Digital Commons Network^™

Sanctuary Networks And Integrative Enforcement, Ming Hsu Chen

Publications

My intended focus is on the widespread response--in cities, churches, campuses, and corporations that together comprise "sanctuary networks"--to the Trump Administration's Executive Order 13768 Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States as an instance of the changing relationship between federal, local, and private organizations in the regulation of immigration. After briefly covering the legal background of the Trump Interior E.O., the focus of the Article shifts to the institutional dynamics arising in communities. These institutional dynamics exemplify the beginnings of a reimagined immigration enforcement policy with a more integrative flavor.

Adventures In Higher Education, Happiness, And Mindfulness, Peter H. Huang

Publications

This Article recounts my unique adventures in higher education, including being a Princeton University freshman mathematics major at age 14, Harvard University applied mathematics graduate student at age 17, economics and finance faculty at multiple schools, first-year law student at the University of Chicago, second- and third-year law student at Stanford University, and law faculty at multiple schools. This Article also candidly discusses my experiences as student and professor and openly shares how I achieved sustainable happiness by practicing mindfulness to reduce fears, rumination, and worry in facing adversity, disappointment, and setbacks. This Article analyzes why law schools should teach …

Bridges Ii: The Law--Stem Alliance & Next Generation Innovation, Harry Surden

Publications

Technological change recently has altered business models in the legal field, and these changes will continue to affect the practice of law itself. How can we, as educators, prepare law students to meet the challenges of new technology throughout their careers?

Understanding The Human Element In Search Algorithms And Discovering How It Affects Search Results, Susan Nevelow Mart

Publications

When legal researchers search in online databases for the information they need to solve a legal problem, they need to remember that the algorithms that are returning results to them were designed by humans. The world of legal research is a human-constructed world, and the biases and assumptions the teams of humans that construct the online world bring to the task are imported into the systems we use for research. This article takes a look at what happens when six different teams of humans set out to solve the same problem: how to return results relevant to a searcher’s query …

Agency Adherence To Legislative History, Laura E. Dolbow

Publications

Every year, Congress gives hundreds of specific directions to agencies through legislative history. Amidst debates about how agencies use legislative history as an interpretive tool to implement directives contained in statutory text, there is little analysis on how agencies respond to directives contained in the legislative history itself. How agencies respond to directives in legislative history, such as committee reports, provides important information about interactions between agencies and Congress. This Article explores how congressional committees leverage legislative history to direct agency action by studying instructions to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in appropriations committee reports. Based on this study, …

Synthetic Jet Actuator-Based Aircraft Tracking Using A Continuous Robust Nonlinear Control Strategy, N. Ramos-Pedroza, W. Mackunis, M. Reyhanoglu

Publications

A robust nonlinear control law that achieves trajectory tracking control for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with synthetic jet actuators (SJAs) is presented in this paper. A key challenge in the control design is that the dynamic characteristics of SJAs are nonlinear and contain parametric uncertainty. The challenge resulting from the uncertain SJA actuator parameters is mitigated via innovative algebraic manipulation in the tracking error system derivation along with a robust nonlinear control law employing constant SJA parameter estimates. A key contribution of the paper is a rigorous analysis of the range of SJA actuator parameter uncertainty within which asymptotic …

Highly Vented Truss Wall Honeycomb Structures, David J. Sypeck

Publications

A vented honeycomb structure with a plurality of honeycomb cells arranged in a hierarchical order and having a plurality of truss walls, each truss wall including a plurality of members. The vented honeycomb structure is fabricated by joining a plurality of sheets of trusses using any one of an expansion, a corrugation, and a slotting process. Fabrication can also occur by deposition, casting, additive, extrusion, or aligning and joining methods. The honeycomb cells, truss walls, truss wall openings, and truss wall members can be functionally graded.

First Low-Frequency Einstein@Home All-Sky Search For Continuous Gravitational Waves In Advanced Ligo Data, B. P. Abbott, K. Aultoneal, S. Gaudio, K. Gill, B. Hughey, J. W. W. Pratt, E. Schmidt, S. G. Schwalbe, M. J. Szczepańczyk, M. Zanolin, Et Al.

