Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluation Of A Newly Implemented Undergraduate Global Health Course In The Public University Setting, Brianna Moore, William Sorensen, Cheryl Cooper

William Sorensen

Reason, Tradition, And The Good: Alasdair Macintyre's Reason Of Tradition And Frankfurt School Critical Theory, Jeffery Nicholas

Jeffery Nicholas

In Reason, Tradition, and the Good, Jeffery L. Nicholas addresses the failure of reason in modernity to bring about a just society, a society in which people can attain fulfillment. Developing the critical theory of the Frankfurt School, Nicholas argues that we rely too heavily on a conception of rationality that is divorced from tradition and, therefore, incapable of judging ends. Without the ability to judge ends, we cannot engage in debate about the good life or the proper goods that we as individuals and as a society should pursue. Nicholas claims that the project of enlightenment—defined as the promotion …

Endogenous R&D And Intellectual Property Laws In Developed And Emerging Economies, Aniruddha Bagchi, Abhra Roy

Abhra Roy

The incentive of providing protection of intellectual property has been analyzed, both for an emerging economy as well as for a developed economy. The optimal patent length and the optimal patent breadth within a country are found to be positively related to each other for a fixed structure of laws abroad. Moreover, a country can respond to stronger patent protection abroad by weakening its patent protection under certain circumstances and by strengthening its patent protection under other circumstances. These results depend upon the curvature of the R&D production function. Finally, we investigate the impact of an increase in the willingness-to-pay …

Catching The Wave: Using A Milestone To Reach New Audiences, Katie Richardson, Melissa Nykanen, Jamie Henricks, Kevin Miller

Kevin C. Miller

No abstract provided.

Assessing Higher Education Learning Outcomes In Civil Engineering: The Oecd Ahelo Feasibility Study, Roger Hadgraft, Jacob Pearce, Daniel Edwards, Julian Fraillon, Hamish Coates

Julian Fraillon

BACKGROUND

Higher education is increasingly a global business. At present, university ranking schemes are heavily reliant on research indicators, while students are likely looking for an excellent teaching and learning environment. Aware of this discrepancy, the OECD has funded the AHELO project.

PURPOSE

AHELO was designed to test the feasibility of an international assessment of higher education learning outcomes. The two test disciplines are civil engineering and economics, together with an assessment of generic skills. The civil engineering test will be reported in this paper.

More than a ranking, AHELO is a direct evaluation of student performance. It is intended …

Sneakers And Spokes: An Assessment Of The Walkabili Institutionsty And Bikeability Of U.S. Post-Secondary, Tanya Horacek, Adrienne White, Geoffrey Greene, Melissa Reznar, Virginia Quick, Jesse Morrell

Geoffrey Greene

The purpose of the study described in this article was to assess the walkability and bikeability of 15 U.S. postsecondary education campuses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's evidence-based Healthier Worksite Initiative Walkability Audit was modified to rate campus walking and biking path segments for path safety, quality, and comfort. Universities (n = 13) assessed an average of 44 path segments, which earned a mean score of 72.71 +/- 10.77 SD (possible range 0 to 100). Postsecondary technical schools (n = 2) assessed 20 path segments, which received an average score of 76.56 +/- 13.15. About 70% of path …

Pillar Ii In Focus--The Responsibility To Assist: Police Capacity-Building In Timor-Leste And The 2012 Parliamentary Elections, Charles Hawksley, Nichole Georgeou

Charles M Hawksley

This briefing paper provides a short background to the 2012 elections in Timor-Leste, and explores the UNPOL mandate to support and build the capacity of the Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL – the Timor-Leste National Police), so that Timor-Leste will be able to manage security for its citizens without international assistance. Based on fieldwork conducted during June 2012, including interviews with human rights-focused NGOs, and with international police implementing bilateral and multilateral capacity building, we argue that the 3,200-3,400 strong PNTL is theoretically ready to go it alone when the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste departs, and explore questions as …

Exploring Teleconsultation Acceptance: A Comparison Study Between Emergency And Non-Emergency Setting, Nurazean Maarop, Khin Than Win, Maslin Masrom, Sukdershan Singh Hazara Singh

