Covenant Christian Academy - Civil Design, Justin M. Blest, Christian A. Cornelius, Corey B. Englehart

2020 Collaboratory/Engineering Symposium

The Covenant Christian Academy Civil Design team has partnered with Covenant Christian Academy (CCA) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to improve the utilization and safety of the facilities at the rear of the main building. The team worked with David Sonju, Headmaster at CCA and client representative for the school, to achieve two major goals for this project. The first goal was to redesign the rear parking lot to create a grass recreation area while integrating the remaining paved area into an improved student drop-off/turn-around. The design considered stormwater run-off and drainage, including conversion of impervious area to pervious area. The second …

Hybrid Thermal Lance, Josiah Stitt, Lucas Honebrink, Frank G. Honey, Emily L. Keane, Josh Card

2020 Collaboratory/Engineering Symposium

The Hybrid Thermal Lance (HTL) is a device used to burn through landmines to destroy them safely. Designed for the team’s client, The HALO Trust, the HTL has proven to work well in destroying explosives, which has been demonstrated by field trials conducted in a number of countries including but not limited to Afghanistan and the Republic of Georgia. The HTL works by igniting acrylic burn tubes, which act as a fuel source and also focus the flame on a specific location on an explosive device. The system is controlled via a user-friendly, rugged control box that can run the …

Prosthetic Knee, Bryson L. Boettger, Matthew J. Tavani, Isaiah D. Bryner, Samuel R. Burgess, Sarah N. Kelchner, Clint M. Meekins, Josiah D. Moyer, Kay Laura Sindabizera

2020 Collaboratory/Engineering Symposium

Amputations, specifically lower limb amputations, are common in Sub Saharan Africa and across the broader global community largely due to infection and disease. Our project, The Prosthetic Knee Team, partners with the orthopedic workshop at the CURE International Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya to create a prosthetic knee design for a specific type of amputation known as a Knee Disarticulation (also called through-knee). Currently, the orthopedic workshop is only able to provide one very expensive prosthetic knee option for these patients, and they often elect to undergo a second surgery, a trans-femoral amputation, because the cost of the second surgery and …

Mechanical Testing Of 3d Printed Prosthetics, Shane D. Curry, Thomas C. Pond, Emma K. Vogan, Gabrielle E. Griffith, Jared R. Rider, Samuel Sparks, Brandon J. Weindorf

2020 Collaboratory/Engineering Symposium

The Rapid Orthotics for CURE Kenya team as a whole aims to empower the orthopedic technicians in the CURE Kenya hospital by creating, optimizing, and testing 3D printed prosthetics and orthotics. Our team started in 2016 by creating a 3D printing process for below the knee prosthetic sockets. Since then, we had adapted to the hospital's needs over the years, expanding the capabilities of the system itself. Presently, a section of our team has worked specifically with these leg sockets to ensure the safety and functionality for patients. They have done testing to make sure the sockets are strong enough …

Panama Bridge Project, Nathan A. Myers, Erin M. Brenneman, Samuel T. Gobeille, Jordan Barner, Mikayla R. Eyster, Crosby Harro, Zachary C. Hartman, Drew Moyer, Daniel Thomas

2020 Collaboratory/Engineering Symposium

The Panama Bridge project has partnered with Rio Missions Panama to design a bridge for the village of La Gigi, Panama. The mountain community of La Gigi experiences heavy rainfall during the rainy seasons. A stream runs along the community, separating locals from their fields and other communities further up the mountain. While passable during dry seasons, the stream floods and becomes impassable after heavy rains. The residents are effectively cut off from their livelihoods, church, health services, and other communities during this time.

To accommodate this need, the Panama Bridge Team has spent the 2019-2020 school year designing an …

Forearm Design For A Myoelectric Prosthetic Hand, Ryan C. Yoder, Nicholas F. Ports, Tj Quintillian, Brittney D. Fouse, Keller Martin, Jaymie R. Monday, Meghan L. Sampson, Samuel F. Whittle

2020 Collaboratory/Engineering Symposium

Due to the rapid growth of children and the complexity of myoelectric technology, children are often not given the same opportunities to use myoelectric prosthetics as adults. The Muscle Activated Prosthesis (MAP) team is working to create an affordable, transradial myoelectric prosthesis for a twelve-year-old girl. The basic mechanism by which this device operates is as follows: a muscle contraction emits an electrical signal that will be detected and processed through a microcontroller. Then the onboard software determines whether the hand opens or closes based on the level of muscle intensity. If the software determines to close or open the …

