Digital Commons Network^™

Comparing The Effects Of Simulated, Intelligent Audible, Checklists And Analog Checklists In Simulated Flight, Bryan Hilton

Dissertations

This study examined the effect of using a simulated intelligent audible checklist in simulated flight as compared to a standard analog (paper) checklist. Participants were three Western Michigan University students in the College of Aviation. All participants were licensed pilots with instrument ratings. The main dependent variable was the number of checklist errors or omissions committed by the pilots in simulated flight. During each flight, each participant could make up to 42 errors. The error count would initiate at the appropriate time to perform the “before-take off checklist” and would end one minute after parking the plane, the logical time …

When Dna Won't Work, Rick Visser, Greg Hampikian

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Within the criminal justice system, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) evidence has often been heralded as the gold standard of forensic science. In a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Chief Justice Roberts wrote that "DNA testing has an unparalleled ability both to exonerate the wrongly convicted and to identify the guilty. It has the potential to significantly improve both the criminal justice system and police investigative practices." The phrases “unparalleled ability” and “significantly improve” reflect the high standard that DNA has attained in both forensic science and the entire criminal justice system.

Forensic DNA technology has a major advantage over other forensic …

Design And Implementation Of A Genre Hybrid Video Game That Integrates The Curriculum Of An Introductory Programming Course, Cory Buckley

All Theses

Video games have a history of being exploited for education. However, all too fre- quently, the resulting educational video game is either transparent in its hijacking of video game media, or the educational content is not intelligently placed within the context of the game. In this paper we analyze existing educational video games and observe popular commercial video game mechanics to form a more player oriented development mindset. Our approach involves mingling game mechanics that are not commonly used together to create a genre hybrid educational video game with a seamlessly integrated introductory programming curriculum. We use a machine architecture …

An Error Quantification Methodology For Hurricane Storm Surge Simulations, Bin Pei

All Theses

This thesis describes the development of a procedure to quantify errors in hurricane storm surge simulations using a decoupled wind-surge model. The state-of-the-art storm surge simulation program, ADCIRC (Advanced Circulation), and the Georgiou's wind field model were used to simulate the storm surge heights associated with 169 historical hurricanes from 1922 to 2011 along the coast of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The storm surge modeling errors were quantified by comparing the measured to the simulated annual maximum surge heights at nine water level observation stations maintained by the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS). The simulated …

Workplace Enforcement Workarounds, Stephen Lee

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Transformation Of Immigration Federalism, Jennifer M. Chacón

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Guns And Membership In The American Polity, Pratheepan Gulasekaram

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Immigration And Civil Rights: Is The "New" Birmingham The Same As The "Old" Birmingham, Kevin R. Johnson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

An Asymptote Of Reality: An Analysis Of Nolan's "Inception", Carson Ratliff

Cinesthesia

No abstract provided.

Searching In Clutter: Visual Attention Strategies Of Expert Pilots, Melissa R. Beck, Michael Trenchard, Amanda Van Lamsweerde, Rebecca R. Goldstein, Maura Lohrenz

Faculty Publications

Clutter can slow visual search. However, experts may develop attention strategies that alleviate the effects of clutter on search performance. In the current study we examined the effects of global and local clutter on visual search performance and attention strategies. Pilots and undergraduates searched for an elevation marker in charts of high, medium, and low global clutter. The target was in a low or high local clutter region of the chart or it was absent. High global and local clutter slowed search performance for both pilots and undergraduates. Pilots were more accurate but slower. Pilots' search strategies differed from undergraduates …

Funding Health-Related Vr Services: The Potential Impact Of The Affordable Care Act On The Use Of Private Health Insurance And Medicaid To Pay For Health-Related Vr Services, Robert Silverstein

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

One of the myriad of issues affecting the administration of the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program by State VR agencies under Title I of the Rehabilitation Act is how to maximize access to and use of all available funding sources to pay for VR services and supports for VR applicants and clients. In March 2010, Congress passed and the President signed into law the "Affordable Care Act" (ACA). 1 On June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court upheld all of the provisions of the ACA, with the exception of provisions mandating Medicaid expansion. The Supreme Court held that if a …

Reparations For Conflict-Related Sexual And Reproductive Violence: A Decalogue, Ruth Rubio-Marín

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Gender And The Charles Taylor Case At The Special Court For Sierra Leone, Valerie Oosterveld

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

"Actual Results May Vary": Toward Fiercer National Regulation Of Digitally Manipulated Cosmetics Advertisements, Jason Rea

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Impacts Of Dams On Nutrient And Sediment Loading In The Kalamazoo River Using The Soil And Water Assessment Tool (Swat), Daniel Henry Serfas

Masters Theses

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to the Kalamazoo River Watershed in order to evaluate the impacts that several dams within a superfund site "Area of Concern" have on the sediment, nutrients, and streamflow of the system. It was hypothesized that the SWAT model could be used to recreate the watershed in hopes of estimating the amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment that would result from the removal of the dams. The model would then be used to evaluate dam removal scenarios to come up with a best management practice (BMP).

