Numerical techniques for linear systems arising from discretization of partial differential equations are nowadays essential for understanding the physical world. Among these techniques, iterative methods and the accompanying preconditioning techniques have become increasingly popular due to their great potential on large scale computation. In this work, we present preconditioning techniques for linear systems built with tensor product basis functions. Efficient algorithms are designed for various problems by exploiting the Kronecker product structure in the matrices, inherited from tensor product basis functions. Specifically, we design preconditioners for mass matrices to remove the complexity from the basis functions used in isogeometric analysis, obtaining numerical performance independent of mesh size, polynomial order and continuity order; we also present a compound iteration preconditioner for stiffness matrices in two dimensions, obtaining fast convergence speed; lastly, for the Helmholtz problem, we present a strategy to `hide' its indefiniteness from Krylov subspace methods by eliminating the part of initial error that corresponds to those negative generalized eigenvalues. For all three cases, the Kronecker product structure in the matrices is exploited to achieve high computational efficiency.

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Understanding the influential factors at work within an online learning environment is a growing area of interest. Hidden or implicit expectations, skill sets, knowledge, and social process can help or hinder student achievement, belief systems, and persistence. This qualitative study investigated how hidden curricular issues transpired in an online learning environment's institutional and organization systems using an ecological paradigm. A phenomenological approach rooted in a case study context was used to explore the experiences and perceptions of a group of students, faculty, and administrators involved with an online academic program (opticianry) at a community college. Interviews, non-participant observation, and a researcher reflective journal was employed in the data collection process to better understand: 1) how organizational and institutional systems contribute to the manifestation of hidden curricular issues, 2) how differences and similarities in perceptions between students, faculty, and administrators contribute to hidden curricular issues, and 3) how hidden curriculum issues manifest in online and distance learning environments. Themes related to the first research question emerged as: 1) Accessibility/Flexibility Differences; 2) Disconnect in Conveying and Perceiving the Professional Culture; and 3) Disconnected from College; and 4) Differences in Website Usability. Themes related to the second research were reported according to each participant group (faculty, staff, and student) then compared for similarities and discrepancies. Themes in this area for the faculty group included: 1) Workload and Time, and 2) Lack of Support for Online/Distance Learning Processes. Emergent staff themes for this question included: 1) Lack of Resources, 2) Preference for Face-to-Face Interaction, 3) Academic Program Disconnect, and 4) Faculty Interference. Lastly, student themes for this area included: 1) Student Services, 2) Faculty Assistance, and 3) Limited Interaction. Finally, global hidden curricular issues associated with institutional and organizational systems related to this case study manifested in the forms of: 1) Support Functions, 2) Advocacy, and 3) Conveying the Profession.

In the thesis, we study the Navier-Stokes-like and the Navier-Stokes-Fourier- like problems for the flows of homogeneous incompressible fluids. In the first part of the thesis, we introduce a new type of boundary condition for the shear stress tensor, which includes the time derivative of the velocity. Therefore, we are able to capture the dynamic response of the fluid on the boundary. As the second part of the thesis, we include the published journal article co-authored by J. Žabenský on the Navier-Stokes-Fourier-like problem formulated in the complete thermodynamic setting. In both parts, the constitutive relations are formulated implicitly with the use of maximal monotone graphs. The main result of the thesis is the existence analysis for the above mentioned problems.

In our bachelor thesis, we described an implicit data structure that, given a way to maintain an implicit representation of polylogarithmic buckets, could implement all the dynamic ordered dictionary operations in logarithmic time. We now fulfill our obligation and provide a corresponding construction of implicit buckets. 1

<p><i>Purpose</i>. Sentence production is impaired in many persons with aphasia (PWA). Structural priming, a speaker’s tendency to re-use a previously heard sentence structure, has been shown to facilitate sentence production in PWA. Man et al. (2019), however, found that PWA showed significant priming only in transitive sentences but not in dative sentences when these two different types of sentences were presented in an alternating manner within a session [Man, G., Meehan, S., Martin, N., Branigan, H., Lee, J. (2019). Effects of Verb Overlap on Structural Priming in Dialogue: Implications for Syntactic Learning in Aphasia. <i>Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62</i>, 1933-1950]. This study sought to examine whether presenting transitive vs. dative stimuli in a blocked format would yield more consistent priming effects in PWA.</p><p><i>Methods. </i>Twelve PWA and twelve healthy older adults (HOA) completed a dialogue-like priming task, where participants took turns describing pictures with the experimenter. Importantly, each participant received two blocks of transitive and dative priming. In addition, we repeated verbs between prime and target items for half of each block to test if lexical overlap boosts priming, i.e., lexical boost. We measured how often the participant re-used the same syntactic structure they heard the experimenter produce previously when they described their own picture. </p><p><i>Results. </i>HOA showed significant priming and lexical boost in the transitive block and significant priming in the dative block, replicating Man et al. (2019). PWA, showed near significant priming in the transitive block. Importantly, the priming effect became significant when the verb was repeated between prime and target, indicating lexical boost. However, PWA failed to show priming in the dative block. </p><p><i>Discussion.</i> Using a blocked stimulus design only modulated lexically-mediated priming in transitives for PWA, different from Man et al. (2019). Findings suggest that while it is feasible to use structural priming to ameliorate sentence production deficits in PWA, the presentation of target stimuli would likely not influence outcomes.</p><p></p><p></p>

