This thesis investigated children's school achievement in terms of an integration of three theories of achievement motivation. The three theoretical outlooks were expectancy-value theory (EVT), implicit theories of intelligence (ITI), and flow theory (FT). The first of two studies was an exploratory investigation of the effectiveness of each theory independently and combined to predict children's achievement in four school subjects. The subject areas were maths, reading, instrumental music and sport. Participants were 84 children (40 females and 44 males) aged 9 to 10 years, one of each child's parents, and school teachers of each child in the four subject areas. All data were collected through questionnaires based on the three models. The results indicated that EVT and FT but not ITI accounted for a significant amount of the variance in children's achievement, including effects for subject area and gender. A second confirmatory study tested EVT, FT and an integrated model for the prediction of achievement in maths, reading and instrumental music. The participants were a further 141 children (74 females and 67 males) aged 10 to 11 years, and a parent and teachers of each child. Data collection using questionnaires occurred early in the school year (Timel) and approximately five months later (Time2). For EVT, children and parents’ competence beliefs were significant predictors of children's achievement in each subject area. Females tended to believe themselves more competent at reading and instrumental music and also valued these subjects more highly than boys. Modeling results for flow theory indicated that children's emotional responses to classes (happiness and confusion) were significant predictors of achievement, the type of emotion varying between subject areas and time periods. Females generally had a more positive emotional reaction to reading and instrumental music classes than males did. The integrated model results indicated significant relationships between EVT and flow theories for each subject area, with EVT explaining most achievement variance in the integrated model. Children's and parents’ competence beliefs were the main predictors of achievement at Timel and 2, Subject area and gender differences were found which provide direction for future research. Anecdotal reports of parents and teachers often attest to individual differences in children's involvement in various school domains. Even among children of apparently similar intelligence, it is not uncommon to find one who likes nothing better than to work on a mathematics problem while another much prefers to read a novel or play a musical instrument Some children appear to achieve good results for most of the activities in which they are engaged while others achieve in a less consistent manner, sometimes particularly excelling in one activity. Some children respond to failure experiences with a determination to improve their performance in the future while others react with resignation and acceptance of their low ability. Some children appear to become totally absorbed in the activity of playing sport while others cannot wait for the game to end. The primary research objective guiding the current thesis is how children's thoughts and feelings about school subjects differ and are related to their school achievement. A perusal of the achievement motivation literature indicates several possible models and concepts that can be applied to explain individual differences in children's school achievement. Concepts such as academic self-concept, multiple intelligences, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, self-beliefs, competence beliefs, subjective task values, mastery and performance goals, ‘Flow’ experiences and social motivation are just some of the constructs used to explain children's achievement motivation, both within and between various activity domains. These constructs are proposed by researchers from different theoretical perspectives to achievement motivation. Although there is much literature relevant to each perspective, there is little research indicating how the various perspectives may relate to each other. The current thesis will begin by reviewing three currently popular theoretical orientations cited in achievement motivation research: subjective beliefs and values; implicit theories of intelligence, and flow experience and family complexity. Following this review, a framework will be proposed for testing the determinants of children's school achievement, both within each of the three theoretical perspectives and also in combination.

Driving aim of this study was to develop a solver which is accurate enough to be used in analysis and fast enough to be used in optimization purposes. As a first step, a three-dimensional potential flow solver is developed using Fast Multipole Boundary Element (FMBEM) for calculating the pressure distributions in non-lifting flows. It is a steady state solver which uses planar triangular unstructured mesh. After the geometry is introduced, the program creates a prescribed wake surface attached to the trailing edge(s), obtains a solution using panel elements on which the doublet and source strengths vary linearly. The reason for using FMBEM instead of classical BEM is the availability of solutions of systems having DOFs up to several millions within a few hours using a standard computer which is impossible to accomplish with classical BEM. Solutions obtained for different test cases are compared with the analytical solution (if applicable), the experimental data or the results obtained by JavaFoil.

