Fearless Friday: Michael Deleon

In this week’s edition of Fearless Friday, SURGE is pleased to honor the work of Michael Deleon ‘18. Michael is a originally from Philadelphia, PA, and is a current junior here at Gettysburg College, majoring in Sociology. On campus, he serves as the President of both the Black Student Union (BSU) and VIBE, a fusion dance group that he founded. Michael is also involved with the Bias Response Team and works as a Residence Coordinator. [excerpt

Perceived Value of HRM Professional Certification in a Disrupted Marketplace

In response to Lengnick-Hall and Aguinis’ (2012) call for examining the practical value of HR professional certification, and using Lengnick-Hall and Aguinis’ individual-level propositions as hypotheses, this study compares 123 HR practitioners’ evaluations of HR certification based on attained education, membership in professional associations, and commitment to the HR profession. Our analysis found that HR practitioners value certification equally regardless of attained education level, members of professional associations ascribe 16% more value to certification than nonmembers, and certified members have a higher commitment to the profession. Further, a comparison between the established HRCI certifications and the newly competing SHRM certifications on pay level, job offers, and promotions received mixed results, with the established HRCI credential yielding slightly more value for job offers than the new SHRM certifications

A robust sensorless output feedback controller of the induction motor drives: New design and experimental validation

International audienceIn this paper, a sensorless output feedback controller is designed in order to drive the Induction Motor IM without the use of flux and speed sensors. Firstly, an observer that uses only the measured stator currents is synthesized to estimate the mechanical variables (speed and load torque) and the magnetic variables (fluxes) by structurally taking into account the unobservability phenomena of the Sensorless IM (SIM) and the parametric uncertainties. Secondly, a current-based field oriented sliding mode control, that uses the flux and the speed estimates given by the former observer is developed so as to steer the estimated speed and flux magnitude to the desired references. Since the observer design is independent of the control and depends on theIM parametric uncertainties, a separation principle is introduced to guarantee the practical stability of the whole closed-loop system "observer -controller" ("O-C") according to observability and unobservability time variation. A significant benchmark taking into account the unobservability phenomena of the \textit{SIM} is presented to show the performances of the whole control scheme against experimental set-up

Tredegar Street Corridor Plan: A Step to Unifying the Richmond Riverfront

In order to understand the performance of a transportation network, the three concepts of mobility, connectivity, and accessibility must be evaluated. Each concept must be assessed separately and collectively to comprehend how people move about the network. The purpose of this professional plan is to evaluate and enhance these three concepts of Tredegar Street by the James River in Richmond, Virginia. The street is part of an extensive transportation network that consists of roads, trails, and bridges that connect to parks, workplaces, residential neighborhoods, and Downtown. Tredegar Street plays a vital role as a conveyer of multiple users utilizing various modes of transportation who are traveling between diverse destinations, and therefore, must perform sufficiently in order to continue that role. Evaluating the mobility, connectivity, and accessibility of Tredegar Street can further explain the network’s current assets and limitations while informing future opportunities and improvements. Through physical observations, a user survey, and technical research, Tredegar Street’s network was assessed and six goals to enhance the network’s performance were developed. These recommended goals focus on enhancing the mobility, connectivity, and accessibility of Tredegar Street’s network by using human-scaled approaches that reorient the street to the wants and needs of its current and potential users. If these recommendations are put into action, the Tredegar Street Corridor Plan: A Step to Unifying the Richmond Riverfront will make the area a safer and more comfortable environment for all ages, abilities, and racial/ethnic identities, regardless of their mode of transportation

Optical Evidence for Mixed Phase Behavior in Manganites

Synchrotron infrared measurements were conducted over the range 100 to 8000 cm-1 on a self-doped LaxMnO3-d (x~~0.8) film. From these measurements we determined the conductivity, the effective number of free carriers, and the specific phonon modes as a function of frequency. While the metal-insulator transition temperature (TMI) and the magnetic ordering temperature (TC) approximately coincide, the free carrier density onset occurs at a significantly lower temperature (~~45 K below). This suggests that local distortions exist below TMI and TC which trap the eg conduction electrons. These regions with local distortions constitute an insulating phase which persists for temperatures significantly below TMI and TC. The initial large drop in resistivity is due to the enhanced magnetic ordering while further drops correspond to reductions in the insulating phase which increase the number of free carriers.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Hydraulics and Numerical Solutions of Steady-State but Spatially Varied Debris Flow

Debris flow is a natural phenomenon triggered by special conditions that combine: high intensity rainfall, material available for transport, slopes steep enough to induce flowage, and insufficient protection of the ground by vegetation and/or other erosion control means. These conditions are very common in semiarid and arid regions in Utah, other Western states and many other parts of the globe. Previously, the two models proposed to solve debris flow are the Bingham plastic model and the dilatants model. Both these models depend upon coefficients that are not easy to obtain. Therefore, they are not very useful in practice. According to the field observations and data reported, most debris flows that occur in nature are laminar. The viscosity of these flows has been as large as 600,000 time that of water. Reynolds numbers are less or equal to 500 for these debris flows. Laminar debris flows are the subject of this report. A theoretical model based on the Saint-Venant equations of continuity and motion, together with a modified Chezy equation for defining the energy loss, were found to be suitable to describe debris flow in the laminar range. These equations were solved by numerical methods implemented in a computer program. This report covers only steady by gradually varied debris flow solutions. A formula defining the Chezy coefficient as a function of Reynolds number is proposed. A relationship between the debris flow density and its viscosity is also proposed. These relationships are of necessity based on the limited data available for debris flows. Solutions to four examples are given. The results show that this open channel debris flow model reproduces well debris flows observed in nature. These solutions show that debris flows develop depths greater than water flows. The bed slope is the most important variable that affects the ratio of the depth of debris flow to depth of an equivalent volumetric water flow. For milder slopes this depth ratio exceeds ten. The substantially larger depth of debris flow than of equivalent water flow explains in part why debris flows have been observed to stop flowing, leaving an abrupt wave-shaped form on the landscape

Circulating Endothelial Microparticles in Diabetes Mellitus

Background. Endothelial Microparticles (EMPs) are small vesicles shed from activated or apoptotic endothelial cells and involved in cellular cross-talk. Whether EMP immunophenotypes vary according to stimulus in Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is not known. We studied the cellular adhesion molecule (CAM) profile of circulating EMPs in patients with and without Diabetes Mellitus type 2, who were undergoing elective cardiac catheterization. Methods and Results. EMPs were analyzed by flow cytometry. The absolute median number of EMPs (EMPs/μL) specific for CD31, CD105, and CD106 was significantly increased in the DM population. The ratio of CD62E/CD31 EMP populations reflected an apoptotic process. Conclusion. Circulating CD31+, CD105+, and CD106+ EMPs were significantly elevated in patients with DM. EMPs were the only independent predictors of DM in our study cohort. In addition, the EMP immunophenotype reflected an apoptotic process. Circulating EMPs may provide new options for risk assessment