abstract: The 21st century will be the site of numerous changes in education systems in response to a rapidly evolving technological environment where existing skill sets and career structures may cease to exist or, at the very least, change dramatically. Likewise, the nature of work will also change to become more automated and more technologically intensive across all sectors, from food service to scientific research. Simply having technical expertise or the ability to process and retain facts will in no way guarantee success in higher education or a satisfying career. Instead, the future will value those educated in a way that encourages collaboration with technology, critical thinking, creativity, clear communication skills, and strong lifelong learning strategies. These changes pose a challenge for higher education’s promise of employability and success post-graduation. Addressing how to prepare students for a technologically uncertain future is challenging. One possible model for education to prepare students for the future of work can be found within the Maker Movement. However, it is not fully understood what parts of this movement are most meaningful to implement in education more broadly, and higher education in particular. Through the qualitative analysis of nearly 160 interviews of adult makers, young makers and young makers’ parents, this dissertation unpacks how makers are learning, what they are learning, and how these qualities are applicable to education goals and the future of work in the 21st century. This research demonstrates that makers are learning valuable skills to prepare them for the future of work in the 21st century. Makers are learning communication skills, technical skills in fabrication and design, and developing lifelong learning strategies that will help prepare them for life in an increasingly technologically integrated future. This work discusses what aspects of the Maker Movement are most important for integration into higher education. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology 2017

Decisões complexas, onde os fatores levados em consideração não são inteiramente conhecidos, colocam o decisor em um contexto de incerteza, abrindo margem para a manifestação de critérios subjetivos de decisão. Assim, a confiança em quem endossa uma determinada decisão pode mostrar-se um elemento importante na percepção do risco envolvido na decisão e no comportamento do decisor. Alguns teóricos enfatizam que situações de risco criam a necessidade de confiança, outros autores argumentam que o risco é um resultado da confiança. É objetivo desta tese verificar a influência da confiança no grau de risco percebido, na disposição em assumir o risco percebido e na manifestação individual de uma decisão em um contexto complexo para seleção de alternativas. Assim, parte-se da relação entre controle, intenção e comportamento estabelecida na Theory of planned Behavior (TPB) e incorporam-se os construtos risco e confiança. Para verificação empírica, criou-se um jogo de investimentos no mercado de ações para observar o comportamento decisório dos participantes. No jogo, os 145 participantes qualificados foram submetidos a relatórios de três diferentes autores (com currículos que inspiravam diferentes níveis de confiança), que endossavam a compra de ações de três diferentes empresas. Ao longo das atividades, os participantes eram submetidos a questionários (validados em um estudo piloto) para mensuração (1) da sua propensão ao risco e à confiança, (2) do seu grau de confiança no autor de cada relatório, (3) do risco percebido na compra da ação endossada no relatório e (4) da intenção em comprar determinada ação. De modo a dar suporte à teoria da base, o comportamento era medido a partir da efetiva decisão em comprar a ação de uma das três empresas determinadas. Como resultado, verificou-se que a confiança tem papel importante na formação do risco percebido somente para os indivíduos com baixa propensão ao risco. Por meio da relação estreita entre confiança e o controle percebido pelo decisor sobre seu comportamento, verificou-se empiricamente que a confiança pode atuar como substituta do controle nas relações, e que o risco afeta diretamente o comportamento. Ao final, discute-se sobre a aderência do modelo proposto ao comportamento verificado no jogo de investimentos e sugerem-se alguns encaminhamentos a partir dos resultados encontrados. / Subjective criteria play an important role on decision making process when the decision maker needs to make a complex decision. In this context, trust on who endorse a specific decision could affect the perceived risk and the intention to make the decision. Some theorists emphasize that risk situations create the need for trust. Other authors argue that risk is a result of trust. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the influence of trust in the degree of perceived risk, willingness to take risk and the individual manifestation of a decision made under a complex hall of alternatives. To achieve this aim, perceived risk construct and trust construct were incorporated into the relationship among perceived behavior control, intention and behavior proposed by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). For empirical verification, it was created a game complaining a set of investments in the stock market to observe the decisionmaking behavior of participants. In this scenario, the 145 qualified participants were submitted to three different authors (with bios inspiring different levels of trust). Each author endorsed the purchase of stock from one specific company. During the tasks, the individuals were submitted to questionnaires (validated in a pilot study) to measure (1) their risk propensity and trust propensity, (2) their degree of trust in the author of each report, (3) their degree of perceived risk in buying the stock endorsed by each report and (4) their intention to purchase a certain stock. In order to support the basis theory, the behavior was measured from the actual decision to purchase the stock of one of three specific firms. As a result, it was seen that trust has an important role in shaping the perceived risk, but only for individuals that had a low risk propensity. Through a close relationship between trust and the decision maker’s perceived behavior control, it was empirically verified that trust can act as a substitute for control in relationships and that the risk directly affects behavior. Finally, it was discussed the adherence of the proposed model to the behavior observed in the investment game and it was suggested some directions considering the findings.

