UA12/2/1/2 Franz J. Strahm . . . 1867-1941

Article published in the College Heights Herald regarding Franz Strahm, Music teacher at WKU from 1910 to 1941

ON THE LOCALIZED PHYSICAL EXERGY DISAGGREGATION FOR DISSIPATIVE COMPONENT ISOLATION IN THERMOECONOMICS

Thermoeconomics is a discipline that connects Thermodynamics and Economics concepts, usually used for rational cost allocation to the final products of a thermal plant, by means of a model that describes the cost formation process of the overall system. Generally, exergy or monetary costs of the external resources are distributed to the final products. Exergy is the thermodynamic magnitude used in thermoeconomics and the physical exergy disaggregation has been introduced in thermoeconomics as alternatives for the isolation of the dissipative components and residues allocation. For plants with dissipative equipment, such as condenser or valve, the productive diagram, based on total exergy (E Model), need to merge this dissipative equipment with other productive components. In order to isolate the condenser, the productive diagram must use, at least, the H&S Model and to isolate the valve, the UFS Model has to be considered.Both disaggregation models greatly increase the thermoeconomic modeling complexity. Bearing this in mind, this work aims to evaluate the advantages of combining the E Model with these other models in order to adequately isolate the dissipative equipment. The plants studied herein are two different steam turbine cogeneration systems, with dissipative components (condenser or valve). The different monetary and exergy unit costs obtained for the two final products of each plant are compared and analyzed.  The results show that localized physical exergy disaggregation for dissipative component isolation in thermoeconomics is feasible, since it reduces the complexity of the productive structure and is also consistent from the point of view of thermodynamics

The Proletariat in Higher Education: An Introduction of Contingent Faculty as the Precarious Class

THE PROLETARIAT IN HIGHER EDUCATION: AN INTRODUCTION OF CONTINGENT FACULTY AS THE PRECARIOUS CLASS This study outlines the plight of the precariat within academia. Defined as a social class formed by people whose economic existence occurs without long-term predictability or security, the precariat has been seen as being in employment positions that breed inequality. Surveying faculty members from a large western university using the established Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario (PEPSO) survey and Index, it was to be determined if a contingent faculty member’s everyday employment conditions differed from their low-educated, low-paid counterparts who could be identified as being part of the ‘gig’ economy. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the extent and the nature of the differences between both researched groups to determine if employment precarity has any bearing on an individual’s economic, social, and familial circumstances. This identified methodology was then positioned in with motivation theory. Even though all of those surveyed fit the definition of being employed outside of a standard employment relationship (SER), the majority of university contingent faculty members felt comfortable enough within their positions where they not only had a high level of commitment to the college for continued ongoing future employment, they felt that the college mirrored their commitments as well. In conclusion, it was determined that measuring insecurity requires a much deeper analysis than simply looking at the form of a person’s employment relationship

Exploring the Role of Predation on Color and Splotch Patterning of Sphingid Caterpillars Using Artificial Prey

To avoid predation by visual predators, caterpillars can be cryptic to decrease detectability or aposematic to warn predators of potential unpalatability. However, for some species, it is not clear if the patterns are selected to avoid predation. For example, Pandora sphinx (Eumorpha pandorus) caterpillars are assumed to be palatable and have both cryptic (green, brown) and conspicuous (orange, red) color morphs. Five lateral, off-white splotches on either side may serve as a warning for predators or to draw attention away from the caterpillar’s form and function as distractive marks. We conducted a field study in three temperate fragmented forests in Massachusetts to investigate the potential utility of E. pandorus coloration and splotch markings. The four plasticine caterpillar model treatments, green and red with and without lateral splotches, were placed on host plants in 14 patches at three sites repeatedly over six, week-long, trials spanning from July through October. We tested the effects of color, splotch patterning and seasonality on predation rates. We found 43% of the models (n = 964) had bite marks by an array of predators including arthropods (67.5%), birds (18.2%), rodents (11.5%), and large mammals (2.8%). Arthropods as dominant predators align with conclusions from previous studies of models placed near ground level. Attack rates peaked for arthropods in late August and early September but were more constant across trials for vertebrates. Arthropods, a heterogeneous group, as indicated by the variety of bite marks, showed only a marginal preference for green colored and splotch-less models, whereas vertebrates, more visually-oriented predators, had significantly higher predation on red colored models and a marginal preference toward splotched models. Thus, our results did not suggest that splotch patterning reduced predation and therefore, we did not find support for the distractive mark hypothesis. Further, our study shows clear contrasting interpretations by different predators regarding visual defensive strategies

The popular conception of Abraham Lincoln analyzed in terms of his pleadings in selected court cases : honors thesis [(HONRS 499)]

There is no abstract available for this thesis.Thesis (B.?.)Honors Colleg

Antares prototype 300-kJ, 250-kA Marx generator. Final report

A high-energy, low-inductance, low prefire rate, low trigger jitter, high-voltage, pulsed-power supply was needed to drive the gas discharge in the Antares laser power amplifier. This report describes the design and testing of a Marx generator that meets these requirements, the development and testing of a high-capacity spark gap, and the selection of suitable capacitors and resistors