Digital Commons Network^™

Entropy Of Generating Series For Nonlinear Input-Output Systems And Their Interconnections, W. Steven Gray

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper has two main objectives. The first is to introduce a notion of entropy that is well suited for the analysis of nonlinear input-output systems that have a Chen-Fliess series representation. The latter is defined in terms of its generating series over a noncommutative alphabet. The idea is to assign an entropy to a generating series as an element of a graded vector space. The second objective is to describe the entropy of generating series originating from interconnected systems of Chen-Fliess series that arise in the context of control theory. It is shown that one set of interconnections can …

A Primer On Software Defined Radios, Dimitrie C. Popescu, Rolland Vida

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The commercial success of cellular phone systems during the late 1980s and early 1990 years heralded the wireless revolution that became apparent at the turn of the 21st century and has led the modern society to a highly interconnected world where ubiquitous connectivity and mobility are enabled by powerful wireless terminals. Software defined radio (SDR) technology has played a major role in accelerating the pace at which wireless capabilities have advanced, in particular over the past 15 years, and SDRs are now at the core of modern wireless communication systems. In this paper we give an overview of SDRs that …

Qu-Brats: Miccai Brats 2020 Challenge On Quantifying Uncertainty In Brain Tumor Segmentation - Analysis Of Ranking Scores And Benchmarking Results, Raghav Mehta, Angelos Filos, Ujjwal Baid, Chiharu Sako, Richard Mckinley, Michael Rebsamen, Katrin Dätwyler, Raphael Meier, Piotr Radojewski, Gowtham Krishnan Murugesan, Sahil Nalawade, Chandan Ganesh, Ben Wagner, Fang F. Yu, Baowei Fei, Ananth J. Madhuranthakam, Joseph A. Maldjian, Laura Daza, Catalina Gómez, Pablo Arbeláez, Chengliang Dai, Shuo Wang, Hadrien Reynaud, Yuan-Han Mo, Elsa Angelini, Yike Guo, Wenjia Bai, Subhashis Banerjee, Lin-Min Pei, Murat Ak, Sarahi Rosas-González, Ilyess Zemmoura, Clovis Tauber, Minh H. Vu, Tufve Nyholm, Tommy Löfstedt, Laura Mora Ballestar, Veronica Vilaplana, Hugh Mchugh, Gonzalo Maso Talou, Alan Wang, Jay Patel, Ken Chang, Katharina Hoebel, Mishka Gidwani, Nishanth Arun, Sharut Gupta, Mehak Aggarwal, Praveer Singh, Elizabeth R. Gerstner, Jayashree Kalpathy-Cramer, Nicholas Boutry, Alexis Huard, Lasitha Vidyaratne, Md. Monibor Rahman, Khan M. Iftekharuddin, Joseph Chazalon, Elodie Puybareau, Guillaume Tochon, Jun Ma, Mariano Cabezas, Xavier Llado, Arnau Oliver, Liliana Valencia, Sergi Valverde, Mehdi Amian, Mohammadreza Soltaninejad, Andriy Myronenko, Ali Hatamizadeh, Xue Feng, Quan Dou, Nicholas Tustison, Craig Meyer, Nisarg A. Shah, Sanjay Talbar, Marc-André Weber, Abhishek Mahajan, Andras Jakab, Roland Wiest, Hassan M. Fathallah-Shaykh, Arash Nazeri, Mikhail Milchenko1, Daniel Marcus, Aikaterini Kotrotsou, Rivka Colen, John Freymann, Justin Kirby, Christos Davatzikos, Bjoern Menze, Spyridon Bakas, Yarin Gal, Tal Arbel

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Deep learning (DL) models have provided the state-of-the-art performance in a wide variety of medical imaging benchmarking challenges, including the Brain Tumor Segmentation (BraTS) challenges. However, the task of focal pathology multi-compartment segmentation (e.g., tumor and lesion sub-regions) is particularly challenging, and potential errors hinder the translation of DL models into clinical workflows. Quantifying the reliability of DL model predictions in the form of uncertainties, could enable clinical review of the most uncertain regions, thereby building trust and paving the way towards clinical translation. Recently, a number of uncertainty estimation methods have been introduced for DL medical image segmentation tasks. …

