This study investigated the most efficacious means of providing feedback to students on multiple-choice test items. Subjects were 135 undergraduate students enrolled at a mid-western university. Immediate feedback, defined as knowledge of correct results presented after the completion of the entire test, and delayed feedback, defined as knowledge of correct results presented 24 hours after the completion of the test, were examined. The presence or absence of an immediate retention test was also examined. The performance on the initial test, the students' verbal ability, and the amount of time spent with feedback were used as covariates. Also investigated was the relationship of the level of the test item (recall or complex) to the students' ability to profit from immediate or delayed feedback. The interference perseveration hypothesis was examined as a possible explanation of the delayed retention effect (DRE).Two analyses of the data were performed to test the DRE. The first was a univariate analysis of covariance of the four treatment conditions, utilizing the students' performance on the initial test, verbal ability and time spent with feedback as covariates. The results of this analysis were not significant. The second was a univariate analysis of covariance of the four treatment groups and the control group with the initial test score and the students' verbal ability covaried.The analysis yielded a significant treatment effect when the control group was compared to the four treatment conditions.The reliability correlation coefficients which were computed for the recall and complex test items were not adequate to be used in the analysis. Therefore the interaction between the level of the test items and the feedback condition was not tested.All of the students were asked to complete a pre- and postquestionnaire to assess their feedback preference and to determine if this preference changed over time. Results indicated the majority of students preferred to receive immediate feedback and little change was observed in their feedback preference.An item analysis was conducted in order to investigate the interference-perseveration hypothesis. The data did not support this theory.Conclusions were drawn and implications for further research were discussed.

This report investigates the internal knowledge transfer process of consultancy firms on both the organizational and individual levels. Essentially, the creation and application of knowledge yield the key competence for consultancy companies, a large part of which in- volves knowledge transfer. Knowledge transfer is seen as a process of making knowledge available to the organization, allowing others to harvest the full value of it and ultimately creating value for the firm. However, the transfer of knowledge is no simple and linear process; it entails challenges that can impede the process and complicate consultancy com- panies’ daily operations. By being aware of these obstacles, companies can better prepare themselves against them. Therefore, this report seeks to reveal challenges arising on an or- ganizational and individual level for consultancy companies, why they occur and suggest ways to prepare for them. To conduct this study, we have been approaching the topic from a positivist perspective. Two case studies of prominent consultancy companies - KPMG and Grant Thornton - were constructed. The empirical findings were then analyzed and compared to renowned theories in the field: the SECI- model of knowledge conversion by Nonaka & Takeuchi (1991; 1995) and the stage theory of knowledge transfer by Szulanski (1996; 2000). The conclusion of this study is that challenges arising from knowledge transfer in consultancy firms concern individuals and time. Therefore, these two resources should be taken into account at all times.

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This thesis examines the feasibility of manufacturing small marine propellers from continuous fibre reinforced polymer composite materials. An appraisal of some current applications of composite materials in the marine industry is given, together with the moves shown towards the use of composites in the area of propeller design. It has been shown that manufacturing propellers in composite materials is theoretically more cost effective than traditional materials. The manufacturing route investigated is Resin Transfer Moulding, where some detailed investigations have highlighted some of the critical processing parameters necessary for successful production of laminates suitable for propellers and other high performance marine structures. A thorough testing programme of 4 novel designs of composite propeller is reported. Trials at sea on university run vessels has enabled many hours use to be logged, which has shown the fitness for purpose of propellers made from glass reinforced, epoxy composite. Experimental tank testing has helped to shape the remainder of the research by identifying the possibility of using hydroelastic tailoring to improve the efficiency of the propeller when a variety of operating conditions are required from the propulsion system. Further experience is required with respect to the the tooling construction and the life assessment of the propeller. To facilitate appropriate modelling of the propeller, spreadsheet based load prediction models have been used. Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to model the elastic characteristics of one particular design of novel composite propeller. This indicated that traditional geometries may be too stiff to allow significant performance advantages from the anisotropy of the material. However the potential does exist for modified propeller geometries made from composite to give some performance benefit. For specific applications, small marine propellers made from continuous glass fibre reinforced epoxy composite are likely to yield cost savings over traditional propeller materials.

Hard disk drives function perfectly satisfactorily when used in a stable environment, but in certain applications they are subjected to shock and vibration. During the work reported in this thesis it has been found that when typical hard disk drives are subjected lo vibration, data transfer failure is found to be significant at frequencies between 440Hz and 700Hz, at an extreme, failing at only Ig of sinusoidal vibration. These failures can largely be attributed to two key components: the suspension arm and the hard disk. At non-critical frequencies of vibration the typical hard disk drive can reliably transfer data whilst subjected to as much as 45g. When transferring data to the drive controller, the drive's operations are controlled and monitored using BIOS commands. Examining the embedded error signals proved that the drive predominantly failed due lo tracking errors. Novel piezo-electric sensors have been developed to measure unobtrusively suspension arm and disk motion, the results from which show the disk to be the most significant failure mechanism, with its First mode of resonance at around 440Hz. The suspension arm movement has been found to be greatest at IkHz. Extensive modelling of the flexure of the disk, clamped and unclamped, has been undertaken using finite element analysis. The theoretical modelling strongly reinforces the empirical results presented in this thesis. If suspension arm movement is not directly coupled with disk movement then a flying height variation is created. This, together with tracking variations, leads to data transfer corruption. This has been found to occur at IkHz and 2kHz. An optical system has been developed and characterised for a novel and inexpensive flying height measurement system using compact disc player technology.

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