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The objective of this research was to determine the environmental and social factors that led to the shift of settlement patterning from agro-pastoral in the late Neolithic to hillort sites at the turn of the Early Bronze Age and why burial mounds (tumuli) were erected further than anticipated from corresponding hillort sites in the Shkodra Plain region in Northern Albania. Geospatial techniques were used to examine 168 tumuli and seven hillort sites. These were mapped to examine visibility, viewshed, slope, and potential prehistoric networks. Based on the landscape visibility GIS results, it was found that hillort sites and tumuli were part of an social landscape that thrived on trade. It was determinable that the shift of the social landscape was related to Northern trade routes and probable changes in paleo-lake levels. This new evidence provides insight to Albanian prehistoric culture and has implications to related studies in the Balkans.

The field of modal testing and analysis is currently facing a surge of interest in error modelling. Several errors which occur during testing campaigns are modelled analytically or numerically and propagated to various system coupling and interface reduction routines effectively. This study aims to propagate human errors, like position measurement errors and orientation measurement errors, and random noise-based errors in the measured Frequency Response Functions(FRFs) to the interface reduction algorithm called Virtual Point Transformation(VPT) and later to a substructure coupling method called Frequency-Based Substructuring(FBS). These methods form the cornerstone for Transfer Path Analsysis (TPA). Furthermore, common sources of error like sensor mass loading effect and sensor misalignment have also been investigated. Lastly, a new method to calculate the sensor positions and orientations after a measurement has been devised based on rigid body properties of the system and from the applied force characteristics. The error propagation was performed using a computationally efficient, moment method of the first order and later validated using Monte-Carlo simulations. The results show that the orientation measurement error is the most significant followed by FRF error and position measurement error. The mass loading effect is compensated using the Structural Modification Using Response Functions (SMURF) method and the sensor misalignment is corrected using coordinate transformation. The sensor positions and orientations are accurately estimated from rigid body properties and applied force characteristics; individually using matrix algebra and simultaneously using an optimization-based non-linear least squares solver. / För närvarande ser vi ett ökat intresse för felmodellering inom området modal provning och analys. Flera fel som uppstår under testserier modelleras analytiskt eller numeriskt och propageras effektivt till olika systemkopplings- och gränssnittsreduktionsrutiner. Denna studie syftar till att hantera mänskliga fel, som positionsmätningsfel och orienteringsmätfel, och slumpmässiga brusbaserade fel i de uppmätta frekvensresponsfunktionerna (FRF) till den gränssnittsreduktionsalgoritm, som kallas ”Virtual Point Transformation” (VPT), och senare till en substrukturskopplingsmetod, som kallas FBS (Frequency-Based Substructuring). Dessa metoder utgör hörnstenen för ”Transfer Path Analsysis” (TPA). Dessutom har vanliga felkällor som sensormassbelastningseffekter och felorientering av sensorer undersökts. Slutligen har en ny metod för att beräkna sensorns positioner och riktningar, efter att mätning gjorts, baserat på systemets stelkroppsegenskaper och de applicerade krafterna. Felpropageringen estimerades med en beräkningseffektiv, momentmetod av första ordningen och validerades senare med Monte-Carlo-simuleringar. Resultaten visar att orienteringsmätfelet är den mest signifikanta felkällan följt av FRF-fel och positionsmätningsfel. Massbelastningseffekten kompenseras med hjälp av ”Structural Modification Using Response Functions” (SMURF) -metoden och sensorjusteringen korrigeras med hjälp av koordinatomvandling. Sensorpositionerna och positioner och orientering beräknas exakt från stelkroppsegenskaperna och de applicerade krafterna; individuellt med matrisalgebra och samtidigt med en optimeringsbaserad icke-linjär minsta kvadratlösare.

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The available literature supports the fact that some students experience difficulty learning object-oriented design (OOD) principles. Previously explored predictors of OOD learning difficulties include student characteristics (cognitive activities, self-efficacy), teaching methodologies (teacher centered, course complexity), and student experiences (prior programming experience). Yet, within an extensive body of literature devoted to OOD, two explanations of student difficulty remain largely unexplored: (1) varying conceptualizations of the underlying principles/strategies of OOD, and (2) preparedness or readiness to learn OOD. This research also investigated the extent to which individual differences impacted DRAS and OOD performance. The individual difference measures of interest in this study included college grade point average, prior programming experience, cognitive abilities (spatial orientation, visualization, logical reasoning, flexibility, perceptual style), and design readiness. In addition, OOD performance was measured using two constructs: course grade (exams, labs, programs, overall), and a specially constructed design task. Participants selected from the CS2 course from two southeastern state universities were used within this study, resulting in a sample size of 161 (School A, n = 76; School B, n = 85). School A is a mid-sized comprehensive university and School B is a large research-intensive university. If was found that the schools significantly differed on all measures of prior computer science experience and cognitive abilities. Path analysis was conducted to determine which individual differences were related to design readiness and OOD performance. In summary, this research identified that instructors can not ignore individual differences when teaching OOD. It was found that the cognitive ability visualization, prior OO experience, and overall college grade point average should be considered when teaching OOD. As it stands, without identifying specific teaching strategies used at the schools within this study, this research implies that OOD may require a certain level of practical computer experience before OOD is introduced into the curriculum. The cognitive ability visualization was found to have a significant indirect relationship with overall course grade through the mediating variable design readiness. Further, the results suggest that the DRAS may serve as a viable instrument in identifying successful OOD students as well as students that require supplemental OOD instruction. / Ph. D.

