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Increasing budget constraints and emphasis on fielding capability faster have led the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal entities to pursue the benefits of Agile software development���reduced cycle times, flexibility to adapt to changing conditions and user needs��� that software development practitioners have achieved in the commercial market. This report is written by the National Defense Industrial Association���s System Engineering Agile Working Group to provide information on request-for-proposal (RFP) patterns and techniques for successful Agile contracting that can and have been used for contracts seeking to employ Agile methods. This report is intended to support the writers of RFPs in bringing Agile concepts into programs at the earliest possible time, providing examples of the kinds of language that will affect the foundations of contracts on which programs rely.

Engineering engagement programs use service learning and community engagement pedagogies that require a real-world situated problem in which the community partners who experience those problems are integral to those spaces. Despite community partners being integral to engineering engagement programs, research on community partner perspectives is vastly unrepresented in literature Therefore, the goal of this work is to investigate engineering engagement programs from the perspective of the community partners by answering the research question: what meaning do community partners make of their experience in engineering engagement programs? This study describes a qualitative research inquiry in which interviews with three community partners from three different engineering engagement programs were conducted and analyzed for community partner meaning. Using a framework developed by Zittoun and Brinkmann for meaning making, this study presented several themes associated with pragmatic, semantic, and existential meanings made by community partners within this study (2012).Findings from this study suggest implications for expansions of existing frameworks of constituents and components of engineering engagement programs, as well as potential opportunities to more deeply engaging community partners the assessment of student contributions and trajectories as a function of participation in EEPs. Additionally, findings from this study suggest an opportunity to investigate communication and thinking between students and community partners to better support the experience of the community partner (and potentially, the learning of the students). Lastly, findings from this study suggest that participation in EEPs presents the opportunity for community partners to learn by doing which can be more deeply investigated to begin addressing the gap in the literature associated with community partners in research on engineering engagement spaces.

Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) is a single wire medium voltage (MV) distribution system in which the load current returns through the earth. The SWER earthing electrode design in the industry has been heavily influenced by the failures of electrodes in service during extended drought periods and the response has been to adopt deep-bored electrodes which are reliable but extremely expensive. Relatively little is known about the economic design of the electrodes for a given level of longevity and reliability. This thesis addresses this need. The thesis combines analytical, finite element method (FEM) and laboratory-based approaches. Analytical solutions have been developed for continuously loaded electrodes with simple symmetrical geometries. The thesis contributes into the knowledge of continuously loaded electrode designs with analytical solutions for temperature rise for short and long electrode models with symmetrical geometry. These expressions identify the influence of material properties and electrode dimensions upon the key electrode operational parameters. The analytical solutions provide insight into the dimensional dependencies and especially the influence of electrode dimensional scaling on thermal time constants.

This article presents an integrated, interactive modelling and simulation tool for aerodynamic design and analysis. The development and coupling of a GPU-accelerated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) library, a 3D scanning library and a virtual-reality-powered video game are presented and the resulting virtual wind tunnel described. Users of the tunnel may interact with both geometry and solver from within the virtual environment providing a truly unique tool for performing high-level aerodynamic analysis around imported and scanned objects. Here we introduce the relevant technologies and approaches used to build the components and discuss the technical challenges of integrating them. The flow solver is validated against experimental data for a representative turbulent flow and demonstrates excellent agreement with available data. We also present the peak performance of the solver on current hardware. Limitations and potential expansions for this proof of concept are discussed as well as applications in a range of other scientific fields.

A key aspect of color change is altering perceived value or intensity. This dissertation presents a methodology to achieve value change through mechanical means via the deflection of bistable structures. We create the Mechxel, two methods of mechanical pixel-based, reversible color change using 3D printed switchable multistability and bistable switch panels that augment the projected area a viewer perceives which enables the creation of image and character tessellation. Switchable multistability (SMS) arises from the combination of pre-strain and shape memory, allowing us to access multiple elastically programmed shapes at elevated temperatures with fast morphing and low actuation forces, while retaining high stiffness at room temperature. We design and manufacture SMS Mechxels using fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing on the Ultimaker 3D printer in a bilayer layup of polylactic acid (PLA) with a [90/0] print direction while iteratively miniaturizing the physical size to enhance the resolution while also reducing the size of the overall tessellated display. Leveraging SMS properties programmed into each Mechxel, the projected area to a viewer will vary between the unit���s stable states, creating a difference in perceived value of coloration due to changes in area. To ease the tessellation process, we also introduce a tessellation user interface that maps images to their tessellated equivalent to reduce tessellation trial and error. This interface also calculates the number of Mechxels required in their respective states and the final physical size of the display. We then carry out image processing to justify this change in value between stable states and run preliminary optical character recognition. Inspired by mechanical bistable mechanisms, the bistable switch Mechxels utilize changes in a surface���s projected area to a viewer via changes in the angle of a bistable tile using a 5-by-5 grid for character replication and display. Comprising of three main components ��� two bistable switches, a colored tile and a base, design considerations were made to create an easy to assemble and replaceable 3D printed grid system that could be interacted with by audiences or easily electromechanically actuated. Using pixel-by-pixel comparisons and Sorensen-Dice coefficient, characters using the typeface Silkscreen were documented on these tiled grids yielding high similarity and low error when compared to their digital reference images in various positions and orientations. We also experiment with transitional waves as a promising means of actuation to change the Mechxel between their stable states. The Mechxels considered in this research introduce a new means of purely mechanical color change, character, and image display either leveraging the elastic properties of shape memory polymers (SMPs) or bistable mechanisms. With potential applications in passive morphing architecture, adaptive camouflage, and interactive aesthetic, Mechxels opens the door to limitless design possibilities through a new perspective into color change.

