ARMD Workshop on Materials and Methods for Rapid Manufacturing for Commercial and Urban Aviation

This report documents the goals, organization and outcomes of the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorates (ARMD) Materials and Methods for Rapid Manufacturing for Commercial and Urban Aviation Workshop. The workshop began with a series of plenary presentations by leaders in the field of structures and materials, followed by concurrent symposia focused on forecasting the future of various technologies related to rapid manufacturing of metallic materials and polymeric matrix composites, referred to herein as composites. Shortly after the workshop, questionnaires were sent to key workshop participants from the aerospace industry with requests to rank the importance of a series of potential investment areas identified during the workshop. Outcomes from the workshop and subsequent questionnaires are being used as guidance for NASA investments in this important technology area

Development and Validation of a Hybrid Virtual/Physical Nuss Procedure Surgical Trainer

With continuous advancements and adoption of minimally invasive surgery, proficiency with nontrivial surgical skills involved is becoming a greater concern. Consequently, the use of surgical simulation has been increasingly embraced by many for training and skill transfer purposes. Some systems utilize haptic feedback within a high-fidelity anatomically-correct virtual environment whereas others use manikins, synthetic components, or box trainers to mimic primary components of a corresponding procedure. Surgical simulation development for some minimally invasive procedures is still, however, suboptimal or otherwise embryonic. This is true for the Nuss procedure, which is a minimally invasive surgery for correcting pectus excavatum (PE) – a congenital chest wall deformity. This work aims to address this gap by exploring the challenges of developing both a purely virtual and a purely physical simulation platform of the Nuss procedure and their implications in a training context. This work then describes the development of a hybrid mixed-reality system that integrates virtual and physical constituents as well as an augmentation of the haptic interface, to carry out a reproduction of the primary steps of the Nuss procedure and satisfy clinically relevant prerequisites for its training platform. Furthermore, this work carries out a user study to investigate the system’s face, content, and construct validity to establish its faithfulness as a training platform

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThis dissertation is comprised of five chapters, three of which are written in an article format and will later be submitted for publication. The remaining two chapters, Chapters 1 and 5, serve as introductory and summary chapters. This dissertation seeks to address conceptually, empirically, and from an evaluative standpoint how recreation settings can serve to promote self-regulation in youth. Recreation programs are ideally situated to support the development of self-regulation in youth. However, the role of self-regulation in recreation programs is one that has seen little review, making it an important topic to examine. Chapter 2 is a synthesis of the literature on self-regulation, youth development, and recreation. This chapter provides practitioners with leverage points on how to support self-regulation in youth. The findings from this synthesis suggest that practitioners can utilize some of the key elements of a recreation program to foster self-regulation. Specifically, practitioners should leverage fun and enjoyment, recreation activities that have developmental attributes, and interpersonal relationships. A discussion with recommendations for practice is presented. The third chapter examines the effects of a mentoring program on youth participants' self-regulation. An 8-week-long mentoring curriculum was implemented in a summer recreation program. The research was conducted with two matched sites from the same recreation agency, one to serve as the treatment site, the other to serve as a comparison site. Self-regulation scores were collected on a sample of youth who received mentoring (n = 29) and youth who did not receive mentoring (n = 35). A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance was conducted. Results indicated that youth who received the mentoring showed a greater rate of change over time in self-regulation than the comparison site. These findings suggest that a structured mentoring program is an important mechanism with which to promote youths' self-regulation. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Chapter 4 presents a broader approach to program evaluation by providing an example of program implementation evaluation. This paper draws on the implementation of a youth mentoring program to illustrate the methods used to assess key implementation factors. A mixed methods approach was used to collect implementation data and included the use of a structured journal and interviews with program implementers and participants. The process of assessing program implementation is discussed, highlighting the challenges in conducting program implementation evaluation within a recreation setting

Best Practices for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Resource Guide for Community Partners

