Why Excel?

This article is not the usual Excel pedagogy fare in that it does not provide an application or example taught via a spreadsheet. Instead, it briefly reviews the history of spreadsheets in the economics classroom and explores the current environment, with an emphasis on modern learning theory. The conclusion is not surprising: spreadsheets improve learning outcomes across the economics curriculum and are increasingly being used. They offer the “just right” option that gives a middle way between too little and too much focus on software in an economics course

The use of drones for recreational impact monitoring of public lands

Master of ScienceDepartment of Horticulture and Natural ResourcesRyan L. SharpA significant increase in visitation to protected lands, such as wilderness areas, parks, and wildlife refuges, has been observed across the board, from the smallest of state parks to some of the largest national parks in the world. This rise in use has prompted concerns that visitation is degrading the plants, soils, water, and wildlife these areas were established to protect. The Interagency Visitor Use Management Framework (IVUMF) provides guidance to professionalize the process for the continued preservation of natural conditions and processes in protected natural areas and the sustained administration of high-quality recreational experiences. At the core of the IVUMF is the need to measure indicators and thresholds to both provide sound rationale on which to base new management decisions as well as measure the efficacy of enacted decisions over a long period of time. As public land managers seek to increase the implementation of simple and cost-effective methods to collect indicator and threshold data to address environmental and visitor experience concerns, drones may be the logical next step. This study analyzes the outcome of using a drone to formulate thresholds for two selected indicators, visitor-created trails and vegetation loss, in a newly established Kansas state park, Little Jerusalem Badlands. Up to a 42% loss in vegetation is already being observed in key areas of Little Jerusalem, as well as the formation of visitor created trails after the first three months of park opening consistent with the previously studied curvilinear rate of impact to a site. These results confirm the need for a simplified and reliable method to monitor a variety of environmental indicators in protected areas over the long-term to aid land management agencies in decision-making to reduce recreational impacts

Energize Worcester: Evaluating Student Attitudes and Behaviors towards Energy Conservation

The Energize Worcester project focuses on identifying student behaviors and perceptions of their behavior about residential heating in order to affect positive change in the realm of home energy usage. Our team analyzed heating data as well as past surveys and focus groups to identify clear areas where students could improve heating efficiency. With the help of the Worcester Bosch Group and the University of Worcester, our team developed recommendations for a campaign to change student behaviors in Worcester, England

Rethinking the Digital Media Library for RIT\u27s The Wallace Center

In 2012, the Digital Preservation Team at Rochester Institute of Technology\u27s The Wallace Center undertook an assessment of its Institutional Repository, the Digital Media Library. The Digital Preservation Team looked at the repository\u27s current performance and requirements for ensuring its future success, and then examined four different philosophical approaches to configuring an IR that are in use by research institutions today: All-in-one, Archival, Researcher-centric and Subject. The team also compared open source vs. in-house repository providers and services including DSpace, Digital Commons, IR+, and Discovery Garden. A decision was made to move from the open source software DSpace to the full-service hosted software bepress from Digital Commons. The new repository will have a narrower research focus and will be rebranded RIT Scholar Works. It will be launched in fall of 2013. This article describes the configuration approaches that were considered and how each approach would impact the Digital Media Library, leading to the final recommendation

To Examine and Implement Principles and Protocol of Starting a Wedding Videography Business

This thesis will focus implementing the principles and protocols of opening a wedding videography business. Wedding videos have become big business and are an extension of wedding photography. Photographs capture isolated moments of the wedding day, where video can tie these moments together. I truly feel the wedding video is a keepsake many will cherish in the years to come. This paper will first identify the processes of setting up a home based wedding videography business. Preparation is crucial to ensure the wedding day is taped according to the bride\u27s wishes. The videographer has an obligation to the bride. He needs to be aware of her needs and wishes for the video and plan accordingly. This process will include legalities, equipment needs, pricing, standard operating procedures, etc. Secondly, once the setup process is completed it is time to implement advertising tactics, gain expe1ience, improve business and customer service procedures. Once the setup process is complete, it is important to take a step back to examine and evaluate previous work experiences. Experience is key before diving into the business of wedding videography. No two weddings are alike, and each wedding requires different set-ups, shot sheets, lighting, etc. Before accepting pay for a video I suggest taping several weddings to insure there is an understanding of the different problems that can arise. At this point, the paper will examine three different wedding shots and analyze their individual requirements, setups, arising problems and solutions. Finally, there will be discussions about the pros & cons of business ownership in both the general sense, and tailored to the wedding videography industry. Results have concluded that along with the skill required to complete the task, the owner must possess creativity, have organizational skills and be self- disciplined to make this business a success. Lastly, the paper will conclude with an overview of implementing principles and protocols of starting a wedding videography business, and include brief discussions of its drawbacks and further tips for success