The facilitator model for dual credit offers a way for student to earn directly transcripted credit to colleges and universities, overcoming many barriers faced by other dual credit models. Successful implementation of this model requires high degree of involvement from the cooperating institution. This IRB approved qualitative case study explored the needs of five teacher facilitators in both summer professional development and on-going support throughout the school year when implementing a facilitator model for dual credit with open-ended design coursework. Code-recode and axial coding techniques were applied to over 90 hours of transcribed data, artifacts, and observations from a seven month period to find emerging themes and offer recommendations for implementation.

Biological engineering includes a higher representation of women (Yoder, 2015) than most science, technology, engineering, mathematics and information technology fields, while computer science has seen a precipitous decline in women’s representation. However, disciplines like biological engineering are becoming more computationally intensive (Savage, 2018), incorporating computational skills like computer programming. As biological engineering is adapting tools and practices from computer science, there is potential that the factors that have contributed to the decline in the participation of women in computer science may impact women’s participation in biological engineering as well. In engineering education research, discipline-based identity research is one framework that is used to understand retention and persistence issues because students' sense of self as an engineering and belonging is a critical factor when it comes to deciding to stay or leave discipline.The current study adopts the framing of identity, which comes from social identity theory (Stryker & Burke, 2000) and symbolic interactionism (Burke & Stets, 2009). Recently, some work has emerged on understanding the computing identity of computer science and engineering students (Garcia, Hazari, Weiss, & Solis, 2019) and the computational identity of K-12 mathematics students (Kong & Wang, 2020). However, a clear gap exists in research that explores the computational identities of undergraduate engineering students. This dissertation utilizes an established theoretical framework from computer science education research for understanding computing identity (Mahadeo et al., 2020). For the current study, the operationalization of computational identity for research in engineering could provide a transition from one discipline (computing) to another (engineering) because of a similar skillset (programming) while also contributing to the engineering education body of knowledge. For this qualitative investigation, 23 semi-structured interviews were conducted with undergraduates who were enrolled in a computationally intensive thermodynamics course. During the analysis phase, coding was inductive as well as deductive in nature; in vivo coding used participants' words from participant's sentences as codes while the interviews were also coded for constructs and sub-constructs based on the theoretical framework. Axial coding helped to combine related codes that emerged from the inductive and deductive coding into themes, and the themes addressed each of the research questions.The findings present an emergent thematic definition of a “computational person” constructed from students’ perceptions and experiences. A detailed description of a computational person based on student perspective came out as someone who is proficient with mathematics, logical thinking, and computer programming and can make rational decisions and encompass multiple perspectives towards problem-solving and solution representation. Participants also talked about their own computational identity in relationship to how they defined a computational person. Most of the participants described that their computational identity as “in the making.” This study's second contribution is the investigation of congruence between the participants' computational identity and other identities they held: gender, engineering, and artistic. The qualitative analysis revealed that for some students there are incongruences between an artistic/creative identity and a computational identity and incongruences between being female and having a computational identity. In contrast, engineering identity and computational identity were found to be congruent. The interview participants also noted ways that pedagogical approaches used in the thermodynamics course supported the development of computational confidence. This study's findings support computational practice and cooperative learning-based instruction for computational identity development. Finally, the study proposes future directions for engineering instructors, students, and engineering education researchers who want to promote and or study computational identity development.

This Distinguished Lecture was delivered online on 22 May 2020 as part of the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society (AESS) global education initiatives and was organised by RMIT University (Sir Lawrence Wackett Centre, CPS Group) in collaboration with Deakin University (CITECORE Seminar Series), the IEEE Victorian Section, the AESS Avionics Systems Panel and Aviation/Aerospace Australia.