Better Pumps: Promoting Reliable Water Infrastructure For Everyone, Emma L. Workman, Caleb E. Danehower, Darren Kulp, Jacob Valentine, Joshua L. Maxson

2020 Collaboratory/Engineering Symposium

Approximately 90 million people in Africa lack access to safe drinking water, despite having water infrastructure installed in their community. The Better Pumps team of the Collaboratory provides engineering support for partners working to sustain reliable water infrastructure for everyone. We have partnered with AlignedWorks to test an improved bearing design for the India MK II handpump. We have also partnered with Matt Schweibert and the Rural Water Supply Network to test improved seal designs for the India MK II and the Afridev handpumps. Test designs and preliminary results are reported.

Raj Soin College Of Business Monthly Update - January 2020, Raj Soin College Of Business

RSCob Monthly Update

The RSCoB Monthly Update highlights the activities in the college, such as, publications, new faculty and staff, recognitions, and student accomplishments.

Gathering And Lending Support: Relationships, Linda Miles, Susanne Markgren

Publications and Research

What roles can professional relationships play across a career? How do overlapping and networked relationships help an individual develop professionally, succeed, get ahead, and provide satisfaction and meaning? And what can a librarian do to foster these connections in their own practice? In this chapter, we consider the why, what, who, and how of networking and relationships.

2020-2 Prices, Profits, Proxies, And Production, Victor H. Aguiar, Roy Allen, Nail Kashaev

Centre for Human Capital and Productivity. CHCP Working Papers

Abstract This paper studies nonparametric identification and counterfactual bounds for heterogeneous firms that can be ranked in terms of productivity. Our approach works when quantities and prices are latent rendering standard approaches inapplicable. Instead, we require observation of profits or other optimizing-values such as costs or revenues, and either prices or price proxies of flexibly chosen variables. We extend classical duality results for price-taking firms to a setup with discrete heterogeneity, endogeneity, and limited variation in possibly latent prices. Finally, we show that convergence results for nonparametric estimators may be directly converted to convergence results for production sets.

2020-5 Returns To Skill And The Evolution Of Skills For Older Men, Qian Liu, Lance Lochner, Youngmin Park, Youngki Shin

Centre for Human Capital and Productivity. CHCP Working Papers

No abstract provided.

2020-4 Child Skill Production: Accounting For Parental And Market-Based Time And Goods Investments, Elizabeth Caucutt, Lance Lochner, Joseph Mullins, Youngmin Park

Centre for Human Capital and Productivity. CHCP Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Researcher Profile: Kenneth White

Journal of Financial Therapy

Research Profile Kenneth White

Community College Librarians And The Acrl Framework: Findings From A National Study, Susan T. Wengler, Christine Wolff-Eisenberg

Publications and Research

This study explored community college librarians’ engagement with the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. A national online survey with 1,201 community college librarian respondents reveals limited familiarity with and integration of the Framework into community college instruction to date. Findings indicate an openness to future adoption, as well as substantial interest in targeted professional development and a version of the Framework adapted for community college campuses. These results contribute benchmark instructional data on an understudied section of academic librarianship and add to the growing body of research on how librarians have updated teaching practices in response to …

Mechanisms Of Value-Biased Prioritization In Fast Sensorimotor Decision Making, Kivilcim Afacan-Seref

Dissertations and Theses

In dynamic environments, split-second sensorimotor decisions must be prioritized according to potential payoffs to maximize overall rewards. The impact of relative value on deliberative perceptual judgments has been examined extensively, but relatively little is known about value-biasing mechanisms in the common situation where physical evidence is strong but the time to act is severely limited. This research examines the behavioral and electrophysiological indices of how value biases split-second perceptual decisions and the possible mechanisms underlying the process. In prominent decision models, a noisy but statistically stationary representation of sensory evidence is integrated over time to an action-triggering bound, and value-biases …

Integrative And Contextual Learning In College Algebra: An Interdisciplinary Collaboration With Economics, Choon Shan Lai, Glenn Henshaw, Tao Chen, Soloman Kone

