14th Annual Symposium of the School of Science, Engineering and Health

Welcome to the 14th Annual Symposium of the School of Science, Engineering and Health. This event continues a strong tradition showcasing student and faculty innovation, creativity and productivity in academic departments largely from within the School of Science, Engineering and Health

Proceedings, MSVSCC 2014

Proceedings of the 8th Annual Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Student Capstone Conference held on April 17, 2014 at VMASC in Suffolk, Virginia

Deep Model for Improved Operator Function State Assessment

A deep learning framework is presented for engagement assessment using EEG signals. Deep learning is a recently developed machine learning technique and has been applied to many applications. In this paper, we proposed a deep learning strategy for operator function state (OFS) assessment. Fifteen pilots participated in a flight simulation from Seattle to Chicago. During the four-hour simulation, EEG signals were recorded for each pilot. We labeled 20- minute data as engaged and disengaged to fine-tune the deep network and utilized the remaining vast amount of unlabeled data to initialize the network. The trained deep network was then used to assess if a pilot was engaged during the four-hour simulation

Research in action (1977-03)

A publication devoted to describing the scholarly and creative activities of Virginia Commonwealth University.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/ria/1004/thumbnail.jp

Innovation in Energy Systems

It has been a little over a century since the inception of interconnected networks and little has changed in the way that they are operated. Demand-supply balance methods, protection schemes, business models for electric power companies, and future development considerations have remained the same until very recently. Distributed generators, storage devices, and electric vehicles have become widespread and disrupted century-old bulk generation - bulk transmission operation. Distribution networks are no longer passive networks and now contribute to power generation. Old billing and energy trading schemes cannot accommodate this change and need revision. Furthermore, bidirectional power flow is an unprecedented phenomenon in distribution networks and traditional protection schemes require a thorough fix for proper operation. This book aims to cover new technologies, methods, and approaches developed to meet the needs of this changing field

2018 - The Twenty-third Annual Symposium of Student Scholars

The full program book from the Twenty-third Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 19, 2018. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/sssprograms/1020/thumbnail.jp

Innovation in Energy Systems

It has been a little over a century since the inception of interconnected networks and little has changed in the way that they are operated. Demand-supply balance methods, protection schemes, business models for electric power companies, and future development considerations have remained the same until very recently. Distributed generators, storage devices, and electric vehicles have become widespread and disrupted century-old bulk generation - bulk transmission operation. Distribution networks are no longer passive networks and now contribute to power generation. Old billing and energy trading schemes cannot accommodate this change and need revision. Furthermore, bidirectional power flow is an unprecedented phenomenon in distribution networks and traditional protection schemes require a thorough fix for proper operation. This book aims to cover new technologies, methods, and approaches developed to meet the needs of this changing field

Electricity pricing and regulation

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This work aims to assess the development of competition in the electricity industry of England and Wales, emphasising one of the key elements of the restructured industry, the pool - a centralised day ahead electricity spot market. The pool's structure is examined, along with the relationship that the pool has with the market for electricity forward contracts. However, the key to this work is the relationship between the major electricity generators and the industry's regulator. This is introduced through two theoretical models, and undertaken through a series of econometric models using pool prices, forward prices, electricity demand, and the sharep rices of the major generators: National Power and Powergen. The work tests the hypotheses put forward by Green( 1992) and Helm & Powell (1992) of an inverse relationship between the volume of output that a generator sells forward through contracts and the general level of pool prices. The break-up of the first and second sets of forward contracts - which expired in 1991 and 1993 - and their impact on pool prices are assessed By using the market model, this work examines the impact of a series of both regulatory and nonregulatory events on the share returns of National Power and Powergen. Given the existence of spot and forward markets for electricity, one would expect a relationship between the prices in these markets The relationship is examined for England and Wales by a synthetic data set that approximates the prices at which the contracts were sold. The relationship is then examined using actual and forecast electricity prices for California, this latter analysis forming part of an overview of electricity deregulation in America. Ultimately, this research hopes to add to the growing amount of material on energy privatisation - a topic that continues to promote interest and controversy in academic and industrial circles

Dead Water - a photography-based inquiry into the impact of dams in Brazil

The costs of dams have been underestimated mainly due to the subjective matters involved in them. This practice-based research seeks to reveal the nature and the magnitude of these costs: the damage to people, livelihoods, communities, and, of course, to the environment. To investigate the perspectives of riverine people, as these are the peoples affected most by dam development, and to engage with their stories, this research blends methods and knowledge from the fields of Anthropology, Ecology, and Visual Arts in order to achieve its major aim: to communicate the intangible impacts caused by dams. Photography, in particular documentary photography, plays an important role in the way society operates and is shaped; this research explores this mode of communication with the view to empowering its subjects and giving greater voice to their stories. This project focuses specifically on hydropower schemes in Brazil. The method consisted of inviting people who have been affected by dam projects for hydropower purposes in three distinct areas of Brazil for an interview followed by a photo shoot in which they would be simultaneously the sitter and co-director. During the interview, every participant describes her/his story and feelings about the respective hydro project. The sitter then works collaboratively on the portrait, so that each image is based on an exchange between subject and researcher. The work, which comprises textual pieces that are in dialogue with these portraits and with other visual material gathered, represents how hydropower affects these people’s lives as well as the riparian ecosystem. This practice is also analyzed within the frame of theories and insights concerning (i) photography in the political arena (like those of Ariella Azoulay, and Jacques Rancière), and (ii) perceptions of nature and development (like those of Eduardo Gudynas). This research considers and reaffirms transdisciplinary approaches as a refined means to access, understand, and present complex phenomena (like those of the dams and hydropower) as well as photography as an important agent in the processes of negotiation and transmission of knowledge between individuals, particularly those that involve intangible matters. It shows that affected people are important as voices to expose structures of power in societies, as well as advocating changes in our understanding of hydroelectricity, wealth, and welfare. It highlights that collaboration with the subject, and also with traditional communities, can play a vital role in the disclosure of sensitive knowledge and the way stories are told

AGED 539: Internship in Agriculture Education

This internship and project report includes validation documents required in meeting the quality criteria for secondary-level programs of instruction in agriculture. The documents are concurrently used for the Agriculture Incentive Grant review process at Fillmore High School conducted by representatives of the California Department of Education. The supporting material includes information to receive state and local funding, outline the goals and objectives of the program, along with an overview of Fillmore High School, the agriculture program and the community