Engineering designers commonly make sequential information acquisition decisions such as selecting designs for performance evaluation, selecting information sources, deciding whom to communicate with in design teams, and deciding when to stop design exploration. There is significant literature on normative decision making for engineering design, however, there is a lack of descriptive modeling of how designers actually make information acquisition decisions. Such descriptive modeling is important for accurately modeling design decisions, identifying sources of inefficiencies, and improving the design process. To that end, the research objective of the dissertation is to understand how designers make sequential information acquisition decisions and identify models that provide the best description of a designer’s decisions strategies. For gaining this understanding, the research approach consists of a synthesis of descriptive theories from psychological and cognitive sciences, along with empirical evidence from behavioral experiments under different design situations. Statistical Bayesian inference is used to determine how well alternate descriptive decision models describe the experimental data. This approach quantifies a designer's decision strategies through posterior parameter estimation and Bayesian model comparison. Two research studies, presented in this dissertation, focus on assessing the effects of monetary incentives, fixed budget, type of design space exploration, and the availability of system-wide information on information acquisition decisions. The first study presented in this dissertation investigates information acquisition by an individual designer when multiple information sources are available and the total budget is limited. The results suggest that the student subjects' decisions are better represented by the heuristic-based models than the expected utility(EU)-based models. While the EU-based models result in better net payoff, the heuristic models used by the subjects generate better design performance. The results also indicate the potential for nudging designers' decisions towards maximizing the net payoff by setting the fixed budget at low values and providing monetary incentives proportional to the saved budget.The second study investigates information acquisition through communication. The focus is on designers’ decisions about whom to communicate with, and how much to communicate when there is interdependence between subsystems being designed. This study analyzes team communication of NASA engineers at a mission design laboratory (MDL) as well as of engineering students designing a simplified automotive engine in an undergraduate classroom environment. The results indicate that the rate of interactions increases in response to the reduce in system-level design performance in both settings. Additionally, the following factors seem to positively influence communication decisions: the pairwise design interdependence, node-wise popularity (significant with NASA MDL engineers due to large team size), and pairwise reciprocity.The dissertation work increases the knowledge about engineering design decision making in following aspects. First, individuals make information acquisition decisions using simple heuristics based on in-situ information such as available budget amount and present system performance.The proposed multi-discipline approach proves helpful for describing heuristics analytically and inferring context-specific decision strategies using statistical Bayesian inference. This work has potential application in developing decision support tools for engineering design. Second, the comparison of communication patterns between student design teams and NASA MDL teams reveals that the engine experiment preserves some but not all of the communication patterns of interest. We find that the representativeness depends not on matching subjects, tasks, and context separately, but rather on the behavior that results from the interactions of these three dimensions. This work provides lessons for designing representative experiments in the future.

Tools forEveryday Lifeat the GreatExhibition ofthe North

Conceptual design is often considered to be the most important step in the design of a new product or the modification of an existing product. The important steps in this conceptual design phase is the synthesis of potential solutions into concepts, the evaluation of these concepts within a repeatable and robust design methodology framework and analysis to identify and characterise the preferred solution concept. This research has arisen from problems associated with developing aircraft-based design modification concepts and predicting the impact of these changes as they propagate or flow down through the various aircraft subsystems, impacting engineering design, and leading to certification and operations challenges. This research problem is particularly evident in highly integrated systems such as high-performance military aircraft, helicopters, and complex civil aircraft. To illustrate this methodology the author has selected two case studies which apply two different alternate propulsion system technologies to small aircraft. These case studies were selected to provide a diverse design modification space encompassing differing aircraft roles and mission types, differing technologies and subsystems integration scope, and different data sources collection and analysis methods. In order to combine the elements of design synthesis, evaluation of concept alternatives and analysis of outputs, this thesis has formulated a matrix-based conceptual design methodology. This methodology extends current knowledge by implementing the concepts of design synthesis, evaluation and analysis as an iterative process, and building and linking together existing techniques. This new methodology combined various techniques and methods such as Quality Function Deployment (QFD), quantified morphological matrices (QMM), Pugh’s decision matrices, change options Multiple-Domain Matrices (MDM), and has adapted the Change Propagation Method (CPM). The second extension to current knowledge in this area was the development of Engineering and Certification Domain Mapping Matrix (DMM) techniques based on Design Structure Matrices (DSM). This extension into engineering and certification domain was undertaken to ensure that important modification-related risks and costs were incorporated into the early stages of design. The extension adopted existing DSM and DMM-based techniques and tools to evaluate the impact of changes to subsystems and hence impact of risks and costs resulting from aircraft modifications using change propagation method analysis techniques. The validation of this conceptual design methodology was achieved by verifying and assessing the adequacy of its application through an analysis process which examined (1) coverage of the design space attributes; (2) validation of the methodology against accepted scientific and industry conceptual design frameworks; and (3) confirmation of the existing techniques, structures and tools applied within the methodology.

