Implementation of RESHOT Method to Create a Good User Experience in an Application

In recent years User Experience (UX) has become something that must be implemented in making applications. Every application design practitioner has applied this discipline, but often they wonder how to simplify a user's journey flow by using applications and make it easier, faster, and simpler. This research aims to explain a method that can simplify the User Experience comprehensively. RESHOT is used (Refine the challenge, Remove, Shrink, Hide, Organize, Time). This method will make applications pay more attention to aspects that can increase user satisfaction. As a result, this study contributes to an explanation of simplifying the flow of uploading donor data files using the RESHOT method in the X blood donor data collection application. The results of streamlining the flow of uploading donor data files have been tested on five respondents and have a 100% user success rate in completing tasks with an average processing time of 14.5 seconds. In testing, there is a misclick rate of 10.7%. This is because the user wants to explore the designed application. And this is also a limitation of this study, namely not making the overall application design interaction

A Method for Performance Analysis of a Ramjet Engine in a Free-jet Test Facility and Analysis of Performance Uncertainty Contributors

Ramjet and scramjet engines are being developed to provide a more fuel efficient means of propulsion at high Mach numbers. Part of the development of these engines involves test and evaluation of an engine in ground facilities as well as in flight. Ground facilities, like Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) and those at engine manufacturers like General Electric (GE) and Pratt & Whitney (PW), have decades of experience testing traditional turbine engines and much less experience testing full scale ramjet engines. Testing a supersonic engine model in a free-jet mode presents a host of challenges not experienced during traditional direct connect turbine engine tests. Characterizing the performance of an engine in a free-jet test facility is a difficult task due in part to the difficulty in determining how much air the engine is ingesting and the spillage, friction and base drag of the engine installation. As more exotic propulsion systems like DARPA’s Falcon Combined Cycle Engine Test (FaCET) article or NASA’s X-43 are developed, there is a greater need for effective ground tests to determine engine performance and operability prior to flight testing. This thesis proposes a method for calculating three key performance parameters (airflow, fuel flow, and thrust) and investigates the uncertainty influences for these calculations. A data reduction method was developed for this thesis to calculate the engine airflow, net thrust, and specific impulse (ISP) in a ground test of a generic ramjet engine in a free-jet test facility. It considered typical measurements for an engine test (pressures, temperatures, fuel flow, scale force, and engine and cowl geometry). Once the code was developed, an uncertainty analysis of the calculations was conducted, starting with a simplified analytical assessment. A common industry accepted uncertainty approach was then used in conjunction with the data reduction code to determine the sensitivity or influence coefficients of the independent measurements on the dependent parameters by the dithering method. These influence coefficients were used to ascertain where measurement improvements could be made to affect the greatest reduction in uncertainty of the predicted engine performance

Ultra-fast escape maneuver of an octopus-inspired robot

We design and test an octopus-inspired flexible hull robot that demonstrates outstanding fast-starting performance. The robot is hyper-inflated with water, and then rapidly deflates to expel the fluid so as to power the escape maneuver. Using this robot we verify for the first time in laboratory testing that rapid size-change can substantially reduce separation in bluff bodies traveling several body lengths, and recover fluid energy which can be employed to improve the propulsive performance. The robot is found to experience speeds over ten body lengths per second, exceeding that of a similarly propelled optimally streamlined rigid rocket. The peak net thrust force on the robot is more than 2.6 times that on an optimal rigid body performing the same maneuver, experimentally demonstrating large energy recovery and enabling acceleration greater than 14 body lengths per second squared. Finally, over 53% of the available energy is converted into payload kinetic energy, a performance that exceeds the estimated energy conversion efficiency of fast-starting fish. The Reynolds number based on final speed and robot length is $Re \approx 700,000$. We use the experimental data to establish a fundamental deflation scaling parameter $\sigma^*$ which characterizes the mechanisms of flow control via shape change. Based on this scaling parameter, we find that the fast-starting performance improves with increasing size.Comment: Submitted July 10th to Bioinspiration & Biomimetic

Testing of OrgPlan Conversion Planning software (OF0331)

OrgPlan is a computer package designed to support farmers and consultants in planning a conversion to organic farming. It consists of two main elements: the basic planning module and a database with data for organic, in-conversion and conventional data. It was developed with DEFRA funding (OF 0159) by a partnership between the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, the University of Hertfordshire, Elm Farm Research Centre and SAC. The objective of this work was to obtain feedback before its general release on the suitability of OrgPlan in supporting the process of planning a conversion to organic farming. Given the risks of the organic conversion process and the sensitive nature of the financial reports that OrgPlan can generate, further testing with consultants experienced in organic conversion planning was carried out. The work was broken down in four objectives. Independent of this, OrgPlan has been used by the contractor in the context of research work, in particular the Modelling of Strategies of Organic Milk Production (OF 0146). Objective 1: Update of standard data The contractor updated the OrgPlan database with data from the 2002/03 Organic Farm Management Handbook and other sources. Objective 2: Workshops and Field testing of the software Three workshops with a total 22 consultants were held during which they were given a basic introduction to the use of OrgPlan and had a first opportunity to use the software on their own computer or appropriate workstations. OrgPlan can effectively support several aspects of a first broad brush planning of an organic conversion (rotation planning, cropping and livestock enterprises, feasibility of a proposed organic scenario in terms of financial output, nutrient and forage budgets) and can assist with more detailed financial planning of investments, leading to Profit and Loss and Cash-Flow forecasts. OrgPlan could have a wider application in whole farm planning, but this would require extending the database to cover a wider range of enterprises common on conventional farms. Key strengths identified by the consultants (not in order of importance) • Financial planning • Availability of basic enterprise data set • Rotation planning and nutrient budgets • Combination of financial and nutrient data in one package • Create different scenarios giving instant access for reassessment of options • Possibility to ‘tweak' a scenario • Library, navigation around the collection is excellent • Help topics clear and straightforward • Broad brush planning, particularly for farms planning new enterprises Key weaknesses (not in order of importance) • Limited range of enterprises in the database, particularly for horticultural crops • Problems with set-up, use of database and understanding all functions • Need for regular updates of the dataset • P and K Fertilisers routinely included in organic enterprises • Data entry in some sections is long-winded Objective 3: Essential corrections to the software and update of advisory section • A list of problems and suggestions was compiled. All essential changes will be implemented before a release of the software. Other suggestions, which entail more complicated programming work, are included in a as ideas for future development of OrgPlan. Objective 4: Final report This is the final report submitted to DEFRA. The contractor will also submit to DEFRA a concept outlining the steps to be taken for the release of the software, which is planned for autumn 2003