Traffic oscillations, or simply stop-and-go waves, are a common phenomenon arising in congested traffic but still not well understood. This phenomenon causes broad adverse impacts to safety risk, fuel efficiency and greenhouse emission. To eliminate or reduce those impacts, understanding the cause and propagation mechanism is essential. This dissertation studied driving behavior in traffic oscillations with the objective to uncover the formation and propagation mechanism of traffic oscillations. This study establishes a behavioral car-following model, the Asymmetric Behavioral model, based on empirical trajectory data that is able to reproduce the spontaneous formation and ensuing propagation of traffic oscillations in congested traffic. By analyzing individual drivers' car-following behavior throughout oscillation cycles it is found that this behavior is consistent across drivers and can be captured by a simple model. The statistical analysis of the model's parameters reveals that driver' behavior during oscillation (i.e., reaction to oscillation) is strongly correlated with driver behavior before oscillations and it varies with the development stage of the oscillation. Simulation of the model shows that it is able to produce characteristics of traffic oscillations consistently with empirical observations. This study also unveils the generation mechanism of the traffic hysteresis phenomenon arising in traffic oscillations using the Asymmetric Behavioral model. It is found that the occurrence of traffic hysteresis is closely correlated with driver behavior when experiencing traffic oscillations. In the growth and fully-developed stage of traffic oscillations, drivers behave differently, which results in different distribution of hysteresis patterns. This research makes it possible to unveil new management and control strategies of traffic oscillations to improve traffic operation and to quantify the environmental and safety impacts of traffic oscillations. For example, it can be used to estimate the increase of greenhouse emission and decrease of fuel efficiency imposed by traffic oscillations. It can also be used to study the increase of accident rate.

Driver psychology is one of the most difficult phenomena to model in the realm of traffic flow theory because mathematics often cannot capture the human factors involved with driving a car. Over the past several decades, many models have attempted to model driver aggressiveness with varied results. The recently proposed Longitudinal Control Model (LCM) makes such an attempt, and this paper offers evidence of the LCM's usefulness in modeling road dynamics by analyzing deceleration rates that are commonly associated with various levels of aggression displayed by drivers. The paper is roughly divided into three sections, one outlining the LCM's ability to quantify forces between passive and aggressive drivers on a microscopic level, one describing the LCM's ability to measure aggressiveness of platoons of drivers, and the last explaining the meaning of the model’s derivative. The paper references some attempts to capture driver aggressiveness made by classic car-following models, and endeavors to offer some new ideas in study of driver characteristics and traffic flow theory.