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present a unique challenge, and learning opportunity for professionals. The purpose of this study was to create a comprehensive and accessible handbook to empower those who work with children and youth with ASD in a community setting. The best practices and effective intervention programs for students with ASD were researched and evaluated. Four individuals from various community agencies voluntarily participated in a Needs Assessment Questionnaire and, based on their information, a Handbook on Best Practices for Children with ASD, including a resource section was created. The theoretical framework examined for this project was based on social-cognitive theory, specifically Bandura's (1986) theory of triadic reciprocity and reciprocal determinism. This theory places emphasis on the fact that behaviour must be evaluated in the course of normal development, and that what may be appropriate for an individual at one age or point in time, may not be at another. Once the handbook was complete, an Evaluative Questionnaire was circulated to determine its effectiveness and overall benefits in practice for community partners in the field. The results of this questionnaire contributed to a final copy of the handbook. Implications for future research were considered and the limitations of this study were examined

Effects of a Multimedia Shared Story on Comprehension of an Employee Handbook

Employment outcomes for individuals with intellectual disability (ID) continue to be among the lowest reported (Migliore, Butterworth, & Hart, 2009; Siperstein, Parker, & Drascher, 2013). Literacy skills are critical for obtaining employment and for supporting continued success in the workplace (Conceição, 2016), but individuals with ID typically have very low literacy levels (Katims, 2000). Limited research has been conducted on literacy skill development for young adults with ID, particularly on work-related texts such as employee handbooks. Research supports the use of shared stories on adapted age-appropriate texts for students with significant cognitive disabilities, including those with ID (Hudson & Test, 2011; Shurr & Taber-Doughty, 2012; Spooner, Kemp-Inman, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Wood, & Davis, 2015), but these studies primarily focused on elementary or middle school students. Very little research on shared stories has been conducted with older students with ID (ages 18 and up). These students may have access to functional academic instruction, such as accessing real-world texts, within high school, vocational programs, and postsecondary education programs found in colleges and universities. Participation in university-based postsecondary education programs for young adults with ID have demonstrated improved competitive employment outcomes for this population, with 82% of the students working jobs that paid at or above minimum wage (Grigal & Hart, 2013). Functional academic instruction, such as literacy skill development, within these programs has successfully included the incorporation of technology to access or supplement the intervention (Evmenova, Behrmann, Mastropieri, Baker, & Graff, 2011; McMahon, Cihak, Wright, & Bell, 2016). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a multimedia shared story using speech-to-text technology on the text comprehension skills of college students with ID. This intervention included the use of systematic instruction to provide error correction instruction for correctly answering comprehension questions about the text of an adapted employee handbook. This study used a multiple probe across participants design to measure the effectiveness of the intervention across three sections of the employee handbook as well as demonstration of three performance tasks related to the readings. This research seeks to extend the literature by investigating the effects of this literacy treatment package on the participants’ comprehension of the text and their ability to transfer that knowledge into a practical demonstration of related work tasks. Results indicated that three of the four participants improved in their overall correct responses to the multiple-choice questions and were able to maintain their levels of response during maintenance. One participant did not have a significant change in number of correct responses. Two of the participants were able to generalize the Safety Skills performance task. One participant generalized the intercom task. Most of the steps of the handwashing task were generalized by all three participants, but they never successfully completed one of the steps in this task. The participants, program director, and potential employer all found the intervention to be effective and relevant for the participants

Kliinisen päätöksenteon oppiminen pelillisen simulaation avulla : Simulaatiopelien design-periaatteet

