Terrain modeling and path selection by an autonomous Martian exploratory vehicle

Computerized simulation of terrain sensing and modeling for unmanned surface vehicle on Mars surfac

A process evaluation of a participant-centred approach to opportunities planning and its potential for empowerment

A process evaluation of an Opportunities Planning pilot project was conducted. Stakeholder participation was utilized to help determine the evaluation focus. mainly qualitative methods were used. The evaluation utilized field notes, program documents, focus groups, and structured interviews. Over 40 meetings were attended and recorded, and 27 one-on-one structured interviews were conducted, as well as two focus groups where eight individuals were interviewed. These interviews were conducted with a variety of key stakeholders, including: participants (social assistance recipients), program participants (individuals receiving the service), staff, service providers, and ministry representatives. The research results are arranged in four parts: (a) the definition and framework of the participant-centred approach; (b) implementation issues; (c) outcomes of the participant-centred approach and (d) participants\u27 feelings about service delivery. The results of this evaluation help to: (a) clarify the participant-centred approach and understand the parameters under which it operated; (b) identify how the operating parameters led to implementation issues regarding power relationships; (c) understand how the participant-centred process can lead to empowerment and program changes at a local level; and (d) identify some of the systemic barriers program participants are struggling to overcome and their feelings about the program. The discussion section critiques the program\u27s ability to empower social assistance recipients. Several recommendations are made which could be utilized to avoid challenges which seem to result from using a new approach to program planning, implementation, monitoring, and service delivery

A Pilot Study on the Comparison of the Effect of a Traditional Physical Education Program and a Movement Exploration Program on the Self Concept of the Special Education Student

The purpose of this pilot study, which was exploratory in nature, was to determine if the type of physical education program a special education student experiences affects his self concept

All Work, No Pay: The Crucial Need for the Supreme Court to Review Unpaid Internship Classifications Under the Fair Labor Standards Act

Article published in the Michigan State Law Review

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationAntenna design and reduction of losses in antenna systems are critical for modern communications systems. Two categories of antennas suffer from limited power supply and difficult operating environments: implantable antennas and antennas for spacecraft applications. Minimizing and controlling losses in these two antenna types is critical for developing next-generation implantable devices, spacecraft, and satellites. Research suggests that future tattoo antennas will be made from low-conductivity ink utilizing the natural insulating property of the body's fat and lossy ground plane of muscle. This paper supports tattoo antenna work by: (1) demonstrating the insulating properties of fat and conductivity of muscle with various antenna systems, (2) showing the effect of biological materials on the current distribution of subdermal antennas, and (3) validating the use of lower-conductivity materials in subdermal antenna design including a novel gold nanoparticle material. Simulations and measurements are used to evaluate current distributions shared between solid, segmented, and meshed strip dipole antennas and surrounding body tissues. Fat insulates the antenna similar to a thin layer of plastic wrap. Muscle acts as a conductive ground plane. Dipole antennas with mesh or gap structures are more strongly coupled to body tissues than solid antennas. A minimum acceptable conductivity benchmark of 105 S/m is established for dipole antennas and Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) antennas. This work also provides novel information on the design of low-cost, circularly polarized (CP), Ka-band (26 GHz), millimeter-wave, 50 Ω edge-fed, corners truncated patch antennas on RT/duroid 5880 (εr = 2.2, ½ oz. copper cladding). Microstrip feed width, axial ratio (AR) bandwidth, and best AR at 26 GHz are optimized by the use of 10 mil substrate. The effects of corner truncation are further investigated, showing that increasing corner truncation increases AR bandwidth, increases percent offset between best S11 and AR frequencies, and worsens the best AR. A truncation of 0.57 mm is a good compromise between these effects with AR bandwidth of 6.17 % (measured) and 1.37 % (simulated). Increasing ratio of substrate thickness to design frequency, t / λd, improves AR bandwidth. For t / λd below a certain threshold a corners truncated patch antenna will not produce CP. A new nearly-square, corners truncated patch antenna is measured and simulated as a method of increasing circular polarization bandwidth (CPBW)

Effect of material properties on a subdermal UHF RFID antenna

pre-printThis paper explores a subdermal RFID antenna at 918 MHz. The antenna, made from ink encapsulated in thin sheets of biocompatible PET, is designed to be implanted in the fat layer just below the skin, with the muscle acting as a lossy ground plane. The antenna is a patch that uses a T-slot for matching. Three materials are tested - aluminum tape, ELCOAT ink, and inkjet printing. The effect of antenna conductivity and the properties of the fat/skin and muscle layers are explored. The ELCOAT ink performs very similar to the aluminum, but the inkjet printing creates a very thin layer that is subject to skin depth effects. This RFID antenna provides a good proxy for next generation work on subdermal antennas. It demonstrates that the fat layer can sufficiently insulate the antenna to enable subdermal applications, and that the muscle acts like a sufficient ground plane, but without the challenges of a PEC ground plane very near the antenna. The antenna could also be used on the skin surface if the impedance is properly tuned

Set up for failure? the impact of assignment complexity on plagiarism by South African postgraduate students

Abstract: Students are more likely to resort to plagiarism in assignments that are complex, especially when certain factors out of their control are present. This article reports on a study that investigated how postgraduate students’ reliance on different types of plagiarism is different between a less complex essay (Bloom’s Level 4) and a more complex essay (Bloom’s Level 6). The essays of 128 students at a comprehensive university in South Africa were coded for six types plagiarism, which were identified in literature. The first pertinent finding was that students furnished fewer citations in a more complex essay. Secondly, copying substantial SAIMS 2017: Competitive stream Page 2 portions of text with limited alteration (a type of plagiarism) remained prevalent between the two essays. Faculty need to ensure that students are adequately prepared in terms of paraphrasing and academic writing to be able to complete more complex essays

Principles in selecting human capital measurements and metrics

Orientation: Physical and natural resources have been surpassed by human capital as aresource of wealth creation. As a result, senior management relies increasingly on appropriatepeople information to drive strategic change. Yet, measurement within the human resourcefunction predominantly informs decisions in support of efficiency and effectiveness. Consequently, dissimilar understanding of measurement expectations between these partieslargely continues. Research purpose: The study explored principles in selecting human capital measurements,drawing on the views and recommendations of human resource management professionals,all experts in human capital measurement. Motivation for the study: The motivation was to advance the understanding of selectingappropriate and strategic valid measurements, in order for human resource practitioners tocontribute to creating value and driving strategic change. Research design, approach and method: A qualitative approach, with purposively selectedcases from a selected panel of human capital measurement experts, generated a datasetthrough unstructured interviews, which were analysed thematically. Main findings: Nineteen themes were found. They represent a process that considers thecentrality of the business strategy and a systemic integration across multiple value chains inthe organisation through business partnering, in order to select measurements and generatemanagement level-appropriate information. Practical/managerial implications: Measurement practitioners, in partnership withmanagement from other functions, should integrate the business strategy across multiplevalue chains in order to select measurements. Analytics becomes critical in discoveringrelationships and formulating hypotheses to understand value creation. Higher educationinstitutions should produce graduates able to deal with systems thinking and to operatewithin complexity. Contribution: This study identified principles to select measurements and metrics. Noticeableis the move away from the interrelated scorecard perspectives to a systemic view of theorganisation in order to understand value creation. In addition, the findings may help toposition the human resource management function as a strategic asset