Dr Khin Win

This research explores the acceptance of teleconsultation technology among healthcare providers of public hospitals in Malaysia. Primary constructs from Davis' Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) are employed for this purpose. Further, the study also compares the level of user acceptance between emergency and non-emergency setting. This study is based on descriptive statistic and correlation analysis served as preliminary exploration of the acceptance of the technology understudy. The study reports a high level of acceptance of teleconsultation technology in both emergency and non-emergency settings thus exhibits no significant difference in acceptance the acceptance of teleconsultation technology for both respective settings. The results …

Use Of Personal Digital Assistants (Pdas) In Medical Education, Rattiporn Luanrattana, Khin Than Win, John Fulcher

Dr Khin Win

A systematic review of how the personal digital assistants (PDAs) have been used in healthcare professions and medical education has been conducted in order to identify current usage of PDAs in both areas. The major aim of this research is to study the feasibility of incorporating PDAs into problem-based learning (PBL) medical education. A systematic review was conducted by exploring various databases on the use of PDAs in two major areas: the healthcare professions and medical education during the period 2000-2006. Results: The needs, patterns and functionalities of using PDAs in the medical profession have been identified and categorized into …

Lifespan Theorem For Constrained Surface Diffusion Flows, James Mccoy, Glen Wheeler, Graham Williams

Professor Graham Williams

We consider closed immersed hypersurfaces in R^3 and R^4 evolving by a class of constrained surface diffusion flows. Our result, similar to earlier results for the Willmore flow, gives both a positive lower bound on the time for which a smooth solution exists and a small upper bound on a power of the total curvature during this time. By phrasing the theorem in terms of concentration of curvature in the initial surface, our result holds for very general initial data and has applications to further development in asymptotic analysis for these flows.

Automatic Recognition Of Smiling And Neutral Facial Expressions, Peiyao Li, S Phung, Abdesselam Bouzerdoum, Fok Hing Chi Tivive

Dr Fok Hing Chi Tivive

Facial expression is one way humans convey their emotional states. Accurate recognition of facial expressions via image analysis plays a vital role in perceptual human computer interaction, robotics and online games. This paper focuses on recognising the smiling from the neutral facial expression. We propose a face alignment method to address the localisation error in existing face detection methods. In this paper, smiling and neutral facial expression are differentiated using a novel neural architecture that combines fixed and adaptive non-linear 2-D filters. The fixed filters are used to extract primitive features, whereas the adaptive filters are trained to extract more …

A Study Of The Status And Future Of Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage In Power Systems, X Xue, Eric Cheng, Danny Sutanto

Professor Darmawan Sutanto

Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) systems offering flexible, reliable, and fast acting power compensation are applicable to power systems to improve power system stabilities and to advance power qualities. The authors have summarized researches on SMES applications to power systems. Furthermore, various SMES applications to power systems have been described briefly and some crucial schematic diagrams and equations are given. In addition, this study presents valuable suggestions for future studies of SMES applications to power systems. Hence, this paper is helpful for co-researchers who want to know about the status of SMES applications to power systems.

Harmonic Allocation Constant For Implementation Of As/Nzs 61000.3.6, D Robinson, Victor Gosbell, Sarath Perera

Dr Duane Robinson

Allocation of equal harmonic emission rights to MV customers having the same maximum demand is a key concept in the new Australian harmonic standard AS/NZS 61000.3.6 [1]. Some difficulty can arise with the application of the standard when customers are spread out along a feeder with significantly different fault levels. One proposed method of overcoming this problem is to reduce the allocation as the square root of the fault level [2]. This method requires the calculation of an allocation constant that is applied to all customers connected to the same zone substation. This paper gives a methodology for calculating the …

A Study Of Continuous Pq Disturbance Levels In Mv/Lv Distribution Systems, Victor Gosbell, D Robinson

Dr Duane Robinson

Distribution Network Service Providers need to be aware of the general variation of PQ disturbances across their network, from the sites as diverse as the MV bus bar of a zone substation, the end of a MV feeder, and at the near and far ends of LV mains. This paper develops an understanding of PQ variations across such a system from survey results correlated with approximate analysis used to assign a PQ disturbance ranking to each site. The work will concentrate on continuous PQ disturbances, defined as those due to load current effects, for example voltage deviations, unbalance, fluctuations and …

Assessing The Future Of Electrical Power Engineering: A Report On Electrical Power Engineering Manpower Requirements In Australia, Victor Gosbell, D Robinson

Dr Duane Robinson

In 2001 the Electric Energy Society of Australia (EESA) developed concerns based on anecdotal evidence that there was a looming shortage of electrical power engineers in Australia. Information from the electrical power industry and academic communities was obtained through two separate survey questionnaires, a discussion workshop, and a number of submissions. This information was collated and compiled into 'Assessing the Future of Electrical Power Engineering: a Report on Electrical Power Engineering Manpower Requirements in Australia'.

