Faculty Recital: Project 122 Marimba Duo

Cook Hall 212 April 1, 2019 Monday Evening 8:00p.m

The Political Economy of Oil Spill Damage Assessment: NRDA and Deepwater Horizon

The federal effort to quantify and capture non-market damages to coastal ecosystems from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Phase II of United States of America v. BP Exploration and Production, centers on the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process. This paper makes the case that the current NRDA process has done a poor job protecting the public interest and resolving the issues surrounding oil spills from deep water drilling activities. After 5 years, the findings of the NRDA still remain sealed from both affected maritime communities and academic researchers until litigation is settled with civil and criminal fines for BP’s Clean Water Act violations and damages to coastal ecosystems. This multi-year legal process further retards progress in using the latest science to inform policy for the future of proposed off-shore oil activities, including introducing new regulations that would subject semi-submersible oil platforms to the same rigor as oil tankers. Using historical comparisons, this paper examines how the political economy of legal procedures and damage assessment processes has created winners and losers in the aftermath of DWH, especially with respect to the Vietnamese-American ethnic maritime community. Finally, proposals are suggested how the regulatory landscape, and specifically the NRDA process, might be improved to strengthen transparency, better inform policies in a timely fashion, and encompass cultural resources

Competitive Interactions Between Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) and Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) under the Influence of Rising Temperatures

The natural distribution of many freshwater fish species are limited by their thermal tolerances, both because a species cannot inhabit an area outside its tolerance range and because of increased stress when in environments approaching the limits of its tolerance range. Many species may mediate temperature change physiologically, behaviorally, or both but these changes often may change or compromise interspecific dynamics through the effects on feeding behavior, growth rate, immune responses, and social behavior. In the Appalachian Mountains, creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) are found in warm-water and cold-water streams, the latter of which are also inhabited by brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Brook trout have a lower tolerance for warmer temperatures than creek chub, and require higher oxygen concentrations, which decrease in warmer waters. As the temperatures of cold-water streams continue to increase due to anthropogenic climate change and land use, brook trout are under more thermal stress, which negatively affects their ability to compete with creek chub. To examine the influences that temperature has on competitive interactions between these species, we observed feeding behavior, aggression, and space use differences at three different temperatures (18°C, 20°C, and 22°C) among dyad pairs for all combinations of species (brook trout/brook trout, brook trout/creek chub, creek chub/creek chub). Results show that an increase in temperature causes decreased appetite and aggression in brook trout and increased competition between the two focal species. This may have implications in the range restriction of brook trout, and the decreased dominance of a top predator may lead to diverse impacts on stream community dynamics

Ubiquitous Computing and Cellular Handsets—are menus the best way forward?

Embedded interactive computer systems, such as those found in cellular handsets, can be hard to use. The combination of small form factor – limited input and output potential – and an increasing feature set, result in devices which confuse novice users. Although most of these devices utilise hierarchical menu structures to mediate the interaction between user and device, we believe that these menus are poorly designed and that other interaction styles may be more appropriate. In this paper we will investigate how well menu design research has been used by current handset manufacturers. We will also propose and report on the success of some new interface designs and finally examine how new Internet technologies, like WML, might be used to further improve the handset’s interface

Standard-Based Grading in Science: Taking Your Next Steps

In this session, two seasoned educators will share their experiences implementing standard-based grading. Following a brief introductory presentation, participants will be provided time to ask questions

An Evaluation of Techniques for Image Searching and Browsing on Mobile Devices

This paper reports on a system for browsing and searching image collections on small-screen devices. The system design was informed by our studies of how people organize and access image collections on desktop computers. The final system was evaluated in a user study where users had to search for images with varying degrees of precision about what they were searching for. We discovered that individual users adopt a wide variety of search strategies and that future image management tools must support users through a wide variety of interaction techniques

An evaluation of dexterity and cutaneous sensibility tests for use with medical gloves

© 2015 Institution of Mechanical Engineers.The ability of selected dexterity and cutaneous sensibility tests to measure the effect of medical glove properties (material, fit, and number of layers) on manual performance was analyzed. Manual performance testing of gloves to-date has focused on thicker gloves where the effects are more obvious. However, clinicians have reported dissatisfaction with some medical gloves and a perceived detriment to performance of new materials compared to latex. Three tests (Purdue Pegboard Test, Crawford Small Parts Dexterity Test, and Semmes-Weinstein Monofilaments) were performed by 18 subjects in five hand conditions (ungloved; best-fitting, loose-fitting and a double layer of latex examination gloves; best-fitting vinyl gloves). Tests were performed in the ungloved condition first, and the order of the gloved tests was randomized. Learning behavior was also measured. The Purdue test showed a significant effect of hand condition, but no differences between latex and vinyl. No significant effect of hand condition was found in the Crawford "Pins and Collars" test, but the "Screws" test showed promising discrimination between glove types. The Monofilaments test showed a significant effect of hand condition on cutaneous sensibility, particularly a reduction when "double-gloving," but no significant differences between glove types. Existing tests show some ability to measure the effect of gloves and their properties on manual performance but are not comprehensive and require further validation. In order to fully describe the effects of medical gloves on manual performance, further tests should be designed with greater resolution and that better replicate clinical manual tasks

An Interactive Spray Drift Simulator

The off target movement of pesticides, known as spray drift, results in a reduction in application rates, damage to non-target organisms, and environmental concerns. Much of this drift can be eliminated if its prevalence is understood and best management practices are implemented. Drift prediction software has been developed to serve as a management tool in determining the effects of applying pesticides under certain operating conditions. To further increase the usefulness and instructiveness of such programs, a program was developed which links spray drift prediction software (DRIFTSIM) with a GPS simulator to obtain a two dimensional representation of drift for simulated ground based spraying event. The program was evaluated using a variety of operating conditions to determine their respective effects on drift deposition levels. Results from the simulations show the importance of choosing the largest sufficient nozzle size, operating under low wind speeds, and spraying at the lowest possible boom height. Analysis of multi-swath simulations showed patterns of increased and reduced application rates due to spray drift