Publications

We report results of a deep all-sky search for periodic gravitational waves from isolated neutron stars in data from the first Advanced LIGO observing run. This search investigates the low frequency range of Advanced LIGO data, between 20 and 100 Hz, much of which was not explored in initial LIGO. The search was made possible by the computing power provided by the volunteers of the Einstein@Home project. We find no significant signal candidate and set the most stringent upper limits to date on the amplitude of gravitational wave signals from the target population, corresponding to a sensitivity depth of 48.7 …

Search For Post-Merger Gravitational Waves From The Remnant Of The Binary Neutron Star Merger Gw170817, B. P. Abbott, K. Aultoneal, S. Gaudio, K. Gill, E. M. Gretarsson, B. Hughey, M. Muratore, J. W. W. Pratt, S. G. Schwalbe, K. Staats, M. J. Szczepańczyk, M. Zanolin, Et Al.

Publications

The first observation of a binary neutron star (NS) coalescence by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave (GW) detectors offers an unprecedented opportunity to study matter under the most extreme conditions. After such a merger, a compact remnant is left over whose nature depends primarily on the masses of the inspiraling objects and on the equation of state of nuclear matter. This could be either a black hole (BH) or an NS, with the latter being either long-lived or too massive for stability implying delayed collapse to a BH. Here, we present a search for GWs from the remnant …

Increase In The Reduction Potential Of Uranyl Upon Interaction With Graphene Oxide Surfaces, V. N. Bliznyuk, N. Conroy, Y. Xie, R. Podila, A. Rao, Brian A. Powell

Publications

Coordination of uranyl (U(VI)) with carboxylate groups on functionalized graphene oxide (GO) surfaces has been shown to alter the reduction potential of the sorbed uranium ion. A quantitative measure of the reduction potential and qualitative estimation of sorption/desorption processes were conducted using cyclic voltammetry, and the proposed coordination environment was determined using the surface sensitive attenuated total reflection mode of infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). GO is a nanostructured material possessing a large amount of oxygen-containing functional groups both on basal planes and at the edges, which can form strong surface complexes with radionuclides. The presence of these functional groups on the …

Graphene Field Effect Transistors For Highly Sensitive And Selective Detection Of K+ Ions, Hongmei Li, Yihao Zhu, Md. Sayful Islam, Md. Anisur Rahman, Kenneth B. Walsh, Goutam Koley

Publications

Graphene-based ion sensitive field effect transistors (GISFETs) with high sensitivity and selectivity for K+ ion detection have been demonstrated utilizing valinomycin based ion selective membrane. The performance of the GISFETs for K+ ion detection was studied in various media over a concentration range of 1 μM–2 mM. The sensitivity of the sensor was found to be >60 mV/decade, which is comparable to the best Si-based commercial ISFETs, with negligible interference found from Na+ and Ca2+ ions in high concentration. The sensor performance did not change significantly in Tris–HCl solution or with repeated testing over a period of two months highlighting …

In Search Of Conversational Grain Size: Modelling Semantic Structure Using Moving Stanza Windows, Amanda L. Siebert-Evenstone, Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens, Wesley Collier, Zachari Swiecki, David Williamson Shaffer

Publications

Analyses of learning based on student discourse need to account not only for the content of the utterances but also for the ways in which students make connections across turns of talk. This requires segmentation of discourse data to define when connections are likely to be meaningful. In this paper, we present an approach to segmenting data for the purposes of modeling connections in discourse using epistemic network analysis. Specifically, we use epistemic network analysis to model connections in student discourse using a temporal segmentation method adapted from recent work in the learning sciences. We compare the results of this …

Extended Lamer Synthesis Of Cobalt Doped Ferrite, Benjamin D. Fellows, Sarah Sandler, Jacob Livingston, Kristin Fuller, Lotanna Nwandu, Sarah Timmis, Kayla A. Lantz, Morgan Stefik, O. Thompson Mefford

Publications

Nonstoichiometric cobalt ferrite nanoparticles have drawn interest in magnetically mediated energy delivery due to their high magnetocrystalline anisotropy and their high peak loss frequency. The use of an extended LaMer synthesis allows for size control of the doped particles up to a threshold core diameter of 18 nm. Above this diameter, particles become unstable and drop out of suspension, allowing for further nucleation events to occur. This leads to a cyclic nucleation, growth, and destabilization regime seen during the course of the reaction. Using the size control of the extended LaMer synthesis technique, we examine the specific absorption rate (SAR) …

