A Theoretical Look at the Impact of Incentives on Design Problem Effort Provision

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean D. Vermillion ◽  
Richard J. Malak
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Model ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Figure Of Merit ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
Parameter Study ◽  
Incentive Structure ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Incentive Structures ◽  
Effort Provision ◽  
The Impact

Searching for and selecting among design solutions is not an effortless task. The principle of least effort suggests people seek to minimize the amount of effort they apply towards completing their tasks. In the context of engineering design, it is conceivable that expending more effort on the design problem yields a design solution with greater performance. In this paper, we investigate the impact of incentives on motivating engineering designers to increase the amount of effort they apply to solving design problems. Specifically, we formulate an analytical model of effort provision towards design tasks to compare two incentive structures: a probabilistic incentive and a deterministic incentive. With the probabilistic incentive, a designer’s final reward or penalty is uncertain, e.g. it is uncertain if a proposed design solution will meet requirements. With the deterministic incentive, a designer’s final reward or penalty is tied directly to the quality of the design solution as it is presented, e.g. a proposed design solution meets requirements with a certain probability as the figure of merit and the designer is directly rewarded or penalized on producing a design solution with that figure of merit. We parameterize the proposed analytical model and perform a parameter study to determine which incentive produces a more optimal design solution in the parameter space. Results show that there is no one dominant incentive structure, and the preferred incentive structure depends on how intense the reward or penalty is and how a designer subjectively valuates his effort.

scholarly journals A Randomized Trial of the Impact of Survey Design Characteristics on Response Rates Among Nursing Home Providers

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 464-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Clark ◽  
Michelle Rogers ◽  
Andrew Foster ◽  
Faye Dvorchak ◽  
Frances Saadeh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Survey Design ◽  
Response Rates ◽  
Incentive Structure ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Incentive Structures ◽  
Design Characteristics ◽  
C 30 ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Director Of Nursing ◽  
The Impact

An experiment was conducted to maximize participation of both the Director of Nursing (DoN) and the Administrator (ADMIN) in long-term care facilities. Providers in each of the 224 randomly selected facilities were randomly assigned to 1 of 16 conditions based on the combination of data collection mode (web vs. mail), questionnaire length (short vs. long), and incentive structure. Incentive structures were determined by amount compensated if the individual completed and an additional amount per individual if the pair completed (a) $30 individual/$5 pair/$35 total; (b) $10 individual/$25 pair/$35 total; (c) $30 individual/$20 pair/$50 total; and (d) $10 individual/$40 pair/$50 total. Overall, 47.4% of eligible respondents participated; both respondents participated in 29.3% of facilities. In multivariable analyses, there were no differences in the likelihood of both respondents participating by mode, questionnaire length, or incentive structure. Providing incentives contingent on participation by both providers of a facility was an ineffective strategy for significantly increasing response rates.

A New Artificial Immune Algorithm for Solving Gear Design Problem

2015 ◽  
Vol 766-767 ◽  
pp. 1003-1008
Author(s):  
S. Padmanabhan ◽  
S. Sivasaravanan ◽  
Karun Devasundaram
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Artificial Immune System ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
Artificial Immune ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Gear Design ◽  
Mechanical Field ◽  
Engineering Design Problems

The design of gears is critical for smooth running of any mechanism, automobile and machinery. Gear drive design starts with the need of optimizing the gear thickness, module, number of teeth etc., this creates huge challenges to a designer. Optimization algorithms are more flexible and gaining importance in engineering design problems, because of the accessibility and affordability of today’s mechanical field. A population based heuristic algorithm offers well-organized ways of creating and comparing a novel design solution in order to complete an optimal design. In this paper, a new artificial immune system based algorithm proposed as Modified Artificial Immune System (MAIS) algorithm is used to optimize a gear design problem. The results are compared with an existing design.

scholarly journals The Meaning of “Near” and “Far”: The Impact of Structuring Design Databases and the Effect of Distance of Analogy on Design Output

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Fu ◽  
Joel Chan ◽  
Jonathan Cagan ◽  
Kenneth Kotovsky ◽  
Christian Schunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Engineering ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
Data Mapping ◽  
Design Study ◽  
Design By Analogy ◽  
The Impact

This work lends insight into the meaning and impact of “near” and “far” analogies. A cognitive engineering design study is presented that examines the effect of the distance of analogical design stimuli on design solution generation, and places those findings in context of results from the literature. The work ultimately sheds new light on the impact of analogies in the design process and the significance of their distance from a design problem. In this work, the design repository from which analogical stimuli are chosen is the U.S. patent database, a natural choice, as it is one of the largest and easily accessed catalogued databases of inventions. The “near” and “far” analogical stimuli for this study were chosen based on a structure of patents, created using a combination of Latent Semantic Analysis and a Bayesian based algorithm for discovering structural form, resulting in clusters of patents connected by their relative similarity. The findings of this engineering design study are contextualized with the findings of recent work in design by analogy, by mapping the analogical stimuli used in the earlier work into similar structures along with the patents used in the current study. Doing so allows the discovery of a relationship between all of the stimuli and their relative distance from the design problem. The results confirm that “near” and “far” are relative terms, and depend on the characteristics of the potential stimuli. Further, although the literature has shown that “far” analogical stimuli are more likely to lead to the generation innovative solutions with novel characteristics, there is such a thing as too far. That is, if the stimuli are too distant, they then can become harmful to the design process. Importantly, as well, the data mapping approach to identify analogies works, and is able to impact the effectiveness of the design process. This work has implications not only in the area of finding inspirational designs to use for design by analogy processes in practice, but also for synthesis, or perhaps even unification, of future studies in the field of design by analogy.

