Browsing by Subject "Attitude"
Now showing 1 - 10 of 10
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item An attitude determination and control system for small satellites(2015-05) Tam, Margaret Hoi Ting; Fowler, Wallace T.; Lightsey, E. GlennA flexible, robust attitude determination and control (ADC) system is presented for small satellite platforms. Using commercial-off-the-shelf sensors, reaction wheels, and magnetorquers which fit within the 3U CubeSat form factor, the system delivers arc-minute pointing precision. The ADC system includes a multiplicative extended Kalman filter for attitude determination and a slew rate controller that acquires a view of the Sun for navigation purposes. A pointing system is developed that includes a choice of two pointing controllers -- a proportional derivative controller and a nonlinear sliding mode controller. This system can reorient the spacecraft to satisfy a variety of mission objectives, but it does not enforce attitude constraints. A constrained attitude guidance system that can enforce an arbitrary set of attitude constraints is then proposed as an improvement upon the unconstrained pointing system. The momentum stored by the reaction wheels is managed using magnetorquers to prevent wheel saturation. The system was thoroughly tested in realistic software- and hardware-in-the-loop simulations that included environmental disturbances, parameter uncertainty, actuator dynamics, and sensor bias and noise.Item Exploring Secondary Agriscience Teachers' and Students' Use, Attitude Toward, Knowledge and Perceptions of Computers and Technology Tools(2012-07-16) Miller, Kimberley AnnComputers are an ever changing facet of everyday life; almost all businesses, including schools, are dependent on technology, from research to information delivery. With the rapid advances in computer technology made every year combined with the increasing availability of computers to students, it is important to continually investigate how secondary agriscience teachers' and students' use and view computer technology, both personally and educationally, in order to effectively utilize this advancing educational tool for the benefit of both groups. The purpose of this study was to describe agriscience teachers' and students use, attitude toward, knowledge and perceptions of computers and technology tools in order to better understand how secondary agriscience teachers use computers in their instruction and how agriscience students use computers for school and social purposes. This study explored both teacher and student opinions about school assignments that require computer use and how often both groups utilize the computer for work and entertainment.Item Listener attitudes towards stuttering: divergence in gender(Texas Tech University, 2002-05) Schroeder, Laura BethThis study evaluated the attitudes of college students towards people who stutter. The study investigated the presence of a difference in attitude held by college students towards stuttering male and female speakers when compared to nonstuttering male and female speakers. The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine listener rating differences between fluent and stuttering speakers and whether there is a difference in attitude between male and female listeners when rating an individual who stutters. It w as hypothesized that male raters would hold significantly more negative attitudes towards people who stutter than female raters. In research conducted during the past 50 years, it has been established that there are more negative attitudes held towards people who stutter than fluent speakers by groups of individuals such as parents, teachers, and speech-language pathologists. While there has been no evidence to support the claim that people who stutter (PWS) differ from people who do not stutter (PWNS) in their levels of intelligence, personality, physical, or sociologic characteristics, many people continue to hold negative attitudes, or predisposed emotions, towards people who stutter. There has been little research to study whether differences in attitudes may exist between men and women. Studies by Burley and Rinaldi (1986), Patterson and Pring (1991), and Weisel and Spektor (1998) have examined gender differences and found conflicting results. Responses to an attitude questionnaire from 160 subjects, including 80 males and 80 females, were analyzed after they viewed and judged videotapes of one speaker in a fluent or nonfluent condition. The 160 participants ranged in age from 18 to 30 (mean = 21.056; SD = 2.585) and were recruited from classrooms at Texas Tech University. Subjects \%ere selected from undergraduate courses because of their representation from all majors, genders, ethnicity, and income levels at Texas Tech University. Two subjects, one male and one female, recorded the videotaped samples. The two subjects appearing in the videotaped samples were also between the ages of 18 and 30 years (mean = 20.5; SD - .101) with no known speech, psychological, neurological, or developmental problems and were recruited from Texas Tech University and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Due to the fact that both individuals in the videotapes did not stutter, the two speakers were first taught about stuttered speech and then provided the opportunity to practice stuttering prior to creating the stuttered videotapes. The 160 judges were divided equally into four groups to view the four videotapes. Judges were asked to first view the videotape and then complete a seven-point attitude questionnaire similar to that developed by Burley and Rinaldi (1986) about the speaker. Results from this study indicated that females have a more positive attitude towards all speakers, stuttering or fluent, than do males. However, there was no evidence that people who stutter are viewed more negatively than fluent speakers, and no attitude differences based on gender of the speaker or rater were noted. This finding may have clinical applications in the counseling and treatment aspects for individuals who stutter.Item Maternal Optimism and its Relationship to Coping and Illness Management Among Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes(2010-005-14) Garcia, Ryan Michael; Wiebe, DeborahOptimism is an intriguing construct because of its relationships with positive physiological and psychological outcomes in times of adversity, including chronic illness. Coping styles often mediate significant relationships between optimism and these outcomes. Type 1 Diabetes can be difficult to manage for adolescents, and their mothers play important roles in helping and teaching them how to effectively manage their illness. Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes often struggle with psychological adjustment, treatment adherence, and maintaining healthy metabolic control. The relationships between one maternal personality trait, dispositional optimism, and these three key outcome variables with regard to the management of adolescent Type 1 Diabetes were investigated using the Revised Life Orientation Test, Children‟s Depression Inventory, Revised Self Care Inventory, and HbA1c. Adolescent coping style, assessed by a structured Stress and Coping Interview, was investigated as a possible factor mediating the proposed relationships between maternal optimism and the outcome variables. Participants were 130 mother-adolescent dyads. Adolescents were 14.5 years old, 56% female, 93% Caucasian, and 59% were using an insulin pump. Initial correlations revealed maternal optimism was associated with better adolescent adherence and metabolic control, and trended towards a relationship with fewer adolescent depressive symptoms. Relationships between maternal optimism and adolescent adherence and metabolic control remained significant when controlling for maternal trait anxiety and adolescent insulin pump status. However, adolescent coping styles were not found to mediate these relationships. The absence of a mediation role for coping styles may have reflected the presence of very low levels of avoidance coping in the sample. Exploratory analyses examined an alternative mediational pathway, and verified maternal and adolescent reports of adherence as indirect pathways between maternal optimism and adolescent metabolic control. These findings are the first to reveal associations between caregiver personality traits and the health outcomes in those for whom they care, and provide evidence of the potential processes involved. These findings suggest that maternal optimism may serve as a resource during a difficult time of development for adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes.Item Socio-psychological factors in second language acquisition : the case of North African speakers of L2 French(2006-08) Verret, Courtenay Irene, 1979-; Birdsong, DavidSecond Language Acquisition (SLA) research has made great strides in learning more about the L2 user. Much is known about the biological nature of second language learning; however, less emphasis has been placed on socio-psychological aspects, such as identity and attitude. Ignoring these factors leaves the profile of the L2 user incomplete, at best. The purpose of this thesis is to review current methodology in Second Language Acquisition research and to argue for its refinement, by including socio-psychological measures and qualitative data. Utilizing such methodology, a study on the phonology of North African speakers of L2 French will be proposed, along with three possible outcomes. Finally, implications for the field of SLA will be discussed.Item Something to Fear: Perception of Defining Characteristics of Animals, Evaluation of Animals, and the Moderating Role of Speciesism(Texas A&M International University, 2015-06) Waters, Allison Elaine; Muñoz, MonicaSpeciesism, a form of prejudice wherein a person gives or takes value away from an organism based upon how he or she categorizes living things, is most likely a form of flexible evolutionary adaptation. However, with increasing awareness of humanity's impact on the environment and growing morality, speciesism is increasingly becoming a disadvantage. Speciesism can be reflected in actions from unethical breeding habits to outright attacks on certain animals. The purpose of this study was to examine if altering the physical appearance of animals affects the person's attitudes towards those animals. It was hypothesized that altering physical characteristics of some animals would increase attractiveness of the animals and this effect would be moderated by speciesism. Fifty-six university students were asked to rate each of a series of 20 animal images to measure their specific animal attitudes, defined as their evaluation of the appearance, predicted behavior, and threat potential of those animals. The control group (Condition 1) evaluated 9 unaltered animal images and the experimental group (Condition 2) evaluated the altered versions of those images. Speciesism was measured as a potential moderator of altering the image. Hierarchical regression showed altering the image to be a significant predictor (β = -.271, p = .043) of attitudes. Speciesism, however, was neither a significant predictor by itself (β = -.144, p = .276) nor significantly strengthened or weakened the effect of altering the images (β = -.516, p = .197).Item Structural and functional properties of environmental education and literacy in Texas: A multi-scaled approach to identifying patterns among organizations and effects of nature experiences on literacy levels of undergraduates(2013-05) Strovas, Jenny; Arsuffi, Tom; Bernal, Ximena E.; Duncan, Susan; Wallace, Mark C.; Zak, JohnNAItem Toward faster and more accurate star sensors using recursive centroiding and star identification(Texas A&M University, 2004-09-30) Samaan, Malak AneesThe objective of this research is to study different novel developed techniques for spacecraft attitude determination methods using star