A Globally Stable Attractor That Is Locally Unstable Everywhere, Phanindra Tallapragada, Senbagaraman Sudarsanam

Publications

We construct two examples of invariant manifolds that despite being locally unstable at every point in the transverse direction are globally stable. Using numerical simulations we show that these invariant manifolds temporarily repel nearby trajectories but act as global attractors. We formulate an explanation for such global stability in terms of the ‘rate of rotation’ of the stable and unstable eigenvectors spanning the normal subspace associated with each point of the invariant manifold. We discuss the role of this rate of rotation on the transitions between the stable and unstable regimes.

A Pilot Study Of Computerized, Tailored Intervention To Promote Hpv Vaccination In Mexican-Heritage Adolescents, Angela Chia-Chen Chen, Michael Todd, Ashish Amresh, Usha Menon, Laura Szalacha

Publications

This study examined feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a computer-tailored intervention aimed at promoting HPV vaccination in Mexican-heritage adolescents aged 11-17. Among 46 Mexican-heritage parents who had one or more eligible children who had not received HPV vaccines, 91% (n = 42) completed the intervention and assessments via touchscreen tablet computers in a vaccine clinic. Mean knowledge scores increased significantly from pre- to post-intervention. After the intervention, 95% (n = 40) of parents intended to get their children vaccinated; 50% (n=21) of them consented to vaccination immediately, resulting in 24 adolescents being vaccinated at that time. All parents reported …

Aerodynamic Analysis Of Low Speed Wing Design Using Taguchi L9 Orthogonal Array, Kenneth Witcher, Ian Mcandrew, Elena Vishnevskaya

Publications

The study of aerodynamics has been preoccupied with understanding flight at increasing speeds and ultimately supersonic. Today, this pursuit has advanced the science for both Hypersonic and Transonic flight to near Mach 1 supporting economical commercial flight operations. This research presents the data from a Taguchi array on low speed with twin wing designs to establish the design parameters for their use in low speed and high altitude. Also presented is how aerodynamic advantages can be achieved through understanding the interactions of parameters and their use. This is compared to operational effectiveness when applied to remotely piloted aircraft that are …

Ion-Scale Wave Properties And Enhanced Ion Heating Across The Low-Latitude Boundary Layer During Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability, T. W. Moore, K. Nykyri, A. P. Dimmock

Publications

In the Earth's magnetosphere, the magnetotail plasma sheet ions are much hotter than in the shocked solar wind. On the dawn sector, the cold-component ions are more abundant and hotter by 30–40% when compared to the dusk sector. Recent statistical studies of the flank magnetopause and magnetosheath have shown that the level of temperature asymmetry of the magnetosheath is unable to account for this, so additional physical mechanisms must be at play, either at the magnetopause or plasma sheet that contributes to this asymmetry. In this study, we perform a statistical analysis on the ion-scale wave properties in the three …

A Decision Support Tool For Building Integrated Renewable Energy Microgrids Connected To A Smart Grid, Damilola A. Asaleye, Michael D. Murphy, Michael Breen

Publications

The objective of this study was to create a tool that will enable renewable energy microgrid (REμG) facility users to make informed decisions on the utilization of electrical power output from a building integrated REμG connected to a smart grid. A decision support tool for renewable energy microgrids (DSTREM) capable of predicting photovoltaic array and wind turbine power outputs was developed. The tool simulated users’ daily electricity consumption costs, avoided CO₂ emissions and incurred monetary income relative to the usage of the building integrated REμG connected to the national electricity smart grid. DSTREM forecasted climate variables, which were used …

A Gravitational-Wave Standard Siren Measurement Of The Hubble Constant, B. P. Abbott, K. Aultoneal, S. Gaudio, K. Gill, E. M. Gretarrson, B. Hughey, M. Muratore, J. W. W. Pratt, S. G. Schwalde, K. Staats, M. J. Szczepańczyk, M. Zanolin, Et Al.

