Phase change material in automated window shades

The purpose of this report is to detail the development process for a phase change material window shading system, which stores solar thermal energy and later releases it indoors to provide nighttime space heating. To do this, wax-filled louvers with thermally absorptive front faces were developed and outfitted with a control system, which utilized historical weather data to orient the louvers to specific solar azimuthal angles, thus maximizing the thermal absorption. The system was tested against other common window treatments in a pair of thermally comparable testing structures, and was found to provide energy savings as high as 50%

IMPROVED SPATIAL RESOLUTION FOR DOUBLE-SIDED STRIP DETECTORS USING LITHIUM INDIUM DISELENIDE SEMICONDUCTORS

This research focuses on the evaluation of lithium indium diselenide (LISe) semiconductors in double-sided strip detector (DSSDs) designs as an example for the potential to achieve unparalleled neutron detection efficiency, spatial resolution, and timing resolution detection. LISe semiconductors offer high neutron detection efficiency due to the ~25% atomic ratio of Lithium-6, maximizing its efficiency of ~75% with 1 mm thickness at 2.8 angstroms. Furthermore, the 4.78 MeV -value enables high intrinsic gamma discrimination in a pixelated design (electron range). These characteristics make LISe an alternative option for neutron radiography, energy-resolved imaging, and other neutron interrogation techniques. This dissertation summarizes my current efforts to enhance LISe-based neutron imaging systems to achieve an end goal of sub-5 μm spatial resolution and sub-1 μs timing resolution. My research focuses on using MATLAB and Silvaco to simulate the expected response of a LISe DSSD. These various datasets are then trained to Machine Learning models in order to predict the neutron interaction location based upon the induced signal across multiple strip electrodes. In addition, various DSSD designs were simulated to determine the strip electrode width/pitch that optimizes the tradeoff between signal integrity and reconstruction of the neutron absorption location. The addition of electronic and statistical noise to the signal as well as varying the charge collection efficiency was also explored. The improvement upon current neutron imaging systems has the opportunity to open new avenues of research that are not possible today

An Examination of Employee Coachability and Managerial Coaching in Organizations

Volatile, complex, and ambiguous work environments require organizations to focus on continuous employee development and performance improvement across all organizational levels. As a result, organizational development (OD) practices for employee development rapidly increased throughout the past decade. One such vital individualized training intervention – organizational coaching – facilitates continuous behavioral change, development, and performance improvement across employees (Joo et al., 2012). Researchers, like practitioners, though, often examine coaching in isolation, focusing on the coach without considering the impact those being coached (i.e., coachees) have on the success of the coaching process. Coachees’ ability to seek, thoughtfully consider, act, and change behavior based on feedback provided during coaching interactions (i.e., their coachability) remains a critical, yet understudied factor in the coaching equation. A targeted examination of employee coachability, therefore, offers a more in-depth understanding of the coaching dynamic. Thus, I extensively explored antecedents, behaviors, and outcomes of employee coachability. The goals of this research centered on contributing to the organizational coaching and coachability literatures through a thorough examination of employee coachability, which includes the interplay between managerial (i.e., organizational) coaching and employee coachability. While I initially examined employee coachability as a method through which organizations can maximize coaching interactions, the data indicates employee coachability functions independently of coaching behaviors. In other words, regardless of the quality of the coaching relationship, nature of feedback provided (i.e., quality and properly delivered), and environment (i.e., psychologically safe, feedback seeking supportive), coachable employees still seek, demonstrate receptivity to, and implement feedback to drive individual development and performance improvement. So, while coachability behaviors (i.e., feedback seeking, feedback receptivity, and transfer of coaching/feedback) surely remain important for optimizing coaching interactions (i.e., coaching cannot be effective without the coachee’s willingness to receive and implement coaching), the findings suggest the importance and impact of coachability spans these interactions. Specifically, employee coachability drives individual job performance, adaptability, and promotability. Research finds employee adaptability as a vital driver of organizational effectiveness to generate competitive advantages. As such, organizations may consider employee coachability a competency to which they hire or train employees in order to achieve and sustain competitive advantages

JUSTICE, TRUST, AND TEAM PERFORMANCE A Comparison of Leader Selection Methods on the Development of Team Trust