Publications and Research

Many students consider mathematics too abstract and useless for their academic and career goals. Meanwhile, instructors in quantitative disciplines such as economics find many students mathematically underprepared for their courses. The disconnect between students’ perceptions of the utility of mathematics and their life and career may have contributed to some of the under-performance in learning mathematics. Addressing this problem requires collaboration across disciplines to develop an understanding of each other’s needs, more specifically to develop an integrative platform that allows students to apply mathematical skills in interdisciplinary contexts (Ganter & Barker, 2004). We collaboratively designed and implemented an integrative platform …

Book Review: Routledge Handbook Of Ngos And International Relations, Edited By Thomas Davies, Maria Savva

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Lessons From New York City’S Struggle Against Amazon Hq2 In Long Island City, Steve Lang, Filip Stabrowski

Publications and Research

For three months between November 2018 and February 2019, the entire world, it seemed, was watching Long Island City, Queens. On November 12, 2018, nearly two years after Amazon announced that the company would be holding a contest for its second corporate headquarters (Amazon HQ2), New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo jointly announced that Amazon had selected Long Island City as one of its two HQ2 locations. The project, outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Amazon and New York City and State, would provide up to $3 billion in public …

The Hispanic Urban Child, Iris Ofelia Lopez Dr.

Open Educational Resources

This course examines the social, historical and cultural roots and life experiences of Latinx community in urban America. It focuses on Latinx families and youth in global cities. The course situates the Latinx diaspora in the United States within a colonial/transnational and global context.

Behavioral And Psychological Strategies Of Long‐Term Weight Loss Maintainers In A Widely Available Weight Management Program, Suzanne Phelan, Tate Halfman, Angela M. Pinto, Gary D. Foster

Publications and Research

Objective

The study’s purpose was to use validated questionnaires to identify novel behavioral and psychological strategies among weight loss maintainers (WLMs) in a commercial weight management program.

Methods

Participants were 4,786 WLMs in WW (formerly Weight Watchers, New York, New York) who had maintained weight loss  ≥ 9.1 kg (24.7 kg/23.8% weight loss on average) for 3.3 years and had a current mean BMI of 27.6 kg/m2. A control group of 528 weight‐stable individuals with obesity had a mean BMI of 38.9 kg/m2 and weight change  < 2.3 kg over the previous 5 years.

Results

WLMs versus Controls practiced more frequent healthy dietary choices (3.3 vs. 1.9;  = …

Bio-Economic Outcomes Under Alternative Management Strategies With Human Choice And Behavior: Modeling Tautog And Anglers' Preferences, Eric T. Schultz, Zhenshan Chen, Pengfei Liu, Stephen Swallow, Jacob M. Kasper

EEB Articles

Key findings

• There was relatively strong support for slot limits, and roughly comparable support for status quo management, among anglers fishing for Tautog in Long Island Sound.
• Respondents were not in favor of a total moratorium on fishing for Tautog.
• Providing survey respondents information on how different management scenarios will affect fishing in the future had little detectable impact on fishing preferences.
• Respondents expected to fish less in the future if a wide slot limit is imposed or if status quo management is maintained, but expected no change in effort if a narrow slot limit is imposed.
• Changes in regulations …

Room To Grow: Agritourism Opportunities In Vermont Agriculture And Food System Plan: 2020 (Part One), Carolyn Hricko, Katie Robertson, Nick Rose, Meredith T. Niles

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

This analysis demonstrates that there is signficant unrealized potential to advance agritourism within the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Plan: 2020 (Part One)1 strategic plan and that applying an agritourism lens allows for the identification of a wide range of additional opportunities that can support Vermont farmers and agritourism goals. While agritourism is recognized in the report with a dedicated issue brief, this subsector of Vermont agriculture is otherwise largely overlooked in the other opportunities identified in Vermont’s strategic plan, particularly for the agritourism activities of hospitality, recreation, and entertainment. While direct-to-consumer sales, agricultural education, and farm diversification were referenced …

Vermont Agriculture And Food System Plan 2020 -- A Review Of Recommendations (Part One), Susanna Baxley, Ann Chiarenzelli, Lucy Drummond, Tung-Lin Liu, Meredith T. Niles

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

Key Findings in reviewing the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Plan:

1. All recommendations in this review have been coded into eight thematic categories to be used more effectively by stakeholders.

