Despite intense and wide-spread research in both virtual environments (VEs) and usability, the exciting new technology of VEs has not yet been closely coupled with the important characteristic of usability --- a necessary coupling if VEs are to reach their full potential. Although numerous methods exist for usability evaluation of interactive computer applications, these methods have well-known limitations, especially for evaluating VEs. Thus, there is a great need to develop usability evaluation methods and criteria <i>specifically</i> for VEs. Our goal is to increase awareness of the need for usability engineering of VEs and to lay a scientific foundation for developing high-impact methods for usability engineering of VEs. The first step in our multi-year research plan has been accomplished, yielding a comprehensive multi-dimensional taxonomy of usability characteristics specifically for VEs. This taxonomy was developed by collecting and synthesizing information from literature, conferences, World Wide Web (WWW) searches, investigative research visits to top VE facilities, and interviews of VE researchers and developers. The taxonomy consists of four main areas of usability issues: <i> Users and User Tasks in VEs</i>, <i>The Virtual Model</i>, <i>VE User Interface Input Mechanisms</i>, and <i>VE User Interface Presentation Components</i>. Each of these issues is progressively disclosed and presented at various levels of detail, including specific usability suggestions and context-driven discussion that include a number of references. The taxonomy is a thorough classification, enumeration, and discussion of usability issues in VEs that can be used by VE researchers and developers for usability assessment or simply design. The author can be reached through <a href=http://csgrad.cs.vt.edu/~jgabbard/>http://csgrad.cs.vt.edu/~jgabbard/</a> / Master of Science

This study confined itself to an exploratory interpretive approach aimed at expanding the understanding of some elements that may affect virtual teams. It highlights the advantage of virtual teams over FTF teams.

ITC/USA 2015 Conference Proceedings / The Fifty-First Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 26-29, 2015 / Bally's Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV / This paper describes a new way to look at telemetry data. Northern Arizona University (NAU) students are researching a new approach to apply virtual reality (VR) to evaluate data from a collection of stored signals. Each signal will have limits attached which we will use to view the parts of the waveform which contain abnormalities. A program to illustrate the technique is being developed by NAU students. Initially, we were working with Vizard 5, using the Python language. However, there is another program, Unity, which will perhaps be more useful for the application we wish to achieve. Additionally, we are examining a technique to accurately access the telemetry data collected. The amount of telemetry data collected has increased over the years resulting in difficulties in identifying the relevant information. We are searching for a better approach to store and access big data and will demonstrate this approach by utilizing Oculus Rift and Microsoft Kinect.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The research assignment was conducted to evaluate the influential dimensions for building high performing teams in virtual organisations. The new business unit, Middle East and Africa has the challenge of operating globally for the first time. The leadership has the daunting task of getting the virtual team to become a high performance team. An intensive literature review was conducted to draw on the knowledge of previous theory for both high performance teams as well as virtual organisations. A representative sample of the organisation’s leadership was interviewed by means of an online questionnaire, whilst employees were survey by means of both physical and online surveys. The results provided insights into the dimensions that strongly influence high performance teams in virtual global organisations. A deeper understanding of success factors that influence team performance and virtual organisations were learnt and recommendations was made to the company.