Ground To Air Testing Of A Fused Optical-Radar Aircraft Detection And Tracking System, Chester V. Dolph, Thomas Lombaerts, Evan Kawamura, Corey Ippolito, Vahram Stepanyan, Khan M. Iftekharuddin, George Szatkowski, Robert G. Mcswain, Chris Morris, Mahyar R. Malekpour

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Onboard detection and tracking capability are integral to the sensing component in collision avoidance systems needed to safely operate autonomous urban air taxis and small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Ground-based validation of detection and tracking systems is an important milestone towards the end goal of real-time collision avoidance using onboard sensors and algorithms. In this work, we evaluate three Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) based fusion trackers with radar and vision detection inputs, and compare them with baseline trackers for each sensor type. Performance is assessed using field collected data of ground to air test flights with the sensors co-located on a …

Design And Performance Analysis Of A Chemically-Etched Flexible Nfc Tag Antenna, Muhammad Enayetur Rahman, Marwan Abdelatti, Manbir Singh Sodhi, Kunal Mankodiya

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a perfect example of ubiquitous computing that is secured, short-ranged, low-powered contactless communication. High demand is predicted for NFC, especially with wearables, and the variety of applications may require that this technology be fabricated onto different materials. In this research, we first designed flexible NFC antennas based on mathematical models. A simulation of the NFC coil inductance was performed and verified using the predictive models. Later, two flexible NFC antennas, including 160x80 mm2 (rectangular) and 80x80 mm2 (square) were fabricated through a chemical etching process and verified at 13.56 MHz frequency. Two experiments 1) Read …

Towards Advanced Data Skills For Information Systems Graduates, Ashraf Shirani

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This study aims to explore advanced data skills -in particular technical skills expected of a data engineering (DE) professional. Descriptions and requirements for the DE jobs, one each from 50 US companies, were collected from three job sites. An automated text analysis was performed on the job descriptions to extract a list of technical skills and competencies required for the DE job in the industry. The extracted information was then manually synthesized and categorized by the author. Findings of the study are intended to be of use by information systems graduates looking to pursue advanced data education and for curricula …

Can Continuing Legal Education Pass The Test? Empirical Lessons From The Medical World., Rima Sirota

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Mandatory continuing legal education (CLE) takes millions of hours and hundreds of millions of dollars from American lawyers every year, with the burden landing in disproportionate fashion on new lawyers, public interest lawyers, and solo practitioners. CLE proponents insist that the system protects the public by maintaining lawyer competence. In the forty-five years since the first jurisdictions began requiring CLE, no evidence has emerged in support of this claim.

This Article argues that mandatory CLE is indefensible in its current state. Either the legal profession and the CLE industry must commit to study and change, or it is time to …

“If Rules They Can Be Called”, Amy J. Griffin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Who gets to decide what counts as law? The weight of authority in the U.S. legal system is governed almost entirely by unwritten rules—social norms that establish which sources have weight (and how much weight they have). In 2016, Bryan A. Garner and twelve judges published a treatise essentially codifying unwritten rules related to the operation of precedent. That book, The Law of Judicial Precedent, has itself become a source of authority (on legal authority), cited by judges across jurisdictions. In this essay, I question whether the judicial norms governing the operation of precedent are appropriately presented as definitive blackletter …

House Rules: Congress And The Attorney-Client Privilege, David Rapallo

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In 2020, the Supreme Court rendered a landmark decision in Trump v. Mazars establishing four factors for determining the validity of congressional subpoenas for a sitting president’s personal papers. In an unanticipated move, Chief Justice John Roberts added that recipients of congressional subpoenas have “long been understood” to retain not only constitutional privileges, but common law privileges developed by judges, including the attorney-client privilege. This was particularly surprising since Trump was not relying on the attorney-client privilege and the Court had never treated this common law privilege as overriding Congress’s Article I power to set its own procedures for conducting …