O Sistema de Posicionamento Global (GPS) permite uma grande variedade de aplicações civis e militares. Dentre as várias aplicações, uma de especial interesse é a navegação, que tem crescido muito nos últimos anos devido a fatores como menor custo, e fácil utilização desta tecnologia. Num sistema de navegação terrestre, assim como na navegação marítima, fluvial e aérea, um mapa digitalizado, ou imagem de satélite disponível da região de interesse é exibida na tela do computador de bordo e a posição do veículo é apresentada em "tempo real" a partir da posição fornecida por receptores GPS. Além disso, a comunicação disponível nos dias de hoje permite uma maior integração entre o veículo e o escritório. Finalmente, o Google Earth permite que se tenha acesso a uma grande quantidade de informações necessárias ao desenvolvimento de inúmeros trabalhos, permitindo inclusive a inserção de fotos e imagens para registro dos acontecimentos. O potencial deste tipo de sistema só foi possível a partir de maio de 2000, com a eliminação da SA (Selective Availability).Com isso, o posicionamento absoluto realizado por receptores de navegação (menos precisos do que os receptores geodésicos) foi aprimorado, podendo conseguir precisões da ordem de 10m, o que aumenta a qualidade de aplicações como a navegação terrestre. A proposta desta dissertação é descrever o desenvolvimento de um protótipo veicular para aplicações de campo em Geociências, onde foi incluída a navegação em tempo real, o uso da internet para a comunicação pessoal e interface de acesso ao Google Earth. O protótipo desenvolvido permite a extensão de parte da infra-estrutura de um laboratório para apoio das atividades de campo. / In our days the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) is a technology with a great variety of military and civilian applicability. Among this uses, navigation is one activity that is largely increasing in reason to lowering equipment prices and introduced facilities as easy to use technology. In practice, a system structured to navigate in terrestrial, maritime, fluvial or aerial way is formed by a GPS connected to an onboard computer and video equipped with appropriate software that process in a instantaneous mode (real time) all the information necessary to show on screen the geographical position of the vehicle. In parallel, new advances in network communication open the possibility to integrate completely the vehicle in movement with the staff in the office. Also, the Geoogle Earth™ and World Wide Web increase the facilities to view online the terrain and open the possibility to user interact directly with routines that insert local photo and images. Navigate with accuracy using a single-receiver GPS linked to a computer was only possibly after May of 2000, when the SA (Selective Availability) was excluded from GPS signal. Consequently, absolute positioning with one band handled GPS (low accuracy when compared to geodetic two bands GPS) was tested and the results show the availability to locate points in the Earth surface with an uncertainty degree not above than 10 meters (in terms of planimmetric coordinates). This performance increases the data quality and the ability of single-receiver GPS to be used to navigation purposes. In this work, it is assembled and tested a navigation system prototype installed in a vehicle with the objective to optimize field survey and adapted to some geosciences necessities, including the possibility to navigate in real time integrated with Internet facilities to personal communication and with an interface to access the Google Earth™. The configuration of the navigation system prototype elaborated in this project permit to extend to the field some facilities only accessible in a laboratory environment and consequently the results obtained with the system increased the performance of all the field work stages.

This diploma thesis deals with the market-making strategy's profitability analysis, tested on simulation of central order book. The theoretical part describes how the market maker quotes the price of supply and demand and mathematically proves under which circumstances this strategy is profitable. The practical part introduces a simulation of the central order book. The advantage of simulating the entire order book is that we have information about the number of market participants and quotes at any given time. It also introduces a fictitious market maker quoting the price of supply and demand at any given moment, the price being determined by the price of the previous time step. The order book is simulated in three different settings - random walk, mean-reversion and leptokurtic distribution, and it is shown that the expected profitability of the market-maker strategy is positive in all three cases.

While the computer programing becomes a fundamental skill in the last century, it has been globally acknowledged that there is a decline in number of graduates in disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Many scholars have been addressing this lack of interest and studied student engagement with STEM through variety of engagement programs and activities. In this master thesis as an exploratory qualitative study, technology and programing are blended together in a workshop hosting students of age 12-13 towards the development of their enthusiasm and engagement with STEM. During the activity, students used Makey Makey toolkit and Scartch programming language by application of textiles as soft material to investigate how this combination impact the engagement, and in what ways soft materials influence it. The study results in the light of Flow theory showed that four attributes of attention, motivation, engagement and social interaction pursued in the workshop. Textiles, as a mediator by expanding the flow state boundaries make the activity softer to encourage students being engaged in it, particularly from a gender perspective.

