41-50 of 189 results
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Natural Fiber Reinforced Polymer (NFRP) Composites
PI Birce Dikici
This research is directed toward understanding the thermophysical and nanomechanical properties of NFRP composites in order to predict and optimize the behavior of the final product.
According to Mordor Intelligence Market Research report, the natural fiber reinforced composites market is projected to register a compound annual ground rate of 11% during the forecast period (2021-2026). Natural fibers have the advantages of low cost, low density, and biodegradability. However, natural fibers also have some limitations such as moisture absorption, poor chemical and fire resistance, variations in fiber geometry, high dispersion of mechanical properties, poor interfacial interactions with polymeric matrices. Cellulose fibers are the most abundant natural fiber worldwide that form most of the agricultural wastes. One intriguing form of these fibers is nanocellulose. Nanocellulose consists of rod/fibril-like nanoparticles that have outstanding mechanical properties, low coefficients of thermal expansion, with a surface chemistry that can be readily modified. Our group have demonstrated the ability to extract nanocellulose fibers from pinecones - using acid digestion- and fabricate an epoxy based composite. This research is directed toward understanding the thermophysical and nanomechanical properties of NFRP composites in order to predict and optimize the behavior of the final product.Categories: Faculty-Staff
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EVALUATING RESILIENCE IN COMMERCIAL AIRLINES THROUGH SUPPLY CHAIN FLEXIBILITY IN THE PRE & POST COVID-19 WORLD: APPLYING THE SUPPLY CHAIN FLEXIBILITY RATIO
PI Stephanie Douglas
CO-I Juan Roman
CO-I Thomas Schaefer
Measuring supply chain flexibility in the Airline – Mainline Passenger industry.
This study investigates the relationship between factors of supply chain flexibility that may explain the success of some airline companies throughout various shocks and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic. The study focuses on the viability of the underlying supply chain models within major U.S. airline companies. Specifically, the study explores supply chain flexibility as a component of the Supply Chain Operations Reference metrics. Multiple regressions were performed and found the Supply Chain Flexibility Ratio being a predictive value of supply chain flexibility p< .05 and indicating supply chain flexibility which can be used as an indicator of organizational resilience in the Airline – Mainline Passenger industry.Categories: Faculty-Staff
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UAS Parameters, Exceedances, Recording Rates for ASIAS
PI David Esser
The project was to support aggregation of UAS flight data with commercial, general aviation and surveillance data, to develop enhanced safety analyses for NAS stakeholders, support UAS integration in the NAS, and support the Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team (UAST).
The purpose of the project was to enable the safe integration of UAS in the NAS through building upon existing aviation database and data-sharing efforts encouraged and endorsed by participating government-industry entities. Through this research, a data architecture for unmanned air and ground vehicles and operations was developed in alignment with the FAA’s Aviation Safety Information and Sharing (ASIAS) program.
This project designed and evaluated Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) for unmanned operations and integrated that data into the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) system. In addition, this project identified current Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) FDM capabilities and practices, including refresh/recording rate and robustness, and developed guidance for a UAS FDM standard. The UAS community has specific and disparate needs in relation to manned aviation, such as the need for strong cyber-security measures regarding telemetry streams and the storage of sensitive UAS flight data. This project sought to identify the best governance practices regarding the use and research involved with UAS flight data. The project team included original members who designed and deployed the National General Aviation Flight Information Database (NGAFID) which has successfully integrated and is data-sharing with ASIAS.
This project identified UAS FDM events, including event definitions and exceedances, using the normal ASIAS techniques. Future phases of this project will include the actual deployment of a UAS database which interfaces with ASIAS similar to other safety reporting programs.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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UAS Flight Data Research in Support of ASIAS (Aviation Safety Information and Analysis Sharing)
PI David Esser
This research will aggregate high quality UAS flight data with commercial and general aviation flight data and surveillance data, in order to develop enhanced safety analyses for NAS stakeholders and to support UAS integration in the NAS.
The overarching purpose of this research is to enable safe integration of UAS in the NAS through building upon existing aviation database and data-sharing efforts encouraged and endorsed by participating government-industry entities. Through this research, a data architecture for unmanned air and ground vehicles and operations will be developed in alignment with the FAA’s Aviation Safety Information and Sharing (ASIAS) program.
