Plantwide control refers to the control of entire plants, consisting of many interconnected unit operations. Synthesizing a plantwide control system requires evaluating numerous alternatives involving controlled variables, control structures, controller designs and tunings, etc. A hierarchical procedure for systematically synthesizing a plantwide control has been proposed by Zheng et al. [82]. In this procedure, the plantwide control problem is decomposed into six steps along which decisions are made based on economics. While many tools (e.g., a short-cut method for controlled variable selection, quantification of dynamic operability, etc.) have been developed by these authors to ease the implementation of the procedure on industrial processes, more tools need to be developed. For example, we need to develop systematic procedures for ensuring feasibility of the control structures, for selecting primary and secondary controlled variables and for designing controllers for systems with recycles. Furthermore, model uncertainty, which is important practically, needs to be taken into account to make these tools useful. The goal of this thesis is to accomplish these tasks. To this end, we address how model uncertainty affects the steady-state as well as the dynamic control structure.

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More and more educational institutions have been moving towards delivering courses and programs at a distance. Although asynchronous online courses overcome the constraints of time, students feel isolated due to the lack of real-time communications. One possible solution to overcome this isolation been suggested that learner's online behavior and peer-interaction will be more regulated and stimulated by assigning roles to learners in discussion activities. Additionally, roles encourage learners to take more responsibility for their own learning by responding to discussion questions, replying to peers, constructing knowledge, disputing and negotiating with peers within amount of time during the learning process. The study explored the use of the Starter-Wrapper with Roles technique in a fully online class in order to address the overarching question: How does the Starter-Wrapper with Roles technique support sense of community in an online class? Three supporting research questions were addressed: (1) How do students fulfill their assigned roles when using the Starter-Wrapper with Roles technique? (2) How does each of the four roles contribute to student experience in terms of sense of connectedness, sense of learning from others, sense of learning through articulation, sense of learning from course materials, and sense of responsibility? (3) How does the interdependence of roles and role rotation support sense of community? There were 81 students initially signed up the study, however, the number was down to 63 by the end of week 8. I then adjusted discussion groups in order to have a sufficient number of participants in each discussion group. Among 63 students, there were 37 students actually participated in the discussion and 26 student never participated. There were 33 students completed the survey and 18 students participated in the interview at the end of the semester. The results indicated that (1) students generally followed the duties assigned to them. However, not everyone completed their tasks on time, and depending on their assigned role the effect could be problematic. Almost all starters initiated discussion questions and completed their task on time. Even though most wrappers performed their tasks as expected and on time, some wrappers did not summarize at all. Moderators interacted with participants in the midst of discussion primarily by restating details in previous posts and providing feedback on others' ideas. They posted messages on time but did not posting enough messages. Participants were more willing to respond to discussion questions than reply to their classmates' responses. (2) Students reported different levels of sense of connectedness, sense of learning, and sense of responsibility depending on the role they fulfilled. Participants reported a significantly higher sense of connectedness and perceived learning from articulating ideas in their posts than starters. Compared to the wrapper, moderator, and participant roles, starters reported lower perceived learning from others. Furthermore, the starters' learning was most dependent on the course materials, and the wrappers' learning was the least dependent. Finally, Starters experienced a significantly higher sense of responsibility in that role than as a wrapper, moderator, or participant. (3) Students reported a higher sense of community when their classmates mentioned each other by name, answered their questions, or commented on each other's posts rather than make individual posts. (4) Interdependent roles and roles rotation provide students diverse learning experience and experience interdependence in different ways (e.g., to depend on others, to have others depending on them). Students depend on their classmates to participate when using the Starter-Wrapper with Roles technique. Participants need the starter to begin the discussion by posting a discussion question, moderators need the participants to respond to discussion questions so they can contribute their replies, and the wrapper needs to read everyone's messages in order to wrap up the discussion. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / March 29, 2016. / Feeling of Isolation, Interdependence, Intersubjectivity, Online Course, Role Assignment, Sense of Community / Includes bibliographical references. / Vanessa P. Dennen, Professor Directing Dissertation; Paul F. Marty, University Representative; Marcy P. Driscoll, Committee Member; James D. Klein, Committee Member.