Investigating Problem Similarity Through Study of Between-Subject and Within-Subject Experiments

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Levy ◽  
Ethan Hilton ◽  
Megan Tomko ◽  
Julie Linsey
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Teaching Approaches ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Alarm Clock ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
The Impact

Design problems are used to evaluate students’ abilities, the impact of various teaching approaches and of design methods. Design problems greatly vary in style and subject area in order to accommodate for a wide distribution of disciplines, cultures, and expertise. While design problems are occasionally reused between studies, new design problems are continuously created in order to account for the fact that a design problem cannot be used multiple times on an individual in order to effectively measure one’s abilities to perform design. More specifically, in repeated measures testing, students cannot receive the same design problem multiple times, for this would cause bias; therefore, multiple design problems are needed to allow for repeated measures testing. The nature and structure of these multiple design problems need to be similar or “equivalent” in order to accurately measure students’ abilities to perform in design. In this study, we examine four design problems: peanut shelling, corn husking, coconut harvesting, and a personal alarm clock. We determine whether these problems could be deemed equivalent for the purposes of evaluating student design performance through repeated measures testing. We implemented idea generation sessions using both between-subject and within-subjects approaches. Solutions were evaluated on quantity, quality, novelty, variety, and completeness metrics. The data implies that the Peanut and Corn problems are similar in nature and the Alarm and Coconut problems are also similar in nature; as such, these problem pairings may be used to test differences based on group means.

The Impact of Tax Incentive Structure On Taxpayers’ Retirement Savings Decisions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Cuccia ◽  
Marcus M. Doxey ◽  
Shane R. Stinson
Keyword(s):  
Retirement Savings ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Retirement Plans ◽  
Incentive Structure ◽  
Tax Rate ◽  
Tax Incentive ◽  
Incentive Structures ◽  
Tax Returns ◽  
Relative Attractiveness ◽  
The Impact

We investigate whether and how the structure of retirement savings incentives influences their relative attractiveness to taxpayers, independent of their effect on after-tax returns. To that end, we examine taxpayers’ preferences between defined contribution retirement plans with back-loaded (i.e., Roth) and front-loaded (i.e., traditional) tax incentives. In three experiments, we find limited evidence that individuals appropriately weight temporal tax rate changes, the primary factor differentiating after-tax returns across incentive structures, in their plan preferences. In contrast, we find consistent evidence that the incentive structure’s relation to taxpayers’ broader attitudes and preferences significantly impacts plan preferences. Overall, we find evidence that generally held attitudes and preferences lead to a systematic preference for back-loaded retirement plans even in situations in which taxpayers know that a back-loaded plan is economically dominated by a front-loaded plan. The results have implications for policymakers and others considering how best to encourage retirement savings.

scholarly journals The Meaning of “Near” and “Far”: The Impact of Structuring Design Databases and the Effect of Distance of Analogy on Design Output

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Fu ◽  
Joel Chan ◽  
Jonathan Cagan ◽  
Kenneth Kotovsky ◽  
Christian Schunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Problem ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Engineering ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
Data Mapping ◽  
Design Study ◽  
Design By Analogy ◽  
The Impact

This work lends insight into the meaning and impact of “near” and “far” analogies. A cognitive engineering design study is presented that examines the effect of the distance of analogical design stimuli on design solution generation, and places those findings in context of results from the literature. The work ultimately sheds new light on the impact of analogies in the design process and the significance of their distance from a design problem. In this work, the design repository from which analogical stimuli are chosen is the U.S. patent database, a natural choice, as it is one of the largest and easily accessed catalogued databases of inventions. The “near” and “far” analogical stimuli for this study were chosen based on a structure of patents, created using a combination of latent semantic analysis and a Bayesian based algorithm for discovering structural form, resulting in clusters of patents connected by their relative similarity. The findings of this engineering design study are juxtaposed with the findings of a previous study by the authors in design by analogy, which appear to be contradictory when viewed independently. However, by mapping the analogical stimuli used in the earlier work into similar structures along with the patents used in the current study, a relationship between all of the stimuli and their relative distance from the design problem is discovered. The results confirm that “near” and “far” are relative terms, and depend on the characteristics of the potential stimuli. Further, although the literature has shown that “far” analogical stimuli are more likely to lead to the generation of innovative solutions with novel characteristics, there is such a thing as too far. That is, if the stimuli are too distant, they then can become harmful to the design process. Importantly, as well, the data mapping approach to identify analogies works, and is able to impact the effectiveness of the design process. This work has implications not only in the area of finding inspirational designs to use for design by analogy processes in practice, but also for synthesis, or perhaps even unification, of future studies in the field of design by analogy.

