I Call Alexa to the Stand : The Privacy Implications of Anthropomorphizing Virtual Assistants Accompanying Smart-Home Technology

This Note offers a solution to the unique privacy issues posed by the increasingly humanlike interactions users have with virtual assistants, such as Amazon\u27s Alexa, which accompany smart-home technology. These interactions almost certainly result in the users engaging in the cognitive phenomenon of anthropomorphism--more specifically, an assignment of agency. This is a phenomenon that has heretofore been ignored in the legal context, but both the rapidity of technological advancement and inadequacy of current applicable legal doctrine necessitate its consideration now. Since users view these anthropomorphized virtual assistants as persons rather than machines, the law should treat them as such. To accommodate this reality, either the courts or Congress should grant them legal personhood. This can be accomplished through the application of an objective test that is satisfied by the establishment of social and moral connections with these virtual assistants. Further, due to the paramount privacy concerns resulting from this technology\u27s use within the home, courts should establish a new privilege that protects the communications between users and their virtual assistants

The Impact of Small Pass-through Wetlands and Stormwater Retention Ponds on Dissolved Organic Matter

Retention ponds and mitigation wetlands have become more common throughout the urban and suburban landscape for stormwater management and nutrient removal. It is well known that wetlands can effectively remove nitrogen and phosphorus, but the effect of wetlands on dissolved organic matter (DOM) and its impact on water quality is often overlooked, in spite of the importance of DOM in aquatic ecosystems. We seasonally sampled the inflow and outflow of five natural wetlands, five created wetlands and ten stormwater retention ponds in the urban and suburban environment of Monroe County, New York, for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), nitrate, ammonium, dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP), and phosphate to analyze how the quantity and quality of DOC, DON, and DOP change upon transit through wetland types. Vegetation community composition, wetland bathymetry and hydraulic retention time were also measured. DOC was similarly exported by all three types of wetlands, but there was significant seasonal variability with higher export in the spring and lower export in the winter. There was also a general trend of DON retention and DOP export, but only indirect evidence that the concentration of DON was related to season and DOP was related to the interaction between season and wetland type. There was a significant negative relationship between hydraulic residence time (HRT) and DOC to DON ratio, suggesting that the deeper retention ponds that lacked vascular plants are exporting more labile organic matter, while shallow wetlands with significant vegetation cover export more refractory organic matter. These results suggest that small wetlands are important in the quantity and quality of DOM export to receiving water bodies and that they play a significant role in the overall water quality of this region

Persistent topographic development along a strike-slip fault system: The Mount McKinley restraining bend

The Denali Fault is a major strike-slip fault extending from British Colombia, into western Alaska. Mount McKinley, at 6,114 m, is the highest peak in North America and is located to the south of a bend in the Denali Fault (Fig.1). To the north, at the apex of the bend in the fault, Peters Dome (3,221 m) is the highest peak and north-side peak elevations rapidly decrease moving away from the bend’s apex

MEASURING PROPULSIVE FORCE WITHIN THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF BACKSTROKE SWIMMING

The purpose of this study was to identify the propulsive force profile associated within the different phases of backstroke to provide individual feedback to elite swimmers and coaches. Elite backstrokers (n=4) performed three maximal velocity time trials to determine the swimmers maximum velocity. This was followed by three passive drag trials and three active drag trials using a flux vector drive dynamometer mounted on a force platform to tow them at set velocities (derived from the swimmer’s maximum swim pace) while measuring the force to do so. The computed active drag and the propulsive propelling force profile were represented as a dynamic parameter, allowing identification of intra cyclic force fluctuations with respect to time. The force profiles were synchronised to video footage which provided unique quantitative and individual stroke kinematic feedback to the elite swimmers and coaches

Detection of Illegal Race Walking: A Tool to Assist Coaching and Judging

Current judging of race walking in international competitions relies on subjective human observation to detect illegal gait, which naturally has inherent problems. Incorrect judging decisions may devastate an athlete and possibly discredit the international governing body. The aim of this study was to determine whether an inertial sensor could improve accuracy, monitor every step the athlete makes in training and/or competition. Seven nationally competitive race walkers performed a series of legal, illegal and self-selected pace races. During testing, athletes wore a single inertial sensor (100 Hz) placed at S1 of the vertebra and were simultaneously filmed using a high-speed camera (125 Hz). Of the 80 steps analyzed the high-speed camera identified 57 as illegal, the inertial sensor misidentified four of these measures (all four missed illegal steps had 0.008 s of loss of ground contact) which is considerably less than the best possible human observation of 0.06 s. Inertial sensor comparison to the camera found the typical error of estimate was 0.02 s (95% confidence limits 0.01–0.02), with a bias of 0.02 (±0.01). An inertial sensor can thus objectively improve the accuracy in detecting illegal steps (loss of ground contact) and, along with the ability to monitor every step of the athlete, could be a valuable tool to assist judges during race walk events

