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This is a book about writing your dissertation or scholarly project. It is intentionally small because the last thing a doctoral student needs is another doorstop-sized book to buy, read, and lug around. This is a step-by-step guide to help you write your dissertation or scholarly project. It will not help you design or conduct research or quality improvement initiatives, but it will help you plan, document, organize, and write your dissertation or scholarly project. This book takes you step by step through writing your dissertation or scholarly project, with chapters that correspond exactly with the chapters of a dissertation or scholarly project. There's no fluff here-no attempt to make the book look bigger to attract attention. All this book intends to do is to help you successfully write your dissertation or scholarly project, and does so in a succinct and logical way, with only the occasional interruption for important tips gleaned the hard way.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in applying Augmented Reality (AR) to create unique educational settings. So far, however, there is a lack of review studies with focus on investigating factors such as: the uses, advantages, limitations, effectiveness, challenges and features of augmented reality in educational settings. Personalization for promoting an inclusive learning using AR is also a growing area of interest. This paper reports a systematic review of literature on augmented reality in educational settings considering the factors mentioned before. In total, 32 studies published between 2003 and 2013 in 6 indexed journals were analyzed. The main findings from this review provide the current state of the art on research in AR in education. Furthermore, the paper discusses trends and the vision towards the future and opportunities for further research in augmented reality for educational settings.

Soil stabilization using additives is considered as one of the sustainable alternative techniques to deal with acute material shortages. Critically reviewing the contemporary works on soil stabilization would help practitioners and researchers to comprehend the merits and demerits of each stabilization method, influential parameters, and associated constraints. Furthermore, the critical analysis might aid the authorities to develop standard protocols about the use of various additives for soil stabilization, which would persuade the industry personnel to adopt sustainable practices. This paper presents a methodical review of the present soil stabilization methods under five key areas namely, underlying chemistry, the influential factors, performance indicators, economic and environmental aspects, and industrial perspectives. Findings of the review indicate that cement-based stabilizers perform well irrespective of soil type and curing conditions, on the contrary, lime-based stabilizers require appropriate temperature and pH for strength development. The degree of stabilization depends mainly on soil type, compaction level, and curing type and condition. Most of the soils treated with different additives exhibited a reduction in plasticity index, and maximum dry density against stabilizer dosage irrespective of soil type. The typical values of unconfined compressive strength and California bearing ratio of inorganic and organic soils except for peat, treated with a 5% dosage of all common types of stabilizers, fall in between 700 and 1,500 kPa and 30–60%, respectively. Cement and cementitious blends exhibited better cost-to-strength, energy-to-strength, and CO 2 emission-to-strength ratios for soils with low plasticity whereas lime-blended stabilizers seemed effective for high-plastic soils.

In this paper, a state-of-the-art review on cutting tool technology in machining of Ni-based superalloys is presented to better understand the current status and to identify future directions of research and development of cutting tool technologies. First, past review articles related to the machining of Ni-based superalloys are summarized. Then machinability of superalloys is introduced, together with the reported methods used in cutting tool design. The current researches on cutting tools in the machining of superalloys are presented in different categories in terms of tool materials, i.e., carbide, ceramics, and Polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN). Moreover, a set of research issues are identified and highlighted to improve the machining of superalloys. Finally, discussions on the future development are presented, in the areas of new materials/geometries, functional surfaces on the cutting tool, and data-driven comprehensive optimization.

Introduction Researchers and practitioners rely on literature reviews to synthesize large bodies of knowledge. Many types of literature reviews have been developed, each targeting a specific purpose. However, these syntheses are hampered if the review type’s paradigmatic roots, methods, and markers of rigor are only vaguely understood. One literature review type whose methodology has yet to be elucidated is the state-of-the-art (SotA) review. If medical educators are to harness SotA reviews to generate knowledge syntheses, we must understand and articulate the paradigmatic roots of, and methods for, conducting SotA reviews. Methods We reviewed 940 articles published between 2014–2021 labeled as SotA reviews. We (a) identified all SotA methods-related resources, (b) examined the foundational principles and techniques underpinning the reviews, and (c) combined our findings to inductively analyze and articulate the philosophical foundations, process steps, and markers of rigor. Results In the 940 articles reviewed, nearly all manuscripts (98%) lacked citations for how to conduct a SotA review. The term “state of the art” was used in 4 different ways. Analysis revealed that SotA articles are grounded in relativism and subjectivism. Discussion This article provides a 6-step approach for conducting SotA reviews. SotA reviews offer an interpretive synthesis that describes: This is where we are now. This is how we got here. This is where we could be going. This chronologically rooted narrative synthesis provides a methodology for reviewing large bodies of literature to explore why and how our current knowledge has developed and to offer new research directions.