Soft Law, Risk Cultures, And Law Abidingness: The Caremark Connection, Donald C. Langevoort

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

As Vice Chancellor, Chancellor, Chief Justice, and recidivist law review author, Leo Strine has had much to say about the often-frustrating effort at corporate behavior modification. One point he makes very insistently is that pursuant to their state-granted charters, corporations are authorized to take part only in lawful business, not any profitable business. Respect for life-giving law is thus a necessary corollary of good corporate citizenship. But good citizenship is so hard to instill, which irks him. An angry display of this is Strine’s Delaware Supreme Court dissenting opinion in City of Birmingham Retirement System v. Good, involving Duke …

Western Region Health & Wellness Programming Efforts: Qualitative Results From A Three-Part Listening Session, Cris L. Meier, Lily Ward, Anders Van Sandt, Sue Schneider, Riana Gayle

All Current Publications

The purpose of this project was to understand the programming efforts and experiences of Extension professionals in the Western Region of the United States. The Health and Wellness Working Group team held a series of listening sessions with a closed cohort of Extension professionals, hoping to learn from each other while also building the foundation for future collaborations and conversations about health and wellness programing in the western region.

The objectives were to understand: (1) the state of health and wellness work in the western region, including the gaps and challenges, (2) the programs that currently exist and ways that …

Tooth Agenesis, Thomas Labarias

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

In this literature review, I will discuss tooth agenesis, which is a congenital absence of one tooth or more, and the terminology associated. I will then discuss and compare the studies regarding the etiology and the prevalences of tooth agenesis throughout the world population. The second half of the paper will cover tooth agenesis from a clinical standpoint. I will describe the capital different complications and phenotypes that tooth agenesis creates. In the last section, I will explain how tooth agenesis is medically treated, and the multidisciplinary management needed to improve the patient’s quality of life.

Sickle Cell Anemia & Associated Neurological Complications: A Literature Review, Rodjmar Joseph

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Sickle cell anemia, an inherited disorder, causes red blood cells to contort into a disk or sickled shape becoming hard and sticky and obstructing blood flow. As the most common hemoglobinopathy, over 100,000 Americans in the US are affected by sickle cell disease. Sickle cell anemia is an inheritance of the abnormal sickle cell gene genetically transferred from both parents. Sickle cell anemia can be easily diagnosed in DNA through a blood test or genetic screening. With a 1 in 4 chance of inheriting copies of the sickle cell gene from both parents if both biological parents are carriers, the …

Gender Disparities In Covid Deaths, Lisamarie Bennett

Student Publications and Presentations

The public health response to the breakout of COVID-19 requires fundamental changes in individual behavior, such as isolation at home or social distancing. However, the difference in COVID mortality rates between men and women could indicate gender differences in COVID-19 attitudes and behavior. In this study, we used a sample of 512 participants to examine whether there were relationships between gender and degree of adherence to social distancing and quarantining protocols. An independent samples t-Test was conducted to evaluate the hypothesis that men spend fewer days social distancing than women. The test was not significant. Another independent samples t-Test was …

Health Risk Perceptions Regarding Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (Ends) Among Individuals With Respiratory Illnes, Sarah Ann Sebban

Theses and Dissertations

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), also known as electronic cigarettes, are portable battery-powered devices used to smoke or “vape” a flavored solution which usually contains nicotine. Many national organizations (CDC, AMA, AAFP, ALA, AHA) have recognized the alarmingly increased rates of ENDS use in the United States, especially among certain populations. Those most likely to engage in ENDS use are youth and young adults, and adults who already smoke combustible cigarettes. Many people perceive ENDS use as a healthier alternative to smoking regular cigarettes and thus, are more willing to initiate ENDS use. However, research has indicated that ENDS use …

Lawyering Paradoxes: Making Meaning Of The Contradictions, Susan P. Sturm

Faculty Scholarship

Effective lawyering requires the ability to manage contradictory yet interdependent practices. In their role as traditionally understood, lawyers must fight, judge, debate, minimize risk, and advance clients’ interests. Yet increasingly, lawyers must ALSO collaborate, build trust, innovate, enable effective risk-taking, and hold clients accountable for adhering to societal values. Law students and lawyers alike struggle, often unproductively, to reconcile these tensions. Law schools often address them as a dilemma requiring a choice or overlook the contradictions that interfere with their integration.

