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Intelligent Formation Control Using Orfbls And Adaptive Backstepping Sliding-Mode Control To Address Uncertain Tilting In Multi-Quadrotors During Wind Gusts, Ching-Chih Tsai, Chun-Fu Mao, Kumail Hussain

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In terms of aerial robotics, stable and precise formation control is a significant challenge for tilting multi-quadrotors during disturbances. This paper proposes a fixed-time formation control strategy for tilting multi-quadrotors to address the effect of external wind gusts. The observer accurately predicts environmental disturbances and an adaptive backstepping sliding-mode control (ABSMC) method with an output recurrent fuzzy broad learning system (ORFBLS) addresses these disturbances within a finite time. ORFBLS dynamically adjusts its structure through a growing ORFBLS structure to allow nodes to be added as needed. The method's stability is validated using Lyapunov stability theory and ensures the convergence of …

Visually Guided Landing System On Ship Deck For Multicopter, Dong-Lin Li, Shih-Kai Lee, Tzu-Hsiang Chou

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Traditionally, high-value fish have been located at sea using helicopters. However, with advancements in technology, maritime drones have become increasingly important in recent years. Compared to traditional helicopter-based methods, drones offer significantly lower operational costs, making them cost-effective. However, the challenging sea conditions, including strong winds and the swaying motion of vessels, pose significant challenges for drone landings.

This paper proposes a stable approach for multicopter landing on ships at sea, incorporating improved marker detection, enhanced wind resistance control, and more accurate deck motion prediction. In the marker detection phase, we introduce a method to improve the accuracy of ArUco …

Emotional Complexity In Context: Within-Person Variability In Emotional Granularity, Emotion Covariation, And Emodiversity, Kristen Diann Petagna

Doctoral Dissertations

Key features of emotional complexity include emotional granularity, the ability to identify feelings with precision; emodiversity, the number and evenness of different emotions experienced; and emotion covariation, the tendency to experience positive and negative emotions independently. Prior work has largely treated these features as trait-like. This dissertation examines whether these features are dynamic by investigating how they vary within individuals over time and across contexts. In Chapter 2, participants (N =123) reported their emotions multiple times a day for 6 weeks and completed biweekly assessments of mental health symptoms. Emotional granularity and covariation increased over time, whereas emodiversity decreased, and …

Comparative Law: Cases, Text, And Materials, Francesca Bignami

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This new casebook offers a contemporary approach to the teaching of comparative law.  By integrating an up-to-date set of cases, code texts, and scholarly materials drawn from the civil law and common law traditions, as well as from Islamic law and customary law, it captures today’s dynamic legal landscape.  Beyond the western jurisdictions that typically feature in the general comparative law course, the book gives sustained attention to Brazil, Pakistan, South Africa, and Ethiopia. Subject areas covered are private law, procedural law, labor law, administrative law, digital law, and constitutional law.  Looking to professional life after graduation, this book equips …

A Variance Decomposition Approach To Inconclusives In Forensic Black Box Studies, Amanda Luby, Joseph B. Kadane

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Work

In the USA, ‘black box’ studies are increasingly being used to estimate the error rate of forensic disciplines. A sample of forensic examiner participants is asked to evaluate a set of items whose source is known to the researchers but not to the participants. Participants are asked to make a source determination (typically an identification, exclusion, or some kind of inconclusive). We study inconclusives in two black box studies, one on fingerprints and one on bullets. Rather than treating all inconclusive responses as functionally correct (as is the practice in reported error rates in the two studies we address), irrelevant …

Eng 4801 : Integrating The English Language Arts In Middle And High Schools, English

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Different Destinations: Clarifying And Addressing Pipeline Problems For Women In Academic Archaeology, Scott R. Hutson, Jaycee Castro, Bruno Athie Teruel

