Recently meta-heuristics have become a popular solution methodology, in terms of both research and application, for solving combinatorial optimization problems. Meta-heuristic methods guide simple heuristics or priority rules designed to solve a particular problem. Meta-heuristics enhance these simple heuristics by using a higher level strategy. The advantage of using meta-heuristics over conventional optimization methods is meta-heuristics are able to find good (near optimal) solutions within a reasonable computation time. Investigating this line of research is justified because in most practical cases with medium to large scale problems, the use of meta-heuristics is necessary to be able to find a solution in a reasonable time. The specific meta-heuristic studied in this research is, Meta-RaPS; Meta-heuristic for Randomized Priority Search which is developed by DePuy and Whitehouse in 2001. Meta-RaPS is a generic, high level strategy used to modify greedy algorithms based on the insertion of a random element (Moraga, 2002). To date, Meta-RaPS had been applied to different types of combinatorial optimization problems and achieved comparable solution performance to other meta-heuristic techniques. The specific problem studied in this dissertation is parameter setting of Meta-RaPS. The topic of parameter setting for meta-heuristics has not been extensively studied in the literature. Although the parameter setting method devised in this dissertation is used primarily on Meta-RaPS, it is applicable to any meta-heuristic's parameter setting problem. This dissertation not only enhances the power of Meta-RaPS by parameter tuning but also it introduces a robust parameter selection technique with wide-spread utility for many meta-heuristics. Because the distribution of solution values generated by meta-heuristics for combinatorial optimization problems is not normal, the current parameter setting techniques which employ a parametric approach based on the assumption of normality may not be appropriate. The proposed method is Non-parametric Based Genetic Algorithms. Based on statistical tests, the Non-parametric Based Genetic Algorithms (NPGA) is able to enhance the solution quality of Meta-RaPS more than any other parameter setting procedures benchmarked in this research. NPGA sets the best parameter settings, of all the methods studied, for 38 of the 41 Early/Tardy Single Machine Scheduling with Common Due Date and Sequence-Dependent Setup Time (ETP) problems and 50 of the 54 0-1 Multidimensional Knapsack Problems (0-1 MKP). In addition to the parameter setting procedure discussed, this dissertation provides two Meta-RaPS combinatorial optimization problem applications, the 0-1 MKP, and the ETP. For the ETP problem, the Meta-RaPS application in this dissertation currently gives the best meta-heuristic solution performance so far in the literature for common ETP test sets. For the large ETP test set, Meta-RaPS provided better solution performance than Simulated Annealing (SA) for 55 of the 60 problems. For the small test set, in all four different small problem sets, the Meta-RaPS solution performance outperformed exiting algorithms in terms of average percent deviation from the optimal solution value. For the 0-1 MKP, the present Meta-RaPS application performs better than the earlier Meta-RaPS applications by other researchers on this problem. The Meta-RaPS 0-1 MKP application presented here has better solution quality than the existing Meta-RaPS application (Moraga, 2005) found in the literature. Meta-RaPS gives 0.75% average percent deviation, from the best known solutions, for the 270 0-1 MKP test problems.