This Article argues instead that these seemingly contradictory practices can be brought together through the theory and action of …

Characteristics Of Culturally Inclusive Art Education Pedagogy: A Historical Document Analysis Study, Fatemah A. Khawaji

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this mixed methods historical document analysis is to identify the characteristics of culturally inclusive art education pedagogy. Using the theoretical lenses of intersectionality, critical theory, and socially inclusive pedagogy, this study seeks to determine the reasons for the misapplication of diversity and inclusion in art education. Qualitative and quantitative methods are applied to the historical document analysis of National Art Education Association articles in two major journals: Art Education and Studies in Art Education. The findings indicate that for the last 20 years, 20% of the articles published in Studies in Art Education and 30% of …

Mending Art Classrooms: An Exploration Of The Benefits Of Collaborative Artmaking For Underinvested Black Youth In Richmond, Virginia, Jazmine M. Beatty

Theses and Dissertations

This arts-informed research study explored the experiences of local community artists and educators working to radically transform and heal the experiences of underinvested Black students in Richmond through collaborative arts engagement. Through a series of seven one-on-one interviews with Black teaching artists in the Richmond community, I was able to uncover how collaboration has and can continue to improve the well-being and livelihoods of Black students in Richmond. Also, by tapping into the local Mending Walls mural project, I was able to make a tangible connection between the Richmond community, art, and collaboration. An analysis of the interviews led to …

Permitting Seaweed Cultivation For Carbon Sequestration In California: Barriers And Recommendations, Korey Silverman-Roati, Romany M. Webb, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

Interest is growing in seaweed cultivation and sequestration as a carbon dioxide removal strategy. This white paper explores the barriers to seaweed permitting for carbon sequestration in California, including a complex, costly, and time-consuming lease and permitting process. Other states in the U.S., namely Maine and Alaska, have permitting systems designed to be more supportive of seaweed cultivation. This paper describes the legal framework for seaweed cultivation permitting in California and discusses the permitting systems in Maine and Alaska. The paper then explores possible reforms to streamline California’s permitting process, while maintaining appropriate environmental and other safeguards.

Integrated Microtia And Aural Atresia Management, Mai Thy Truong, Yi-Chun Carol Liu, Jocelyn Kohn, Sivakumar Chinnadurai, David A Zopf, Melissa Tribble, Paul B Tanner, Kathleen Sie, Kay W Chang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: To present recommendations for the coordinated evaluation and management of the hearing and reconstructive needs of patients with microtia and aural atresia.

METHODS: A national working group of 9 experts on microtia and atresia evaluated a working document on the evaluation and treatment of patients. Treatment options for auricular reconstruction and hearing habilitation were reviewed and integrated into a coordinated care timeline.

RESULTS: Recommendations were created for children with microtia and atresia, including diagnostic considerations, surgical and non-surgical options for hearing management and auricular reconstruction, and the treatment timeline for each option. These recommendations are based on the collective …

Online List Coloring For Signed Graphs, Melissa Tupper, Jacob A. White

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

We generalize the notion of online list coloring to signed graphs. We define the online list chromatic number of a signed graph, and prove a generalization of Brooks’ Theorem. We also give necessary and sufficient conditions for a signed graph to be degree paintable, or degree choosable. Finally, we classify the 2-list-colorable and 2-list-paintable signed graphs.

