Why Are We Doing This: How Students Find Meaning in Research Writing Across Contexts

Building on the work of Eodice, Geller, and Lerner and other Composition and Higher Education scholars, my dissertation examines what factors create a meaningful research writing experience. Specifically, this study explores two research questions: 1) How do advanced-level student writers define themselves as writers who use research? 2) How do those identities influence how they understand and utilize research writing concepts? I pursued these questions through a year-long, IRB-approved, qualitative study of junior and senior university students across the disciplines, including English, Neuroscience, and Computer Engineering. Using surveys and interviews, I asked them about meaningful research writing they have done in college and what made those experiences meaningful for them. The study results suggested that an undergraduate’s relationship with their research mentor and their perception of seeing research writing as a one-dimensional practice tended to complicate their attempts to develop an identity as a research writer and how they might utilize information literacy practices in the future. I argue for writing instructors across the disciplines to reconsider how their writing curricula aid students in understanding the major practices of their discipline and the ways students could use those practices after college. Such considerations are vital for writing faculty across the disciplines so we can help our students to better understand what it means to be a professional in our fields and see the relevance of doing research writing across the disciplines

Defining Merit: The Impact of Award Structure on the Distribution of Merit Aid

The Kentucky Education Excellence Scholarship (KEES) is a merit-based scholarship program intended to increase college access, long-term academic commitment, and retention of top students within the state. KEES uses a heavily graduated award structure and both high school grade point average and standardized test scores to establish award amounts. Using school-level data, this study applied means tests, correlation, and multivariate analysis to examine the relationship between the demographic composition of high schools and the amount and number of KEES awards received. KEES was found to be regressive, and that regressivity is compounded by its graduated structure. Students from higher socioeconomic status schools, from schools with more Caucasian students, or from schools with more females received a higher proportion of KEES awards, in larger amounts, than those from other schools. The source of KEES funding was also found to be regressive: the more successful the program, the greater the strain on its static lottery revenue funding. Because awards are not indexed to inflation, their impact on college affordability diminishes as education costs rise. Recommended steps for addressing regressivity in the KEES program, including clearly defining the program’s primary goal and introducing a need-based component, are discussed

Flying Wing UAV for Surveillance and Object Tracking

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have become ubiquitous in recent years due to their adaptability and ease of use. Surveillance UAVs in particular have seen increased interest and usage by law enforcement, civilian security, surveying, and federal services. The increased interest has led to the development of UAVs with increased endurance and payload capacity. Further as many of the applications of surveillance drones involve heightened security requirements, an aircraft of domestic make is preferential to many organizations. With this demand in mind, Inspired Products, LLC put forth a request for assistance in the design and testing of a surveillance UAV. More specifically, Inspired Products, LLC has mandated that the UAV be of a flying wing configuration in order to increase endurance. This flying wing UAV must be able to remain aloft for extended periods while also possessing a payload capacity which is sufficient to carry cameras and other sensory equipment. Additionally, the UAV must possess removable wings which remain within a given span as set forth in the requirements given below (Section 3.1: Requirements). The development of the Flying Wing UAV was an iterative process in which various areas were considered and analyzed. The Flying Wing UAV’s fuselage is 3D-printed to allow for rapid prototyping and reconfiguration to allow for testing of different payload configurations in short order. The wings and winglets are constructed of high-density foam to preserve weight and provide sufficient durability (Figure 72). Initial airfoil testing was performed utilizing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) initially in the xflr5 software (Chapter 4: Airfoil Selection) and then further analyzed in Solidworks (Chapter 5: Airfoil Analysis). After analysis, the Eppler 344 was selected as the root airfoil and the Eppler 325 as the tip airfoil. The winglets are a GOE 330 airfoil. Analysis of the final model was performed utilizing CFD in solid works (Chapter 8: Final Aircraft design) and it was found to be sufficient to satisfy the requirements. Confirmation of the CFD results were obtained via the testing of a scale model in the Kennesaw State University sub-sonic wind tunnel (Chapter 10: Wind Tunnel Testing). The results of these test confirmed those obtained through CFD. Other aspects were also considered in the course of the project such as budgetary considerations and avionics selection. The total calculated cost of the aircraft comes out to $978.69 for the materials and components required (Section 3.6: Budget). The cost of fabricating the aircraft was generously covered by our company sponsor. The avionics for the UAV selected were selected primarily by the sponsor. The UAV will utilize a receiver and transmitter with built in telemetry to provide guidance. Additionally, the aircraft utilizes two 10,000 mAh batteries and retractable propellors to allow for belly landings (Section 9.2: Avionics Selection). The development of this Flying Wing UAV will provide organizations around the nation with a UAV platform that improves upon current offerings via incrementally iteration in both endurance and payload capacity. This has been achieved through the use of the theoretical and practical skills we have gained as Aerospace Engineering students at Kennesaw State University, whether it be through hand calculations, use of computational fluid dynamics capable software, or wind-tunnel experimentation

On the Energy Dependence of Galactic Cosmic Ray Anisotropies in the Very Local Interstellar Medium

We report on the energy dependence of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) in the very local interstellar medium (VLISM) as measured by the Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) instrument on the Voyager 1 (V1) spacecraft. The LECP instrument includes a dual-ended solid state detector particle telescope mechanically scanning through 360 deg across eight equally-spaced angular sectors. As reported previously, LECP measurements showed a dramatic increase in GCR intensities for all sectors of the >=211 MeV count rate (CH31) at the V1 heliopause (HP) crossing in 2012, however, since then the count rate data have demonstrated systematic episodes of intensity decrease for particles around 90{\deg} pitch angle. To shed light on the energy dependence of these GCR anisotropies over a wide range of energies, we use V1 LECP count rate and pulse height analyzer (PHA) data from >=211 MeV channel together with lower energy LECP channels. Our analysis shows that while GCR anisotropies are present over a wide range of energies, there is a decreasing trend in the amplitude of second-order anisotropy with increasing energy during anisotropy episodes. A stronger pitch-angle scattering at the higher velocities is argued as a potential cause for this energy dependence. A possible cause for this velocity dependence arising from weak rigidity dependence of the scattering mean free path and resulting velocity-dominated scattering rate is discussed. This interpretation is consistent with a recently reported lack of corresponding GCR electron anisotropies

Dual Partisanship in America: Dead or Alive?

Dual partisanship is one theory that is used to explain why local, state, and federal partisan results differ from each other. It offers one explanation of why some voters split votes between parties in local, state, and federal races. The concept of dual partisanship implies that voters look for different qualities and characteristics from candidates at these different levels of government. Using recently collected survey data that presents respondents with several electoral scenarios, we explore whether voters across the United States utilize different criteria in identifying preferred candidates at different levels (local, state, federal) of elections