Reallocation of Water Storage in Lake Lanier

Proceedings of the 1991 Georgia Water Resources Conference, March 19-20, 1991, Athens, Georgia.The Corps of Engineers has worked with the State of Georgia and metropolitan Atlanta governments since the early 1970's to identify long term water supply sources for the Atlanta area. Corps' studies culminated in a decision in 1988 to reallocate storage in Lake Lanier to water supply. Over the last two years this proposal has become embroiled in controversy between upstream and downstream interests and the three states in the basin. This paper will provide a brief history of the events leading to the present controversy.Sponsored by U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, and Georgia Institute of Technology.This book was published by the Institute of Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602 with partial funding provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, through the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (P.L. 98242). The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia or the U.S. Geological Survey or the conference sponsors

FoxP2 isoforms delineate spatiotemporal transcriptional networks for vocal learning in the zebra finch.

Human speech is one of the few examples of vocal learning among mammals yet ~half of avian species exhibit this ability. Its neurogenetic basis is largely unknown beyond a shared requirement for FoxP2 in both humans and zebra finches. We manipulated FoxP2 isoforms in Area X, a song-specific region of the avian striatopallidum analogous to human anterior striatum, during a critical period for song development. We delineate, for the first time, unique contributions of each isoform to vocal learning. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis of RNA-seq data revealed gene modules correlated to singing, learning, or vocal variability. Coexpression related to singing was found in juvenile and adult Area X whereas coexpression correlated to learning was unique to juveniles. The confluence of learning and singing coexpression in juvenile Area X may underscore molecular processes that drive vocal learning in young zebra finches and, by analogy, humans

CORRELATION BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION AND KINEMATICAL VARIABLES IN ELITE WHEELCHAIR RUGBY PLAYERS

Wheelchair rugby is a Paralympic team sport for athletes with disabilities affecting the four limbs. Players are classified according to their functional level from 0.5 (lowest function) to 3.5 (highest function). A player’s classification is based on muscle tests designed to evaluate the strength and range of motion of the upper limbs and trunk and also includes observation of the athlete on court (IWRF, 2008). Although the sport class is based on movement potential associated with neuromuscular function and performance of tasks related to the sport, it is not well known how functional classification in rugby correlates with variables strongly related to performance such as distance covered. In a previous investigation (Sarro et al., 2010), kinematical variables were analyzed in an international rugby competition and suggested a relation between functional classification and distance covered during the game. To further examine this relationship, this project aimed to investigate the correlation between functional classification and player physical performance as measured by distance covered during a game. In addition, the correlation was examined for each game quarter and as a function of velocity range

CORRELATION BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION AND KINEMATICAL VARIABLES IN ELITE WHEELCHAIR RUGBY PLAYERS

Wheelchair rugby is a Paralympic team sport for athletes with disabilities affecting the four limbs. Players are classified according to their functional level from 0.5 (lowest function) to 3.5 (highest function). A player’s classification is based on muscle tests designed to evaluate the strength and range of motion of the upper limbs and trunk and also includes observation of the athlete on court (IWRF, 2008). Although the sport class is based on movement potential associated with neuromuscular function and performance of tasks related to the sport, it is not well known how functional classification in rugby correlates with variables strongly related to performance such as distance covered. In a previous investigation (Sarro et al., 2010), kinematical variables were analyzed in an international rugby competition and suggested a relation between functional classification and distance covered during the game. To further examine this relationship, this project aimed to investigate the correlation between functional classification and player physical performance as measured by distance covered during a game. In addition, the correlation was examined for each game quarter and as a function of velocity range

Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Microelectronics at Boise State University

Several opportunities exist for undergraduates in the Microelectronics area at Boise State University. This paper will describe the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program funded by the National Science Foundation and other opportunities that have resulted for undergraduates due to external support. BSU became a NSF REU site for Microelectronics research in 1999. Each year 10 students are recruited nation-wide from various engineering and science disciplines to come to BSU for 8 weeks. The students work intensively with various faculty advisors and graduate student mentors. Another unique feature of our program is the tie to local industry. In 1999-2001, three students have and will benefit from an interaction with a local company, SCP Global Technologies, and this will be described