Clemson University

About: Clemson University is a education organization based out in Clemson, South Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Control theory. The organization has 20556 authors who have published 42518 publications receiving 1170779 citations. The organization is also known as: Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina.

Route Preview in Energy Management of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles

Abstract: This brief evaluates the use of terrain, vehicle speed, and trip distance preview to increase the fuel economy of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Access to future information is classified into full, partial, or no future information and for each case an energy management strategy with the potential for a real-time implementation is proposed. With full knowledge of future driving conditions, dynamic programming (DP) provides a best-achievable benchmark. A partial preview level has access to future trip terrain and requires velocity estimation. Equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS) is deployed as an instantaneous real-time minimization strategy with parameters adjusted by estimated future driving conditions and obtained either from DP or from a backward solution of ECMS. To reduce the requirement for future velocity and detailed terrain information, another partial preview level only assumes known trip distance to the next charging station and elevation changes (if available). In this level, the parameter of the real-time ECMS is estimated based on the remaining trip distance, the battery's state-of-charge, and elevation changes if included. The results are evaluated against cases with no preview. Results from a number of simulation case studies indicate that the fuel economy can be substantially enhanced with only partial preview.

Interrupting the Workplace: Examining Stressors in an Information Technology Context

Abstract: Research Article Pamela S. Galluch Roanoke College galluch@roanoke.edu Varun Grover Clemson University vgrover@clemson.edu Jason Bennett Thatcher Clemson University jason.b.thatcher@gmail.com Contemporary information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as e-mail and instant messaging create frequent interruptions in the workday, which can potentially reduce business productivity and increase stress. However, we know little about how ICT-enabled interruptions cause stress and how individuals can use ICTs to cope with this stress. Using the transactional model of stress as the theoretical framework, we examines ICTs’ influence on the stress process. We examine two demands that serve as stressors: quantity and content of ICT-enabled interruptions. These stressors influence perceptual stress, which then manifests into physical strain. To understand how to mitigate ICT-enabled stressors’ influence, we examine three forms of control that potentially moderate demand’s influence on the stress process: timing control, method control, and resource control. Timing control serves as a primary control, control that is present at the initial appraisal of an environment, while method control and resource control serve as coping behaviors, behaviors that individuals enact after they feel stressed. In order to rigorously assess the outcome variable, we used a non-invasive salivary technique to measure alpha-amylase, a hormone that is an objective indicator of strain. We used two laboratory experiments to test our model. In Experiment 1, we found that ICT-enabled demands served as stressors and led to perceptual stress and that ICT-enabled timing control negatively moderated the relationships between stressors and stress. In Experiment 2, we found that method control negatively moderated the relationship perceptual conflict had with strain, while increasing perceptual overload’s relationship to strain. Resource control had the opposite finding: it negatively moderated perceptual overload’s relationship with strain, while increasing perceptual conflict relationship with strain. The results provide insight into how ICTs create episodic stress and facilitate our ability to manage it. We conclude the paper with implications for research, methods, and practice.