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    Dialogic activity : a study of learning dialogues and entanglements in a vocational tertiary setting : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate in Education at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Simpson, Ann Middlebrook
    New Zealand’s economic growth continues to place major pressure on the trades sector. To meet future demand for qualified builders, plumbers, electricians, and engineers, trades education has become available at no cost to students for two years. To attract student interest further, tertiary institutions now offer courses in a range of delivery options. Blended learning (BL) is one of these delivery modes and involves a combination of traditional face-to-face and digitally mediated approaches. This research explored students’ dialogic activity in a BL environment, within a trades educational institution. The dialogues that emerged during trades training courses were examined in relation to a complex assemblage of elements, which included interactions between students and teachers, and the digital and materials artefacts in the BL environments. The research used an interdisciplinary lens, employing theories of socio-materialism and dialogism, to unpack forms of dialogic activity that emerged within the BL environment. That same lens was used to reveal the part that material and digital artefacts played in the emergent dialogic activity. Conducted as a multiple case study, the research involved observations of instructors and student participants from three Level 3 pre-apprentice trade programmes, which provided a wide range of data over the course of one semester. Datasets from Automotive Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, as the three cases involved, were analysed to explore the contextual meaning of the learning dialogues and activities in action. The findings revealed that learning dialogues occur in multiple contexts and environments. Artefacts and their properties, BL designs, open and flexible learning spaces, environmental conditions, health and safety considerations, embodiment, multiplicity, mediation, and class culture, all have a significant influence on dialogic activity. The findings offer important insights about the link between course design and learning and identify dialogic activity as an interdisciplinary phenomenon that warrants further investigation.
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    Studying documentation requirements for quality assurance in healthcare software development environments following Scrum practices : a thesis submitted for examination for the degree of MPhil in Engineering at Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2016) Wickramasinghe, Shanuka G
    Over the past decade software development has expanded into almost every sector of business and technology. Currently, Agile software development methods are much preferred over traditional software development methods which rely on heavy documentation. Agile methodologies such as Scrum (the focus of the study) rely on minimal documentation. However, software development organizations who seek accreditation against an internationally recognized quality management system (QMS) standard such as ISO 9001:2008 need to maintain a certain level of documentation to meet the requirements stipulated in the QMS standard. This study was undertaken to answer the following overall research question, in relation to healthcare software development: what would be the minimum level of documentation that would be acceptable for a Health-IT organization pursuing Scrum, if they are to maintain an internationally recognized QMS standard such as ISO 9001:2008? This overarching research question was first investigated through in-depth literature synthesis and subsequently discussed with a panel of experts. An iterative research design utilizing Delphi-like problem solving method was used to gather insights from Scrum practitioners. The study identified 23 documents to have varying levels of usefulness and importance to three categories of Scrum users, specifically Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Development Team. The study further identified the level of conciseness required in each document (to suit each category of Scrum users) and the stage in which each document should be prepared to add maximum value in using documentation. The study identified seven negative experiences Scrum practitioners come across: documents being difficult to understand by nontechnical customers; purpose of documents not being explicit; no follow-up with client’s feedback; excessive re-work on documents; deficiencies in document validation; lack of risk analysis reports and disruptions in software development. The study also identified seven problems practitioners face in creating important documents: lack of skilled document writers; last minute/hasty document preparation; misunderstanding the purpose/intent of Agile; lack of a common documentation standard; perceiving document creation as a burden; poor tooling for documentation and lack of right staff. It is expected that the study would benefit both the academia and the practitioner in gaining greater insights on the issue of documentation in Scrum.
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    Segmentation of continuous sign language : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Khan, Shujjat
    Sign language is a natural language of deaf people comprising of hand gestures, facial expressions and body postures. It has all the constituents that are normally attributed to a natural language, such as variations, lexical/semantic processes, coarticulations, regional dialects, and all the linguistic features required for a successful communication. However, sign language is an alien language for a vast majority of the hearing community so there is a large communication barrier between both the sides. To bridge this gap, sign language interpreting services are provided at various public places like courts, hospitals and airports. Apart from the special needs, the digital divide is also growing for the deaf people because most of the existing voice-based technologies and services are completely useless for the deaf. Many attempts have been made to develop an automatic sign language interpreter that can understand a sign discourse and translate it into speech and vice-versa. Unfortunately, existing solutions are designed with tight constraints so they are only suitable for use in a controlled environment (like laboratories). These conditions include specialized lighting, fixed background and many restrictions on the signing style like slow gestures, exaggerated or artificial pause between the signs and wearing special gloves. In order to develop a useful translator these challenges must be addressed so that it could be installed at any public place. In this research, we have investigated the main challenges of a practical sign language interpreting system and their existing solutions. We have also proposed new solutions (like robust articulator detection, sign segmentation, and availability of reliable scientific data) and compared them with the existing ones. Our analysis suggests that the major challenge with existing solutions is that they are not equipped to address the varying needs of the operational environments. Therefore, we designed the algorithms in a way that they stay functional in dynamic environments. In the experiments, our proposed articulator segmentation technique and boundary detection method have outperformed all the existing static approaches when tested in a practical situation. Through these findings, we do not attempt to claim a superior performance of our algorithms in terms of the quantitative results; however, system testing in practical places (offices) asserts that our solutions can give consistent results in dynamic environments in comparison to the existing solutions. Temporal segmentation of continuous sign language is a new area which is mainly addressed by this thesis. Based on the conceptual underpinnings of this field, a novel tool called DAD signature has been proposed and tested on real sign language data. This segmentation tool has been proven useful for sign boundary detection using the segmentation features (pauses, repetitions and directional variations) embedded in a sign stream. The DAD signature deciphers these features and provides reliable word boundaries of sentences recorded in a practical environment. Unlike the existing boundary detectors, the DAD approach does not rely on the artificial constraints (like slow signing, external trigger or exaggerated prosody) that restrict the usability of an interpreting system. This makes DAD viable for practical sign language interpreting solutions. As signified in this dissertation, the development of the much awaited useful sign language interpreter is achievable now. We have established that by making use of our proposed techniques, the strict design constraints of the existing interpreters can be mitigated without affecting the overall system performance in a public place. In a nutshell, our research is a step forward towards the possibility of turning the idea of a practical automatic interpreter into a reality.