Publications

The detection of GW170817 (Abbott et al. 2017a) in both gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves heralds the age of gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy. On 17 August 2017 the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) (LIGO Scientific Collaboration et al. 2015) and Virgo (Acernese et al. 2015) detectors observed GW170817, a strong signal from the merger of a binary neutron-star system. Less than 2 seconds after the merger, a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) was detected within a region of the sky consistent with the LIGO-Virgo-derived location of the gravitational-wave source (Abbott et al. 2017b; Goldstein et al. 2017; Savchenko et al. 2017). …

Out In The Field - Learning About Plant Diversity, Stephani Beyea, Brooke A. Whitworth

Publications

How do we help students understand the world they live in? How do we make the science we teach relevant and relatable to their everyday environment? One approach to making science come alive for students is to engage in place-based education opportunities. Place-based education engages students with their local culture, ecology, and landscapes (PEEC 2010). It encourages students to use the land and resources in their community to learn and to better understand the environment in which they live. Research indicates that place-based education can increase student achievement and help students develop a connection to their environment (PEEC 2010). It …

Usability Of A Smartphone Application To Support The Prevention And Early Intervention Of Anxiety In Youth, Ryan D. Stoll, Armando A. Pina, Kevin Gary, Ashish Amresh

Publications

Anxiety disorders are among the most common psychiatric problems in youth, fail to spontaneously remit, and place some youth at risk for additional behavioral and emotional difficulties. Efforts to target anxiety have resulted in evidence-based interventions but the resulting prevention effects are relatively small, often weakening over time. Mobile health (mHealth) tools could be of use to strengthen the effects of anxiety prevention efforts. Although a large number of mHealth apps have been developed, few have been evaluated in terms of usability prior to clinical effectiveness testing. Because usability is one of the main barriers to mHealth usage and adoption, …

Twin-Wing Design Options Used For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles To Achieve High Altitudes At Low Speeds, Ian R. Mcandrew, Elena Vishnevskaya, Andrew Carruthers

Publications

The paper addresses the aerodynamic performance of twin‐wing aircraft (biplanes) that are remotely piloted. While twin wing aircraft are acknowledged as to having greater maneuverability than monoplanes, they have inherent disadvantages based on the set position of the upper wing to meet piloting needs which induces significant levels of drag from the struts that link the upper and lower wings together. In this research, the aerodynamics of the wing position in relationship to the lower wing are analyzed with Computational Fluid Mechanics/Dynamics and simulation models. It will show that modern material can eliminate the strut drag and allow for greater …

Co-Measure: Developing An Assessment For Student Collaboration In Steam Activities, Danielle Herro, Cassie F. Quigley, Jessica Andrews, Girlie Delacruz

Publications

Background

The shortage of skilled workers choosing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers in the USA and worldwide has fueled a movement towards STEAM, in which the “A” addresses the arts and humanities. STEAM education has been proposed as a way to offer relevant problems to solve while drawing on creative and collaborative skills to increase interest and engagement in these fields. Despite the interest in increasing STEAM globally, research on the efficacy of instructional approaches, including ways to assess collaborative problem solving (CPS), is lacking.

Results

This paper reports the development of a rubric, named Co-Measure, for researchers …

Gw170817: Observation Of Gravitational Waves From A Binary Neutron Star Inspiral, B. P. Abbott, K. Aultoneal, S. Gaudio, K. Gill, E. M. Gretarsson, B. Hughey, M. Muratore, J. W. W. Pratt, S. G. Schwalbe, K. Staats, M. J. Szczepańczyk, M. Zanolin, Et Al.

Publications

On August 17, 2017 at 12∶41:04 UTC the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo gravitational-wave detectors made their first observation of a binary neutron star inspiral. The signal, GW170817, was detected with a combined signal-to-noise ratio of 32.4 and a false-alarm-rate estimate of less than one per 8.0 × 104 years. We infer the component masses of the binary to be between 0.86 and 2.26 M⊙, in agreement with masses of known neutron stars. Restricting the component spins to the range inferred in binary neutron stars, we find the component masses to be in the range 1.17–1.60 M⊙, with the total …

Predicting General Aviation Pilots’ Weather-Related Performance Through A Scenario-Based Assessment, Jessica Cruit, Christina Frederick, Beth Blickensderfer, Joseph Keebler, Thomas Guinn

