Do Effective After-Action Reviews Lead to Better Performance?

After-action reviews (AARs) are meetings in which teams meet to recall, analyze, and set goals according to previous performance. Strong evidence indicates that the use AARs can enhance performance (Tannenbaum, Cerasoli, 2013; LePine, Piccolo, Jackson, Mathieu, Saul, 2008). However, these studies do not examine the relationship between quality of AAR performance and team task performance. The present study utilizes 25 teams operating a simulated airline and examines the relationship between performance during the AAR and both subsequent and previous task performance. The NASA Flight Operations Center – Unified Simulation (FOCUS) lab at Middle Tennessee State University emulates a high-fidelity flight operations center where team members work together to operate a virtual airline. Each team participates in three simulations of which progressively increase in difficulty. AARs take place between simulations, allowing for teams to make meaning of their past performance, create goals accordingly, and ultimately improve. The purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between AAR effectiveness and simulation performance of teams. Correlations did not reveal significant relationships between AAR performance and task performance. Suggestions for further research are discussed including utilizing a measure of adaptation rather than the current task performance measure which reflects routine performance

Biological Invasions: The Case of Soybean Aphid Infestation

Soybeans, the second highest cash crop following corn in the U.S., have come under attack by invasive species, the soybean aphid from the North and soybean rust from the South. We estimated the economic losses resulting from soybean aphid infestation by using a dynamic equilibrium model. Results indicate that, first, the reduction of soybean production resulting from soybean aphid infestation is largely absorbed by reducing soybean exports, due to the higher price elasticity of export demand compared to the domestic demand. Second, the economic losses to U.S. soybean producers would grow on average annually between $12.8 million and$23.4 million during the first five years of infestation. In the longer-run, soybean producers would suffer greater economic losses as the dispersion rate of infested soybean acreage with soybean aphids rises. However, the successful discovery of the soybean aphid gene (TF04048) Rag-1 (which confers resistance) does not at this time warrant soybean growers and policy-makers becoming too seriously alarmed. Even so, time is an important factor in the eventual control of the soybean aphid.Crop Production/Industries,

Helmholtz concentric ring target: Correlation with the JCC technique and significance between far and near cylinder corrections

Helmholtz concentric ring target: Correlation with the JCC technique and significance between far and near cylinder correction

Economic Impacts of the U.S. Soybean Aphid Infestation: A Multi-Regional Competitive Dynamic Analysis

We estimated the economic benefits resulting from controlling soybean aphid infestation by using a multi-regional competitive dynamic equilibrium model. Results indicate that the reduction of soybean production resulting from a soybean aphid infestation is largely absorbed by reducing soybean exports, due to the higher price elasticity of export demand compared to domestic demand. Producer benefits resulting from controlling soybean aphids would increase by between $949 million and$1.623 billion in ten years under various scenarios. Results also suggest that it is economically more efficient to control soybean aphids when the rate of intrinsic growth is relatively lower, the supply price elasticity of soybean acreage is relatively more elastic, and insecticide treatment costs per acre are lower. However, if the discovery of the gene Rag-1 (TF04048) leads to new cultivars that withstand the soybean aphid, our estimates will overestimate the actual damages. Even so, our analysis demonstrates that it is critical to control soybean aphids early in their infestation cycle to avoid a rapid increase in damages.soybean aphid, invasive species, producer surplus, consumer surplus, Rag-1, Crop Production/Industries,

Effects of a Low Crude Protein Diet With and Without Spirulina platensis Inclusion on White Blood Cell Profiles in Broilers

Spirulina microalgae is an alternative protein source under consideration for feed formulation in commercial broiler production. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a low crude protein (LCP) diet and a LCP diet formulated with 100 g/kg Spirulina (LCP-SP) on blood cell measurements in broilers. One-day-old Ross 708 male broilers were assigned to three dietary treatments: a standard crude protein (SCP), the LCP, or the LCP-SP diet, with five pens/treatment. When the chickens were 37-days old, blood samples were obtained from 2 birds/pen. Each blood sample was used to determine 1) the concentrations of white blood cells (WBC), thrombocytes, red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin, and hematocrit by automated hematology; 2) the proportions among WBC populations by microscopic evaluation of \u3e300 WBC on Wright-stained blood smears; and 3) the proportions among lymphocyte-subsets by immunofluorescent staining and flow-cytometric cell population analysis. Except for monocytes, none of the blood cell measurements were affected (P \u3e 0.05) by diet. The LCP diet resulted in increased (P ≤ 0.05) monocyte concentration and proportion compared to the SCP diet, indicating heightened inflammatory activity with lower dietary protein content. The LCP-SP diet reversed the effect of the LCP diet, resulting in monocyte concentrations and proportions not different (P \u3e 0.05) from those of the SCP diet. The ability of Spirulina microalgae to maintain normal WBC profiles in broilers fed the LCP diet is a promising sign for its use as a proteinaceous feed component without compromising the health of the bird

DigitalCommons Report: 2013 Board of Directors

“We will generate scholarship that discovers, integrates, applies and demonstrates the effectiveness of our practices and transfers knowledge produced by our work

Effect of microalloying on the toughness of metallic glasses

The effect of microalloying on the toughness of Cu-Ti-based metallic glasses is explored. Minor additions of Si and Sn in glass former Cu_(47)Ti_(34)Zr_(11)Ni_8 known to improve glass-forming ability are found here to sharply decrease toughness. The drop in toughness is associated with a small but meaningful increase in shear modulus, glass-transition temperature, yield strength, and a decrease in Poisson's ratio, implying a negative correlation between toughness and shear flow barrier. The strong influence of minor additions on the glass properties could be a useful tool for simultaneously tuning both the glass-forming ability and toughness of metallic glasses