Enterprise systems are built for companies and used by the employees to complete work tasks. Focus on userdriven designs for consumer technology has led to expectations of user-friendly designs. Enterprise technology tends, however, to be more technology-driven rather than user-driven, creating unmatched expectations and mismatch between end-user and company objectives. This is why it is necessary to also consider enterprise systems from a user-driven perspective. Therefore, this study addresses user-driven enterprise designs through the Implicit Interaction Framework using a market surveillance system (MSS) as a case study. Practical design implementations and insights were gained through Research through Design (RtD), which were obtained from a survey to validate potential problems, mapping activities using the framework to gain design insights, and prototyped wireframes expressed through narrative video scenarios and evaluated with UX professionals to identify design directions. Three design directions were identified: Recall: Actions for Reminding, Collaboration: Anticipation of Intention, and Disruption: Supporting Ongoing State-Shifting. Control comes at the cost of disruption or risking wrongful actions, context of implicitness creates a trade-off between cognitive load and risk of errors, and lastly UX professionals might have to balance competing objectives in a situation where they collide. Furthermore, the Implicit Interaction Framework can guide enterprise UX designers and researchers to understand the interplay and interactions occurring between system and end-user. However, it is a translation where the complexity of enterprise systems is in some respects difficult to demonstrate, where better end-user experiences through implicit interactions should not be assumed. / Företagssystem är byggda för företag och används av de anställda för att slutföra arbetsuppgifter. Fokus på användardriven design inom konsumentteknik har lett till förväntningar på användarvänliga designer. Företagssystem tenderar dock att vara mer teknologidriven snarare än användardriven, vilket skapar oöverträffade förväntningar och oöverensstämmelse mellan slutanvändarnas och företagets mål. Det är därför nödvändigt att också betrakta företagssystem från ett användardrivet perspektiv. Därför behandlar den här studien användardrivna företagsdesigner genom ramverket ”Implicit Interaction Framework” där ett marknadsövervakningssystem ”market surveillance system” (MSS) används som fallstudie. Praktiska designimplementeringar och insikter nåddes genom Research through Design (RtD), som erhölls från en enkät för att validera potentiella problem, kartläggningsaktiviteter för att få designinsikter, och prototyper framhävda genom videoscenarier med berättarröst och som utvärderas med UX-yrkesverksamma personer för att identifiera designriktningar. Tre designriktningar identifierades: Komma ihåg: Åtgärder för att Påminna, Samverkan: Förväntan på Avsikt, och Avbrott: Stöd för Pågående Tillståndsändring. Kontroll har sitt pris genom avbrott eller risk för felaktiga handlingar, sammanhanget för implicititet skapar en avvägning mellan kognitiv belastning och risk för fel, och slutligen UX-yrkesverksamma kan behöva balansera konkurrerande mål i en situation där de kolliderar. Dessutom kan Implicit Interaction Framework vägleda UX-designers och forskare för att förstå samspelet och interaktionerna mellan system och slutanvändare. Det är dock en översättning där komplexiteten i företagssystem i vissa avseenden är svår att demonstrera, där bättre slutanvändarupplevelser genom implicita interaktioner inte bör antas.

Social media as a tool in the classroom is not a concept one hears much about. Being that social media is still a relatively new phenomenon, this is not particularly strange. Research surrounding the subject is sparse, but there are several articles that show there being a possible place for social media in the classroom. These studies find that there is a need for educators to be properly informed and make precise decisions regarding how and why they want to use social media in the classroom. In this paper we found evidence that supports the idea that social media can be useful as a tool in the classroom; however, findings show that there are few if any moments of explicit vocabulary learning, and therefore social media should be used more as a motivational tool, resulting in implicit vocabulary acquisition. In order to get proper usage of social media, educators need to conduct their own research, thereby expanding the knowledge of social media as a tool.

Continuous time Markov chains are often used in the literature to model the dynamics of a system with low species count and uncertainty in transitions. In this paper, we investigate three particular algorithms that can be used to numerically simulate continuous time Markov chain models (a stochastic simulation algorithm, explicit and implicit tau-leaping algorithms). To compare these methods, we used them to analyze two stochastic infection models with different level of complexity. One of these models describes the dynamics of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) infection in a hospital, and the other is for the early infection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) within a host. The relative efficiency of each algorithm is determined based on computational time and degree of precision required. The numerical results suggest that all three algorithms have similar computational efficiency for the VRE model due to the low number of species and small number of transitions. However, we found that with the larger and more complex HIV model, implementation and modification of tau-Leaping methods are preferred.

Institutions of higher education continue to try and find new ways to help students persist in college (Kinzie & Kuh, 2017). One compelling tool to help students succeed comes from Dweck’s (1999) Mindset model. The model depicts intelligence as either fixed or growth; meaning intelligence can be viewed as unchangeable or malleable. Students with a growth mindset recover from failure quicker, overcome challenges faster, and see difficulty as a positive challenge instead of questioning their intelligence. With the many challenges domestic students face persisting in college, international students studying abroad face additional factors inhibiting their motivation and ability to succeed. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether Dweck’s (1999) 8-item Mindset sub-scale could be valid with international students studying within the United States. A multiple-sample confirmatory factor analysis using maximum likelihood estimation was used to assess measurement invariance with domestic (n = 1809) and international (n = 275) students at a large-midwestern university. The secondary purpose was to determine whether GPA, gender, year-in-school, English language proficiency, and first-generation status impacted international student mindset scores. A seemingly unrelated regression was used to determine if there were any differences in the sub-group population of international students (n = 268). Results indicated Dweck’s (1999) Mindset Scale is valid for use with international students studying within the U.S. and significant differences were found in the mindset scores within gender, academic rank, age, and first-generation status. The results of this study inform the literature and institutions of higher education on how Dweck’s (1999) mindset model can be used as another tool to help international students succeed in college. Future research implications were shared and discussed.