Conference papers on the challenges faced in implementing sustainable urban water management (SUWM) in Asian cities. Three key approaches are identified: (1) Governance and Society, (2) Technology Innovation, and (3) Urban Planning and Design.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the optimal position and distance for a single pole mounted luminaire to be placed relative to an external stairway. By investigating human factors, it was evident that the highest risk for injury was during descent. A computer simulation of the environment was designed to evaluate the light technical parameters specified in Australian Standards. As indicated by the uniformity and average horizontal illuminance metrics, the treads were most effectively illuminated when the luminaire was positioned at the bottom of the stairway. There was a negative correlation between horizontal illuminance and the luminaire distance. The luminaire provided the highest point vertical illuminance for descent at two to four metres from the bottom of the staircase. The results demonstrated that a luminaire positioned at two metres from the bottom of the staircase is optimal, considering light technical parameters and human factors involved in staircase descent.

On a railway yard, pole mounted luminaires illuminate the track at night for the safety of employees working to provide uninterrupted rail services. The operation of traditional high intensity discharge lamps incurs significant electricity costs. Each time the bulbs require replacement, there are auxiliary expenses involved in risk management (e.g. electrically isolating the track). By upgrading to more energy efficient lighting with longer rated life, the operational expenditure may be reduced. However, the capital cost of investing in the technology is customarily greater. An evaluation tool was developed to analyse the financial viability of installing alternative lighting technology at railway yards. With the input of financial and technical parameters, the most economical lighting solution can be determined. The total cost of ownership was calculated for each alternative luminaire type, as the sum of capital and operational expenditure. Light technical parameters that affected operational costs were wattage and rated life. Wattage directly influenced electricity expenses. Rated life indicated the regularity of maintenance costs required for bulb replacement. The constant values applied included light operating hours, electricity tariffs, and labour rate. In the calculation of operational expenditure for each successive year, the expected change in maintenance and electricity costs was taken into account. The evaluation tool was applied to a railway yard with one- hundred mercury vapour lamps. The financial outcome of replacing the existing lamps with LED luminaires was assessed. The financial outcome of investing in LED technology is severely affected by an increase in luminaire price and installation time. In the case that the luminaire selected was six times more expensive, the investment would not have been profitable. The project would also not be financially feasible if the time of installation exceeded 120 minutes per luminaire. In calculating the cost-benefits of a luminaire type, installation time is the most sensitive variable, due to the high labour and vehicle rates associated.

A high luminance contrast between windows and surrounding surfaces can increase the risk of discomfort glare, which can diminish office workers' satisfaction and productivity. Accordingly, it can lead to occupant interventions, such as drawing window blinds or increasing electric light levels, which are intended to enhance indoor visual comfort but counterproductively act to increase energy consumption. Increasing the luminance of the areas surrounding the windows using a supplementary lighting system, such as wall-washing with light emitting diode (LED) linear luminaires, could reduce discomfort glare arising from windowed walls. This paper reports on the results of a study in a typical office room in Brisbane, Australia. The outcomes of this study indicate that creating a luminance contrast of between 11:1 and 12:1 on the window wall in an office room with a 45% window-to-exterior-wall ratio using a supplementary LED system leads to improved subjective assessments of window appearance. The results suggest that such an enhancement could significantly reduce discomfort glare from windows, as well as diminishing the likelihood of the users intending to turn on the ceiling lights or to move the blinds. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Background The widespread reliance on motor vehicles has negative effects on both the environment and human health. The development of an innovative in-vehicle human-machine interface (HMI) has the potential to contribute to reducing traffic pollution and road trauma. Aim A qualitative study, using a driver-centred design approach, was carried out to test how best to provide ecological and safe (eco-safe) driving advice and feedback to drivers on their driving style via an in-vehicle HMI. Method A total of 34 drivers (52.9% males), aged 19-61 years, participated in focus groups which explored concepts from the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989) Findings Main themes emerging from the focus groups were: (i) perceived importance of eco-safe driving behaviour; (ii) perceived usefulness of eco-safe in-vehicle HMIs; (iii) intentions to use an eco-safe in-vehicle HMI; (iv) perceptions towards eco-safe in-vehicle HMI design characteristics; and (v) potential problems associated with using eco-safe in-vehicle HMIs. Implications This study provides the foundation to inform the design and development of an evidence-based in-vehicle eco-safe HMI with high levels of driver acceptance. Recommendations for future research are also discussed.

