Water Towers, Pump Houses, and Mountain Streams: Students' Ideas about Watersheds

This study investigates students' ideas about watersheds and how these ideas change across grade level. A group of 95 students were each asked to draw a picture of a watershed and explain their drawings. The results revealed that, in general, students understand the concept of watersheds from a very limited scientific perspective. Sixth and some seventh grade students envisioned watersheds as a water storage facility or a facility that supplies water. Eighth and ninth grade students' ideas about a watershed focused on a mountainous stream. Older students also incorporated the hydrologic cycle, but rarely represented linkages between land and watercourses. For all students, humans do not appear to be a part of a watershed, but separate from it. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

Entrepreneurship: The Key to Global Competitiveness

For more than a decade, the United States has lost manufacturing employment to low wage nations such as China and others on the Pacific Rim. While the Western industrialized nations can no longer compete in many of the lower skilled manufacturing sectors, they have maintained their status as incubators of new ideas and products. While a lack of access to financing has often been viewed as a key reason for a reduced level of new business starts in the West, public policy, and how it is perceived by the entrepreneurial community, can be an even larger obstacle to growth in this important sector. This paper examined policies that affect entrepreneurial vibrancy. The research identified policy consistency (a.k.a. “visibility”), financial stability, and global trade issues including insufficient protections for intellectual property, and household income as factors that influence entrepreneurial activity. Further study is needed to quantify the impact of policy uncertainty on entrepreneurial expansion, the number of jobs related to those decisions, the correlation between household income, entrepreneurial activity, and the universality of their impact across national borders

The Impact of Government Policy on Economic Growth

Government policy has always had a significant influence on economic growth and new business formation. During the past two decades, policy uncertainty has grown in the United States as the polarization of the electorate has intensified. The stark political differences are increasingly on display by elected officials in Washington. The recent political brinksmanship surrounding the so-called “Fiscal Cliff” is one example of the costly policy uncertainty facing U.S. businesses that is now endemic in Washington. While much of the focus of the Fiscal Cliff debate was on the constituents who would lose benefits or see their taxes increase, there was less attention to the debilitating impact of poorly fashioned policies, and policy uncertainty, on the nation\u27s businesses and the impact on the economy. Those issues were most significant for small businesses and entrepreneurship, which account for more than fifty percent of U.S. private sector economic activity. Through a review of the literature, this paper examined the consequences of government policy uncertainly and sought to identify gaps in the related literature, especially those arising from the application of new policy tools. The research found that contemporaneous monetary policy may be having a greater impact upon business activity than previously identified and is an area in need of further study. While the policy uncertainty and its impact on business expansion discussed in this paper are principally associated with the U.S., the implications can be readily applied across borders. The results of this analysis will be helpful in enhancing the understanding of these important policy issues, which are commonly excluded from policy debate and often given insufficient treatment in post-secondary institutions of management practice

An analysis of student programmatic delays in postsecondary flight training programs : a national study.

The purpose of this study was to determine the number of University Aviation Association (UAA) member postsecondary institutions that were experiencing student delays in flight certification. Such delays can lead to increased costs for the student, the failure to complete the intended academic program, and an interruption in career progression. The study also sought to determine: if the delays were increasing or decreasing; if there was a difference between less--than--four--year and four--year postsecondary flight training institutions; and whether flight simulation, student monitoring, weather, geographic location, instructor availability, instructor turnover, aircraft availability, and in-stitutional financial and grading policies were related to flight student training progression. The study revealed that approximately 88 percent of the respondents noted that they were experienc-ing a problem with flight student progress delays at their institution. The research indicated that in-stitutional financial policies and the use of ground--based training devices were associated with a reduction in flight training progress delays

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThree-dimensional (3D) rapid prototyping holds significant promise for future antenna designs. Many complex designs that would be unmanufacturable or costly are realizable on a 3D printing machine. The ability to create 3D designs of virtually any configuration makes it possible to build compact antennas that can form fit to any space. These antennas build on the concept that small antennas can best reach the ideal operating limit when utilizing the entire 3D space in a sphere surrounding the antenna. Antennas require a combination of dielectric and conductive materials. 3D rapid prototyping is already well advanced for plastics and dielectric materials (with more options coming online). Prototyping with conductive materials has lagged behind; due mainly to their higher melting points, but this is advancing as well. This dissertation focuses on 3D rapid prototyping for antenna design. A 3D antenna made from small cubical cells is optimized for 2.4-3GHz using a genetic algorithm (GA). The antennas are built using 3D printing of plastic covered by conductive paint. The effects of the conductivity of the paint and number of layers on the resonance and gain of the antenna are evaluated. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using 3D rapid prototyping for antenna design

