This dissertation addresses the convergence of ethics, labor, aesthetics, cultural citizenship, and the circulation of knowledge among experimental electronic instrument builders in New York City and Berlin. This loosely connected group of musician-inventors engages in what I call “DIY music technology” due to their shared do-it-yourself ethos and their use of emerging and repurposed technologies, which allow for new understandings of musical invention. My ethnography follows a constellation of self-described hackers, “makers,” sound and noise artists, circuit benders, avant-garde/experimental musicians, and underground rock bands through these two cities, exploring how they push the limits of what “music” and “instruments” can encompass, while forming local, transnational, and virtual networks based on shared interests in electronics tinkering and independent sound production. This fieldwork is supplemented with inquiries into the construction of “DIY” as a category of invention, labor, and citizenship, through which I trace the term’s creative and commercial tensions from the emergence of hobbyism as a form of productive leisure to the prevailing discourse of punk rock to its adoption by the recent Maker Movement. I argue that the cultivation of the self as a “productive” cultural citizen—which I liken to a state of “permanent prototyping”—is central to my interlocutors’ activities, through which sound, self, and instrument are continually remade. I build upon the idea of “technoaesthetics” (Masco 2006) to connect the inner workings of musical machines with the personal transformations of DIY music technologists as inventors fuse their aural imaginaries with industrial, biological, environmental, and sometimes even magical imagery. Integral to these personal transformations is a challenge to corporate approaches to musical instrument making and selling, though this stance is often strained when commercial success is achieved. Synthesizing interdisciplinary perspectives from ethno/musicology, anthropology, and science and technology studies, I demonstrate that DIY music technologists forge a distinctive sense of self and citizenship that critiques, yet remains a cornerstone of, artistic production and experience in a post-digital “Maker Age.”

This thesis focuses on the task of dexterous manipulation of deformable objects, and in particular, clothing and garments. The task of manipulating deformable objects such as clothing can be broken down into a series of sub-tasks: (1) perceive and pick up garment, and then identify garment and recognize its pose; (2) using a manipulation strategy, regrasp the object to put it into a canonical state; (3) scan the surface of the object to find wrinkles, and use an iron to remove the wrinkles; (4) starting from the wrinkle-free state, fold the garment according to pre-planned sequence of manipulations with optimized trajectories; In this thesis, we will address all the phases of this process. A key contribution of the work is innovative use of simulation. We use offline simulation results to predict states of deformable objects (i.e. cloth, fabric, clothing) that are then recognized by a robotic vision/grasping system to correctly pick up and manipulate these objects. The recognition will use the simulation engine to deform the models in real time to find correct matches. The simulation will also be used to find the optimized trajectories for the manipulation of the garments, such as the garment folding.

O estudo teve por objetivo entender como a gestão de fontes externas de informação tecnológica influencia o desempenho inovador das empresas e foi realizado em duas fases metodológicas distintas. A primeira fase consistiu de uma pesquisa qualitativa e exploratória visando a caracterizar a gestão de fontes externas de informação tecnológica em países de economia em desenvolvimento e de economia desenvolvida. O estudo de casos múltiplos foi efetuado em empresas inovadoras brasileiras e italianas. A segunda fase do estudo envolveu a aplicação de uma pesquisa quantitativa do tipo survey visando à extrapolação dos resultados para um conjunto de empresas através da caracterização da gestão de fontes externas de informação tecnológica e sua influencia no desempenho inovador. Os dados quantitativos foram coletados em empresas brasileiras vinculadas à Associação Nacional de Pesquisa, Desenvolvimento e Engenharia das Empresas Inovadoras e ao Programa de Gestão Tecnológica da Fundação Instituto de Administração. O estudo permitiu concluir que os principais fatores que diferenciam o desempenho inovador das empresas estão relacionados à oportunidade de escolha de fontes externas de informação e à qualificação e estrutura disponível para o relacionamento com os parceiros tecnológicos. As empresas diferenciam-se, segundo o porte, pela existência de uma estrutura para a captação e o acesso às oportunidades e informações tecnológicas. Corroborando os pressupostos teóricos, foi possível concluir que a gestão de fontes externas de informação tecnológica influencia o desempenho inovador e que, de modo geral, as empresas investigadas ainda não possuem uma gestão de fontes externas de informação tecnológica estruturada e sistematizada que potencialize os esforços inovativos. Os resultados destacam a importância do estabelecimento de uma estrutura de network capaz de gerenciar as implicações decorrentes do elevado número de parceiros tecnológicos e dos condicionantes legais e culturais, visando à ampliação do desempenho inovador das empresas. / The objective of this study was to understand how the management of external sources of technological information purposes influences the innovative performance of companies; the research was divided into two different methodological phases. The first phase consisted of qualitative and exploratory research, the aim of which was to characterize the management of external sources of technological information purposes in both developing economy and developed economy countries. This multiple case study was carried out in innovative Brazilian and Italian companies. The second phase of the study involved the use of a survey, with the purpose of extrapolating the results to a set of companies by characterizing their management of external sources of technological information and the influence it has on innvative performance. The quantitative data were collected from Brazilian companies associated with the National Research, Development and Engineering Association of Innovative Companies and with the Technological Management Program of the Managament Institute Foundation. The study allowed us to conclude that the main factors that differentiate the innovative performance of companies relate to the opportunity they have of choosing external sources of information and to the qualification and structure available for forming realationships with technological partners. According to their size, companies differentiate themselves by the existence of a structure for capturing and accessing technological opportunities and technological information. Corroborating the theoretical suppositions we were able to conclude that the management of external sources of structured technological information influences innovative performance and that generally speaking, the companies we investigated still have no structured and systematic management of external sources of technological information that drives their innovation efforts. The results confirm the importance of establishing a network structure that is capable of managing the implications arising from the large number of technological partners and legal and cultural conditioners that exists, with the aim of improving the innovative performance of companies.

