Global ETD Search

1	Ergonomic Control Panel Design for a Remotely Operated Agricultural Tractor Mastorakos, Maria 17 January 2013 (has links) An ergonomic control panel was designed for a remotely operated agricultural tractor. In order to inform the design, information was collected via ergonomic literature, ride-alongs with tractor operators, and interviews with tractor operators and experienced design professionals. Ride-alongs were used to determine frequency and sequence of use in agricultural tractors. The most frequently used control was the one that controlled the implement being pulled behind the tractor. There was no sequence pattern observed over all the ride-alongs. The control panel design was evaluated using design criteria from the information collected, the Index of Functionality, and the Index of Accessibility. The Index of Functionality was assessed and validated as a tool for ergonomic control panel design. The final design satisfied all the criteria outlined and achieved good index scores. Ergonomic control panel tractor control panel design Index of functionality evaluation
2	Ergonomic Control Panel Design for a Remotely Operated Agricultural Tractor Mastorakos, Maria 17 January 2013 (has links) An ergonomic control panel was designed for a remotely operated agricultural tractor. In order to inform the design, information was collected via ergonomic literature, ride-alongs with tractor operators, and interviews with tractor operators and experienced design professionals. Ride-alongs were used to determine frequency and sequence of use in agricultural tractors. The most frequently used control was the one that controlled the implement being pulled behind the tractor. There was no sequence pattern observed over all the ride-alongs. The control panel design was evaluated using design criteria from the information collected, the Index of Functionality, and the Index of Accessibility. The Index of Functionality was assessed and validated as a tool for ergonomic control panel design. The final design satisfied all the criteria outlined and achieved good index scores. Ergonomic conntrol panel , tractor control panel design Index of functionality evaluation
3	Suitable Utilty Helicopter Cockpit Design For Turkish Pilots Senol, Mehmet Burak 01 January 2007 (has links) (PDF) Designing a suitable utility helicopter cockpit for Turkish pilots is the main theme of this thesis. Helicopter cockpit is one of the ultimate human machine interface application. Consequences of pilot errors during flight in any helicopter cockpit can be catastrophic. Human errors can only be prevented by user-friendly cockpit design. In this thesis, reach compatibilities to controls in the cockpit are evaluated and the suitable positions of analogue indicators at front display panel are examined in order to obtain a user-friendly utility helicopter cockpit design. Human anthropometry is the most significant factor for evaluating cockpit reach compatibilities to controls / so all critical operational reach parameters of Turkish pilots are examined. The anthropometric study revealed vision problems and showed that the height of display panel is inappropriate for most pilots. Suitable positions of the indicators on pedestal are determined by using qualitative and quantitative approaches. As a quantitative approach Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) algorithms are employed. Card sorting methodology is used for the qualitative evaluation of the aforementioned display panel design. Although there are some approaches in literature for designing of displays, a specific design methodology related with the arrangement of indicators on display panel is not offered so far. In this thesis, MCDM and Card sorting approaches are adapted and used in the design of a display panel for the first time. There are lots of similarities between the results of MCDM and Card sorting approaches. The main similarity is to provide separate locations on display panel for engine and flight system indicators. Finally the findings of these techniques are compared with the existing layout of the display panel of a utility helicopter.
4	Career Decision Ambiguity Tolerance: A Longitudinal Examination of its Relation to Career Indecision January 2017 (has links) abstract: The current study investigated the dynamic interplay of career decision ambiguity tolerance and career indecision over three assessment times in a sample of college students (n=583). While the previous research has repeatedly shown an association of career decision ambiguity tolerance with career indecision, the direction of this association has not been adequately assessed with longitudinal investigation. It was hypothesized in this study that there is a reciprocal pattern of career decision ambiguity tolerance leading to subsequent career indecision and career indecision leading to subsequent career decision ambiguity tolerance. Using a cross-lagged panel design, this study found support for the reciprocal pattern that aversion with ambiguity led to increased negative experience, choice anxiety, and lack of readiness in career decision making, while negative experience, choice anxiety, and lack of readiness led to increased aversion with ambiguity as well. Additionally, this study revealed that choice anxiety and readiness for career decision making led to increased interests in new information. The key findings were discussed with respect to the theoretical and clinical implications for career counseling along with limitations and suggestions for future research. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Counseling Psychology 2017 Counseling psychology career decision ambiguity tolerance career indecision cross-lagged panel design dynamic interplay longitudinal research
5	Development of an Efficient Solar Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with an Onboard Solar Tracker Tegeder, Troy Dixon 10 March 2007 (has links) (PDF) Methods were developed for the design of a solar powered UAV capable of tracking the sun to achieve maximum solar energy capture. A single-axis solar tracking system was designed and constructed. This system autonomously rotated an onboard solar panel to find the angle of maximum solar irradiance while the UAV was airborne. A microcontroller was programmed and implemented to control the solar tracking system. A solar panel and an efficient airframe capable of housing the solar tracking system was designed and constructed. Each of these subsystems was tested individually with either ground or flight tests. Ultimately, the final assembled system was tested. These tests were used to determine where and when a UAV with an onboard solar tracker would be advantageous over a conventional solar powered UAV with PV cells statically fixed to its wings. The final UAV had a wingspan of 3.2 meters, a length of 2.6 meters, and weighed 4.1 kilograms. Its solar panel provided a maximum power output of 37.7 watts. The predicted system performance, airframe drag, and system power requirements were validated with a battery powered flight test. The UAV's analytical model predicted the drag to be 41% lower than the actual drag found from flight testing. Full system functionality was verified with a solar powered flight test. The results and analysis of the system tests are presented in this thesis. The net energy increase from the solar tracking UAV over a conventional solar powered UAV for the duration of a day is dependent on season and geographical location. The solar tracking UAV that was developed was found to have a maximum net energy gain of 34.5% over a conventional solar powered version of the UAV. The minimum net energy gain of the solar tracking UAV was found to be 0.8%. solar power solar cells solar tracker solar panel design photovoltaic cells PV cells unmanned aerial vehicle UAV efficient airframe airframe design steady level flight solar powered flight Mechanical Engineering