This project will design and evaluate Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) for unmanned operations and integrate that data into the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) system. In addition, this project will integrate the findings from ASSURE project A20, which identified current Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) FDM capabilities and practices, including refresh/recording rate and robustness, and developed guidance for a UAS FDM standard. The proposed team includes original members who designed and deployed the National General Aviation Flight Information Database (NGAFID), which has successfully integrated and is data-sharing with ASIAS.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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A Comparison of Online and Traditional Undergraduate Introductory Physics
PI Emily Faulconer
CO-I John Griffith
CO-I Beverly Wood
CO-I Soumyadip Acharyya
CO-I Donna Roberts
While the equivalence between online and traditional classrooms has been well-researched, very little of this includes college level introductory physics. Only one study explored physics at the whole-class level rather than specific course components such as a single lab or a homework platform. In this work, we compared the failure rate, grade distribution, and withdrawal rates in an introductory undergraduate physics course across several learning modes including traditional face-to-face instruction, synchronous video instruction, and online classes.
In this study, statistically significant differences were found for student failure rates, grade distribution, and withdrawal rates but yielded small effect sizes. Post-hoc pair-wise test were run to determine differences between learning modes. Online students had a significantly lower failure rate than students who took the class via synchronous video classroom. While statistically significant differences were found for grade distributions, the pair-wise comparison yielded no statistically significance differences between learning modes when using the more conservative Bonferroni correction in post-hoc testing. Finally, in this study, student withdrawal rates were lowest for students who took the class in person (in-person classroom and synchronous video classroom) than online. Students that persist in an online introductory physics class are more likely to achieve an A than in other modes. However, the withdrawal rate is higher from online physics courses. Further research is warranted to better understand the reasons for higher withdrawal rates in online courses. Finding the root cause to help eliminate differences in student performance across learning modes should remain a high priority for education researchers and the education community as a whole.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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A Review of Allelopathy of Schinus terebinthifolius: Using published data to inform future research
PI Emily Faulconer
CO-I Zachary Dixon
The Brazilian pepper plant (Schinus terebinthifolius) has been identified as an invasive species in multiple geographic regions around the globe. One characteristic that contributes to its invasiveness is allelopathy. This review provides a comprehensive look at the current research on phytotoxicity and cytotoxicity and presents the characterizations of the terpenoid and phenolic allelochemicals provided in previous works. Future areas of research are identified as a result of this review.
The Brazilian pepper plant (Schinus terebinthifolius) is an invasive species that displays multiple characteristics that allow for habitat invasion in many regions globally, including allelopathy. This review analyzes the existing literature that characterizes the Brazilian pepper’s extract and its allelopathic effects, established through bioassay and pot cultures. This review reveals that studies characterizing the extract should include specific information to include specific geographic region, plant part used (leaves versus fruit), and flowering state of the plant when collected. While this review does firmly establish the broad allelopathic effects of the plant, it reveals the need for pot culture and bioassay studies to perform a characterization of the extract in order to draw conclusions regarding the allelopathic effect and the extract composition. We also suggest field studies to firmly establish the broad allelopathic influence of the plant as well as to investigate persistence of Brazilian pepper’s allelopathic chemicals in their surrounding environment.
References:
Alves, L.A., Freires, I., de Souza, T.M.P.A., & de Castro, R.D. (2012). In vitro activity of schinus terebinthifolius (brazilian pepper tree) on candida tropicalis growth and cell wall formation. Aca Odontologica Latinoamercana 25, 287-292.
Australian Government Department of Environment and Energy. (2011). Schinus terebinthifolius. Retrieved from Australian Government website.
Bargeron, C.T., & Moorhead, D.J. (2017). EDDMapS - Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System. University of Georgia - Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health .
de Assis, C.P.O., Gondim Jr., M.G.C., de Siqueira, H.A.A., & da Camara, C.A.G. (2011). Toxicity of essential oils from plants towards tyrophagus putrescentiae (schrank) and suidasia pontifica oudemans (acari: Astimgata). Journal of Stored Products Research 47, 311-315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2011.04.005
El-Massry, K.F., El-Ghorab, A.H., Shaaban, H.A., & Shibamoto, T. (2009). Chemical compositions and antioxidant/antimicrobial activities of various samples prepared from schinus terebinthifolius leaves cultivated in Egypt. Journal of Agricultural Food and Chemistry 57, 5265-5270. https://doi.org/10.1021/jf900638c
Gomes, F.S., Procopio, T.F., Napoleao, T.H., Coelho, L.C.B.B., & Paiva, P.M.G. (2012). Antimicrobial lectin from schinus terebinthifolius leaf. Journal of Applied Microbiology 114, 672-679. https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.12086
Kweka, E.J., Nyindo, M., Mosha, F., & Silva, A.G. (2011). Insecticidal activity of the essential oil from fruits and seeds of schinus terebinthifolia raddi against African malaria vectors. Parasite Vector 4,129. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-4-129
Silva, A.G., Almeida, D.L., Ronchi, S.N., Bento, A.C., Scherer, R., Ramos, A.C., & Cruz, Z.M.A. (2010). The essential oil of brazilian pepper, schinus terebinthifolia Raddi in larval control of stegomyia aegypti (linnaeus, 1762). Parasite Vector 3, 79. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-3-79
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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Undergraduate students’ perceived barriers to research in online education
PI Emily Faulconer
CO-I John Griffith
CO-I Zachary Dixon
CO-I Donna Roberts
This study explored differences in student interests, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers to undergraduate research across ERAU's distance and residential campuses.