The background of the concept, ABB Production Cell, meets the increasing demands from manufacturing industries throughout the world to simplify through standardization and by that reduce investment cost and operating cost throughout the entire lifecycle of the production cell. ABB is delivering the production cell as one easy to order, use, and maintain. The production cell is developed for virtual versions and full scale production cells. The different modules shall be utilized and presented in RobotStudio and configured in Automation Builder. With generic templates and hardware it provides e.g. early visualization, standardized systems, shortened design/development phase, and enable virtual FAT(Factory Acceptance Test). There is multiple ways of doing a virtual commissioning and it’s a known approach for testing software and hardware together. The method used in this project is known as SIL (Software-In-The-Loop).  This means that the hardware runs as software- e.g. PLC, Drives and HMI- with same properties and behavior as the real hardware. This thesis focus on describing phases of an automation system and see how different phases are affected by a virtual commissioning. Benefits will be described and the existing software will be evaluated. Furthermore, an attempt of virtual commissioning has been done with focus on connecting the software for stable communication with the virtual PLC and make a PLC-task with a handshake to the robot controller and the virtual environment. The system is tested in a virtual environment with vFAT and then on the workshop (FAT). This was done to see if the softwares replicated the same behavior as the hardwares.  The result for the virtual commissioning is that it is possible to run the virtual PLC (VAC500) with the same time interface, behavior, and signals as the real PLC (AC500). / Bakgrunden till konceptet ABB Produktions Cell är ökad efterfrågan av ett enkelt sätt, genom standardisering, att reducera kostnaderna för hela livscykeln för en produktions cell. ABB Produktions cell ska vara enkel att köpa, använda och upprätthålla. Konceptet är utvecklat för att kunna skapa fullskaliga modeller av produktionsceller. Utrustningen och den virtuella miljön finns i RobotStudio och konfigurationen av HMI,Drives och PLC i AutomationBuilder.  Generiska mallar, mjukvaror, hårdvaror ger möjlighet för t.ex. tidig visualisering, förkortad design och utvecklingsfas, standardiserade system samt tidig verifiering och test genom virtuell FAT(Factory Acceptance Test)   Idrifttagning av ett automationssystem kan tillämpas både virtuellt och traditionellt. Det finns flera olika metoder för virtuell idrifttagning och metoden för detta projekt är SIL(Software-In-the-Loop). Detta går ut på att hårdvaror såsom HMI, PLC och Drives körs som mjukvaror, med samma beteende och egenskaper(tidsgränssnitt) som de riktiga hårdvarorna. Den här uppsatsen fokuserar på att beskriva de olika delarna av ett automationsprojekt och hur de påverkas av virtuell idrifttagning. Fördelar med metoden tas fram och den befintliga utrustningen utvärderas. Ett försök till virtuell idrifttagning har genomförts där fokus varit att skapa en sekvenskod för logiken till en befintlig produktionscell samt skapa kopplingar mellan mjukvarorna. Detta testas och verifieras först i virtuell miljö med virtuell FAT(Factory Acceptance Test) och därefter har den verkliga produktionscellen verifierats i verkstaden(FAT). Utvärdering om beteende och cykeltider har också gjorts för att dra slutsatsen om vFAT kan jämföras med FAT under utvecklingsstadiet. Resultatet för den virtuella idrifttagningen är att det är möjligt att köra virtuell PLC(VAC500) med samma tidsinterface, beteende och signaler som den riktiga PLC(AC500).

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This report is about VR and the effects the VR technology Oculus Rift may or may not have on the different kinds of immersion possible in virtual environments, or games. The report is based on the premise that modern games have evolved into more story based adventures with better graphics, often with moral choice as gameplay, and theories regarding new mediums and the dangers of not fully understanding them. It is also done in cooperation with a research team at Högskolan i Skövde, with a focus on moral dilemmas, and is using a virtual environment to test this combined effort. The game engine Unity is used to create a realistic environment and together with the Oculus Rift, is testing what kinds of effects the VR technology has on the users. 20 test participants have shared their experiences and the majority, independent of gaming experience, claims it has a positive effect.

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The LHC has begun collecting data and the first results have now been published. This is truly an exciting time in the field as we wait for the experimental data to exclude or verify new physics beyond the Standard Model. In order to make a precise prediction for the LHC one must go beyond the leading order of our perturbation series. In this thesis I present the extension of tools for the automation of one loop calculations for supersymmetric models. The second part of the thesis contains the application of these tools to neutralino pair production in the Minimal Supersymmetric Model.

La Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC), a través de su Facultad de Educación, organizó el Congreso Internacional de Educadores UPC 2016 - “Innovación en la Educación”. Este importante evento que se realizó los días 2, 3 y 4 de febrero en el Centro Convenciones del Colegio Médico del Perú y en el Campus Villa de la UPC, contó con la participación de un distinguido grupo de 9 expositores internacionales provenientes de países como Estados Unidos, España, Australia, Canadá y Alemania, y 20 destacados especialistas nacionales quienes compartieron su conocimiento a través de Conferencias Magistrales y Paneles de expertos. http://bit.ly/1T6hIiN / Conferencia presentada en el Congreso Internacional de Educadores UPC 2016 – Innovación en la Educación por la ponente internacional Amy Coupal de Canadá. Amy Coupal es Directora Ejecutiva de Curriculum Services Canada.