The model was calibrated, however, during …

The Implementation Of A Versatile Pseudodynamic Hybrid Simulation For Seismic Evaluation Of Structural Systems, Chelsea Griffith

Masters Theses

Pseudodynamic hybrid simulation technique was developed to evaluate structural seismic performance by physically testing the critical portion with the remaining structure simulated using a numerical model in the computer. An incremental approach was adopted in developing the control scheme to suit multiple testing facilities and test specimens. First the small scale, predictable specimen was utilized to investigate techniques of improving stability, slowing down the loading rate and triggering the accurate force measurement in a series of at benchmark scale experiments in the Laboratory of Earthquake and Structural Simulation at Western Michigan University (WMU). A step/hold command scheme was developed and …

Power Transmission Line Fault Classification Using Support Vector Machines, Zhuokang Jia

Masters Theses

Electrical transmission lines are prone to faults and failures. When a fault occurs, it is impossible most of the times to fix it manually. Many methods have been adopted in the past in order to serve the purpose as fault diagnosing application. In this thesis, I discuss the method of Support Vector Machine (SVM) for fault diagnosis. SVM has the edge of good generalization over other fault diagnosing applications because it is based on pattern recognize algorithms. The aim is to classify the type of fault in the lines. Furthermore, in this work, the current and voltage of each phase …

“A Key Area Of Knowledge Delivered By Someone Knowledgeable”: Feminist Expectations And Explorations Of A One-Off Economics Lecture On Gender, Emily Henderson

Journal of International Women's Studies

This paper explores the action of attending a visiting academic’s one-off lecture, whether in the lecture theatre or on the Internet, in order to gain knowledge from a recognised expert of an unfamiliar but relevant field of research. The actions of entering the theatre and sitting for an hour, or of clicking “play,” appear to be simple gestures for the acquisition of knowledge; this paper explores the complexity of the processes surrounding the lecture, and the way in which the lecture constructs a passive listening position for the audience. The exploration takes place in the frame of one such lecture: …

Determining Stellar Velocity Dispersion In Active Galaxies: Is The [Oiii] Width A Valid Surrogate?, Kelsi Flatland

Physics

The tight empirical relation between the stellar velocity dispersion (sigma) of the bulge and the mass of the supermassive black hole (BH) at its center indicates a close connection between galactic evolution and BH growth. The evolution of this relation with cosmic time provides valuable clues to its origin. While the mass of the BH can be easily estimated using the Doppler broadening of the Hbeta emission line in type I active galactic nuclei (AGNs), measuring sigma simultaneously is challenging, since the nuclear emission outshines the host galaxy. Thus, it is highly desirable to find an alternative way to estimate …

Functional Classification Of Skeletal Muscle Networks. I. Normal Physiology, Yu Wang, John Winters, Shankar Subramaniam

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Extensive measurements of the parts list of human skeletal muscle through transcriptomics and other phenotypic assays offer the opportunity to reconstruct detailed functional models. Through integration of vast amounts of data present in databases and extant knowledge of muscle function combined with robust analyses that include a clustering approach, we present both a protein parts list and network models for skeletal muscle function. The model comprises the four key functional family networks that coexist within a functional space; namely, excitation-activation family (forward pathways that transmit a motoneuronal command signal into the spatial volume of the cell and then use Ca …

Performance Evaluation Of Video Streaming In An Infrastructure Mesh Based Vehicle Network, Sajindra Pradhananga

All Theses

Most next-generation wireless networks are expected to support video stream-
ing which constitutes the bulk of traffic on the Internet. This thesis evaluates the
performance of video streaming in a vehicle network with an infrastructure wireless
mesh network (WMN) backhaul. Several studies have investigated video quality per-
formance primarily in single hop wireless networks and static WMNs. This thesis is
based on those studies and conducts the study in relation to a network where the
multi-hop features of the mesh network and mobility of the streaming clients may
have substantial impact on the perceived video quality in the network.
The …

Going Overboard? On Busy Directors And Firm Value, George D. Cashman, Stuart L. Gillan, Chulhee Jun