Anthropology Faculty Publications

In STEM fields, women tend to leak out of the pipeline to the professoriate. In archaeology, however, robust databases and chronological control reveal that there is no leakage from earning a PhD to tenure-track positions. Nor is there a leak from assistant professor to associate professor. Nevertheless, men get hired as faculty in PhD programs more often than women. This is important because PhD programs are research-intensive and train future leaders. Furthermore, women PhD students have women as advisers more than often men and report advantages to this arrangement. Yet with fewer women faculty in PhD programs, women mentors are …

The Morphological Affinities Of The Fossil Cranium From Kabua, Kenya, Abel Marinus Bosman, Laura Tabitha Buck, Hugo Reyes-Centeno, Marta Mirazón Lahr, Chris Stringer, Rainer Grün, Qingfeng Shao, Katerina Harvati

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Our current understanding of the origins of Homo sapiens is limited, in part, by the fragmented fossil record from Late Pleistocene and early Holocene Africa. Here, we re-examine the Kabua 1 cranium, an enigmatic and little-studied Kenyan fossil discovered in the 1950s. We compare virtual reconstructions created previously by our team with a wide range of Middle Pleistocene to Early Holocene fossils and recent African H. sapiens crania to assess Kabua 1's morphological affinities. We also provide a conservative new Uranium-series minimum date of 64.4 ± 5.4 ka. Our results highlight Kabua 1's broad similarity to derived H. sapiens, both …

Chirp Imaging In Extant Lakes And Reservoirs, Kevin L. Woller, Edward W. Woolery, Eva C. Lyon, Michael M. Mcglue

Earth and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications

Compressed high-intensity radiated pulse (CHIRP) acoustic reflection data acquired in lakes and other shallow water bodies can provide detailed imaging that is valuable for environmental and engineering geology applications well below the sub-bottom floors. However, it is often unclear to non-specialists which acquisition settings should be considered to achieve optimal imaging quality when beginning a new survey, particularly in an unfamiliar environment. We review fundamental concepts for optimizing signal design using coincident CHIRP lines from two extant glacial lakes in the eastern Sierra Nevada of California: Convict Lake and June Lake. As part of the optimization process, seismic data were …

A World Of Connection: Asd, Morgan M. Gayton

Entry Level Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone Projects Class of 2026

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a diagnosis that affects many school-aged children (CDC, 2025). Autistic children can have more difficulties engaging with both their peers and their families, which can lead to a lack of social participation. A World of Connection: ASD was a doctoral capstone project centering on social participation for autistic youth. The project blended the capstone student’s expanded knowledge in performing arts with their education in Occupational Therapy to create a 4-part capstone experience. A scoping review targeting the question “what are the most effective performing arts methods to enhance the social participation of autistic children” yielded 9 …

"Queens Of Ghost-Land" 134 Years Later: Un-Masking An Appalachian Witchcraft Accuser, Aine Norris

English Faculty Publications

In 1891, newspapers across America printed a story about witches in the Appalachian Mountains and the alleged powers they possessed to control their small farming community. The article was scathing in accusation and ultimately contributed to continued othering of the women profiled, increasing their visible vulnerabilities of class, gender, and societal status. Despite an implied familiarity with the region, the article was published with initials for its byline, an act that simultaneously identified the author to locals as historian Eva Grant while offering her anonymized national protection as a subject expert. For over five years the accusations were re‐printed in …

Moving Forward With Purpose: Aadej Adopts New Mission, Vision, And Values Statements, Jasmine Shafagh Dmd

AADEJ - The Communicator

Regular feature from the president of AADEJ, Dr. Jasmine R. Shafagh with the latest updates from AADEJ.

