College of Engineering and Technologyhttp://hdl.handle.net/10342/412024-03-28T14:47:27Z2024-03-28T14:47:27ZIDENTIFYING A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DESIGN CONCEPT REPRESENTATION STYLE AND CONSUMER PRODUCT PREFERENCEEcherd, Jon Owenhttp://hdl.handle.net/10342/128882023-06-05T14:08:42Z2023-05-03T00:00:00ZIDENTIFYING A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DESIGN CONCEPT REPRESENTATION STYLE AND CONSUMER PRODUCT PREFERENCE
Echerd, Jon Owen
Product designers are constantly seeking insight into the mind of the consumer in efforts to get a better idea as to what the market demands. Feedback from consumers informs designers on changes that need to be made to a product and can provide information about what end-users expect. To explore possible improvements to the design process, a study was conducted on concept representation style and its effects on consumer preferences. The study employed statistical testing to identify a relationship between representation style and consumer preference consistency, lending insight into the best practices for conveying critical information throughout the design process. The study described in this thesis consists of conducting a series of surveys, introducing hand drawings, solid models, and realistic renderings as representations of eyeglass frames to participants, eliciting preference data from those participants, and comparing their preference ratings to those of physical models of the same frames. This study was supplemented with an eye-tracking system to establish a connection of where the effective details lie in the design representations, as well as suggest some decision-making strategies at play. Results indicate that a significant difference in consistency between representation styles does exist, and that CAD solid models are inconsistent with preferences of physical models. When only participants with an engineering background were evaluated however, this relationship did not exist, suggesting that a familiarity with a particular design practice may impact how individuals judge a particular representation style. It is also suggested by eye-tracking analysis that participants were more likely to give semantic responses when observing physical models.
2023-05-03T00:00:00ZTHE IMPACT OF FATIGUE ON THE SAFETY PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS: A LONGITUDINAL STUDYGaray, Daniel Enriquehttp://hdl.handle.net/10342/128562023-06-05T13:55:13Z2023-05-04T00:00:00ZTHE IMPACT OF FATIGUE ON THE SAFETY PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY
Garay, Daniel Enrique
In the construction industry, workers are constantly exposed to hazards such as chemical exposures, falls from heights, and accidents involving large machinery. Construction sites contribute to generating threats to human life and property, making safety a priority. When safety is taken as a serious matter, accidents, fatalities, and property damage can be avoided. The performance of construction workers impacts projects and determines their quality and success in achieving project goals. In construction sites, an indicator for measuring safety performance is the safety attitude, which is understood as the individual’s attitudes and actions towards the workplace. Several factors can affect a worker's safety attitude, one of these factors is Fatigue. This study aimed to analyze the impact of fatigue on safety performance in construction workers.
To collect information, eighty workers were interviewed over eight weeks. The data collected were analyzed using a linear regression model, repeated ANOVA analysis of variance, and Friedman's rank sum test. Most significantly, the analysis revealed a correlation between the three scales used to measure fatigue (OFER, CIS, and FAS). Due to this correlation between scales, the investigation continued only with the analysis of the OFER scale. Further analysis, using linear regression models, showed a strong relationship between safety attitude and the OFER scale. As a result, Safety attitude significantly predicted fatigue levels in the construction workers. On the other hand, results showed that fatigue did not affect safety attitude, but safety attitude affected fatigue, at least for short periods.
In conclusion, a worker’s attitude in reaction to workplace safety might be influenced by a high number of variables, amongst these variables fatigue is our focus. Simultaneously, it is critical to comprehend additional aspects to build a safer workplace. The results of this study highlight the significance of encouraging a safety attitude culture at work, as this can have a big impact on workplace safety. The report also recommends that fatigue management programs must be introduced in the construction sector to enhance safety and lower the hazards related to fatigue.
2023-05-04T00:00:00ZGraph Theoretic analysis of the Human Brain Functional Connectivity Alteration Due to Sleep RestrictionAntar, Marwahttp://hdl.handle.net/10342/128522023-06-05T13:54:18Z2023-05-03T00:00:00ZGraph Theoretic analysis of the Human Brain Functional Connectivity Alteration Due to Sleep Restriction
Antar, Marwa
Sleep plays a vital role in learning and memory consolidation. Several studies used brain models of sleep deprivation (SD) and insomnia to study the association between sleep deficiency and cognitive decline conditions. SD was found to cause similar, albeit subtle, cognitive decline symptoms displayed by dementia patients affecting attentional functions, decision making, working and long-term memory. This study examines the effect of sleep restriction (SR) on brain networks and utilizes Functional Connectivity (FC) analysis to identify patterns of information processing between different brain regions. It particularly applies weighted phase-lag index (wPLI) to quantify brain signals synchronization levels during a visual oddball paradigm task that evokes event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with face recognition. This study also examines the viability of graph theoretic analysis (GTA), which provides a holistic view on the brain network topology. GTA quantifies the brain connectivity features to assess the global efficiency and local efficiency of information processing, pre- and post- SR intervention. Significant alterations were found in all graph indices mainly in α-, µ- and β- frequency bands due to induced mental fatigue. The obtained results reveal significantly lower local connections (p < 0.05) and lower global efficiency (p < 0.001), particularly in the α- band as a result of mental fatigue, reflecting the impact of sleep loss on attention and memory processing.
2023-05-03T00:00:00ZTime Series Forecasting Using Generative Adversarial NetworksSharon, Sonehttp://hdl.handle.net/10342/128492023-06-05T13:53:42Z2023-05-04T00:00:00ZTime Series Forecasting Using Generative Adversarial Networks
Sharon, Sone
Time series data is prevalent in many fields, such as finance, weather forecasting, and
economics. Predicting future values of a time series can provide valuable insights
for decision-making, such as identifying trends, detecting anomalies, and improving
resource allocation. Recently, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have been
used to learn from these features to aid in time-series forecasting. We propose a novel
framework that utilizes the unsupervised paradigm of a GAN based on related research called TimeGAN. Instead of using the discriminator as a classification model,
we employ it as a regressive model to learn both temporal and static features. This
framework can help generate synthetic data and facilitate forecasting. Our model
outperforms TimeGAN, which only preserves temporal dynamics and uses the discriminator as a classifier to distinguish between synthetic and real datasets
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