Sources Of Error In Unbalance Measurements, Victor Gosbell, H Herath, Sarath Perera, D Robinson

Dr Duane Robinson

The paper aims to assess sources of error in attempting to meet standards for the measurement and reporting of negative sequence voltage unbalance. This is of importance when making use of low performance instrumentation where three difficulties may arise: (i) rms voltages rather than the fundamental is used; (ii) the magnitude but not the phase of line-neutral voltages are available; and (iii) voltage values are averaged over a period longer than standards require. The presence of harmonics at normal levels is shown to give negligible error on unbalance calculations. When lineneutral voltages are used, and zero sequence is present, the …

Simplicity Of C*-Algebras Associated To Row-Finite Locally Convex Higher-Rank Graphs, David Robertson, Aidan Sims

Dr David Robertson

In a previous work, the authors showed that the C*-algebra C*(\Lambda) of a row-finite higher-rank graph \Lambda with no sources is simple if and only if \Lambda is both cofinal and aperiodic. In this paper, we generalise this result to row-finite higher-rank graphs which are locally convex (but may contain sources). Our main tool is Farthing's "removing sources" construction which embeds a row-finite locally convex higher-rank graph in a row-finite higher-rank graph with no sources in such a way that the associated C*-algebras are Morita equivalent.

Public Librarians With The Highest Retention Rate Are More Likely To Choose Their Entire Career Path In Public Libraries, Nazi Torabi

Nazi Torabi

No abstract provided.

Provision Of Pandemic Disease Information By Health Sciences Librarians: A Multisite Comparative Case Series., Robin Featherstone, Gabriel Boldt, Nazi Torabi, Shauna-Lee Konrad

Nazi Torabi

Objective: The research provides an understanding of pandemic information needs and informs professional development initiatives for librarians in disaster medicine. Methods: Utilizing a multisite, comparative case series design, the researchers conducted semi-structured interviews and examined supplementary materials in the form of organizational documents, correspondence, and websites to create a complete picture of each case. The rigor of the case series was ensured through data and investigator triangulation. Interview transcripts were coded using NVivo to identify common themes and points of comparison. Results: Comparison of the four cases revealed a distinct difference between “client-initiated” and “librarian-initiated” provision of pandemic information. Librarian-initiated …

The Next Hu, Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

Detecting Structure In Glass Patterns: An Interocular Transfer Study, Dawn Vreven, Jarrod Berge

Dawn L Vreven

Glass patterns are visual stimuli used here to study how local orientation signals are spatially integrated into global pattern perception. We measured a form aftereffect from adaptation to both static and dynamic Glass patterns and calculated the amount of interocular transfer to determine the binocularity of the detectors responsible for the perception of global structure. Both static and dynamic adaptation produced significant form aftereffects and showed a very high degree of interocular transfer, suggesting that Glass-pattern perception involves cortical processing beyond primary visual cortex. Surprisingly, dynamic adaptation produced significantly greater interocular transfer than static adaptation. Our results suggest a functional …

The Absence Of Depth Constancy In Contour Stereograms, Dawn Vreven, Leslie Welch

Dawn L Vreven

Stereoscopic surfaces constructed from Kanizsa-type illusory contours or explicit luminance contours were tested for three-dimensional (3-D) shape constancy. The curvature of the contours and the apparent viewing distance between the surface and the observer were manipulated. Observers judged which of two surfaces appeared more curved. Experiment 1 allowed eye movements and revealed a bias in 3-D shape judgment with changes in apparent viewing distance, such that surfaces presented far from the observer appeared less curved than surfaces presented close to the observer. The lack of depth constancy was approximately the same for illusory-contour surfaces and for explicit-contour surfaces. Experiment 2 …