Little Minds, Big Emotions, Marissa Fattorusso

Entry Level Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone Projects Class of 2026

Little Minds, Big Emotions is a doctoral capstone project designed to support the development of emotional regulation skills in preschool-aged children through the areas of program development, education, and clinical skills development. Emotional regulation is an essential component of children' s participation, social interactions, and overall well-being, yet many young children experience difficulties identifying emotions and using effective calming strategies. The purpose of this capstone project was to develop and implement a developmentally appropriate, play-based emotional regulation curriculum for preschool children while also providing educational resources for caregivers. This program was implemented three days a week for 14 weeks at …

Trial By Character, Hillel J. Bavli

Emory Law Journal

In this Article, I argue that courts regularly deviate from Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b), which prohibits character evidence—evidence of a defendant’s past misdeeds offered to prove that the defendant acted in conformity with a certain character trait on the occasion in question. These deviations undermine the fairness of a trial and the presumption of innocence. The Article addresses this problem in three ways. First, it explains how courts have misinterpreted Rule 404(b)—an error that I call the permitted-purpose fallacy—and how they have fortified this misinterpretation with a body of flawed principles and precedent. Second, it reports the results …

Ambiguity's Final Auer: Insisting On Consistency After Loper Bright Enterprises, Shannon S. Pickrell

Emory Law Journal

Can one lose something they still have? Apart from this potential brainteaser, a common sense understanding of loss requires an item to actually be removed from its owner. Nevertheless, under the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines, an interpretive rule automatically punishes convicted defendants for money they never took by including “intended loss” in the definition of loss. This interpretive rule multiplies the number of years a defendant spends in prison due to the doctrine of Auer deference, even though such a rule is not supposed to have the weight of law. Auer deference requires courts to defer to agency interpretations …

Silver Lining In A Soap Opera: A Boon For Hospital Debtors In The Midst Of In Re Steward's Madness, Mackie S. Garwood

Emory Law Journal

Lost in the technical jargon of the Medicare Statute and Bankruptcy Code are the powers to shape the posterity of hospitals that serve the American public. Distressed health care providers are increasingly turning to Chapter 11 relief, and ultimately the deal market, to salvage their businesses and fully monetize their assets. In the frequent event of an unsuccessful reorganization, hospital failures tank the health and well-being of their surrounding communities.

Hospital buyers regularly acquire a debtor’s Medicare Provider Agreement (Provider Agreement), a one-page form which credentials providers to participate in Medicare. In re Steward Health Care System, LLC, the …

Remedying Labor Violations Of The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement On Both Sides Of The Border, Lourdes A. Perez

Emory Law Journal

The labor provisions of the United States’ Free Trade Agreements contain language that allows labor violations to seep through unpenalized. Parties to the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) sought to rectify this by drafting the most comprehensive labor provisions of any free trade agreement to date by crafting the Facility-Specific Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM). This Mechanism provides that a particular facility found to be in violation of the USMCA labor provisions must enforce a remediation plan that preserves workers’ rights or face the threat of losing its preferential trade status. The most salient way facilities breach the USMCA’s labor provisions is …

Coerced Corporate Consent, Jason J. Jarvis

Emory Law Journal

Corporations are not human beings, but they have rights, including the constitutional right of due process. The United States Supreme Court recently held in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. that due process is satisfied when a state requires that a corporation consent to personal jurisdiction before it can conduct business in that state. The Court did not analyze, however, whether such business registration statutes can be coercive and, if so, when. These unanswered questions expose corporations to previously unexplored risks.

Involuntary consent is an oxymoron. Consent must be knowing and voluntary, and consent extracted by threat is coerced and …

Is The Gig Really Up?: Exploring Statutory Protections For Moonlighting Workers, Chiazom E. Ugo-Obi

Emory Law Journal

Moonlighting, side hustles, and part-time jobs often refer to secondary employment pursued by employees. While the terminology may vary, the underlying reality remains the same: Legal protections against an employer’s ability to restrict such activities are limited. Nothing stops employers from implementing policies or employment contracts prohibiting participation in additional employment. For many workers, holding an additional job is not a choice born of passion or professional fulfillment but a financial necessity driven by rising costs, stagnant wages, and economic instability. These workers, often already vulnerable within the labor market, face significant challenges when employers impose restrictive policies that limit …

Renormalizing The Nondelegation Doctrine, Ronald J. Krotoszynski, Jr., Hon. A. Richard M. Blaiklock