Denna studie ämnar undersöka användarupplevelse i digitala miljöer med inriktning engagemang inom digitala sociala nätverk. Studien syftar till att ge en fördjupad förståelse kring området användarupplevelse inom hedoniska motivationssystem (HMS) med fokus på vad som skapar engagemang inom digitala sociala nätverk. Som ett hjälpmedel att på ett strukturerat sätt förklara användarupplevelser och hur engagemang uppkommer har det teoretiska ramverket Hedonic-motivation System Adoption Model, HMSAM, applicerats. De begrepp som användes var användarvänlighet, upplevd användarnytta, nyfikenhet, glädje, kontroll och fördjupat engagemang. För att bättre förstå begreppet fördjupat engagemang har även flow-teorin fungerat som teoretisk bas. Då studien syftade till att ge en fördjupad förståelse kring ett fenomen har dess ansats varit kvalitativ där semi-strukturerade intervjuer använts som datainsamlingsmetod. En innehållsanalys kopplat till teman användes i syfte att strukturera och tematisera den insamlade empirin. Resultatet visade att intresse nämndes inom samtliga teman och hade en stark korrelation till uppkomsten av engagemang. Detta var dock beroende av dess konsumerande kontext. Om det konsumerades i en kontext som inte främjar det fördjupade engagemangets uppkomst, tenderar det att förlora dess betydelse. Vidare framkom att kontroll spelar en viktig roll i sammanhanget då en upplevd bristande kontroll bidrar till en negativ användarupplevelse. Detta visades dock vara komplext då ett fördjupat engagemang delvis innefattar en bristande kontroll i form av förlorad självmedvetenhet och tidsuppfattning. Det spekuleras om de övertygande tekniker som används i dessa digitala sammanhang kan ha någon koppling till den upplevda negativa kontrollbristen. Studien kan ses som ett första steg i en designprocess för framtagande av digitala sociala tjänster med användaren i fokus, med inriktning engagemang och positiv användarupplevelse. / This study aims to examine user experience in digital environments with a focus on engagement within social networking sites. The study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the area of ​​user experience in hedonic motivation systems with a focus on what creates engagement in social networking sites. As a tool to explain user experiences in a structured way and how engagement arises, the theoretical framework Hedonic-motivation System Adoption Model, HMSAM, has been applied. The concepts used were perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, curiosity, joy, control, and immersion. To better understand the concept of the strong engagement named immersion, flow theory has also served as a theoretical basis. Since the study aimed to provide an in-depth understanding of a phenomenon, its approach has been qualitative where semi-structured interviews were used as a data collection method. A content analysis linked to themes was used to structure and thematize the collected empirical data. The results showed that interest was mentioned in all themes and had a strong correlation to the emergence of engagement. However, this was dependent on its consuming context. If it was consumed in a context that does not promote the emergence of immersion, it tends to lose its significance. Furthermore, it emerged that control plays an important role in the context as a perceived lack of control contributes to a negative user experience. However, this proved to be complex as immersion partly includes a lack of control in the form of loss of self-consciousness and time distortion. It is speculated that persuasive technology that is used in these digital contexts may have some connection to the perceived negative lack of control. The study can be seen as a first step in a design process for the development of user-centered social networking sites, with a focus on engagement and positive user experience.

彈幕作為一種新型的實時評論工具，源自日本，發展至中國大陸後被廣泛應用到電影、電視、影音網站、廣告、電子書等諸多領域。隨著彈幕經濟的增長，這個源自於ACG（Animation、Comic、Game）產業的小眾文化漸漸走入大眾視野，彈幕背後的生活方式正在被越來越多的人接受，彈幕影音的使用者也呈現爆發式的增長。 本研究以中國大陸的彈幕影音為例，試圖以沈浸理論來探討彈幕觀影行為。本研究希望探討閱聽眾在彈幕觀影中的沈浸過程，以挑戰與技巧、目的來探討閱聽眾的彈幕觀影的沈浸前因，以愉悅感、注意力和時間扭曲來探討彈幕觀影的沈浸經驗，以使用意願來探討彈幕觀影沈浸的結果。 本研究收集有效問卷556份，結果發現彈幕觀影的沈浸包含愉悅感、時間扭曲感兩項，彈幕觀影技巧、彈幕觀影的目的對彈幕觀影沈浸有顯著正向影響；彈幕閱聽眾的沈浸狀態則會顯著正向影響其使用意願。