Concept Tests For A New Wire Flying Vehicle Designed To Achieve High Horizontal Resolution Profiling In Deep Water, Chris Roman, Dave Hebert

Christopher N. Roman

Efficiently profiling the water column to achieve both high vertical and horizontal resolution from a moving vessel in deep water is difficult. Current solutions, such as CTD tow-yos, moving vessel profilers, and undulating tow bodies, are limited by ship speed or water depth. As a consequence, it is difficult to obtain oceanographic sections with sufficient resolution to identify many relevant scales over the deeper sections of the water column. This paper presents a new concept for a profiling vehicle that slides up and down a towed wire in a controlled manner using the lift created by wing foils. The wings …

Generalised Diffusive Delay Logistic Equations: Semi-Analytical Solutions, H Alfifi, Timothy Marchant, M Nelson

Associate Professor Mark Nelson

This paper considers semi-analytical solutions for a class of generalised logis- tic partial dierential equations with both point and distributed delays. Both one and two-dimensional geometries are considered. The Galerkin method is used to approximate the governing equations by a system of ordinary dierential delay equations. This method involves assuming a spatial structure for the solution and averaging to obtain the ordinary dierential delay equation models. Semi-analytical results for the stability of the system are derived with the critical parameter value, at which a Hopf bifurcation occurs, found. The results show that diusion acts to stabilise the system, compared to …

A Fundamental Analysis Of Continuous Flow Bioreactor And Membrane Reactor Models With Tessier Kinetics, M Nelson, E Balakrishnan, H Sidhu

Associate Professor Mark Nelson

In this research we analyze the steady-state operation of a continuous flow bioreactor, with or without recycle, and an idealized or nonidealized continuous flow membrane reactor. The model extends to include a fixed bed reactor where a fraction of the biomass is detached by the flow. The reaction is assumed to be governed by Tessier growth kinetics. We show that a flow reactor with idealized recycle has the same performance as an idealized membrane reactor and that the performance of a nonidealized membrane reactor is identical to that of an appropriately defined continuous flow bioreactor with nonidealized recycle. The performance …

Sprinklers, Crop Water Use, And Irrigation Time: Beaver County, Robert Hill, Mark Nelson

Associate Professor Mark Nelson

No abstract provided.

Fertilizer Management For Grass And Grass-Legume Mixtures, Richard Koenig, Mark Nelson, James Barnhill, Dean Miner

Associate Professor Mark Nelson

No abstract provided.

Time Series, Unit Roots, And Cointegration: An Introduction, Lonnie K. Stevans

Lonnie K. Stevans

The econometric literature on unit roots took off after the publication of the paper by Nelson and Plosser (1982) that argued that most macroeconomic series have unit roots and that this is important for the analysis of macroeconomic policy. Yule (1926) suggested that regressions based on trending time series data can be spurious. This problem of spurious correlation was further pursued by Granger and Newbold (1974) and this also led to the development of the concept of cointegration (lack of cointegration implies spurious regression). The pathbreaking paper by Granger (1981), first presented at a conference at the University of Florida …

Classification Of The Deletion Correcting Capabilities Of Reed–Solomon Codes Of Dimension Over Prime Fields, L. Mcaven, R. Safavi-Naini

Dr Luke McAven

Deletion correction codes have been used for transmission synchronization and, more recently, tracing pirated media. A generalized Reed-Solomon (GRS) code, denoted by GRSk(l,q,alpha,v), is a code of length l over GF(q) with qk codewords. These codes have an efficient decoding algorithm and have been widely used for error correction and detection. It was recently demonstrated that GRS codes are also capable of correcting deletions. We consider a subclass of GRS codes with dimension k=2 and q prime, and study them with respect to deletion correcting capability. We give transformations that either preserve the code or maintain its deletion correction capability. …

Greedy Approximation Of Kernel Pca By Minimizing The Mapping Error, Peng Cheng, Wanqing Li, Philip Ogunbona

Associate Professor Wanqing Li

In this paper we propose a new kernel PCA (KPCA) speed-up algorithm that aims to find a reduced KPCA to approximate the kernel mapping. The algorithm works by greedily choosing a subset of the training samples that minimizes the mean square error of the kernel mapping between the original KPCA and the reduced KPCA. Experimental results have shown that the proposed algorithm is more efficient in computation and effective with lower mapping errors than previous algorithms.