Throughout the past few decades, organizations have shifted from a management mandated, top down approach to a more collaborative, team based, horizontal structure (Miles & Snow, 1992). As a result, work teams are on the rise, which has led to an increase in leadership roles within organizations. The relationships between procedural justice and trust in leadership, and trust in leadership and performance are well established in current literature. The former relationship, however, has been analyzed only at the individual level. Given the prevalence of teams in academic and applied settings, it is imperative to understand how this relationship exists, if at all, at the team level. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine and establish the procedural justice, trust in leadership, and team performance relationship at the team level. Additionally, this study indirectly examines the impact of the leader selection process on procedural justice perceptions, and its ensuing influence on trust in leadership and team performance. Data was collected from 252 participants encompassing 60 teams with appointed group leaders engaged in a semester long Strategic Management group project. After removing data from teams with two or fewer individuals responding, the final sample used for analyses included 132 participants encompassing 47 teams. Data collection occurred at two time points during the semester. Time 1 data collection occurred during weeks 9 and 10 of the 16-week semester, and time 2 data collection occurred during weeks 15 and 16. Measures targeting participants’ procedural justice perceptions regarding the leader selection method were collected, as well as participants’ trust in their team leader; these measures were aggregated to the team level. Mediated regression was used to analyze the data. This study hypothesized that trust in leadership would mediate the relationship between procedural justice and team performance, and trust in leadership would lead to increased team performance. Contrary to expectations, however, the aforementioned hypotheses did not receive support. Theoretical and practical implications regarding the findings are detailed further in the discussion section

“Screen Riders” an Exploration of Breaking Away From the Norms of Cinematic Storytelling

Throughout my time in college, I would always hear people discussing how originality is dead and that everything has been done before. Though I do believe there is some air of truth to these statements, I hold tight to the idea that originality is not truly gone. My belief is that the entertainment industry is so set on playing it safe, they do not wish to break away and explore new ideas which have never been done before. I believe that if more creatives were given the freedom to try new combinations and had more fun doing what they love, modern television and film would flourish in a way it has never done before and would cause others to think twice before saying originality is dead. When writing this script, I drew inspiration from events from my life which I seldom see showcased in movies and television in a single narrative. The story revolves around a new college professor and aspiring screenwriter who reconnects with his mentor only to be dragged into a whimsical, yet horrific situation which makes him question his sanity. The story exposes the struggles one faces when working in the fields of academia and the film industry alike. The purpose of this script is to tell a realistic narrative through the lens of fantastical whimsy in a way that explores multiple genres which I hope inspires the reader’s imagination to soar

College Sports as a Business: How Name, Image, & Likeness Deals Have Altered the Way Colleges Operate

The introduction of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) rights for student-athletes by the NCAA has significantly altered college athletics, enabling athletes to profit from their personal brands. In this thesis, it examines the multifaceted impacts of thesis changes on student athletes, universities, and the broader collegiate sports ecosystem. Some of the key areas explored include the rise of NIL collectives, the influence of lucrative TV deals on conference realignment, and modifications to the transfer portal. The research highlights the lack of transparency in collective payments, raising concerns about regulation amongst colleges and universities on all levels. This complicates recruitment as well as retention strategies, as universities struggle to compete financially. The study argues for increased disclosure of NIL earnings and collectives’ earnings including the implementation of regulatory measures to ensure sustainability and equity all across college sports. Recommendations include standardizing state legislation, mandating NIL/collective transactions, and adjusting transfer and eligibility rules to stabilize the evolving landscape. After addressing these issues, this thesis aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the NIL era’s implications as well as its purpose solutions for a fair and balanced collegiate athletic environment for time to come

Herreshoff Marine Museum: Historical Analysis

These methods that Herreshoff utilized can be classified as early stages of the LEAN manufacturing concept which is used today in a majority of America’s leading manufacturers. Herreshoff made sure that his entire inventory was used and nothing was wasted. By reducing/eliminating waste, Nat preserved the value of his products and increased the efficiency of operation

A Critical Review of the US State Department's 2015 Progress Report on Haiti

This review, published jointly by the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the Haiti Advocacy Working Group, looks at the US State Department's annual reports on US assistance to Haiti mandated under the 2014 Assessing Progress in Haiti Act. The review analyzes the various components of the reports and identifies significant omissions and deficiencies, including incomplete data, a failure to link projects and outcomes, and a failure to adequately identify mistakes and lessons learned.In addition, the review shares feedback from Haitian civil society groups and makes recommendations on how the US Agency for International Development and the State Department can improve future progress reports

Creating Silence: How Managerial Narcissism Decreases Employee Voice

Narcissism in organizations is becoming increasingly prevalent, as evidenced by the growing number of CEOs that seek acclaim and dominance, often at the expense of others (Chatterjee, 2017). Narcissism is defined as “individuals for whom enhancing the positivity of the self (specifically, to achieve status and esteem) is overwhelmingly important” (Campbell, 2004), and most often wields a detrimental influence on organizations. In the management literature, efficacy is defined as “a person’s estimate that a given behavior will lead to certain outcomes” (Bandura, 1977), and employees who hold a stronger sense of personal self-efficacy will display more active efforts to improve their organization (Bandura, 1977). Using a sample of 257 full-time employees, we explore the relationship between narcissism and efficacy in terms of promotive voice, which is focused on proactively pointing out opportunities for improvement (Liang, 2012). Additionally, we explore how this relationship is altered by voice setting, seeing as how the social setting in which voice occurs can affect managerial reactions to it (Isaakyan, 2018). Results confirm our hypothesis that employee voice behavior will be negatively correlated to managerial narcissism, and this relationship is mediated by efficacy, and moderated by voice setting