Electronic Data Collection for Rockfall Hazard Evaluation

Rockfall field data collection traditionally has used conventional stationery tools, i.e. pencil and paper, for data collection. Traditional methodologies are being revisited with the advent of PDA’s (Personal Digital Assistants) or penbased computers. With the utilization of such technology, field data can be collected electronically. An electronic data collection system using PDA’s was developed for this thesis. The advantages of the PDA approach over pencil and paper data collection include automatic error and data integrity checks during data input, and the elimination of manual data entry. The PDA’s also allow automatic branching to solicit data input based on previous data entered, and support for code or scripting, which can be used to create unique files names based on the data entered. These advantages were implemented as part of an electronic data collection methodology within a rockfall hazard rating system for the TDOT (Tennessee Department of Transportation)

Integrity Constraints Revisited: From Exact to Approximate Implication

Integrity constraints such as functional dependencies (FD), and multi-valued dependencies (MVD) are fundamental in database schema design. Likewise, probabilistic conditional independences (CI) are crucial for reasoning about multivariate probability distributions. The implication problem studies whether a set of constraints (antecedents) implies another constraint (consequent), and has been investigated in both the database and the AI literature, under the assumption that all constraints hold exactly. However, many applications today consider constraints that hold only approximately. In this paper we define an approximate implication as a linear inequality between the degree of satisfaction of the antecedents and consequent, and we study the relaxation problem: when does an exact implication relax to an approximate implication? We use information theory to define the degree of satisfaction, and prove several results. First, we show that any implication from a set of data dependencies (MVDs+FDs) can be relaxed to a simple linear inequality with a factor at most quadratic in the number of variables; when the consequent is an FD, the factor can be reduced to 1. Second, we prove that there exists an implication between CIs that does not admit any relaxation; however, we prove that every implication between CIs relaxes "in the limit". Finally, we show that the implication problem for differential constraints in market basket analysis also admits a relaxation with a factor equal to 1. Our results recover, and sometimes extend, several previously known results about the implication problem: implication of MVDs can be checked by considering only 2-tuple relations, and the implication of differential constraints for frequent item sets can be checked by considering only databases containing a single transaction

The Teacher as Servant Leader: Revisited

This essay revisits an original conference proceedings chapter from 1997, examining the biblical and educational underpinnings for the concept of teacher and servant leader

The Teacher as Servant Leader: Revisited

This essay revisits an original conference proceedings chapter from 1997, examining the biblical and educational underpinnings for the concept of teacher and servant leader

The General Motor Ability Hypothesis: An old idea revisited

While specific motor abilities have become a popular explanation for motor performance, the older, alternate notion of a general motor ability should be revisited. Current theories lack consensus, and most motor assessment tools continue to derive a single composite score to represent motor capacity. In addition, results from elegant statistical procedures such as higher order factor analyses, cluster analyses, and Item Response Theory support a more global motor ability. We propose a contemporary model of general motor ability as a unidimensional construct that is emergent and fluid over an individual’s lifespan, influenced by both biological and environmental factors. In this article, we address the implications of this model for theory, practice, assessment, and research. Based on our hypothesis and Item Response Theory, our Lifespan Motor Ability Scale can identify motor assessment tasks that are relevant and important across varied phases of lifespan development

The Impact of Chinese Foreign Aid on Human Rights in Africa

This study finds that Chinese foreign aid has a marginal negative, if at all, impact on human rights in Africa. The study begins with an introduction on Sino-African relations and possible implications of these relations. It then presents a literature review on relevant foreign aid and human rights studies. It moves on to explain the methodology and datasets used before presenting and analyzing the results. The study concludes with ideas for further research