O presente estudo apresenta quatro cenários tecnológicos do setor de medicina diagnóstica no Brasil para o ano de 2025. Trata do rastreamento de possíveis futuros do setor a partir da identificação e análise de seus fundamentos no tempo presente, indicando como organizações podem se preparar para esses futuros. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida buscando respostas às seguintes questões: Como rastrear eventos futuros a partir dos sinais emitidos no presente? Quais são os fundamentos no tempo presente que projetam o futuro? Quais são os quatro principais possíveis cenários tecnológicos no setor de medicina diagnóstica? Quais sinais de aviso emitidos no presente a serem rastreados e monitorados tendo em vista esses possíveis cenários futuros? Quais são as decisões e medidas fundamentais a serem tomadas hoje tendo em vista esses possíveis futuros? A pesquisa foi realizada a partir de pesquisa bibliográfica preliminar e a realização de sete entrevistas semiestruturadas. Adotou-se a estratégia de pesquisa qualitativa Grounded Theory combinada com técnicas de cenários intuitivo-lógicos, permitindo o rastreamento de possíveis eventos futuros a partir dos sinais existentes no presente. Identificou-se as tecnologias de point of care e medicina personalizada como os principais fundamentos para o futuro de setor de medicina diagnóstica. Foram gerados quatro cenários tecnológicos para o setor denominados Boutique da Saúde, Tele SUS, Saúde Alternativa e Saúde Personalizada. Cinco sinais de aviso de desenvolvimento de cenários foram identificados: grau de investimento do poder público, grau de regulação do poder público, grau de relevância para a população, grau de investimento da iniciativa privada, grau de desenvolvimento das pesquisas e produção de conhecimentos em medicina personalizada e tecnologias point of care. Por fim depurou-se quatro diretrizes preparação dos gestores de organizações medicina diagnóstica ente os quatro cenários desenvolvidos: incorporar o planejamento por cenários no planejamento estratégico da organização; incrementar as capacidades de produção de pesquisa endógena e de absorção de pesquisas externas sobre as temáticas de point of care, prontuário eletrônico do paciente e medicina personalizada; investir na formação continuada de suas equipes nessas temáticas ou contar com consultoria especializada na área; criar formas de monitoramento continuado dos fatos e acontecimentos que definem o setor. / The present study presents four technological scenarios of diagnostic medicine sector in Brazil for the year 2025. About possible future tracking of the sector from the identification and analysis of its reasons in the present tense, indicating how organizations can prepare for those future. The research was developed seeking answers to the following questions: how to trace future events from the signals emitted in the present? What are the fundamentals in the present time designing the future? What are the four main possible technological scenarios in the field of diagnostic medicine? Which issued this warning signs to be tracked and monitored with a view to these possible future scenarios? What are the key measures and decisions to be taken today aimed at these possible futures? The research was conducted from preliminary bibliographical research and seven interviews semi-structured. Adopted the strategy of qualitative research Grounded Theory combined with intuitive-logical scenarios techniques, allowing the tracing of possible future events from the existing signs in the present. Of technologies identified point of care and personalized medicine as the main foundation for the future of diagnostic medicine sector. Four technological scenarios were generated for the sector called Boutique of health, Tele SUS alternative health and health, custom. Five warning signs of development scenarios have been identified: investment grade public power, degree of regulation of public authority, degree of relevance to the population, degree of investment from private enterprise, degree of development of research and production of knowledge in personalized medicine and point of care technologies. Finally four debug assistants guidelines preparation of managers of diagnostic medicine organizations between the four scenarios developed: incorporate planning for the Organization\'s strategic planning scenarios; increase the production capacities of endogenous research and absorption of external research on the themes of point of care, electronic patient record, and personalized medicine; invest in continuing training of their teams in these thematic or rely on expert advice in the area; creating continued monitoring forms of facts and events that define the industry.

