Applied Engineering and Technology Management
http://hdl.handle.net/10484/5537
2024-03-29T05:33:35ZTHE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN ASSESSMENT ITEM POOL FOR A GRADUATE RESEARCH METHODS COURSE
http://hdl.handle.net/10484/13955
THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN ASSESSMENT ITEM POOL FOR A GRADUATE RESEARCH METHODS COURSE
Muller, Heidi M.
This research and development study created an item pool for the TMGT 698 graduate research methods course taught by the Department of Applied Engineering and Technology Management at Indiana State University. The Department of Applied Engineering and Technology Management at Indiana State University can use the item pool created in this research and development study to evaluate the dissemination of knowledge to graduate students from the course materials provided to them. The Department of Applied Engineering and Technology Management at Indiana State University can use the item pool in conjunction with the written assessments and discussion response assessments to evaluate ABET student outcomes and the course objective. A total population of 100 items was created, based on ten items for each of ten objective assessments (quizzes). The study consisted of presenting individuals with ten quizzes selecting items from each assignment’s item pool. Statistical item analysis was then performed on the results to verify internal consistency and reliability, initial assumptions of difficulty, and to determine item discrimination. The results of the study indicate that the majority of items in the item pool are acceptable to use in conjunction with the writing assessments and discussion response assessments to determine student retention of knowledge and attainment of the ABET student outcomes and the course objective.
2021-05-01T00:00:00ZEVALUATION OF THE GNPV METHOD FOR DECISION-MAKING IN NON-CONVENTIONAL PROJECTS
http://hdl.handle.net/10484/12624
EVALUATION OF THE GNPV METHOD FOR DECISION-MAKING IN NON-CONVENTIONAL PROJECTS
Song, Ningning
Engineering economic analysis techniques are used to evaluate projects and make
appropriate decision in capital budgeting. Conventional projects can be solved by the traditional
methods such as the net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) methods. These
methods may not work in evaluating non-conventional projects. Kulakov and Kulakova (2012)
have presented the generalized net present value (GNPV) method for such projects. They have
illustrated the method with three examples: a project of 2-year life with multiple IRRs, a project
of 2-year life without IRR, and a project of 3-year life with a unique real-valued IRR which is
not the rate of return. The purpose of the present study was to test the validity and feasibility of
the GNPV method in evaluating other non-conventional projects with longer life. The method
was used to evaluate five scenarios or problems with up to 10-year life. First problem was a
project for 5-year life with multiple IRRs. Second was a project for 7-year life with multiple realvalued
IRRs, which were not the rate of return. Third was a project for 10-year life with a
positive and a negative IRR meaning the positive value was the unique IRR. Fourth was a project
for 7-year life with a salvage value and a unique IRR. Fifth was a staged expansion project for
10-year life with a unique IRR. It was concluded that the GNPV method worked in all the five
cases considered. Advantages of the GNPV method were noticed in agreement with Kulakov and
Kulakova (2012) that i) the minimum attractive rate of return (MARR) was not required to find a
solution of the problem; ii) the internal (financing) rate may be different from the external
(reinvestment) rate as happens in real world; and iii) internal and external rates are not necessarily required for solution, but are required for evaluation of the projects. One
disadvantage was observed that the computational work in some cases may be overwhelming.
2014-08-01T00:00:00ZAN ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE ENGINEERING (EVE) EMERGY ANALYSIS RUBRIC TO COMPARE HIGH-SPEED PASSENGER RAIL AND INTERSTATE PASSENGER CAR TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES THROUGH A FIXED DISTANCE
http://hdl.handle.net/10484/12599
AN ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE ENGINEERING (EVE) EMERGY ANALYSIS RUBRIC TO COMPARE HIGH-SPEED PASSENGER RAIL AND INTERSTATE PASSENGER CAR TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES THROUGH A FIXED DISTANCE
Threadcraft, Joseph
An Environmental Value Engineering (EVE) analysis was used to conduct an environmental life cycle assessment of transportation alternatives consisting of high-speed passenger rail and interstate passenger car transportation. This analysis was formulated on the EMERGY inputs of environment, fuel energy, goods, and services (labor). EMERGY input tables were calculated based on subsystem inputs for each mode of transportation. Areas of commonality were identified for analysis exclusion while aspects that showed differentiation were included as viable inputs into the calculation of the total EMERGY for each system. The summation of inputs resulted in an overall EMERGY calculation of the alternatives. Subsequently, the system with the lowest aggregate EMERGY per passenger mile was identified as the one having the least impact on the environment while meeting the need of transporting people. In an effort to further determine if a significant difference existed between these transportation alternatives, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted utilizing aggregate EMERGY values of environment, fuel energy, goods, and services.
The following results are specific to this analysis such that the conclusions cannot be extrapolated without a specific evaluation of those conditions. An analysis of the EMERGY per passenger mile results determined that the interstate passenger car alternative met the need of transporting people while having the least impact on the environment. A review of the MANOVA results indicated that there was not a significant difference between the transportation alternatives impact on the environment.
Additional environmental variables such as vehicle and locomotive material composition analysis, greenhouse gas emission, ecological footprint and ecological economics were identified as areas of consideration for future research. The variables of interest could be included in the EVE analysis and result in a modified EVE and be defined as a composite environmental return on investment (CE-ROI).
2014-12-01T00:00:00ZThe Impact of Cooperative Video Games on Team Cohesion
http://hdl.handle.net/10484/935
The Impact of Cooperative Video Games on Team Cohesion
Anderson, Greg
In today’s economy, productivity and efficiency require collaboration between
employees. In order to improve collaboration the factors affecting teamwork must be examined
to identify where changes can be made in order to increase performance. One factor contributing
to teamwork is team cohesion and represents a process whereby members are joined by a
common bond in the pursuit of a common objective.
A popular social bonding activity sweeping the world is playing cooperative video
games. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of playing cooperative video games
on team cohesion. Subjects (N=56) were randomly placed into 15 teams of three to four
members. A modified Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) pretest was administered to
determine the initial degree of cohesiveness between team members and to examine a wide
cross-section of correlates and cohesiveness. Each team was randomly assigned to a specific
intervention length of either one or three weeks with the one week groups playing for one hour
and the three week groups playing for six hours. After the randomly assigned length of game
play was completed, team members completed the modified GEQ posttest.
The results of the posttest were compared with the pretest to determine the effect on the
team’s cohesion. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (means and standard
deviations) and a 2 x 2 MANCOVA was used to determine if playing collaborative video games
affected the level of cohesion. A mixed design was used as post hoc analyses for each GEQ
cohesive factor and indicated that levels of cohesion increased due to the intervention but was not dependent upon the length of the intervention. The results of this analysis indicated that
video games can be used as a team building experience to improve cohesion regardless of how
long the video game is played.
2010-07-20T14:01:42Z