O modelo tradicional de ensino está pautado em uma educação bancária, prioritariamente informativa, desestimulante e descontextualizada de seu momento histórico, que é caracterizado pela informação de fácil acesso e comunicação em esfera global. Neste panorama, pesquisas apontam que os estudantes vêm apresentando baixo desempenho em ciências. Há, portanto, a necessidade de estudos que levem em consideração esta realidade educacional no intuito de propor estratégias inovadoras de ensino. Neste cenário, games digitais apresentam grande potencialidade, pois são atrativos, contribuem para o desenvolvimento cognitivo e podem propiciar o desenvolvimento de preceitos científicos. O grande problema é que, apesar de atraírem legiões de jogadores, games digitais comerciais geralmente não apresentam grandes preocupações pedagógicas, uma vez que não são desenvolvidos para esta finalidade. Ainda que se pense nos games digitais educativos, estes apresentam características antagônicas aos comerciais, pois são normalmente constituídos de um arcabouço excessivo de informações, sem muita preocupação com aspectos imersivos. Assim, na tentativa de correlacionar ensino de ciências com os aspectos epistemológicos presentes nos games digitais educativos e com os aspectos imersivos presentes nos games digitais comerciais, o objetivo deste trabalho consiste no desenvolvimento de uma tipologia e na criação de uma matriz de análise para jogos com potencial para uso educacional. Na etapa teórica do projeto, desenvolvemos a fundamentação da matriz, baseada em três elementos constituintes. São eles: Referencial educativo, baseado na Teoria Antropológica do Didático; Imersão, baseada na Teoria do Flow; e Mecânica Lúdica. Posteriormente, verificamos a aplicabilidade da tipologia e da matriz na análise de jogos e das interações entre jogadores e situações de jogo. É importante destacar que a pesquisa foi desenvolvida com alunos do ensino médio de uma escola pública da rede estadual de ensino de São Paulo. Dentre os resultados obtidos, destaca-se correlação entre aspectos imersivos e praxeológicos das plataformas de jogos. / The traditional Teaching model is based on a banking education, primarily informative, discouraging and decontextualized of its historical moment, which is characterized by information of easy access and communication in global sphere. In this panorama, research shows that students have been performing poorly in science. Therefore, there is a need for studies that take into account this educational reality in order to propose innovative teaching strategies. In this scenario, digital games present great potentiality, as they are attractive, contribute to cognitive development and can foster the development of scientific precepts. The big problem is that, despite attracting legions of players, commercial digital games generally do not present major pedagogical concerns as they are not developed for this purpose. Although digital educational games are thought of, they present characteristics antagonistic to the commercial ones, since they are usually constituted of an excessive information framework, without much concern with immersive aspects. Thus, in an attempt to correlate science with the epistemological aspects present in digital educational games and with the immersive aspects present in commercial digital games, The objective of this work is the development of a typology and the creation of an analysis matrix for games with potential for educational use. In the theoretical stage of the project, we developed the foundation of the matrix, based on three constituent elements: Educational Reference, based on the Didactic Anthropological Theory (TAD); Immersion, based on Flow Theory; And playful Mechanics. Subsequently, we verified the applicability of typology and matrix in game analysis and interactions between players and game situations. It is important to highlight that the research was developed with high school students of a Public School of the State of São Paulo. Among the results obtained, there is a correlation between immersive and praxeological aspects of gaming platforms.

Traditionally, the design of complex aerospace systems requires iteration among segregated disciplines such as aerodynamic modeling and trajectory optimization. Multidisciplinary design optimization algorithms have been developed to efficiently orchestrate the interaction among these disciplines during the design process. For example, vehicle capability is generally obtained through sequential iteration among vehicle shape, aerodynamic performance, and trajectory optimization routines in which aerodynamic performance is obtained from large pre-computed tables that are a function of angle of attack, sideslip, and flight conditions. This numerical approach segregates advancements in vehicle shape design from advancements in trajectory optimization. This investigation advances the state-of-the-art in conceptual hypersonic aerodynamic analysis and trajectory optimization by removing the source of iteration between aerodynamic and trajectory analyses and capitalizing on fundamental linkages across hypersonic solutions. Analytic aerodynamic relations, like those derived in this investigation, are possible in any flow regime in which the flowfield can be accurately described analytically. These relations eliminate the large aerodynamic tables that contribute to the segregation of disciplinary advancements. Within the limits of Newtonian flow theory, many of the analytic expressions derived in this investigation provide exact solutions that eliminate the computational error of approximate methods widely used today while simultaneously improving computational performance. To address the mathematical limit of analytic solutions, additional relations are developed that fundamentally alter the manner in which Newtonian aerodynamics are calculated. The resulting aerodynamic expressions provide an analytic mapping of vehicle shape to trajectory performance. This analytic mapping collapses the traditional, segregated design environment into a single, unified, mathematical framework which enables fast, specialized trajectory optimization methods to be extended to also include vehicle shape. A rapid trajectory optimization methodology suitable for this new, mathematically integrated design environment is also developed by relying on the continuation of solutions found via indirect methods. Examples demonstrate that families of optimal hypersonic trajectories can be quickly constructed for varying trajectory parameters, vehicle shapes, atmospheric properties, and gravity models to support design space exploration, trade studies, and vehicle requirements definition. These results validate the hypothesis that many hypersonic trajectory solutions are connected through fast indirect optimization methods. The extension of this trajectory optimization methodology to include vehicle shape through the development of analytic hypersonic aerodynamic relations enables the construction of a unified mathematical framework to perform rapid, simultaneous hypersonic aerodynamic and trajectory optimization. Performance comparisons relative to state-of-the-art methodologies illustrate the computational advantages of this new, unified design environment.