Written corrective feedback (WCF) is a ubiquitous pedagogical activity in second language (L2) classrooms and has become a key area of inquiry in L2 writing research. While there have been several reviews on experimental WCF research, there is not yet a synthesis of naturalistic classroom studies where the type and amount of feedback provided on students' writing performance is not manipulated or controlled. This state-of-the-art article intends to fill the gap by providing a comprehensive and critical review of naturalistic WCF studies in L2 writing, with significant implications for practice and research. A systematic search generated 50 empirical studies that met our inclusion criteria for the current review, which revealed four major themes: (1) teacher WCF practices in L2 writing classrooms, (2) L2 learner responses to WCF, (3) stakeholders’ beliefs and perspectives on WCF, and (4) WCF-related motivation and emotions. Based on the reviewed evidence, we propose pedagogical implications for enhancing teacher WCF practices and student learning, as well as potential avenues for further exploration. This article contributes to a nuanced understanding of current empirical advances in naturalistic research on WCF in L2 writing, providing insights to inform WCF pedagogy and new lines of inquiry.

Intelligent cognitive assistant (ICA) technology is used in various domains to emulate human behavior expressed through synchronous communication, especially written conversation. Due to their ability to use individually tailored natural language, they present a powerful vessel to support attitude and behavior change. Behavior change support systems are emerging as a crucial tool in digital mental health services, and ICAs exceed in effective support, especially for stress, anxiety and depression (SAD), where ICAs guide people’s thought processes and actions by analyzing their affective and cognitive phenomena. Currently, there is no comprehensive review of such ICAs from a technical standpoint, and existing work is conducted exclusively from a psychological or medical perspective. This technical state-of-the-art review tried to discern and systematize current technological approaches and trends as well as detail the highly interdisciplinary landscape of intersections between ICAs, attitude and behavior change, and mental health, focusing on text-based ICAs for SAD. Ten papers with systems, fitting our criteria, were selected. The systems varied significantly in their approaches, with the most successful opting for comprehensive user models, classification-based assessment, personalized intervention, and dialogue tree conversational models.

The offshore wind resource has huge energy potential. However, wind turbine floating structures have to withstand harsh conditions. Strong wind and wave effects combine to generate vibrations, fatigue, and heavy loads on the structure and other elements of the wind turbine. These structural problems increase maintenance requirements and risk of failure, while reducing availability and energy production. Another challenge for wind energy is to reduce production costs in order to be competitive with other alternatives. From the control point of view, the objective of lowering costs can be achieved by operating the turbine close to its optimum point of operation under partial load, guaranteeing reliability by reducing structural loads and regulating the power generated in strong wind regimes. In this typical and challenging context, this paper proposes a critical state-of-the-art review, discussing challenges and trends on floating offshore wind turbines control.

Soil–structure interaction (SSI), which characterizes the dynamic interaction between a structure and its surrounding soil, is of great significance to the seismic assessment of structures. Past research endeavors have undertaken analytical, numerical, and experimental studies to gain a thorough understanding of the influences of SSI on the seismic responses of a wide array of structures, including but not limited to nuclear power plants, frame structures, bridges, and spatial structures. Thereinto, large-span spatial structures generally have much more complex configurations, and the influences of SSI may be more pronounced. To this end, this paper aims to provide a state-of-the-art review of the SSI in the seismic assessment of large-span spatial structures. It begins with the modelling of soil medium, followed by the research progress of SSI in terms of numerical simulations and experiments. Subsequently, the focus shifts towards high-lighting advancements in understanding the seismic responses of large-span spatial structures considering SSI. Finally, some discussions are made on the unresolved problems and the possible topics for future studies.

Due to the relatively different mechanical and physical properties of soils and structures, the interface plays a critical role in the transfer of stress and strain between them. The stability and safety of geotechnical structures are thus greatly influenced by the behavior at the soil–structure interface. It is therefore important to focus on the unique characteristics that set the interface apart from other geomaterials while examining the interface behaviour. Understanding the physical mechanism and modelling principles of these interfaces becomes a crucial step for the secure design and investigation of soil-structure interaction (SSI) issues. Moreover, to deal with this soil-environment interaction problem, the classical soil mechanics formulation must be progressively generalised in order to incorporate the effects of new phenomena and new variables on SSI behaviour. Considering the variety of energy geostructures that are emerging nowadays, it is crucial to comprehend the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behaviour of the interface. The objective of this study is to fill this information gap as concisely as possible. A critical review is provided along with the state-of-the-art information on the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of the soil-structure interface, including testing tools and measurement methods, basic principles and deformation mechanisms, constitutive models, as well as their applications in numerical simulations. This study explains how loading influences the mechanisms at the interface and critically examines the effects of boundary conditions, soil properties, environmental factors, and structure type on the THM behaviour of interface zones between soils and structural elements. The validity and reliability of the interface shear stress-displacement models are also covered in this paper. Lastly, the trends and recent advancements are also recommended for the interface research.