The Impact of Perceived Value, Satisfaction, Service Quality on Customer Loyalty in Women’s Fitness Clubs

While the importance of customer loyalty has been recognized in the marketing literature, empirical research on the antecedents of customer loyalty and their relative importance to predict loyalty in the health and fitness club context has been lacking, especially for women-only clubs. Thus, this study investigated the impact of customer perceived value, satisfaction, and service quality on customer loyalty in women-only health and fitness clubs. The participants for this study consisted of 221 adults who were current members at women-only health and fitness clubs in a major metropolitan area in the Midwest. The results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that customer perceived value, satisfaction, and service quality significantly influence customers’ psychological commitment and behavioral intentions of membership renewal and customer referrals. Therefore, the higher customer perceived value, satisfaction, and service quality, the higher customer loyalty

Extended Weight Systems Pavement Analysis

Kentucky established its Extended Weight Coal or Coal By-products Haul Road System (EWCHRS) in 1986. This road network includes segments of the Coal Haul Highway System on which more than 50,000 tons coal or coal byproducts were transported by motor vehicles during the previous calendar year. In the past few years, the state has introduced extended weight (EW) systems focused on petroleum products and metal commodities. Trucks can operate above posted weight limits on these networks by paying annual fees that range from $160 to$2,000. While EW networks benefit motor carriers by improving efficiency, vehicles that exceed weight limits can damage pavement and reduce its service life. This study examines the relationship between pavement age and pavement condition on EWCHRS routes and non-EWCHRS routes to understand the implications of EW networks for infrastructure life-cycles. Using data from 2008 through 2020 (with the exception of 2016) to perform regression analysis, researchers found that routes which spent at least 20% of the study period on the EWCHRS saw pavement life decline by 1.5 – 2 years. In general, a positive correlation was observed between exposure on the EWCHRS and loss of pavement life, which can increase maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation costs. While the future of commodity-specific EW networks in Kentucky is unclear, data management strategies can be adopted by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to improve its support of existing and future EW networks

Space Launch System Upper Stage Technology Assessment

The Space Launch System (SLS) is envisioned as a heavy-lift vehicle that will provide the foundation for future beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO) exploration missions. Previous studies have been performed to determine the optimal configuration for the SLS and the applicability of commercial off-the-shelf in-space stages for Earth departure. Currently NASA is analyzing the concept of a Dual Use Upper Stage (DUUS) that will provide LEO insertion and Earth departure burns. This paper will explore candidate in-space stages based on the DUUS design for a wide range of beyond LEO missions. Mission payloads will range from small robotic systems up to human systems with deep space habitats and landers. Mission destinations will include cislunar space, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Given these wide-ranging mission objectives, a vehicle-sizing tool has been developed to determine the size of an Earth departure stage based on the mission objectives. The tool calculates masses for all the major subsystems of the vehicle including propellant loads, avionics, power, engines, main propulsion system components, tanks, pressurization system and gases, primary structural elements, and secondary structural elements. The tool uses an iterative sizing algorithm to determine the resulting mass of the stage. Any input into one of the subsystem sizing routines or the mission parameters can be treated as a parametric sweep or as a distribution for use in Monte Carlo analysis. Taking these factors together allows for multi-variable, coupled analysis runs. To increase confidence in the tool, the results have been verified against two point-of-departure designs of the DUUS. The tool has also been verified against Apollo moon mission elements and other manned space systems. This paper will focus on trading key propulsion technologies including chemical, Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP), and Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP). All of the key performance inputs and relationships will be presented and discussed in light of the various missions. For each mission there are several trajectory options and each will be discussed in terms of delta-v required and transit duration. Each propulsion system will be modeled, sized, and judged based on their applicability to the whole range of beyond LEO missions. Criteria for scoring will include the resulting dry mass of the stage, resulting propellant required, time to destination, and an assessment of key enabling technologies. In addition to the larger metrics, this paper will present the results of several coupled sensitivity studies. The ultimate goals of these tools and studies are to provide NASA with the most mass-, technology-, and cost-effective in-space stage for its future exploration missions