The aim of this study was to obtain knowledge about learning clinical reasoning through game-based simulation. This knowledge could be used in developing and embedding new learning methods for clinical reasoning in nursing education. Research has shown that nursing students lack knowledge and skills in detecting and managing changes in patients’ clinical conditions. This is often due to insufficient clinical reasoning, and thus, educational organisations need to more effectively enable the development of clinical reasoning during education. Digitalisation in higher education is increasing, and the use of virtual simulations and, recently, serious games to support professional learning and competence development is growing. The purpose of this research was to generate design principles for simulation games and to design and develop a simulation game for learning clinical reasoning. Furthermore, the purpose was to investigate nursing students learning through gaming. A design-based research methodology was used: iterative cycles of analysis, design, development, testing and refinement were conducted via collaboration among researchers, nurse educators, students, programmers, 3D artist and interface designers in a real-world setting. Mixed research methods were used. The results indicated that games used to provide significant learning experiences for nursing students need to share some of the characteristics of leisure games, especially visual authenticity, immersion, interactivity and feedback systems. In terms of the clinical reasoning process, students improved in their ability to take action and collect information. The findings showed that usability, application of nursing knowledge and exploration are the aspects of a simulation game that have the greatest impact on learning clinical reasoning. It was also revealed that authentic patient-related experiences, feedback and reflection have an indirect effect on learning clinical reasoning. This study provided opportunities to advance our knowledge of nursing students’ learning processes and experiences of learning clinical reasoning through game-based simulation. Its results add to the growing body of literature on game development in the field of nursing education by providing design principles for educational simulation games. The present study confirms previous findings and contributes additional evidence that suggests that game-based simulations are a valuable learning method for healthcare education. However, in order for serious games to add value to healthcare education, the essence of the profession needs to be built into the game, and here the contribution of healthcare professionals is priceless.Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tuottaa tietoa kliinisen päätöksenteon oppimisesta simulaatiopeliä pelaamalla sekä oppimiseen vaikuttavista tekijöistä. Tuotettua tietoa voidaan hyödyntää kehitettäessä uusia menetelmiä kliinisen päätöksenteon opetukseen. Aikaisempien tutkimusten mukaan sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoiden kliinisen päätöksenteon osaamisessa ilmenee puutteita erityisesti potilaan kliinisen tilan huononemisen havaitsemisessa ja ennaltaehkäisyssä. Tämän vuoksi koulutusorganisaatioiden tulee entistä tehokkaammin edistää kliinisen päätöksenteon kehittymistä koulutuksen aikana. Virtuaalisimulaatioiden ja viime aikoina myös hyötypelien käyttö terveysalan koulutuksessa ammatillisen osaamisen vahvistamisessa on lisääntynyt. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli muodostaa design-periaatteet oppimista edistävän simulaatiopelin kehittämiseen sekä suunnitella ja kehittää simulaatiopeli kliinisen päätöksenteon oppimiseen. Lisäksi tarkoituksena oli tutkia sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoiden oppimista simulaatiopelillä. Tutkimuksessa toteutettiin design-tutkimuksen lähestymistapaa. Tutkimus toteutettiin sykleissä, joissa simulaatiopelin suunnittelu, kehittäminen, testaaminen ja uudelleen suunnittelu vuorottelivat. Tutkimus toteutettiin tutkijoiden, hoitotyön opettajien ja opiskelijoiden sekä pelinkehittäjien (ohjelmoijat, käyttöliittymäsuunnittelijat ja 3D artisti) yhteistyössä aidoissa ympäristöissä. Tutkimus oli monimenetelmätutkimus. Tulosten mukaan merkittävät oppimiskokemukset edellyttävät, että oppimiseen tarkoitetuissa simulaatiopeleissä on hyödynnettävä viihdepelien ominaisuuksia kuten autenttisuus, immersiivisyys, interaktiivisuus ja palautejärjestelmät. Parhaiten opiskelijat kokivat oppivansa pelaamalla tiedon keräämistä ja hoitotyön toteuttamista. Tulosten mukaan oppimista simulaatiopeliä pelaamalla selittivät käytettävyys, hoitotyön tiedon käyttö sekä tutkiskelemalla oppiminen. Lisäksi oppimiseen vaikuttivat autenttiset potilaskohtaiset kokemukset, palautteen saaminen sekä reflektointi. Tutkimusprosessissa syntyneen tiedon pohjalta muodostettiin design-periaatteet simulaatiopelin kehittämiseen. Tutkimus tuotti tietoa simulaatiopelejä pelaavien sairaanhoitajaopiskelijoiden oppimisprosesseista sekä oppimiskokemuksista. Lisäksi tutkimus osoitti, että terveysalan ammattilaisten osallistuminen pelinkehitykseen on korvaamatonta, jotta ammatin syvin olemus saadaan rakennetua sisään pelimekaniikkaan. Tutkimus tuotti tietoa oppimista tukevien pelien kehittämisestä, jota voidaan hyödyntää kehitettäessä pelejä terveysalan koulutukseen sekä myös muille ammatillisen koulutuksen alueille