Undergraduate research benefits students by strengthening skills, professional growth, and improving retention. Yet significant barriers exist, including low awareness of opportunities, restrictive cultural norms, and resource constraints. The proliferation of online education potentially increases barriers, both real and perceived. This study compared participation rate and perceived barriers between undergraduate distance and traditional students. Survey results indicated no significant differences in self-reported participation or interest in research. Despite inherent structural limitations of online education, there were no significant differences in the respondents’ perceptions of access to opportunities, physical resources, or human resources. Significant differences were seen regarding awareness of research opportunities. While institution-specific moderating factors may influence results, this information is valuable for strategic planning with regard to increasing opportunities and awareness for undergraduates.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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A review to weigh the pros and cons of online science laboratory experiences
PI Emily Faulconer
CO-I Amy Gruss
This is a review article that explores traditional and nontraditional labs according to learner outcomes, economic impact, and safety.
The effectiveness of traditional face to face labs versus non-traditional online, remote, or distance labs is difficult to assess due to the lack of continuity in the literature between terminology, standard evaluation metrics, and the use of a wide variety non-traditional laboratory experience for online courses. This narrative review presents a representative view of the existing literature in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of non-traditional laboratories and to highlight the areas of opportunity for research.
Non-traditional labs are increasingly utilized in higher education. The research indicates that these non-traditional approaches to a science laboratory experience are as effective at achieving the learning outcomes as traditional labs. While this is an important parameter, this review outlines further important considerations such as operating and maintenance cost, growth potential, and safety. This comparison identifies several weaknesses in the existing literature. While it is clear that traditional labs aid in the development of practical and procedural skills, there is a lack of research exploring if non-traditional laboratory experiments hinder student success in subsequent traditional labs. Additionally, remote lab kits blur the lines between modality by bringing experiences that are more tactile to students outside of the traditional laboratory environment. Though novel work on non-traditional labs continues to be published, investigations are still needed regarding cost differences, acquisition of procedural skills, preparation for advanced work, and instructor contact time between traditional and non-traditional laboratories.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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Arriving at a Better Answer: a decision matrix for science lab course format
PI Emily Faulconer
CO-I James Hanamean
CO-I Laura Faulconer
This paper presents a decision matrix for identifying ideal lab format based on institutional parameters for safety, budget, etc.
At first glance, scientific laboratory experiences might appear to be challenging to move to the cloud. Skeptics may point to sensory feedback limitations and inequivalence of student outcomes. Emerging data increasingly provides evidence that scientific laboratory courses are not only amenable to online learning but can deliver student outcomes at or above traditional in-person courses. In identifying a science lab format, each institution weighs factors like lab course goals, budget, program growth, access and safety differently. The following highlights a decision matrix for how one institution informed their choice for the modality of a chemistry lab course.Categories: Faculty-Staff
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If at first you do not succeed: the student benefits of multiple trials on summative assessments.
PI Emily Faulconer
CO-I John Griffith
CO-I Hayden Frank
This paper explores the combination of multiple attempts on assessments with immediate feedback through the LMS. The data reveals that students who do not earn an A are likely to use additional attempts and they tend to do better on future attempts.
Feedback best practices suggest that timely, specific, and actionable feedback is provided, with the option to apply the feedback. We used a learning management system to deliver assessments with automatic feedback provided at the conclusion of the assessment, allowing for multiple attempts in order to apply the knowledge gained. Questions were pooled so each attempt was unique, the highest score earned was awarded, and there was no penalty for failure to take advantage of multiple attempts. We found that students who did not earn an A on their first attempt were more likely to opt to try again. Those that did so tended to score better on their second attempt. This leads us to conclude that assessment design with multiple attempts that incorporates feedforward influences student behaviour. Understandably, students who used multiple attempts invested more time on the assessment; this time investment did not correlate to better performance, but time on task on the first attempt was also not a predictor of mastery, either. Future work will include additional STEM general education courses in a broader study and a survey of student opinions regarding the utility of the feedback and the option for multiple attempts.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
41-50 of 189 results