Introduction: The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Z94.3-07 ballistic impact test for industrial lenses, tests the ability of a lens material to withstand the impact of a 6.4 mm diameter steel ball travelling at a speed of 46.5 ± 0.5 m/s. The specific testing is waived if the lens made of various materials meets a minimum centre thickness requirement. New lens materials, like Hi-Vex, are not included in this list. The first study compared the breakage speed of Hi-Vex lenses to CR39 lenses at different conditioned temperatures. In the process of carrying out the literature review, it became apparent that the definition of lens failure varied. This led to the question as to how naïve individuals may interpret a National Standard definition of lens failure after being impacted by a missile. Naïve subjects were asked to classify impacted lenses as either pass or fail based on the written CSA Z94.3-07 failure criterion. Purpose:   Study 1: To investigate the impact resistance of a mid-index plastic lens material Hi-Vex (n=1.56) at different temperatures. Study 2: To investigate if people actually understood what the CSA classifies as a failed lens. Methods:  Study 1: Two groups of plano hard coated lenses were tested: CR39 and Hi-Vex. Lenses were ordered with 3mm centre thickness, cut to 50mm diameter and edged to achieve the Hide-a-Bevel® which was in agreement with the CSA requirement for prescription industrial safety lenses and frames. A pneumatic gun was used to propel a 6.35mm steel ball at the centre of each lens. Impact speed was varied using the Zippy Estimation by Sequential Testing (ZEST) protocol to determine the threshold breakage speed. Combined uncertainties as defined in the International organization for standardization (ISO) Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement were used to determine the statistical significance of all comparisons of the data sets. Study 2: Ten graduate students from the School of Optometry and ten patients from the general public were given 25 spectacle lenses that had been subjected to the ballistic impact test. They were asked to classify the lenses as either a pass or fail after reading the definition of a failure under the ballistic impact test in CSA Z94.3-07 clause 6.1.3.1. Lenses were presented to the participants in the same order. The responses of both groups of participants were compared to the classification of two experienced researchers who agreed on 100% of the lens outcomes. Results:  Study 1: The threshold breakage speeds of the industrial thickness Hi-Vex and CR39 lenses at 24°C were 50.88m/s and 50.64 m/s and at -29°C, 52.57m/s and 52.56 m/s respectively. Both comparisons were not statistically significant. The corresponding threshold breakage speeds for Hi-Vex and CR39 lenses at -49°C were 66.38m/s and 49.66m/s and at 50°C were 57.01m/s and 53.54m/s respectively. Both comparisons were statistically significant. Study 2: There were only two lenses in which all participants agreed with the outcome. These lenses were failed lenses. The naïve subjects were more likely to classify a lens that passed as a failure than a failed lens as a pass. This trend was more obvious in the general public results although the results across the various lenses for the graduate students and general public were not statistically different. Conclusions:  Study 1: We found that the mean breakage speeds of the Hi-Vex and CR39 lenses were greater than the level required of eye protector lenses by the Standards American National Standards institute (ANSI) Z87.1-2010 and CSA Z94.3-07. Hi-Vex was also superior to CR39 at more extreme temperatures with a threshold breakage speed of 57.01±3.51m/s at 50°C and 66.38±4.00m/s at -49°C. Although its impact resistance was less than that of both Trivex and Polycarbonate lenses, Hi-Vex may provide an acceptable level of impact protection in industrial settings. This is the first study to concomitantly assess impact resistance of a new lens material as well as compare the impact resistance at various temperatures. Study 2: Simply reading the definition of a lens failure is insufficient. Some type of training with actual lenses may be necessary. Whether revising the text of the Standard or repeating the instructions several times would reduce this problem is uncertain. Both the graduate students and general public tended to be more conservative in their classification of failure. If there were any visible damage to the lens as a result of the impact, at least one person would classify the lens as a failure regardless of whether the damage met the CSA definition. This result suggests that the vision care community and CSA may need to educate the public on the meaning of impact resistance of eye protectors.

Robotic competitions have become an increasingly popular educational tool to increase students’ interest and achievement in STEM. The largest and fastest growing of these is VEX Robotics Competitions (VRCs). Although millions of dollars of funding are allocated, and countless hours of effort are expended annually to provide students with the opportunity to compete in VRCs, little research has been done to investigate the educational impacts of participation in these competitions. One promising research framework in this area is to investigate the self-efficacy of students who participate in VRCs. Self-efficacy, or the beliefs one holds about one’s own abilities in a given area, has been shown to have a strong influence on students’ career and educational interests, choices, and attainment. The purpose of this study was to investigate two research questions: (1) What factors influence VEX Robotics Competition participants’ self-efficacy? (2) What is the relationship between self-efficacy in VRCs and students’ interest in and choice of STEM majors? A cross sectional study was conducted utilizing Robinson’s Self-Confidence Survey for VEX Robotics Participants (SCSVRP) to measure VRC participants’ self-efficacy. In addition, the Post-Secondary Choices Survey was utilized to gather data about the relationship between VRC participants’ self-efficacy and their post-secondary educational choices. Study participants were recruited over a period of 3 years at state- and national-level VRCs, as well as through nationwide recruitment efforts assisted by the CREATE Foundation. A total of 390 students participated in the SCSVRP, while 28 students participated in the Post-Secondary Choices Survey. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between several predictor variables and overall self-efficacy. Correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between VRC participants’ self-efficacy and their choice of major upon enrolling in post-secondary educational programs. The results indicated that VRC participants’ self-efficacy was primarily influenced by their biological sex and the number of seasons they had participated in VRCs. In addition, self-efficacy was correlated with students’ interest in choosing engineering majors, but not STEM majors more generally. Finally, a statistically significant relationship was found between self-efficacy and VRC participants’ actual choice of STEM majors, but not engineering majors specifically.

<p>Terrain generation is a convoluted and a popular topic in the VFX industry. Whether you are part of the film/TV or gaming industry, a terrain, is a highly nuanced feature that is usually present. Regardless of walking on a desert like terrain in the film, Blade Runner 2049 or fighting on different planets like in Avatar, 3D terrains is a major part of any digital media. The purpose of this thesis is about developing a workflow for large-scale terrains using complex data sets and utilizing this workflow to maintain a balance between the procedural content and the artistic input made especially for smaller companies which cannot afford an enhanced pipeline to deal with major technical complications. The workflow consists of two major elements, development of the tool used to optimize the workflow and the recording and maintaining of the efficiency in comparison to the older workflow. </p> <p> </p> <p> My research findings indicate that despite the increase in overall computational abilities, one of the many issues that are still present is generating a highly advanced terrain with the added benefits of the artists and users’ creative variations. Reducing the overall time to simulate and compute a highly realistic and detailed terrain is the main goal, thus this thesis will present a method to overcome the speed deficiency while keeping the details of the terrain present.</p>

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