Yes / Aims: Theoretical arguments and empirical evidence have been provided in the literature for the role of fairness in wellness. In this paper we explore the role of two potential mediating variables: autonomous human choice and social capital. Methods: Using aggregated panel data across countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) we compared the OECD Social Justice Index with data on life satisfaction to test whether fairness has direct and indirect effects on wellness. Results: Results from a series of Manifest Path Analyses with time as fixed effect, support the hypothesis that the OECD Social Justice Index is directly linked to country-level life satisfaction and also reveal that its indirect effect operates primarily through people’s autonomous choices in life and their country’s level of social capital. Conclusions: Our results contribute to two distinct bodies of knowledge. With respect to community psychology, the findings offer empirical evidence for the synergistic effect of personal, relational, and collective factors in well-being. With respect to the impact of economic inequality on wellness, we extend the literature by using social justice as a more comprehensive measure. Limitation and recommendations for future studies are discussed. / Research Development Fund Publication Prize Award winner, Jan 2022.

While costing methods have developed over time, they are often static in nature and ill-suited to the dynamic nature of production lines. Static costing systems are often developed for long-term analysis. Due to this, they lack the ability to aid short-term decision-making. In addition, the use of averaged data prohibits a static costing system from accurately tracing the cost effects of changing system behavior like random downtime events. A dynamic costing system, however, can capture the cost effects of changing system behavior in a manner that can aid short-term operational management. The proposed methodology is a dynamic activity-based costing method that relies on real-time production line data to track costs, specifically the added costs of unused capacity and downtime events. The methodology aims to trace these costs to responsible cost centers on the production line to give a better representation of the total cost of production, specifically in regards to normal production costs, added downtime costs, and added costs from unused capacity. In addition to monetary costs, the methodology provides a framework for tracking environmental costs, such as energy use, in order to aid plant managers with determining the environmental impact of their operations. The methodology addresses a gap between activity-based costing and downtime costing by combining the two under a single methodology. It traces both monetary and environmental costs to cost centers on the manufacturing line to aid continuous improvement efforts and the allocation of resources. By using real-time data, the methodology alerts management to changing system performance in a shorter time frame than static costing systems. The methodology will be shown in a case study of an automotive assembly plant. The case study will model the resource use of an automotive paint shop and trace this resource use to line segments in order to highlight areas of possible improvement.

Il est évalué qu’entre 15 et 40 % des élèves surdoués performent à des niveaux inférieurs à leur potentiel (Seeley, 1994). Récemment, plusieurs chercheurs se sont plongés dans ce phénomène en tentant de l’expliquer. Par contre, une seule équipe de recherche s’est attardé sur l’impact des climats socioéducatifs sur la performance des surdoués, alors que ce lien est bien existant chez les jeunes non-doués. Cette recherche vise à explorer la relation possible entre les climats socioéducatifs, l’environnement familial et la performance scolaire chez les jeunes surdoués, afin de combler ce manque dans la littérature. Afin d’atteindre cet objectif, un échantillon de 1 885 participants de 3e secondaire provenant de la base de donnée de l’évaluation du programme SIAA furent étudiés afin de créer un modèle présentant l’effet des environnements sur la performance des jeunes surdoués, médié par la motivation. Nos résultats suggèrent que l’impact des environnements socioéducatifs et familiaux sur la performance des jeunes surdoués est minime, bien qu’il soit majeur chez les jeunes non-doués. / It is said that 15 to 40% of gifted students perform at levels below their potential (Seeley, 1994). In recent years, many researchers have looked into this phenomenon in an attempt to explain it. However, only one research team has looked into school climates for a part of the answer, while many researchers have found such a relationship amongst the non-gifted population. This study aims to look for a relationship between socioeducative climates, family environment and performance amongst gifted kids to fill this gap. In order to do this, a sample of 1,885 Grade 10 participants was taken from the previously created database of the evaluation of Quebec’s SIAA program, and a path analysis was conducted to create a model of the effect of environments on the performance of gifted youth, through the mediation of motivation. The findings suggest that the impact of socioeducative and family environment on the performance of gifted students is minimal.