Emory Law Journal

In West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court held that with respect to regulations that involve “major questions”—meaning questions of “great political or economic significance”—the agency seeking to regulate a major question must successfully identify “clear congressional authorization” for its actions. The major questions doctrine (MQD) essentially creates a new nondelegation doctrine rule. The nondelegation doctrine requires that Congress provide an “intelligible principle” when it delegates policymaking authority to a federal administrative agency; the MQD, in turn, enforces the nondelegation doctrine by requiring Congress plainly and directly to authorize an agency to regulate major questions. It is difficult to …

Genes For Sale!, Anya E.R. Prince

Emory Law Journal

In March 2025, 23andMe, the flagship direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing company, filed for bankruptcy. Just like that, the genetic information of fifteen million customers was up for sale to the highest bidder, creating a firestorm of reactions from the public, media, state attorneys general, and legislators warning of the dire outcomes that could arise from the sale of such sensitive data. The warnings seemed reasonable, as federal law does little to protect consumers from the widespread sale and misuse of their genetic data.

Yet, in retrospect, the public concerns and media frenzy could potentially be seen as excessive given the …

Unlikely Criminals: Inside The Ivf Drug Grey Market, Maybell Romero

Emory Law Journal

In this Article, I admit to committing crimes, specifically buying fertility drugs on the in vitro fertilization (IVF) drug grey market. Drawing from personal experience, I explore how people wanting to undergo IVF turn to the criminalized fertility drug grey market to access necessary but prohibitively expensive fertility medications that would otherwise be out of reach. In the absence of comprehensive insurance coverage, patients often rely on informal online communities to obtain medications at lower prices, often from other patients whose IVF cycles have been canceled or who have excess drugs. While these transactions fulfill a critical need, they also …

Making Environmental Cancer Risk Legally Visible: Legal Epidemiology, Chemical Regulation, And The Failures Of Cancer Cluster Investigations, Beverley C. Thompson

Emory Law Journal

Environmental cancer risks remain difficult to detect, investigate, and remediate despite decades of federal regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Cancer cluster investigations are designed to identify unusual patterns of cancer and their environmental causes, but fragmented authority, inconsistent methodologies, and narrow investigative frameworks routinely prevent these investigations from addressing population-level harms. By failing to detect and address cancer clusters, public health systems inadvertently perpetuate environmental injustices, disproportionately harming communities already underserved and overburdened by pollution.

These failures are not merely scientific but reflect legal and institutional design choices that determine which cancer risks are visible, investigable, and …

Elevated Temperatures Disrupt Wolbachia-Induced Feminisation And Reshape Microbial Community Dynamics Across Generations In A Spider Host, Virginija Mackevicius-Dubickaja, Jennifer A. White, Ellen E. Williams, Eyal Klement, Yuval Gottlieb, Matthew R. Doremus

Entomology Faculty Publications

Longitudinal microbial interactions within a host are challenging to study, leading to a focus on constructed microbial communities in vitro settings. Here, we take advantage of a naturally defined microbial community within a spider host to study how elevated temperatures influence microbial dynamics and phenotypes across host generations. The spider Mermessus fradeorum hosts up to five endosymbionts, including a Wolbachia strain, W1, which induces feminisation, causing genetic males to develop as phenotypic females, skewing sex ratios and promoting symbiont spread. Despite this, Wolbachia 1 persists at intermediate frequencies in wild populations. We hypothesised that elevated temperatures might reduce penetration of …

Variability In Mountain Pine Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Gene Expression In Response To Increasing Concentrations Of Species-Specific Double-Stranded Rna, Kylie J. Bickler, Zachary Bragg, Flávia Pampolini, Bethany R. Kyre, Lynne K. Rieske

Entomology Faculty Publications

Sensitivity to double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-induced gene silencing has been observed in multiple coleopterans. Initial work with mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, determined that specific ubiquitously expressed essential genes can cause mortality when silenced by carefully designed dsRNAs. However, current dsRNA production methods are not economically feasible for production at scale. Therefore, identifying the minimum efficacious dose is a critical step to deployment. To investigate the relationship between dsRNA dose and subsequent gene expression, adult mountain pine beetles were fed either a target or control dsRNA across a gradient of concentrations, including 2.5, 1.0, 0.25, and 0.025µg/µl, and relative gene …