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    Industrial design and engineering transition to radical innovation for sustainability in tertiary education : concept design strategies based on a New Zealand study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Product Development at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2011) Haemmerle, Linda; Haemmerle, Linda
    A UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) is currently in progress from 2005 – 2014.The importance of Sustainable Development (SD) and Sustainable Product Design (SPD) has been recognized by the professional bodies for industrial design and engineering, and promoted within tertiary education. A consensus gained from a literature review revealed that radical innovation is now necessary to achieve Factor 4 (i.e. reducing resource use to a quarter of the total), or Factors 10-20 (reducing resource use to a 10th – 20th of levels in the present production/consumption model) in upholding global environmental and social integrity. Design and engineering are seen as “core catalysts of change” towards radical innovation for sustainability, and therefore essential that industrial designers and engineers be appropriately educated. The motivation and main aim of this research was therefore to develop an educational framework for mainstream industrial design and engineering in SD/SPD at tertiary level. This should be based on the key concepts of SD/SPD towards radical innovation, successful international examples of industrial design and engineering curricula, as well as any pertinent information derived locally from the New Zealand design and engineering scenario. The latter was derived via a survey of industrial/product design, mechanical/mechatronics engineering students in their final year of undergraduate study in New Zealand. These research strands were synthesized and further refined, using a 4-year undergraduate degree structure (combined years 1-2 for a 3-year design degree programme). The Conceptual Educational Framework and Guidelines are intended as an aid and underlying structure towards embedding radical innovation for sustainability in Industrial Design and Engineering curricula. Together, they provide a draft, a roadmap of essential and important concepts, to combine with discipline-specific core content of Industrial Design and Engineering undergraduate degrees The NZ survey results proved similar to international studies: an overall discrepancy between the high ratings of the importance of sustainability and low values in actual knowledge, with definitions of ecodesign (eco-efficiency through reduction and/or minimization of harmful environmental impacts), rather than eco-effective, beneficial sustainable design (comprising environmental, economic and social considerations). The key recommendations are documented within four concepts: 1. Emphasis on the Social Element of SD/SPD, 2. Transition towards Systems Thinking via PSS (Product-Service Systems), 3. Complementary Sustainable Design Strategies and 4. Transition towards Strategic Design. These concepts advocate emphasis on the social element of SD/SPD through context and creativity; systems thinking via PSS; eco-effectiveness and Cradle-to-Cradle design principles (C2C), followed by eco-efficiency for optimization; and all governed by strategic design. The design intent of the Conceptual Educational Framework and Guidelines is to maximize beneficial, eco-effective systems, sustainable behaviour, equity, quality of life, and connecting design, technology and human behaviour.
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    Trajectory tracking control of robotic jaw actuators via Galil motion system : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Mechatronics at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2008) Chen, Biqing
    A mechatronic chewing robot of 6-DOF mechanism which consists mainly of the skull, six crank actuators, end effector and motion control system has been designed and is required to simulate human chewing behaviours while the chewed food properties are evaluated. The robotic mechanism is proposed and its kinematic parameters are defined according to the biomechanical findings and measurements of the human masticatory system. This thesis is concerned with the design and implementation of trajectory tracking control for robotic jaw actuators via Galil motion controller. The aim of this project is to simulate the dynamics behaviour and force-motion control of the robot, and to quantitatively assess food texture changes during chewing. A control system based Galil motion control card has been formed to achieve the motion of simulated human mastication. Some real human mastication motion have been tracked and used as targeted trajectories for the robot to reproduce. Several experiments have been executed to measure the jaw movements and chewing forces. To reduce the vibration of the actuators and protect sensitive linkage part of the robot, the traditional PID control and some advanced control theories were implemented to achieve most effective efforts. A mathematical model was also designed at the first stage when a test actuator powered by brushless motor was formed; however, it is finally proven not well controlled in either mechanical and control ways. Major features of the built robot including the motion control system are presented and tested. Experimental results including free chewing, soft-food and hard-food chewing are given where the foods are simulated by foam and hard objects. Also the joint actuations and driving torques required are compared for the chewing of different foods. In conclusion, tracking motion control has been attempted on the physical robot and a solution to the trajectory control has been developed.