ascribed it to an incorrect category, they would receive feedback to correct the categorization error. The Supportive Feedback (S) group would receive supportive comments regardless of accuracy of answers but no feedback in relation to categorization errors. The No Feedback (NF) group would receive no supportive comments or feedback in relation to categorization errors. Responses were coded as accurate detection of cues, or categorization errors (detection of cues that were not there, or incorrect categorization of cues). Results: All groups performed similarly with respect to accurate identification of auditory and visual cues such that there was no identifiable impact in relation to group condition during both the practice and transfer phases. The SC group did commit less categorization errors (11.43%) when compared to the S (28.21%) and NF (31.43%) groups. Conclusion: The experimental findings supported the hypothesis that supportive feedback enhanced learning outcomes. While not demonstrated through accuracy of cue identification, this was demonstrated through a reduction in cue categorization errors. An additional hypothesis generated from the results of this thesis is that educational designs that allow for the commission of errors by learners followed by correction in the form of direct feedback or group lecture may predict faster attainment of expertise as noted in the reduction of errors. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Synchronous feedback has the ability to aid learning. It was hypothesized in this thesis that synchronous feedback that was supportive in nature would improve learning and transfer for learning the skill of visual and auditory cue identification in osteopathic diagnostic procedures. All participants received the same initial learning material, the same instructions for the practice phase of the experiment, and the same videos of a previously learned diagnostic procedure that they identified visual and diagnostic cues from. During the practice phase the three groups were the Supportive Feedback with Specific Content (SC), Supportive Feedback (S), and No Feedback (NF). The differences between groups were evident between diagnostic videos subsequent to the collection of answers for identified cues. The material differences were the delivery of supportive comments regardless of accuracy of answers (SC and S groups), the delivery of specific feedback when accurate cues were identified but placed in the wrong category (SC group only), or the absence of any commentary (NF group). All groups identified cues at similar levels such that the supportiveness of feedback showed no impact on performance. There was a notable difference between groups in relation to the commission of categorization errors where the SC group made less categorization errors with the S group and NF group committing errors at similar rates. The primary benefit of synchronous feedback in this experiment is that the instructor is able to identify errors and provide insight for correction.