The troubling negative effects of music performance anxiety (MPA) have remained less investigated under ensemble settings and with undergraduate non-music majors than under solo settings with music majors and professional musicians. This study examined the experience and prevalence of music performance anxiety in ensemble rehearsal and concert settings in 166 undergraduate non-music majors, 108 undergraduate music majors, 4 undeclared undergraduates, 9 graduate non-music majors, and 14 graduate music majors. The participants (instrumentalists and vocalists) were drawn from 10 Mid-Atlantic colleges and universities. The Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory Revised (K-MPAI-R; Kenny, 2009) was administered within the last six weeks of the semester. Students reported the full range of cognitive, somatic, affective, and behavioral symptoms of MPA, with cognitive symptoms most frequently reported. The factor structure of the K-MPAI-R was found to be stable with those factor structures previously established by Kenny using elite professional musicians and tertiary-level music students. The results of a standard multiple regression conducted to identify unique predictors of MPA indicated that although depression, being an instrumentalist, being female, and having had a music performance breakdown, all made significant contributions to K-MPAI-R scores, and depression made the strongest unique contribution (beta = .42, p < 0.001). Greater self-efficacy (as indicated by higher scores on confidence statements in the K-MPAI-R) was correlated with lower MPA under both concert (r = .49, p < 0.0005) and rehearsal settings (r = .52, p < 0.0005). Students with higher depression indicator scores exhibited higher MPA than students with lower depression indicator scores (WT = 31.40, p < 0.001). Music performance breakdowns occurred more often during solos than ensemble performances and memory lapse (16.3% of all students) was cited as the leading cause of music performance breakdowns. Overall, MPA and depression indicator scores for the sample were high compared with other groups that had been previously evaluated with the K-MPAI-R and the same depression screen. Instructors should therefore be sensitive to the possibility that ensemble musicians may experience significant negative effects of MPA during both concerts and rehearsals, and apprise themselves of evidence-based treatment options and coping strategies available for MPA.

Motivation and goal-setting are important concepts in athletics and sport and exercise psychology. However, little research has compared motivation and goal-setting by gender. The self-determination theory was used and the purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference between male and female athletes when looking at amotivation, external regulation, identified regulation, intrinsic motivation, and goal-setting. One hundred and six student-athletes (fifty one males and fifty five females) from a Division I college in Virginia participated in the study. These student-athletes compete in either cross country (n= 7), track (n = 16), field (n= 16), track and cross country (n= 8), track and field (n= 2), track, field and cross country (n= 2), swimming (n= 47), or diving (n= 8). The student-athletes completed two instruments; the Situational Motivation Scale (SIMS) and a goal-setting questionnaire. The results revealed that there was a significant difference between gender and question number two of the Situational Motivation Scale (“because I’m doing it for my own good.”) There was no significant difference when comparing gender to amotivation, external regulation, identified regulation, and intrinsic motivation. There was no significant finding between gender and the use of goal-setting. Lastly, a significant difference was found on number twelve of the goal-setting questionnaire (“I believe setting goals helps improve my performance”) based on year in college. In conclusion, there were no significant differences found between male and female athletes when looking at amotivation, external regulation, and intrinsic motivation. Significance was found on one identified regulation question. Females reported that they are participating in the sport –for their own good– more than males. There were no significant differences found between male and female athletes when looking at goal-setting. / Ph. D.

Yes / Introduction: Mobile phones are used the world over, including in healthcare settings. This study aimed to investigate the viable microbial colonisation of mobile phones used by healthcare personnel. Methods: Swabs collected on the same day from 30 mobile phones belonging to healthcare workers from three separate paediatric wards of an Australian hospital were cultured on five types of agar plate, then colonies from each phone were pooled, extracted and sequenced by shotgun metagenomics. Questionnaires completed by staff whose phones were sampled assisted in the analysis and interpretation of results. Results and discussion: All phones sampled cultured viable bacteria. Overall, 399 bacterial operational taxonomic units were identified from 30 phones, with 1432 cumulative hits. Among these were 58 recognised human pathogenic and commensal bacteria (37 Gram-negative, 21 Gram-positive). The total number of virulence factor genes detected was 347, with 1258 cumulative hits. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) were detected on all sampled phones and overall, 133 ARGs were detected with 520 cumulative hits. The most important classes of ARGs detected encoded resistance to beta-lactam, aminoglycoside and macrolide antibiotics and efflux pump mediated resistance mechanisms. Conclusion: Mobile phones carry viable bacterial pathogens and may act as fomites by contaminating the hands of their users and indirectly providing a transmission pathway for hospital-acquired infections and dissemination of antibiotic resistance. Further research is needed, but meanwhile adding touching mobile phones to the five moments of hand hygiene is a simple infection control strategy worth considering in hospital and community settings. Additionally, the implementation of practical and effective guidelines to decontaminate mobile phone devices would likely be beneficial to the hospital population and community at large.