Publications

Weather-related accidents continue to challenge the general aviation (GA) community and with the development of advanced weather technology, GA pilots need additional education and training on how to effectively use these weather products to ensure flight safety. Currently, the literature on aviation weather suggests that there is a gap in both training and assessment strategy for GA pilots. Furthermore, several studies advocate assessing GA pilots at a deeper level of learning by including weather-based, scenario/application questions on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) written exam for private pilots. After first developing a scenario-based, aviation weather assessment, we used a multiple regression …

On The Dawn-Dusk Asymmetry Of The Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Between 2007 And 2013, Z. W. Henry, K. Nykyri, T. W. Moore, A. P. Dimmock, X. Ma

Publications

Using data from Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS), a statistical study was performed to determine whether a dawn-dusk asymmetry exists in the occurrence rates of the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability during Parker-Spiral (PS) and Ortho-Parker-Spiral (OPS) orientations of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). It is determined from the data that there is a strong preference toward the dawn side during PS orientation, and although a preference to the dusk side during OPS is suggested, this requires further study for an unambiguous confirmation. The uncertainty in the OPS result is due to a low number of events …

Gw170814: A Three-Detector Observation Of Gravitational Waves From A Binary Black Hole Coalescence, B. P. Abbott, K. Aultoneal, S. Gaudio, K. Gill, E. M. Gretarsson, B. Hughey, M. Muratore, J. W. W. Pratt, S. G. Schwalbe, K. Staats, M. J. Szczepańczyk, Michele Zanolin, Et Al.

Publications

On August 14, 2017 at 10∶30:43 UTC, the Advanced Virgo detector and the two Advanced LIGO detectors coherently observed a transient gravitational-wave signal produced by the coalescence of two stellar mass black holes, with a false-alarm rate of ≲ 1 in 27 000 years. The signal was observed with a three-detector network matched-filter signal-to-noise ratio of 18. The inferred masses of the initial black holes are 30.5 + 5.7 − 3.0 M ⊙ and 25.3 + 2.8 − 4.2 M ⊙ (at the 90% credible level). The luminosity distance of the source is 540 + 130 − 210 Mpc, corresponding …

A Comparative Study On The Durability Of Geopolymer Mortars Produced With Ground Glass Fiber, Fly Ash, And Glass-Powder In Sodium Sulfate Solution, Hassan Rashidian-Dezfouli, Prasada Rao Rangaraju

Publications

An experimental investigation was conducted to investigate the performance of geopolymers made with three different precursors consisting of fly ash, Ground Glass Fiber (GGF), and Glass-Powder (GLP) exposed to sodium sulfate solution. Precursors were activated using either sodium hydroxide solution or combinations of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate solution with varying levels of sodium and silica content. Among the mixtures with each of the three precursors, mortar mixtures with the highest compressive strength were selected to test their resistance against exposure to a 5% sodium sulfate solution. Changes in the weight and compressive strength of the specimens were monitored up …

Influence Of End Customer Exposure On Product Design Within An Epistemic Game Environment, Matthew R. Markovetz, Renee M. Clark, Zachari Swiecki, Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens, Naomi C. Chesler, David W. Shaffer, Cheryl A. Bodnar

Publications

Engineering product design requires both technical aptitude and an understanding of the non-technical requirements in the marketplace, economic or otherwise. Engineering education has long focused on the technical side of product design, but there is increasing demand for market-aware engineers in industry. Market-awareness and customer-focus are also associated with entrepreneurship, which has been given increased focus in engineering education. A common tool for gauging customer interest in industry is the focus group. Herein we examine the effect of customer voice as presented in a focus group for influencing engineering product design generated by students as part of the virtual internship …

Reproductive Performance Of The Marine Green Porcelain Crab Petrolisthes Armatus Gibbes, 1850 In Its Introduced Range Favors Further Range Expansion, Ann Wassick, J. Antonio Baeza, Amy Fowler, Dara Wilber

Publications

Invasive marine crustaceans can exhibit population-level variation in reproductive traits that are consistent with a response to stressful conditions near the range edge, or alternatively, that may favor establishing new exotic populations. Reproductive characteristics of the green porcelain crab Petrolisthes armatus Gibbes, 1850 were not previously known in its invasive range in the Atlantic waters of the southeastern USA. We compared fecundity estimates, size at sexual maturity, and various other morphological aspects among crabs collected from two sites at each of four locations spanning approximately 230 km from North Inlet, South Carolina (SC), to Savannah, Georgia (GA), USA. Reproductive output …