'I play, therefore I learn?' Measuring the Evolution of Perceived Learning and Game Experience in the Design Flow of a Serious Game

This article explores how the serious game Poverty Is Not a Game (PING) is experienced by high school students in its subsequent design stages. We first focus on the multifaceted construct of game experience and how it is related to serious games. To measure game experience we use the Game Experience Questionnaire and add a perceived learning scale to account for the specificity of serious games in a classroom. Next, the data obtained from testing PING in 22 classrooms are analyzed. Results suggest that the evolution in the different design stages of the game is not just an issue of game experience, but also of usability. Furthermore, little evidence is found indicating that the learning experience changed positively during the different test phases. However, findings show a strong effect of the game experience on perceived learning while the game experience also varies significantly between different classrooms

Examining patients’ satisfaction in Jordanian emergency departments through business process improvement implementation

There have been recent advancements in healthcare services provision to enhance patients’ satisfaction. Previous research has concluded that Jordanian ratings of service quality and quality of care provided in public hospitals are lower compared to other nations in the region and abroad. These studies, however, failed to utilize any standardized customer satisfaction tools. At the same little empirical research has attempted to investigate the link of business process improvement in Jordanian hospitals to the enhancement of patients’ satisfaction. This research bridges the gap in the literature by first testing and validating SERVQUAL, a customer satisfaction tool, in Jordanian hospital environments while examining the effect the split-flow model, a proven business process improvement model, on increasing the positive experience of patients in public hospitals’ emergency departments in Jordan. Based on data obtained from a questionnaire comprised of the validated SERVQUAL instrument and a new survey measuring patients’ ratings of the split-flow model implementation components, the dissertation concluded that SERVQUAL is an effective tool for measuring customer (patient) satisfaction and that the business process improvements influences patients’ satisfaction. Overall, a clear, specified, and monitored process of receiving, handling, and discharging patients yield better experience. More specifically, the look, feel, and appeal of facilities is related to patients’ satisfaction in Jordan. The more modern, up-to-date, and neat looking facilities and staff are, the better experience patients reported. Further, higher degrees of responsiveness and empathy are associated with increased levels of patients’ satisfaction in Jordan. The implementation of split-flow model component decreased wait times, hastened v general team assessment, and provided clear information on patients’ conditions, discharge instructions, and future visits, which generated better ratings. This research is important in many respects. It uncovered the dearth of specific quantitative metrics on patients’ satisfaction in Jordan. Most measures of the construct are survey-based, jeopardizing the reliability and validity of inferences drawn from the analyses utilized. Further, the analysis has demonstrated that Jordanian emergency departments have business processes that need reengineering to enhance patients’ satisfaction. More experimental research is needed to test the viability of different business processes in emergency departments to yield an optimized design and process guaranteeing higher rates of satisfaction

Towards a Serious Game Experience Model: Validation, Extension and Adaptation of the GEQ for Use in an Educational Context

In this paper, we present the results of game experience measurements of three design stages of the serious game Poverty Is Not a Game (PING) using the FUGA Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ) extended with a Perceived Learning (PL) module. It is hypothesized that subsequent design stages will evoke a more positive game experience and higher PL. In a first step the factor structure and convergent and discriminant validity of the existing GEQ modules are tested yielding disappointing results. Next an adapted version is proposed yielding more acceptable results. Based on this model the different design stages are compared failing to yield significant differences either for most GEQ dimensions (except for challenge and competence which is probably related to usability issues) or for PL. Significant differences were found between classrooms however pointing to the importance of taking into account context in future research

Orbiter entry aerothermodynamics

The challenge in the definition of the entry aerothermodynamic environment arising from the challenge of a reliable and reusable Orbiter is reviewed in light of the existing technology. Select problems pertinent to the orbiter development are discussed with reference to comprehensive treatments. These problems include boundary layer transition, leeward-side heating, shock/shock interaction scaling, tile gap heating, and nonequilibrium effects such as surface catalysis. Sample measurements obtained from test flights of the Orbiter are presented with comparison to preflight expectations. Numerical and wind tunnel simulations gave efficient information for defining the entry environment and an adequate level of preflight confidence. The high quality flight data provide an opportunity to refine the operational capability of the orbiter and serve as a benchmark both for the development of aerothermodynamic technology and for use in meeting future entry heating challenges