An Analytical Modeling and Performance Analysis of Graded Work Function Gate Recessed Channel SOI-MOSFET

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 504-511
Author(s):  
Sikha Mishra ◽  
Urmila Bhanja ◽  
Guru Prasad Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Model ◽  
Surface Potential ◽  
Threshold Voltage ◽  
Silicon On Insulator ◽  
Junction Depth ◽  
Short Channel ◽  
Soi Mosfet ◽  
Minimum Surface ◽  
Recessed Channel ◽  
The Impact

Introduction: A new analytical model is designed for Workfunction Modulated Rectangular Recessed Channel-Silicon On Insulator (WMRRC-SOI) MOSFET that considers the concept of groove gate and implements an idea of workfunction engineering. Methods: The impact of Negative Junction Depth (NJD) and oxide thickness (tox) are analyzed on device performances such as Sub-threshold Slope (SS), Drain Induced Barrier Lowering (DIBL) and threshold voltage. Results: The results of the proposed work are evaluated with the Rectangular Recessed Channel-Silicon On Insulator (RRC-SOI) MOSFET keeping the metal workfunction constant throughout the gate region. Furthermore, an analytical model is developed using 2D Poisson’s equation and threshold voltage is estimated in terms of minimum surface potential. Conclusion: In this work, the impact of Negative Junction Depth (NJD) on minimum surface potential and the drain current are also evaluated. It is observed from the analysis that the analog switching performance of WMRRC-SOI MOSFET surpasses RRC-SOI MOSFET in terms of better driving capability, high Ion/Ioff ratio, minimized Short Channel Effects (SCEs) and hot carrier immunity. Results are simulated using 2D Sentaurus TCAD simulator for validation of the proposed structure.

scholarly journals Model of thermal buoyancy in cavity-ventilated roof constructions

2021 ◽  
pp. 174425912098418
Author(s):  
Toivo Säwén ◽  
Martina Stockhaus ◽  
Carl-Eric Hagentoft ◽  
Nora Schjøth Bunkholt ◽  
Paula Wahlgren
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Model ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Air Flow ◽  
Wind Pressure ◽  
Air Flow Rate ◽  
Test Set ◽  
Air Cavity ◽  
Thermal Buoyancy ◽  
The Impact

Timber roof constructions are commonly ventilated through an air cavity beneath the roof sheathing in order to remove heat and moisture from the construction. The driving forces for this ventilation are wind pressure and thermal buoyancy. The wind driven ventilation has been studied extensively, while models for predicting buoyant flow are less developed. In the present study, a novel analytical model is presented to predict the air flow caused by thermal buoyancy in a ventilated roof construction. The model provides means to calculate the cavity Rayleigh number for the roof construction, which is then correlated with the air flow rate. The model predictions are compared to the results of an experimental and a numerical study examining the effect of different cavity designs and inclinations on the air flow rate in a ventilated roof subjected to varying heat loads. Over 80 different test set-ups, the analytical model was found to replicate both experimental and numerical results within an acceptable margin. The effect of an increased total roof height, air cavity height and solar heat load for a given construction is an increased air flow rate through the air cavity. On average, the analytical model predicts a 3% higher air flow rate than found in the numerical study, and a 20% lower air flow rate than found in the experimental study, for comparable test set-ups. The model provided can be used to predict the air flow rate in cavities of varying design, and to quantify the impact of suggested roof design changes. The result can be used as a basis for estimating the moisture safety of a roof construction.

Designing For Diversity: Implications for Research and Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 563-567
Author(s):  
Abigail R. Wooldridge ◽  
Rod D. Roscoe ◽  
Rod D. Roscoe ◽  
Shannon C. Roberts ◽  
Rupa Valdez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interdisciplinary Teams ◽  
Team Science ◽  
Participatory Methods ◽  
Sampling Strategies ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
Sociotechnical System ◽  
The Past ◽  
Diversity Committee ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Equity And Inclusion

The Diversity Committee of HFES has led sessions at the Annual Meeting for the past three years focused on improving diversity, equity and inclusion in the society as well as providing support to human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) researchers and practitioners who aim to apply HF/E knowledge and principles to improve diversity, equity and inclusion through their work. In this panel, we bring together researchers actively engaged in designing technology and systems by considering issues of diversity, equity and inclusion to share insights and methods. Topics include the thoughtful design of sampling strategies and research approaches, alternative and participatory methods to understand the impact of automation and technology on equity, scoping design problems to be inclusive and equitable through interdisciplinary partnerships, and the application of sociotechnical system design and team science to develop interdisciplinary teams. By sharing our experiences, we hope to prepare others to successfully approach these topics.

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