Disrupting aviation: an exploratory study of the opportunities and risks of tablet computers in commercial flight operations

Commercial flight operational safety has dramatically improved in the last 30 years because of enhanced crew coordination, communication, leadership and team development. Technology insertion into cockpit operations, however, has been shown to create crew distractions, resulting in flight safety risks, limited use given policy limitations and difficulty in establishing standard operating procedures. With the recent introduction of tablet computers into the flight cockpit as a substitute for paper-based manuals and navigation charts, the risk of human error may be increased. Though portable electronics, known as electronic flight bags, have been present of the flight deck for a decade, introduction of tablet computers as their replacements offers unique challenges, given the ability to communicate and share information outside established aviation channels. This research explored the opportunities that this technology insertion offers to commercial aviation in areas such as knowledge sharing and operational performance improvement. The results indicate that the opportunities were not realized with the initial implementation because the pilots did not accept the technology due to inadequate training coupled with restrictive policies concerning use

Uncertainty and the Search for Truth at Trial: Defining Prosecutorial Objectivity in German Sexual Assault Cases

According to German legal scholar, Claus Roxin, German prosecutors are the most objective civil servants in the world. Roxin \u27s assessment of German prosecution practice reflects the conviction of many German legal scholars that prosecutors in Germany\u27s inquisitorial system function as second judges dedicated to finding the objective truth. In this Article I investigate how prosecutors translate the normative duty of objectivity enshrined in the German penal code into observable practices on the ground I examine prosecutorial decision-making in three sexual assault trials. Sexual assault cases pose unique challenges to prosecutors as well as to the definition of objectivity. Because the crime typically occurs in private, the search for truth often focuses on the testimonies of the victim and the suspect. In cases in which the physical evidence is inconclusive and the defendant claims that the victim consented, the focus of the fact finder\u27s inquiry is often directed at the victim \u27s credibility. Drawing on transcript and interview data, I propose three models of \u27faces of prosecutorial objectivity. Surprisingly, despite the fact that judges structure the presentation of evidence in German trials, prosecutors play a critical role in interpreting the facts presented at trial. In each of the cases examined in this Article, the face of objectivity is constructed through a relational process that unfolds between the presiding judge and the trial prosecutor. Although many legal scholars maintain that penal code sharply circumscribes prosecutorial discretion in major crime cases in Germany, my research demonstrates that a wide variation exists in the way that individual prosecutors interpret their duty to view the evidence objectively

ALTERNATIVE ARCHITECTURE FOR SOLUTION PROCESSED THIN FILM SOLAR MATERIALS

A variety of competing semiconductor materials are used to create p-n solar cells. Currently silicon solar cells dominate more than 90% of the solar market. The major competitors to silicon solar cells are inorganic thin-film solar cells, mainly cadmium telluride and copper indium gallium sulfide. These materials evolved from initial devices based off of cadmium sulfide. All of the non-silicon commercial cells still use cadmium sulfide in their production, which is of concern due to the toxicity of cadmium and limits their application, especially in Europe due to the E.U. Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive. If these devices are to remain market competitive, increased cost efficiency and the removal of cadmium are necessary