Indoor Allergens And Endotoxins In Relation To Cockroach Infestations In Low-Income Urban Homes, Madhavi L. Kakumanu, Zachary C. Devries, Richard G. Santangelo, Jeffrey Siegel, Coby Schal

Entomology Faculty Publications

Background: Cockroach allergens are well recognized as important risk factors in the development and prevalence of allergic rhinitis and asthma in children, especially in low-income urban households. The German cockroach gut hosts a diverse community of highly abundant microbes, including gram-negative bacteria that shed large amounts of endotoxins in cockroach feces. Objective: We sought to delineate the causal relationship between the presence of cockroaches in homes and levels of household endotoxins. Methods: In laboratory assays, we measured the amount of endotoxin produced by cockroaches. In-home monitoring estimated the size of the cockroach population in each home and quantified cockroach allergen …

Dissolution Or Restructuring? Fiscal Implications For Taxpayers In Special Tax Districts: A Case Study Of The Reedy Creek Improvement District, Tasha Huber

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Although extensive research has examined the creation and function of special tax districts in the U.S., little research has been done regarding the fiscal and governance implications of dissolution of these entities. This study examines the fiscal outcomes of dissolution versus restructuring special districts, using the former Reedy Creek Improvement District as the primary case study. Using a qualitative approach, the analysis compares restructuring and dissolution cases in California, Vermont, and Tennessee. Drawing on publicly available material such as financial documents, media coverage, and legislative records, this research evaluates impacts on taxpayer burden. Findings suggest that dissolving large, active special …

A Comparative Policy Analysis Of Lung Cancer, Maternal Mortality, And Obesity, Destiny M. Rucker, Rhonda M. Lawson, Trinity Olmstead

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky has significantly poorer outcomes than peer states across key women's health indicators. This capstone focuses on lung cancer, maternal mortality, and obesity to evaluate the structural and policy factors behind these disparities. Using a quantitative comparative research design, the study analyzes secondary data from sources including CDC WONDER, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), America’s Health Rankings, and the March of Dimes. Data were analyzed in Excel to create comparative figures, benchmarking Kentucky’s outcomes against the U.S. average and four regional peer states: Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, and Virginia. These states were chosen for their demographic and geographic similarities …

A Comparative Analysis Of Governance And Financial Frameworks In Public Transit Systems: A Case Study Of Lextran And Peer Transit Agencies, Kelin E. Beattie

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Public transportation serves as a vital community "lifeline," providing essential mobility for the 45% of Americans without private vehicle access and generating a 5-to-1 economic return on investment. This research investigates a critical fiscal paradox within Lextran, the transit authority for Lexington, Kentucky: despite achieving a cost per passenger trip 22% lower than the national peer average, the agency faces a $25.95 million unfunded capital gap over the current five-year planning horizon. Utilizing a comparative case study methodology, this paper evaluates the "rules of the game"—the hybrid governance and fiscal frameworks—that influence long-term financial sustainability.

The study benchmarks Lextran against …

Balancing Accountability And Efficiency: A Policy Review Of The City Of Toledo's Purchasing Contract Threshold, Jennifer L. Baskey

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Municipal procurement policies are intended to balance fiscal accountability with the efficient acquisition of goods and services necessary to support public operations. One of the primary mechanisms used to achieve this balance is the establishment of purchasing thresholds that determine when formal contracts are required. While these controls are essential for protecting public resources, procurement policies should also evolve to reflect changing economic conditions and contemporary public-sector management practices.

The City of Toledo currently requires formal contracts and legislative approval for purchases exceeding $10,000 pursuant to Toledo Municipal Code, Chapter 13, Section 228 (City of Toledo Municipal Code, 2026). This …