Assessing the feasibility of creating a local historic district in Paxton, Massachusetts.

This project was an investigation to determine the feasibility of creating a historic district in Paxton, MA. Data was collected in databases to provide a complete overview of the geographic area. Two towns were selected as reference points, based on area, location, and population, and serve to predict the impact historic district designation would have on Paxton. Surveys were deployed in both Paxton and the Holden [sic] in an effort to gain understanding of the residents' perspective on the impact of a historic district. The team found that property values in the control town of Holden did not decrease. The project team recommends that the PLHDSC reduce the size of the proposed district or create a discontinuous district

Non-invasive blood glucose monitor interface

VivaScan Corporation of West Boylston, Massachusetts is currently developing a noninvasive blood glucose monitor for diabetic patients. This project involves the development, implementation, and testing of a user interface for the VivaScan device. After extensive background research, literature review, and current product evaluation, the team interviewed diabetic patients to gather user opinion on potential design features. The team weighed possible screen alternatives against design criteria using pairwise comparison charts before deciding on the CrystalFontz 128 x 64 graphical liquid crystal display. The screens were first visually realized using a paint utility, and then further detailed on graph paper into a 128 x 64 pixel format. After learning basic C++ programming from literature, with the help of the team's sponsor the screens were programmed using Visual C++. The sequence of screens was then shown to diabetic patients. Each of the patients was asked to fill out a short survey regarding the screens and features of the future display. Results show that each of the screens are clear and easy to read. Based on the results obtained from user feedback, it was concluded that younger patients are more interested in extra features of the device on top of the main function of measuring glucose levels non-invasively, while the older patients are more interested in just measuring their glucose level at a specific instant in time. It was also concluded that patients are more likely to measure more frequently using a non-invasive device as opposed to the finger prick method