This mixed-method case study examined effects of high school musicians' participation in the jam session, a student-directed, extracurricular music activity. The single case study site was a rural British Columbia high school exceptional for its support of jamming. Forty-four subjects, including 21 who fully met stated criteria for jammers, and 13 non-jamming subjects, were studied over a period of four months. The general research question was: Does participation in a band room jam session benefit students cognitively and motivationally? Specific research questions were: Do students who informally jam on various forms of music enhance their music skills in the perception and meaningful manipulation of music elements, and if so, how? In what ways does Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory explain the continued participation of students in the jam session? Three quantitative instruments were administered to 13 jammers capable of playing a Bb Concert scale on a melody instrument as well as to a comparable group of 13 non-jammers. These instruments included Gordon's Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA), Froseth's Test of Melodic Ear-to-Hand Coordination (TMEHC), and a researcher-developed test of ear-to-hand coordination (SOR). An ANOVA test showed no significant difference between jammer and non-jammer groups on AMMA scores (p<0.05). ANOVA showed a notable but not significant difference (p<0.056) between groups on the TMEHC, while a Repeated Measures Analysis of pre/post test TMEHC scores showed no effect of jamming over a period of 10 weeks. ANOVA showed a very clear difference between groups on the SOR (p<0.001). Qualitative data collected via journaling, interviews, observation, and participant-observer tasks indicated that jammers were perceiving and manipulating music elements in meaningful ways, and also supported Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory as an explanation for jam session participation. In particular, flow characteristics including transformation of time, loss of self-consciousness, and challenge/skill balance were both observed and reported. The role of the teacher, the presence of a music subculture, and the pseudo-curricular nature of jamming were noted as possible topics for further research.

This mixed-method case study examined effects of high school musicians' participation in the jam session, a student-directed, extracurricular music activity. The single case study site was a rural British Columbia high school exceptional for its support of jamming. Forty-four subjects, including 21 who fully met stated criteria for jammers, and 13 non-jamming subjects, were studied over a period of four months. The general research question was: Does participation in a band room jam session benefit students cognitively and motivationally? Specific research questions were: Do students who informally jam on various forms of music enhance their music skills in the perception and meaningful manipulation of music elements, and if so, how? In what ways does Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory explain the continued participation of students in the jam session? Three quantitative instruments were administered to 13 jammers capable of playing a Bb Concert scale on a melody instrument as well as to a comparable group of 13 non-jammers. These instruments included Gordon's Advanced Measures of Music Audiation (AMMA), Froseth's Test of Melodic Ear-to-Hand Coordination (TMEHC), and a researcher-developed test of ear-to-hand coordination (SOR). An ANOVA test showed no significant difference between jammer and non-jammer groups on AMMA scores (p<0.05). ANOVA showed a notable but not significant difference (p<0.056) between groups on the TMEHC, while a Repeated Measures Analysis of pre/post test TMEHC scores showed no effect of jamming over a period of 10 weeks. ANOVA showed a very clear difference between groups on the SOR (p<0.001). Qualitative data collected via journaling, interviews, observation, and participant-observer tasks indicated that jammers were perceiving and manipulating music elements in meaningful ways, and also supported Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory as an explanation for jam session participation. In particular, flow characteristics including transformation of time, loss of self-consciousness, and challenge/skill balance were both observed and reported. The role of the teacher, the presence of a music subculture, and the pseudo-curricular nature of jamming were noted as possible topics for further research.