tracker sensors. This dissertation addresses various issues on developing improved star tracker software, presents new approaches for better performance of star trackers, and considers applications to realize high precision attitude estimates. Star-sensors are often included in a spacecraft attitude-system instrument suite, where high accuracy pointing capability is required. Novel methods for image processing, camera parameters ground calibration, autonomous star pattern recognition, and recursive star identification are researched and implemented to achieve high accuracy and a high frame rate star tracker that can be used for many space missions. This dissertation presents the methods and algorithms implemented for the one Field of View 'FOV' StarNavI sensor that was tested aboard the STS-107 mission in spring 2003 and the two fields of view StarNavII sensor for the EO-3 spacecraft scheduled for launch in 2007. The results of this research enable advances in spacecraft attitude determination based upon real time star sensing and pattern recognition. Building upon recent developments in image processing, pattern recognition algorithms, focal plane detectors, electro-optics, and microprocessors, the star tracker concept utilized in this research has the following key objectives for spacecraft of the future: lower cost, lower mass and smaller volume, increased robustness to environment-induced aging and instrument response variations, increased adaptability and autonomy via recursive self-calibration and health-monitoring on-orbit. Many of these attributes are consequences of improved algorithms that are derived in this dissertation.Item Utilizing A.R.I.E.L., Agricultural Resources Intelligent Educational Lecturer, in the Formational Study of Understanding Before and After Perceptions of Agricultural Industry Leaders and Representational Consumers in an Applied Convenience Sampling(2014-05-30) Atkins, Colton AllenThis thesis aimed to determine where agricultural information was acquired by individuals in an agriculturally-related occupation in Texas and individuals 18 years of age or older involved with or within Texas agricultural higher education or extension environments. It also aimed to determine adoption attitude towards utilizing a new media form to acquire agricultural information. Research sought to identify the most common information sources used to obtain agricultural data. Evaluation of sources used to obtain agricultural data allows identification of foundations, links, and gaps from an individual's perspective on inquiring about production agriculture. Also, this study sought to survey individual?s reaction and any possible perception change to using an online information source to obtain agricultural data. Observing reaction and perception change allowed for assessment of retention and engagement. A descriptive, convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed to identify self-reported, commonly used information sources used to gather information about production agriculture. Quantitative research questions sought answers to identify knowledge levels compared to non-agriculturally minded consumers, commonly used information sources for knowledge acquisition, engagement with agricultural events and technology adoption characteristics. Research questions addressed through qualitative methods focused on individual?s use of an online information source and any possible perception change towards information provided. This study found that there were no strong reportable differences between the two groups in use of information sources or reaction towards an online information source. Even though group averages were not extremely different, the results did not show any real direction to one source of commonality. Any differences discovered turned out to be small. The same applied to research findings and added to the problem of trying to find a common information source. Overall, results presented were not representational of the entire study population due to low response rates. As such, no conclusions could be made from this study. This thesis recommends that further study of information sources, new technology, perception changes, and tools used to acquire agricultural information be further studied.Item Utilizing Discrepancy Theory to Quantitate Quality Of Life in Chronically Ill Children(2007-12-03) Webb, Bryn; Birod, Carlos E.BACKGROUND: Quality of Life (QoL) is a ubiquitous yet poorly defined concept in clinical medicine. Many widely used instruments to measure QoL lack a theoretical basis and therefore may not provide accurate assessment. Multiple discrepancy theory advocates that net satisfaction is determined by evaluating the difference or gap between current life circumstances and a standard of comparison. A QoL instrument based on discrepancy theory has been developed by our research group to evaluate children with chronic diseases. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the parent-child agreement for discrepancy theory items on the GAP QoL Questionnaire for children with chronic illness. DESIGN/METHODS: Children and parents were recruited for this pilot study when attending regularly scheduled appointments in a variety of outpatient clinics at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Trained interviewers administered the GAP Questionnaire to parents- and to their children if older than age 10. Children and parents answered the questionnaire blind to each other's answers. RESULTS: 77 participants (28 children, 49 parents: 24 parent/child pairs) were enrolled. The most important items for determining QoL generated by the GAP Questionnaire differed for children and parents (See Table). The overall weighted Kappa value for parent-child agreement on the GAP Questionnaire was 0.349 indicating moderate agreement. Items with the highest agreement were having pets (0.6962), getting along with brothers/sisters (0.5886), and the place religion has in your life (0.549).