Over the past decade, open-ended computer-based learning environments have been increasingly used to facilitate students’ learning of complex scientific topics. The non-linearity and open-endedness of these environments create learning opportunities for students, but can also impose challenges in terms of extraneous cognitive load and greater requirements for self-regulated learning (SRL). SRL is crucial for academic success in various educational settings. This dissertation explores how self-regulatory skills develop and the role of gender in the development of SRL skills in Virtual Performance Assessments (VPA), an immersive, open-ended virtual environment designed to assess middle school students’ science inquiry skills. Findings from three analyses combining educational data mining techniques with multilevel modeling indicated that students developed self-regulatory behaviors and strategies as they used VPA. For example, experience with VPA prepared students to adopt more efficient note-taking and note-reviewing strategies. Students who used VPA for the second time engaged in note-taking more frequently, noted a significantly higher quantity of unique information, used the control of variables strategy more frequently in note-taking, and reproduced more domain-specific declarative information in notes than students who used VPA for the first time, all of which have been found to be positively associated with science inquiry performance. Students also learned to exploit more available sources of information by applying learning strategies, in order to either solve inquiry problems, or to monitor and evaluate their solutions. Compared to the second-time users who focused primarily on answering the core inquiry question and selectively collected data, the first-time users’ behaviors showed the repetition and combination of exploratory actions such as talking with non-player characters and collecting data. In addition, consistent gender differences in SRL were observed in this study. Female students were more likely to take notes than male students; they took notes and reviewed notes more frequently and recorded a higher quantity of information in notes, especially information from the research kiosk. Females were also more likely to review notes or read research pages to assist them with the problem-solving and decision-making process than their male counterparts. Possibly due to the higher quantity of information recorded by female note-takers and their tendency to review notes over males, female students’ performance on science inquiry tasks improved across the course of using the two scenarios of VPA, whereas the male students’ science inquiry skills did not show improvement. Results from this dissertation study provide insights into the instructional design of personalized open-ended learning environments to facilitate self-regulated learning for both male and female students.

In 2016, over 11 million people misused prescription opioids and the economic costs were estimated to be over $500 billion. In the same year, opioids killed 42,000 people, which was more than any year on record. These data highlight the need to reduce the harm caused to individuals, families, communities, and the nation. One element of a more comprehensive national strategy is increasing awareness among citizens, physicians and policy makers. Given its widespread reach YouTube can be very helpful. There is a large literature on the opiate epidemic, but no published studies describing the sources or content of YouTube videos on the opiate epidemic were identified. This study was, therefore, intended to help fill this gap in current knowledge. YouTube was searched using two key terms, “opiate addiction” and “opioids.” The results were sorted by number of views, and the URL, title, and number of views were saved for videos with a minimum of 1,500 views. Videos were then screened for the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The remaining sample comprised 309 videos. Collectively, these 309 videos were viewed 44,693,887 times. The results revealed the sources that were most viewed and the nature of content that was and was not likely to be covered. The two main sources of videos were Internet Based and Television news/Entertainment. Compared with videos with health professions as the main speaker, those featuring consumers garnered almost 10 times as many cumulative views (30.35%versus 3.24%). Government organizations uploaded 11 videos (< 4%), collectively garnering 343,983 views (less than 1% of cumulative views). YouTube represents an important opportunity for health promotion and disease prevention regarding the opiate epidemic. However, improved understanding about ways to communicate accurate and useful information in ways that attract viewers is needed. Recommendations for research, policy and practice are presented relevant to how YouTube can help mitigate the harm caused by the opiate epidemic.