Class 2 design update for the family of commuter airplanes

This is the final report of seven on the design of a family of commuter airplanes. This design effort was performed in fulfillment of NASA/USRA grant NGT-8001. Its contents are as follows: (1) the class 1 baseline designs for the commuter airplane family; (2) a study of takeoff weight penalties imposed on the commuter family due to implementing commonality objectives; (3) component structural designs common to the commuter family; (4) details of the acquisition and operating economics of the commuter family, i.e., savings due to production commonality and handling qualities commonality are determined; (5) discussion of the selection of an advanced turboprop propulsion system for the family of commuter airplanes, and (6) a proposed design for an SSSA controller design to achieve similar handling for all airplanes. Final class 2 commuter airplane designs are also presented

Mapping Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Due to increasing concern about the potential impacts of climate change, the Royal Borough of Kingston decided to perform a vulnerability, hazard, and risk analysis to assist emergency planning and preparedness as well as help shape climate change adaptation strategies. Our team incorporated aspects from several methods of performing a vulnerability analysis to produce the preferred method for Kingston. A social vulnerability index was calculated using variables identified by three of more sources as being indicative of increased vulnerability to identify the most socially and economically vulnerable areas in Kingston

A case study of user adoption of enterprise technology at XYZ Media Company

As globalization rises, so does the need for organizations to connect disparate processes and integrate information technology systems together. These activities are needed to unite all areas of a business and speak the same organizational language across geographic locations. As a result, the need for enterprise technology is on the rise. However, enterprise technology implementations are usually massive, complex, and expensive (up to $500 million for large multinational companies). Further, only 10% to 33% of these projects succeed. While 35% are cancelled, the remaining exceed their budgets by 178% and schedules by 230%, on average (Martin & Huq, 2007). Just as there is a need for enterprise technology, there is also a need for organization development practitioners to know how best to approach large technology change. This case study analyzed the implementation of enterprise technology at a major media company. The enterprise tool used was a Hewlett Packard product called Project and Portfolio Management Center (PPMC). The focus of the implementation was to gain visibility of all active projects across the organization, implement a single process to execute projects, use one tool to track projects (thus, eliminating the need for multiple tools), use one tool to allocate resources to projects, track time spent on project tasks, and measure all project teams against the same set of metrics. The research questions addressed in this study were: (a) What attributes are necessary to have a successful implementation of enterprise technology? (b) Was the PPMC enterprise technology implementation successfully adopted by the end users? Answers to these questions were used to assert whether the PPMC project was considered a success or a failure. The study used a mixed methods design. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through an electronic survey and two focus groups. The data provided a deeper understanding of the PPMC implementation and of employees\u27 attitudes toward the PPMC project. Findings indicated that the project was successful in the areas of leadership support, training, and presenting a clear organizational strategy. The project was not successful in the areas of engaging bottom-up support, executing minimal disruption to the business, and providing a tool that was easy to use. As a result of implementing a project that was not first time right, there was high employee resistance to the tool. This meant that the project management office needed to invest more time, money, and resources to mitigate resistance by (a) making the tool easier to use and (b) mirroring the current business processes rather than mandating processes that didn\u27t fit the organization. It was concluded that if an organization wants to pursue an implementation of enterprise technology (such as PPMC), then extensive business process analysis should be conducted to determine if it is the right process for the organization. Additionally, extensive tool analysis needs to be conducted to determine if the tool can be aligned with the current business processes within the given project budget

The Subcutaneous Administration of Bortezomib Practice Guideline Capstone Project

Multiple myeloma is the second leading cause of hematological malignancies in the United States. Bortezomib is a chemotherapy agent effective in the treatment of all stages of multiple myeloma. Bortezomib administered by the subcutaneous (SC) route is as efficacious as the intravenous (IV) route. However, the literature does not describe how the drug was to be administered SC. A review of literature was inconclusive on how to administer SC injections and supported the need to describe how nurses are administering SC injections in order to develop practice guidelines. A 44-question electronic survey on SC bortezomib administration was developed, with all questions based on current literature regarding appropriate techniques for administering SC injections. The questions explored site of administration, needle length, angle of insertion, use of air purge or bubble technique, and duration of administration. Questions were also included regarding convenience of SC administration, nurses\u27 opinions on patients\u27 preferences for administration site, and opinions about adopting standard practice guidelines. The findings indicated different techniques were being used for SC bortezomib administration. A practice guideline was developed for implementation with the aim of achieving greater consistency among oncology nurses administering SC bortezomib within the community oncology network of clinics