Abstract: The purpose of this research was to understand: (1) the influence that an industry-situated STEM lab experience has on students’ (ages 10-18) perceptions of careers in manufacturing, and (2) the challenges and opportunities that this space presents. To answer these questions, this study analyzed participant pre- and post-draw a manufacturer tests as well as manufacturing career perception surveys that included Likert-scale items and open response questions. Along with these data sources, five semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry stakeholders in order to understand the conception and operation of the STEM lab, as well identify any challenges or opportunities to improve or replicate success for other industries. From there, the data were analyzed through thematic coding for the drawings, open-response questions, and interviews, and a Mann-Whitney U test was performed on the survey results in order to look for general shifts in responses to specific questions from before to after the STEM lab experience. The results gained from the three different data collection techniques were looked at in aggregate and used to triangulate specific understandings, questions, and recommendations. The results confirmed a lack of students’ awareness and understanding of manufacturing, misperceptions surrounding the careers within, and a disconnect between industry needs and educational output. Along with the data, literature on vocational psychology supports the need for students to participate in authentic learning opportunities to build self-efficacy and form more accurate outcome expectations with regards to future career selection. However, the data did reveal that the industry-situated STEM lab experience likely led the participants to an improved understanding of the manufacturing ecosystem and provided an opportunity for local educators to engage with industry. While this research looked at a novel application of a STEM lab and highlighted its influence on students’ perceptions of manufacturing careers, there is obviously no “silver bullet” for fixing the talent pipeline for manufacturing and continuous work in this area needs to be done.

In the region of Jablonec, Czech republic, two unique types of industrial buildings used to be built, in which local craftsmen grinded and pressed glass. Nowadays, some of those objects have been already torn down, however the rest of them is currently serving for recreational or even residential purposes. The aim of this thesis is to document the remaining buildings and their users, and also to describe the life and the work of the local craftsmen. The buildings used for glass grinding were built all across the Czech republic, however in the region of Jablonec their appearance was very specific. In the ground floor, a row of small windows was usually present, providing enough light for the working craftsmen. Some of those buildings were also water-powered. The buildings used for glass pressing were, compared to the buildings for glass grinding, built only in the region of Jablonec. The first part of this thesis is dedicated to the history of the glass-making industry and the production of the fashion jewellery in this region, the second part is then focused on the main theme.

This qualitative research synthesis examines the design of existing studies on making and maker-oriented activities with digital tools (Digital Making) in early childhood settings. This synthesis also provides an overview of teachers’ understanding of Digital Making, and how teachers implement Digital Making in their teaching practice. To be included in this synthesis, studies needed to (a) focus on Digital Making, (b) include evidence of early childhood teachers’ perspectives on Digital Making, (c) include children aged three to eight as Digital Makers, and (d) be situated in a formal educational setting. Given that young children’s making activities with digital tools are limited by children’s exposure to digital materials, I also considered studies in which children manipulated digital devices in ways that enabled them to develop foundational maker orientations and skills. Although 274 studies were considered, only seven studies met these criteria. Analyses show that the seven selected studies are grounded in the theoretical perspectives of constructivism, embodiment, and empowerment as an essential part of early childhood learning. These seven studies were conducted in a range of contexts with many different kinds of digital tools such as programable robots, remote toys, iPads, and 3D printers. Teachers viewed Digital Making as child-centred and engaging. They also reported using making and maker-oriented activities to support children’s learning of problem-solving skills, social skills, and digital literacies. To better integrate Digital Making at scale, however, more training and support for teachers is likely needed.

The purpose of this master's thesis is to explore how creative spaces in libraries function, their goals and how they affect the role of their host libraries by undertaking a qualitative multi-case study in three public libraries in Dublin Ireland .This uses the four spaces model as a theoretical framework in analysing the empirical data which was gathered from semi-structured interviews of librarians and an events planner in the spaces as well as a document analysis of related strategic documents. The results of the study show that creative spaces offer a way for libraries to attract more and diverse groupings of patrons to their service and primarily have a role as learning and inspirational spaces. They enable libraries in particular to help give equal access to STEM resources and encourage experience based learning in all age groups from young to old. Each space has an individual character and its content and role is dependent on the host library and can act as a force multiplier for the various goals and roles of the library itself.

Das Themenfeld der Holografie eignet sich hervorragend für einen Aufbau metakonzeptioneller Fähigkeiten seitens der Schülerinnen und Schüler bei der Verwendung verschiedener Lichtmodelle. Zusätzlich gilt es als eines der wenigen Experimente in der gymnasialen Oberstufe als hochgradig motivierend. Diese Dissertation beschäftigt sich daher mit der Übertragung des Maker-Buchs „Hologramme zum Selbermachen“ in einen modernen Physik-Unterricht. Hierbei gliedert sich die Arbeit in drei Kernbereiche: 1) Entwicklung einer schülergerechten und an den Unterricht anknüpfbaren Experimentier-Plattform, 2) Analyse der Eignung des Maker-Buchs für den Unterricht und 3) Entwicklung von Unterrichtsmaterialien, die die Inhalte des Buchs in einen forschenden und schüleraktiven Physik-Unterricht integrieren. Es wird außerdem gezeigt, dass sich das Schema zur Erstellung der Materialien eignet, andere Bände der Buchreihe „1.000 Laser-Hacks für MAKER“ mit geringem Aufwand in die Schule zu übertragen.