Kirton, Andrea; Darley, Sally: Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication. T4I Communications 1, T4I2016 – Non-research, Nov 2016. Figshare. The authors have observed, complex technological solutions are often explored but the complexity of these solutions may actually become a burden or barrier either to the user or their support network. In these cases, simpler solutions, which may have been overlooked, may provide a more effective option.

Boyle, Bryan; Arnedillo-Sanchez, Inmaculada; Zahid, Aejaz: Designing collaborative virtual environments for children on the Autism Spectrum. T4I Communications 1, T4I2016 – Academic/Research, Nov 2016. Figshare. This paper outlines the examination of a Collaborative Virtual Environment (CVE) as a computer aided learning tool for children with symptoms typically associated with a diagnosis at the moderate to severe side of the autism spectrum. A CVE was co-designed with children with autism, their parents, teachers and other caregivers.

Context - Many developed countries experience late afternoon or evening electricity peaks. In summer peak demand regions, these peaks are most likely the results of residential air conditioning demand. Methodology - This research is to investigate the air conditioning peak demand reduction potential from a variety of building and operational improvement options in a community centre case. Scenarios of increased thermal mass (rammed earth), more efficient glass sliding door options and control methods are simulated. Results - Building improvement with integrated control performs best at reducing air conditioning peak demand and energy consumption. However, the control method is the most cost effective way of reducing the peak demand. Key Findings - The integrated design and operation strategy for the community centre would significantly alleviate the peak demand pressure on electricity network infrastructure and energy so as to lower the carbon footprint onto the environment. Originality - This study examined a residential community centre case from both design and operation aspects. The simulation is completed in half hourly intervals under real world tariffs.

Recent writings on cognition have focused on the contribution of external representations in supporting internal thought processes. External representations have been found to be so instrumental to thought that cognition is described as "distributed". "Distributed cognition" refers to the way that cognitive achievements arise from not only the internal thought processes of people, but also from the external representations such as the material systems, sketches and information technologies with which they work. The term "distributed" also refers to the fact that thinking processes may be distributed among members of a social group. This chapter focuses on how material representations - prototypes and bits of hardware - are instrumental to thinking in engineering design. In the closing discussion, extensions to other fields of design are considered.----- In influential early writings on distributed cognition, Hutchins (1995) described the activities of navigation as the cooperative achievements of humans with technologies. Goodwin (1990) discussed interactive processes that involved technologies and physical apparatus on an oceanographic research vessel. Chaiklin and Lave (1993) analyzed how a blacksmith worked with materials as he designed and made a piece. In related design research, Schön (1994) described the process of designing as a reflective conversation with the materials of a design situation. Harrison and Minneman (1996) described how objects are an integral part of design communications, altering the dynamics in multi-designer settings and forming part of the pool of representations that are drawn on by designers.----- While this chapter uses the term "distributed cognition" to describe the process of designing and developing design understandings, this should not be taken to imply a commitment to the cognitivist tradition of studying thinking. No attempt is made to understand or depict the internal workings of the designer's mind, to which we have no direct access. Further, this chapter does not speculate on the issues of perception or internal representation. The epistermological stance taken here recognizes that the designer's internal thought processes contribute to the development of design understandings, but regards knowledge as fundamentally social in origin - that is, knowledge and information lie within the social milieu of people, artefacts, books, the world etc., and people access and construct this information into personal knowledge through their interaction with the social milieu and the lived world. This stance is drawn from the tradition of phenomenology after Husserl (Macann 1993), the extension of phenomenology to the social world after Schutz (1932; see also Dourish 2001) and the social constructivist learning philosophy attributed to Vygotsky (Moll 1990). Hence the study of design described in this chapter used methods that were derived from the social sciences.----- This chapter demonstrates how material systems are used in engineering activity to support: a) thining in design and b) learning fundamental engineering concepts. Specifically, I will demonstrate that learning in design is enabled through continually challenging abstract representations against material representations. This comparison between representations reveals gaps that inspire further design activity. The cycle of representation and re-representation in abstract and material forms advances the design, advances the designer's understanding of design requirements, reveals hitherto implicit design assumptions, and extends the designer's hardware repertoire of familiar hardware components and machines. In addition to informing desing activity, this process of re-representation assists students in sorting out fundamental engineering concepts. The chapter draws on videotape data of design activity in order to illustrate the use of material and abstract representations by designers. First I define the different types of representations that are referred to below.