Augmented Reality (AR) is fast-growing technology that has proved itself in many applications, including manufacturing environments. Manufacturing engineers benefit in an industrial environment by harnessing this technology in the workplace to guide workers through a variety of tasks. It is no longer a question on whether it is useful, but what are the best ways of applying the technology. Currently there are no published studies on ways to use augmented reality in a Manufacturing Engineering Educational Environment (MEEE). This study examines various ways that AR can be used in an MEEE setting and assesses the value of such applications. This study examines several different ways of creating and implementing AR and assesses whether there are notable gains from the use of AR over written instructions that are commonly used to teach in university environments. One portion of this research looks at instruction created using CAD based models to animate steps and uses model tracking and overlay to tie the experience to reality. A second type of AR uses video, audio and spatial tracking to guide the user through an experience without the use of any CAD model overlay. These two methods were presented to research subjects on either a Hololens 2 or a smartphone. Results showed that both methods of AR presentation were superior to written instructions. Students were able to complete instruction with fewer interventions and rated their experiences in regards to satisfaction and attention particularly highly. It was found that although there is a large wow factor associated with using the Hololens 2, the practical application favors the integration of AR with a smartphone. Research subjects are already familiar with smartphones, so asking them to use them for AR instruction was a seamless task. The Hololens 2 is a new and exciting technology that is on a steep learning curve with glitches that hamper immediate adoption although it will undoubtably grow in use over time. Overall, the use of AR as a teaching tool was met with enthusiasm, and results indicated that it was an effective teaching tool in an MEEE.

In the current study, I examined the efficacy of mindful self-compassion, imagery, and goal-setting (i.e., treatment as usual) interventions on athletic identity, knee self-efficacy, subjective knee functioning, and perceived injustice, following ACL surgery. Twenty-nine adolescent and young adult athletes participated in the interventions and completed self-report measures assessing each of these constructs prior to their surgery and over seven weeks post-ACL surgery. HLM analyses demonstrated significant decreases in athletic identity and increases in subjective knee functioning from pre-surgery through seven weeks post-surgery. Intervention group further explained these decreases, though no one intervention clearly emerged as more or less beneficial. No significant changes were observed for athletes' ratings of knee self-efficacy or perceived injustice. Limitations and areas for future research are discussed.

Studies indicate that incorporating light rhythms have the potential to generate an atmosphere of curiosity to further explore a space. In lighting design, we can describe rhythm as the ‘flow of light’ as the repetition of shadow, shading and highlight patterns of an illuminated three-dimensional surface that we experience in space when we walk through it. To further investigate this topic, a survey was conducted in a computer-generated museum setting to examine how rhythmical light scenarios of both artificial and natural light can create dynamic atmospheres so that they influence the spatial exploration. For this purpose, scenarios of two categories were made by relative darkness in order to create “mystery” and brightness for ‘focal glow’. Each scenario included the incorporation of daylight conditions, encompassing both morning and evening settings. The experiment revealed a preference for the "mystery" scenarios and the evening conditions of both “mystery” and the “focal glow” scenarios. Nonetheless, it is advisable to conduct similar experiments in real-life settings to attain more substantial results and minimize potential survey bias.

The U.S. military must have the ability to rapidly deploy troops and equipment anywhere in the world as part of a contingency operation. Recent military operations have highlighted the critical need for rapid repair procedures and materials for military use on sub-standard, in-theater airfields. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center is currently addressing these problems through a program titled ?Joint Rapid Airfield Construction?. This study involves the development of a method using rapid setting grouts and recycled concrete pavement (RCP) to repair portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements. A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate material properties in order to gain an understanding of expected field performance. Eight full scale repairs were constructed using two rapid setting grouts, two types of equipment, and two concrete slabs. The repairs were successfully trafficked with simulated C-17 aircraft wheel loads to verify the structural capacity, and ultimately the procedures.

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