She: Performing Biography As A Dramatic Narrative, Ashley J. Love

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

SHE: PERFORMING BIOGRAPHY AS DRAMATIC NARRATIVE

By Ashley Love, Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University

Partial Fulfillment Statement:

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Pedagogy at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Director: Dr. Aaron Anderson

Interim Director of Graduate Studies, Theatre Department

Amid the current wave of feminism, women continue to strive for equal ground within societal constructs. Progress is being made in the workplace, the arts, and media presence, but why does it seem that women’s stories of the past continue to be overlooked as if insignificant? This …

Are Pharmacists Up To Speed?: Pharmacy Driven Initiatives, Allison Vargas

All Publications

No abstract provided.

Genealogy Behind Bars: An Update, Kathrine C. Aydelott

Faculty Publications

This brief essay is an update to “Genealogy Behind Bars: Professional Development Through Prisoner Requests: A Case Study,” in Genealogy and the Librarian: Perspectives on Research, Instruction, Outreach and Management, Carol Smallwood and Vera Gubnitskaia, eds. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2018, which see for context.

Pieces Of The Whole: Using The Research Process To Integrate Data Management And Information Literacy Skills, Patricia Condon, Megan Bresnahan, Eugenia Opuda

Faculty Publications

The research process is naturally embraced as part of the academic curriculum in higher education. Graduate students write theses and dissertations based on their original scholarships, undergraduate stu­dents produce papers for courses and work in labs or in the field, and both participate in faculty-led research projects. The research process is tack­led holistically through coursework, yet when library instructors are invited to teach students about information literacy and research data management topics, these may be presented as tangential to or mistimed with other course content and learning activities. In this chapter, the authors present a com­prehensive, student-centered model for teaching …

An Analysis Of Air Traffic Controllers’ Job Satisfaction, Sohel M. Imroz, Farhan Sadique, Nidhi Trambadia

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

The air traffic controllers' job is one of the most hectic in today’s world, predominantly due to its safety-critical operations and altering expectations. The primary purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic directory of determinants and synthesized reinforcements for air traffic controllers' job satisfaction. Researchers in the past have put the spotlight on individual air traffic controller’s technical job satisfaction factors, such as impacts from remote tower operation, airplane trajectory changes, and dynamic air traffic situations. However, none described the connection among those factors and how adjusting those factors can enhance the cognitive components related to their job …

A Panel Study Of Outsourced Maintenance Impact On Major U.S. Passenger Airlines' Profitability (1995-2019), Linfeng Jin, John Mott, Chuyang Yang, Chien-Tsung Lu

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

This study investigates eight viable United States major passenger airlines' outsourced maintenance impact on profitability between 1995 and 2019 by using panel data analysis. The results demonstrate that the percentage of airline outsourced maintenance and inhouse maintenance labor pay have no statistically significant impact on profitability. The researchers call for the further research with a larger sample, and more time periods to explore airlines' outsourced maintenance impact on profitability.

Hostos Community College Academic Bulletin 2022-2023, Hostos Community College

College Bulletins

This is the official college catalog for 2022-2023. It contains course descriptions as well as information on degree programs, college resources and services, financial aid, admissions, and the academic calendar.

Alex Birnel, Carly Bagley

Latinx Civil Rights

Alex Birnel shares his experience organizing young voters and helping create the organization MOVE Texas. Birnel also discusses providing voter education to other young voters in the San Antonio area during his time as a college student as well as inviting the local community to participate in civic engagement outside the university campus.

Charles Cotrell, Analyssa Gracía, Gabriella Parra

Latinx Civil Rights

Dr. Cotrell discusses the motivations for his activist work and the experiences he faced as a professor and community leader. He recalls cases from his time serving as an expert witness in voting rights lawsuits and notes the importance of telling stories of voter intimidation. Dr. Cotrell shares his thoughts on staying proactive in politics, gives advice to young activists, and describes how university faculty can support students in their activism. He also reflects on his personal interests and those that occupied most of his time as a professor.