2. We identify four clusters of recommendations to assist stakeholders in understanding the relationships between categories and enabling understanding of the various stakeholders and resources necessary to implement recommendations from different briefs

3. 87% of recommendations either request direct funding for an initiative or recommend a capital expenditure. With financial challenges amidst COVID-19, we highlight eight recommendations for a Vermont Food System that could move forward without financial resources. …

Residential Segregation And Rethinking The Imperative Of Integration, Ronald R. Sundstrom

Philosophy

In this chapter I consider the place of the topic of racial and ethnic urban residential segregation factors into political philosophy. I begin with a short history of residential segregation and the ghetto, and their role in systems of racial domination and oppression, and remarks on the general neglect of this topic in contemporary political philosophy, including in nonideal political philosophy, which proports to take on examples of real-world injustices and inequalities. I then examine, from the standpoint of liberal-egalitarian political theory, what segregation, as a con- cept, entails, and its harms to individuals, communities, and societies. Segregation in all …

Strategy Of Japan In Afghanistan: Priority Interests And Key Results, A. Umarov

International Relations: Politics, Economics, Law

The article analyzes the Japan’s strategy of involvement in the conflict stabilization in Afghanistan. The priority interests of Tokyo in this country, the main directions of Japanese assistance to the development of Afghanistan, as well as the results of the implementation of numerous projects, are studied. At the same time, a number of promising areas for Uzbek-Japanese cooperation on a peaceful settlement of the situation in Afghanistan have been noted.

Uzbekistan Re-Emerges As The Strategic “Heartland Of The Heartland”, G. R. Copley

International Relations: Politics, Economics, Law

The article analyzes the influence of fundamental political and socio-economic changes in Uzbekistan on the formation of a new strategic situation in an important region of Eurasia. The emergence of a new, dynamically developing Uzbekistan, having a central position in Central Asia, can revive not only the region itself, but also the neighboring regions through which the Great Silk Road passed. Today, Uzbekistan has all the resources and opportunities to implement an ambitious reform program, as well as revitalize intra-regional cooperation in Central Asia. According to the author, Central Asia is still, and once again, the pivot of the “world …

On The International Conference “Uzbekistan In The Context Of Regional Security And Global Change”, Sh. M. Abdullaev

International Relations: Politics, Economics, Law

The review is dedicated to the results of the international conference on the theme “Uzbekistan in the context of regional security and global changes”, which was held on November 7-8, 2019 in Tashkent. The organizers were the University of World Economy and Diplomacy under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan together with the international scientific project COMPASS (Great Britain). During the two-day discussions, international experts discussed a wide range of issues, including large-scale reforms in Uzbekistan, integration processes in Central Asia, issues of security and sustainable development. They noted that today A new political atmosphere is …

Trade And Economic Cooperation Of Uzbekistan With Central Asia Countries, N. Sirajiddinov

International Relations: Politics, Economics, Law

The article discusses the role and importance of regional trade and economic cooperation of Uzbekistan with the countries of Central Asia in modern conditions. The necessity of further deepening of the cooperation in order to increase the competitiveness of national producers, ensure sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty is emphasized. The geographical location and remoteness from the main centers of the world market, the similarities of customs, mentality, tastes and preferences of the population of the countries of the region, awareness of the legislation of neighboring countries in the field of foreign trade, logistics, production management reinforce significance of the …

Experience Of Japan: Improving The Quality Of Tourism Services, N. T. Fayzibaeva

International Relations: Politics, Economics, Law

The development of international tourism against the backdrop of improving small business and private entrepreneurship in Uzbekistan has led to the fact that in practice in the international tourism market of the country, hotels of different levels of comfort are now offered at different price categories. This article analyzes the experience of Japan, which is currently at a high level to improve the quality of the proposed tourist product to their consumers.

Political Dialogue, Intra-Afghan Stability And Regional Security Of Central Asia, I. Bobukulov

International Relations: Politics, Economics, Law

The current article is dedicated to the analysis of political dialogue between Washington and the Taliban, also, problems and perspectives of establishment of direct intra-afghan talks in the context of ensuring the regional security in Central Asia.