6	Disruptive Transformations in Health Care: Technological Innovation and the Acute Care General Hospital Lucas, D. Pulane 24 April 2013 (has links) Advances in medical technology have altered the need for certain types of surgery to be performed in traditional inpatient hospital settings. Less invasive surgical procedures allow a growing number of medical treatments to take place on an outpatient basis. Hospitals face growing competition from ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). The competitive threats posed by ASCs are important, given that inpatient surgery has been the cornerstone of hospital services for over a century. Additional research is needed to understand how surgical volume shifts between and within acute care general hospitals (ACGHs) and ASCs. This study investigates how medical technology within the hospital industry is changing medical services delivery. The main purposes of this study are to (1) test Clayton M. Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation in health care, and (2) examine the effects of disruptive innovation on appendectomy, cholecystectomy, and bariatric surgery (ACBS) utilization. Disruptive innovation theory contends that advanced technology combined with innovative business models—located outside of traditional product markets or delivery systems—will produce simplified, quality products and services at lower costs with broader accessibility. Consequently, new markets will emerge, and conventional industry leaders will experience a loss of market share to “non-traditional” new entrants into the marketplace. The underlying assumption of this work is that ASCs (innovative business models) have adopted laparoscopy (innovative technology) and their unification has initiated disruptive innovation within the hospital industry. The disruptive effects have spawned shifts in surgical volumes from open to laparoscopic procedures, from inpatient to ambulatory settings, and from hospitals to ASCs. The research hypothesizes that: (1) there will be larger increases in the percentage of laparoscopic ACBS performed than open ACBS procedures; (2) ambulatory ACBS will experience larger percent increases than inpatient ACBS procedures; and (3) ASCs will experience larger percent increases than ACGHs. The study tracks the utilization of open, laparoscopic, inpatient and ambulatory ACBS. The research questions that guide the inquiry are: 1. How has ACBS utilization changed over this time? 2. Do ACGHs and ASCs differ in the utilization of ACBS? 3. How do states differ in the utilization of ACBS? 4. Do study findings support disruptive innovation theory in the hospital industry? The quantitative study employs a panel design using hospital discharge data from 2004 and 2009. The unit of analysis is the facility. The sampling frame is comprised of ACGHs and ASCs in Florida and Wisconsin. The study employs exploratory and confirmatory data analysis. This work finds that disruptive innovation theory is an effective model for assessing the hospital industry. The model provides a useful framework for analyzing the interplay between ACGHs and ASCs. While study findings did not support the stated hypotheses, the impact of government interventions into the competitive marketplace supports the claims of disruptive innovation theory. Regulations that intervened in the hospital industry facilitated interactions between ASCs and ACGHs, reducing the number of ASCs performing ACBS and altering the trajectory of ACBS volume by shifting surgeries from ASCs to ACGHs. Disruptive Disruptive Innovation Theory Disruptive Transformations Disruptive Innovation Innovation Technology Technological Innovation Medical Innovation Medical Technology Medical Advancement Laparoscopy Laparoscopic Surgery open surgery appendectomy cholecystectomy bariatric surgery weight loss surgery appendectomies cholecystectomies inpatient outpatient ambulatory ambulatory surgery ambulatory surgery center acute care general hospital hospital acute care hospital general hospital health care healthcare hospital industry health care industry Clayton Christensen Clayton M Christensen Michael Porter Harvard Business School Virginia Commonwealth University CMS Health policy public policy public administration organizational theory organization theory Population Ecology Theory Competitive Strategy policy analysis John Kimberly Organization Size Structural Inertia liability of smallness health spending health care cost specialty medical facility open system niche width dynamic outpatient department technology shift surgical setting surgical setting shift medical facility shift substitution threat health system system level analysis Ecological Approach hospital trends ambulatory surgery trends reimbursement rate Medicare CMS coverage decision P J DiMaggio DiMaggio and Powell w w Powell Hannan and Freeman M T Hannan Organizational change minimally invasive surgery less invasive surgery Prospective Payment System Outpatient Prospective Payment System entreprenuerial physician health care organization health care management Roice Luke Carl Ameringer new technology surgical utilization elective surgery Medicare Payment Advisory Commission MedPAC coverage decision trends in surgery abdominal surgery surgical variation physician-owned physician ownership physician autonomy outpatient clinic utilization trends unnecessary surgery Pfeffer Salancik technology diffusion redefining health care interdisciplinary research health care delivery panel design diffusion of hospital technology state variation regional variation local health care market government intervention medical facility health care capacity focused factory advances in health care physician organization relationship hospital competition medical specialization hospital expansion medical arms race integrated care integrated health system J E Wennberg health care transformation reimbursement scheme surgical volume Florida Wisconsin policy making health policy analysis competitive dynamics center of excellence intervening factor service line competition service-line competition surgical reimbursement innovative business model innovative technology environmental influence established firm new market entrant patient safety sophisticated technology Harvard Divinity School Social and Behavioral Sciences

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