Email from Richard Grace to the TDF Office and The Good Doctor Cast and Crew

Providence College Department of Theatre, Dance & Film Email from Richard Grace to the TDF Office and cast and crew of The Good Doctor thanking them for letting him and Madeleine be a part of the production. Monday, November 4, 2013https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/good_doctor_commentary/1000/thumbnail.jp

From Thee We Learned: A History of Providence College, 1992-2017

Part of Celebrating 100 years, Providence College : values that endur

Philosophical implications in Tennyson's In memoriam ..

Typewritten sheets in cover. Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University This item was digitized by the Internet Archive. Bibliography: p. 69-71

Regulatory solvency prediction in property-liability insurance: risk-based capital, audit ratios, and cash flow simulation

This paper analyzes the accuracy of the principal models used by U.S. insurance regulators to predict insolvencies in the property-liability insurance industry and compares these models with a relatively new solvency testing approach--cash flow simulation. Specifically, we compare the risk-based capital (RBC) system introduced by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in 1994, the FAST (Financial Analysis and Surveillance Tracking) audit ratio system used by the NAIC, and a cash flow simulation model developed by the authors. Both the RBC and FAST systems are static, ratio-based approaches to solvency testing, whereas the cash flow simulation model implements dynamic financial analysis. Logistic regression analysis is used to test the models for a large sample of solvent and insolvent property-liability insurers, using data from the years 1990-1992 to predict insolvencies over three-year prediction horizons. We find that the FAST system dominates RBC as a static method for predicting insurer insolvencies. Further, we find the cash flow simulation variables add significant explanatory power to the regressions and lead to more accurate solvency prediction than the ratio-based models taken alone.Insurance industry

LC oscillator chirp generator for LADAR applications

The design, layout, simulation, and testing of a signal generator integrated circuit (IC) intended to create a frequency modulated chirp signal used in Laser Assisted Detection and Ranging (LADAR) systems are described. LADAR systems function by illuminating a target with a laser beam and measuring the properties of the reflected signal. Applications include range finding, collision avoidance, terrain mapping, and facial recognition. The development and improvement of LADAR IC design can lead to miniaturized LADAR-on-chip systems that could significantly improve the usability and applications of said systems. Two designs, a fixed frequency oscillator bank (FFOB) and a voltage controlled oscillator bank (VCOB), were investigated as signal generators for chirped LADAR systems. The FFOB was designed to operate at 16 discrete frequencies ranging from 600 MHz to 2.1 GHz. The VCOB design offers a continuously variable frequency output ranging from 1 GHz to 3 GHz and outputs 32 discrete frequencies ranging from 1.5 GHz to 3.05 GHz in the suggested configuration. The FFOB design consists of 16 individual oscillators that are each controlled by a logical input pin on the package. In contrast, the VCOB design consists of eight oscillators, each with a tunable frequency and are cycled automatically by an on-chip digital counter circuit. All designs were completed in the IBM CMRF7SF process. The FFOB IC design was manufactured and packaged by MOSIS, and testing of the FFOB chip was completed. The VCOB IC was was designed to improve the performance of the FFOB signal generator by lowering power consumption, reducing signal distortion, increasing the number of the steps in the chirped waveform, and increasing bandwidth

Drowsy Driver Monitor and Warning System

The design and use of a low-cost drowsy driver monitor, the Copilot, and proposed driver interfaces are presented. The Copilot consists of a digital camera integrated with a low-cost digital signal processor (DSP). The Copilot is a functionally enhanced version of a previous monitor that has been successfully used in a variety of research projects in simulators and in over-the-road vehicles. Compared to its predecessor, the new monitor is small and easy to use, providing an effective research tool for the field or in the laboratory. The Copilot measures slow eyelid closures as represented by PERCLOS (Percent Eyelid Closure). PERCLOS is defined as the proportion of time that a subject\u27s eyes are closed over a specified period. PERCLOS has been separate-ly validated in two independent laboratories as an accurate predictor of performance degradation in sleep-deprived subjects. The current driver interface is based on recent experimental results that drowsiness feedback can reduce drowsiness and improve driver performance for sleep deprived truck drivers operating a truck simulator. This controlled experiment was undertaken with n = 16 Commercial Driving License (CDL) holders driving a high-fidelity truck simulator (TruckSim®) to establish the effects of drowsiness feedback on: (1) driver alertness drowsiness; (2) driving performance and (3) driver-initiated behaviors. Subjects served as their own controls, driving one simulated 4-hr night drive without drowsiness feedback (control condition) and one simulated 4-hr night drive with drowsiness feedback (feedback condition). Although there was significant between-subject variability in drowsiness and consequently in the number of drowsiness-based alarms and warning alerts, drowsiness feedback tended to have consistent effects on key classes of outcome variables, including reduced drowsiness levels, improved driver performance and self alerting activities (driver movements). The warning triggers are associated with PERCLOS calculated over three minutes. The current interface consists of an audible tone that is associated with the readings of a visual gauge. Work is continuing over the next year to refine the driver interfac

Improving Safety for Drivers and Fleets: Historical and Innovative Approaches

A two-day conference that addressed “Improving Safety for Drivers and Fleets” was held at Carnegie Mellon University and sponsored by the 21st Century Driver and Truck Alliance and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The conference brought together stakeholders within the trucking industry and safety experts from other industries to explore approaches to improve driver and fleet safety. The goal of the conference was to facilitate discussions among industry stakeholders as a first step in identifying and implementing effective safety processes that may advance the FMCSA\u27s ambitious goal of 50% reduction in truck-related fatalities by 2010. On Day One there were three sessions related to trucking and industrial safety. The first session offered two views of historical safety initiatives as a foundation for understanding current industry safety practices. The second session focused on current efforts by government, fleets and truck manufacturers. The third session provided an opportunity for presenters to describe successful safety programs not currently being widely applied to the trucking industry. On Day Two a morning-long panel discussion considered the approaches presented the previous day. A subsequent brainstorming session involving all attendees generated other independent or related approaches. The goals of the discussions on Day Two were 1) to identify practical safety steps that can be applied by fleets and drivers now and in the near future and 2) to identify potential partnerships for implementing and testing new safety initiatives. Ultimately, the panelists and participants developed 26 action items that will be ranked and used as a springboard for future truck safety efforts

Socioeconomic Status and Health Outcomes in a Developing Country

While the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health is well documented for developed countries, less evidence has been presented for developing countries. The aim of this paper is to analyse this relationship at the household level for Fiji, a developing country in the South Pacific, using original household survey data. To allow for the endogeneity of SES status in the household health production function we utilize a simultaneous equation approach where estimates are achieved by full information maximum likelihood. By restricting our sample to one, relatively small island, and including area and district hospital effects, physical geography effects are unpacked from income effects. We measure SES, as permanent income which is constructed using principal components analysis. An alternative specification considers transitory household income. We find that a 1% increase in wealth (our measure of permanent income) would lead to a 15% decrease in the probability of an incapacitating illness occurring intra-household. While presence of a strong causal relationship indicates that relatively small improvements in SES status can significantly improve health at the household level, it is argued that the design of appropriate policy would also require an understanding of the various mechanisms through which the relationship operates.