Music conservatories play an important role in the musical development of musicians. Students often choose to attend a conservatory because they are seeking to focus their efforts on honing their skills as performers, composers, or both. The use of music technology has increased in recent years as hardware and software has become more user friendly, resulting in the incorporation of music technology into the professional practice of musicians. While the innovation of technology has been swift, the adoption of music technology by educators in music conservatories has been slow when compared to those in other institutions of higher education. With each passing year, conservatories are graduating an increasing number of musicians who are met with greater expectations than those of previous generations. This multi-site case study investigated the perceived role of technology in the conservatory curriculum as reported by conservatory students and faculty. Further, this study examined the supports that are in place, for both students and faculty, in regard to integrating technology into current and future curricula. Research has been conducted to investigate the integration of technology into curricula; however, the research tends to focus on challenges for technology integration rather than technology as a tool for supporting sound pedagogical practice. Findings from this study indicate that students wish to see an increased presence of music technology in the curriculum as they hone their skills during their studies. Further, increased access to music technology, as well as support on using music technology in effective and engaging ways during instruction was identified. Conservatories can benefit from additional staff positions to support the use of music technology, frequent and relevant professional development for faculty, additional computer laboratories for student and faculty use, and increased communication between students, faculty and administration on the use of music technology throughout the conservatory. The implications of the findings and recommendations have the potential to positively impact the experience of students in conservatory communities. Future avenues of research might investigate the relevance of conservatory pedagogy in modern music performance and composition, pathways to support consistent and relevant professional development, and necessary supports to increase access to music technology for faculty and students.

Designing and discovering novel materials is challenging problem in many domains such as fuel additives, composites, pharmaceuticals, and so on. At the core of all this are models that capture how the different domain-specific data, information, and knowledge regarding the structures and properties of the materials are related to one another. This dissertation explores the difficult task of developing an artificial intelligence-based knowledge modeling environment, called Hybrid Ontology-Learning Materials Engineering System (HOLMES) that can assist humans in populating a materials science and engineering ontology through automatic information extraction from journal article abstracts. While what we propose may be adapted for a generic materials engineering application, our focus in this thesis is on the needs of the pharmaceutical industry. We develop the Columbia Ontology for Pharmaceutical Engineering (COPE), which is a modification of the Purdue Ontology for Pharmaceutical Engineering. COPE serves as the basis for HOLMES. The HOLMES framework starts with journal articles that are in the Portable Document Format (PDF) and ends with the assignment of the entries in the journal articles into ontologies. While this might seem to be a simple task of information extraction, to fully extract the information such that the ontology is filled as completely and correctly as possible is not easy when considering a fully developed ontology. In the development of the information extraction tasks, we note that there are new problems that have not arisen in previous information extraction work in the literature. The first is the necessity to extract auxiliary information in the form of concepts such as actions, ideas, problem specifications, properties, etc. The second problem is in the existence of multiple labels for a single token due to the existence of the aforementioned concepts. These two problems are the focus of this dissertation. In this work, the HOLMES framework is presented as a whole, describing our successful progress as well as unsolved problems, which might help future research on this topic. The ontology is then presented to help in the identification of the relevant information that needs to be retrieved. The annotations are next developed to create the data sets necessary for the machine learning algorithms to perform. Then, the current level of information extraction for these concepts is explored and expanded. This is done through the introduction of entity feature sets that are based on previously extracted entities from the entity recognition task. And finally, the new task of handling multiple labels for tagging a single entity is also explored by the use of multiple-label algorithms used primarily in image processing.

The purpose of this three-article dissertation is to explore the intersection of educational leadership, instructional technology, and culturally responsive education in pursuit of a new leadership framework called technology leadership for social justice. This dissertation employs three emerging methodologies, namely three-step latent class analysis (LCA), multilevel latent class analysis (MLCA), and meta-narrative review, to examine typologies of teachers and their perceptions of technology use and technology leadership with large-scale, quantitative data and to offer a conceptual framework of school and district technology leadership through a culturally responsive lens. The first study utilized latent class analysis (LCA) with the NCES Fast Response Survey System Teachers’ Use of Educational Technology in U.S. Public Schools, 2009 (FRSS 95) dataset (n=2,764) to identify four different types of technology-using teachers: Dexterous, Presenters, Assessors, and Evaders. I also found that teachers in low-income schools are more likely to be in the teacher subgroups that use technology in less impactful ways in the classroom. The second study used multilevel latent class analysis (MLCA) with the 2011-12 Texas School Technology and Readiness (STaR) Charts (n=6,935 schools in n=910 districts) to find three subgroups of teacher perceptions of technology leadership at the school level, High STaR Schools, Moderate STaR Schools, and Low STaR Schools, and four subgroups of teacher perceptions of technology leadership at the district level, Model STaR Districts, High STaR Districts, Moderate STaR Districts, and Low STaR Districts. I found that the Texas teachers in the school and district level subgroups with the lowest perceptions of technology leadership had the lowest student achievement outcomes and were more likely to serve students from historically minoritized backgrounds. The third study employed a systematic, meta-narrative review of the research literature exploring the intersection of technology, leadership, and culturally responsive education, integrating the findings from sixty studies into a conceptual framework of technology leadership for social justice. Each of the three dissertation articles explores the implications for the development of a more evidence-based, sociocultural conception of school and district technology leadership in research, policy, and practice.