Professionals engaged in work continuously confront situations and tasks that require the acquisition of new knowledge and skills. The workplace has been acknowledged as an environment rife with learning opportunities; employees continually construct and apply knowledge within an authentic context (Billet, 1995). Both formal and informal learning contribute to workplace learning (Brockman & Dirkx, 2006; Choi & Jacobs, 2011; Ellinger, 2005). Frequently required, devised, and implemented by organizations, formal training programs involve structured and intentional learning. Informal learning, however, entails individuals seeking and engaging in unstructured, learner-directed, and sometimes spontaneous activities to gain tacit or explicit knowledge and experience (Dennen & Wang, 2002; Jacobs & Park, 2009; Marsick & Volpe, 1999). Although workplace learning consists of both formal and informal learning, the majority of learning that occurs in the workplace is informal, rather than formal (Ellinger, 2005; Lohman, 2000; Marsick & Watkins, 2001). Informal learning is so prevalent in the workplace that the reported ratio of formal to informal learning highly favors informal, sometimes as steeply at 10 to 90 percent (Cross, 2013; Lohman, 2003; Marsick & Watkins, 1990). Within the workplace, the discipline of instructional design and performance improvement (ID/PI) focuses on supporting professionals’ learning and performance needs. As a result, the majority of organizational resources devoted to learning are allocated to more formal means, such as training and workshops (Ellinger, 2005; Lohman, 2000; Marsick & Watkins, 2001). Given that the majority of learning among employees is more informal than formal in nature, and also that the role of ID/PI practitioners is to ensure support of those employees, an interesting connection between ID/PI and informal workplace learning appears (Klein & Moore, 2016). However, despite the exciting potential of this intersection, the connection between ID/PI practitioners and informal learning has not received much attention from researchers. Only two empirical studies have intersected the fields of ID/PI and informal learning, and both have done so by addressing the informal workplace learning of ID/PI practitioners. Berg and Chyung (2008) focused on the informal workplace learning of performance improvement professionals, but did not explain why they chose this population or how this group of practitioners may utilize informal learning strategies to support their clients. More recently, Yanchar and Hawkley (2014) explored the informal learning that occurred during design work among an ID/PI team, but again did not explore if the team incorporated informal learning into the services provided to clients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of informal learning strategies among ID/PI practitioners on two levels: the practitioner (professionals facilitating informal learning) and the organization (an entity supporting informal learning among employees). Four research questions, aligning with the two levels of inquiry, guided this study: A. The practitioner: Research Question 1: What types of informal learning activities do ID/PI practitioners facilitate in their organization? Research Question 2: How do ID/PI practitioners facilitate informal learning in their organization? B. The organization: Research Question 3: What environmental factors do organizations provide to facilitate informal learning? Research Question 4: How do organizations facilitate informal learning among their employees? The two-part study consisted of an online survey and follow-up interviews with current ID/PI practitioners. Respondents to the survey included 385 practitioners (37% men, n=143; 64% women, n=241), of which 20 volunteers participated in 1-on-1 interviews. The results indicated that ID/PI practitioners predominantly engage in informal learning activities in order to facilitate informal learning among others. More specifically, both survey and interview data revealed that practitioners often share knowledge to do so (e.g., read a useful article online and forward the link via email to others). Results also indicated that organizations facilitate informal learning among employees through the internal culture, physical workspace, and resources and tools. For example, regarding the physical workspace, a workplace with open architectural features that encourage employee interaction (shared desks, low cubicle partitions, or common lounge areas) is conducive to informal learning. As proponents of learning, ID/PI practitioners may leverage organizations’ environmental factors to facilitate informal learning among employees, thus increasing performance. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2016. / September 14, 2016. / informal learning, instructional design, performance improvement, workplace learning / Includes bibliographical references. / James D. Klein, Professor Directing Dissertation; Stephen D. McDowell, University Representative; Vanessa P. Dennen, Committee Member; Robert A. Reiser, Committee Member.

This study examines the usage of an Augmented Reality (AR) supported, simulation-based immersive learning environment to teach complex problem-solving skills. This study focuses on comparing student performance in complex problem solving between those that learn using AR supported, simulation-based group problem-solving activities as opposed to those learning through non-AR supported group problem-solving activities. This study consisted of a pretest and posttest control group design which evaluated the individual performance of forty-eight participants on a complex, real-world problem solving, written examination. This investigation included the use of group observations as well as group interviews within the process. The treatment group participated in AR supported, simulation-based group problem-solving exercises that focus on complex problem solving. The control group participated in a non-AR supported version of the simulation-based group problem-solving exercises that focus on complex problem solving. The AR supported, simulation-based immersive learning system used replicated the tasks and responsibilities of the flight crew and mission control team for the retired NASA Space Transportation System or “Space Shuttle.” The simulation system included the launch phase, orbit insertion and subsequent landing at the Kennedy Space Center with the addition of in-flight emergencies to replicate complex problem-solving events. The results of this investigation demonstrate that an AR supported, simulation-based immersive learning system can significantly make a difference in student complex problem-abilities as determined by a written test. This difference was also supported by the observations of the Research and Control group participants and the selected interviews conducted during the investigation. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / 2019 / October 16, 2019. / Aerospace, Augmented Reality, Complex problem solving, Immersive learning system, Problem solving, Simulation / Includes bibliographical references. / Fengfeng Ke, Professor Directing Dissertation; Sherry Southerland, University Representative; Vanessa Dennen, Committee Member; Valerie Shute, Committee Member.

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