The Evaluation of the Jostens Renaissance Incentive Program and the Impact it has on Students at a Southwest Florida High School

As state requirements for academic achievement continue to become more rigorous, school administrators and counselors strive to create positive school environments. Therefore, administrators and counselors must find creative incentive programs tailored to meet the needs of respective school settings, such as the Jostens Renaissance incentive program. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the Jostens Renaissance education incentive program at one Title I high school in Southwest Florida by studying the relationship among students’ GPAs, attendance, and disciplinary issues before participation in the program. The evaluation was a quantitative, quasi-experimental design that utilized pre-existing data of students at a Florida high school. Seventy-nine students participated in the Jostens Renaissance incentive program between 2019 to 2020 in the span of one school semester. Quantitative data showed the participants’ demographics of race, ethnicity, grade level, and academic information. A pretest/posttest design showed the impact of the Jostens Renaissance incentive program on students’ GPAs, attendance, and disciplinary issues. Results showed a significant increase in GPA and significant decrease in days absent and number of discipline cards occurred before and after the implementation of the Jostens Renaissance Program. Therefore, the program was successful at improving students’ goals

Evaluating the Intervention Fidelity of Self-managed Computer Therapy for Aphasia Post-stroke

Introduction: Intervention fidelity refers to whether an intervention is delivered as intended by the designer, which can affect intervention success. This study aimed to evaluate fidelity to the StepByStep approach to aphasia computer therapy delivered in the Big CACTUS trial. Methods: A mixed methods approach was adopted comprising five interrelated studies. Firstly, a narrative literature review explored the methods used in fidelity evaluation in stroke rehabilitation research. Secondly, a qualitative interview study with StepByStep approach experts identified the key components of the intervention delivered in the Big CACTUS trial. Both of these studies informed the data to be collected in the third study, a process evaluation of intervention fidelity in the Big CACTUS trial. The fourth study explored the factors associated with adherence to computer therapy practice through secondary analysis of trial data and qualitative interviews with people with aphasia (PWA) and their carers who had used the computer therapy in the trial. The final study identified ‘essential’ components of the intervention associated with improved word-finding in the Big CACTUS trial. Results: Key informants identified four key components of the StepByStep approach: the StepByStep software, therapy set-up (tailoring and personalising), regular independent practice, and supporting and monitoring use. All components of the intervention were delivered with moderate to high fidelity in the Big CACTUS trial. Factors associated with increased adherence to independent practice included: the PWA having had their stroke longer ago; the PWA’s perceived and actual capability to engage with computer therapy; having the opportunity to carry out practice, which was aided by having the computer therapy for longer; having more input from a speech and language therapist; and a number of motivational factors. Exploratory data analysis indicated that the components of the intervention associated with change in word-finding ability were: rigorous tailoring of the computer therapy exercises and spending more time on naming words in functional sentences exercises. Conclusion: The StepByStep approach was delivered with moderate to high fidelity. This study has informed the interpretation of trial results, recommendations for clinicians delivering the intervention in clinical practice and will inform further intervention refinement

Bringing Meaningful Grade Aligned English Language Arts to the Classroom: Bridging Research and Practice

Instruction in meaningful grade aligned English Language Arts (ELA) content for students with moderate to severe intellectual and developmental disabilities provides a full educational experience that can lead to increased quality of life. Many teachers, however, face barriers in how to teach meaningful, grade aligned ELA. This article bridges research to practice by describing effective strategies for teaching a wide range of strands that fall under ELA, such as comprehension, writing, and student-led research. In addition, a framework is offered as a model of how to put it all together when teaching grade aligned ELA