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Abstract

The literature disagrees on the link between so-called busy boards (where many independent directors hold multiple board seats) and firm performance. Some argue that busyness certifies a director’s ability and that such directors are value enhancing. Others argue that “over-boarded” directors are ineffective and detract from firm value. We find evidence that (1) the disparate results in prior work stem from differences in both sample composition and empirical design, (2) on balance the results suggest a negative association between board busyness and firm performance, and (3) the inclusion of firm fixed effects dramatically affects the conclusions drawn from, and …

Cartels As Rational Business Strategy: Crime Pays, John M. Connor, Robert H. Lande

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Estimation Availability Function Through Determination The Optimal Imperfect Preventive Maintenance Period By Using Simulation, Emad Hazim Aboudi, Firas Saddam Abdul

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This paper deals with the modeling of a preventive maintenance strategy applied to a single-unit system subject to random failures. According to this policy, the system is subjected to imperfect periodic preventive maintenance restoring it to ‘as good as new’ with probability p and leaving it at state ‘as bad as old’ with probability q. Imperfect repairs are performed following failures occurring between consecutive preventive maintenance actions, i.e the times between failures follow a decreasing quasi-renewal process with parameter a. Considering the average durations of the preventive and corrective maintenance actions as well as their respective efficiency extents, a mathematical …

Plasmas For Clean Water: Elucidation Of Radical Species In An Electrolytic Non-Equilibrium Plasma-Water System, Kevin Pataroque

Intersections Fall 2020

Plasma water treatment (PWT) is an emerging water treatment technology that utilizes electrical discharges in gases to degrade aqueous contaminants. Prior work has demonstrated that PWT is capable of degrading perfluorooctanoic acid, a widespread contaminant that is unable to be degraded by denitrification or UV processes that wastewater facilities currently employ. In addition, unlike other approaches, PWT forms energetic species directly from water, eliminating the need for additional chemicals or catalysts. However, internal mechanisms within PWT treatment process, such as the production of different radical species are not well understood. Characterization of the species and their role in degradation is …

Administrative Law, Martin M. Wilson, Jennifer A. Blackburn, Courtney E. Ferrell

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys cases from the Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals from June 1, 2011 through May 31, 2012, during which principles of administrative law were either illuminated or formed an important piece of the decision making. For a change, the Authors observed a significant increase in the number of reported cases during the survey period, but that increase does not necessarily indicate a trend. No attempt has been made to survey cases that properly would fall under categories of more specific articles in this issue, although some degree of overlap is inevitable because of shared …

Workers' Compensation, H. Michael Bagley, J. Benson Ward

Mercer Law Review

The 2011-2012 survey period featured decisions of the appellate courts in areas ranging from medical privacy to diligent job searches, with only minor legislation impacting the Workers' Compensation Act.

Introduction: Becoming An Atheist, Lois Eveleth

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

One of America's great intellectuals, Ralph Waldo Emerson created Transcendentalism, the underpinning of the Romantic movement and America's 19th century Renaissance. Not so well known is his anguished departure from the Christianity of his youth. This book corrects this oversight by showing connections between the faith of his youth and the central themes of Transcendentalism. This is a book not only about Emerson's intellectual and spiritual journey but about the essence of New England Transcendentalism.

Message From The State: Uncovering Effects Of Public Policy On Women's Movements In Chile And The Czech Republic, Petra Hejnova

Political Science - Dissertations

This study relies on the cases of the Czech Republic and Chile to examine the ways in which state policies affect women's movements' emergence under both authoritarian and democratic political regimes. As such, this dissertation provides some important clues into how citizens' experience with certain policies enhances or delimits their future political action, and how it affects their beliefs and attitudes. Gaining a better understanding about the relationship between policies and civic participation is particularly important in the case of young democracies, which are trying to overcome their authoritarian past, and whose new democratic political regimes are in some instances …

Parenting Blog Coverage Of The Autism-Vaccine Controversy, Aidan Bryant

Media Studies - Theses

This study examines source type, citation accuracy, and anecdotal reliance in parenting blog articles about the autism/vaccine controversy. Existing literature on common errors and shortcomings of traditional health journalism, in conjunction with existing guidelines and suggestions for optimal health journalism practices, were used to synthesize a content analysis code structure. The code structure was used to examine 122 parenting blog posts from 18 different blogs, spanning a time period from June 22, 2005 to January 9, 2012, for details including the following:

• author demographics (gender, profession, parenthood, vaccination patterns)

• type of blog the article appeared in

• author stance of the …