Education in the Post-Lake View Era: What Is Arkansas Doing to Close the Achievement Gap?

Assesses whether the state's reforms can close the achievement gap among racial and socioeconomic groups. Proposes additional steps such as school health programs, extended learning programs, targeted small classes, and more parental engagement

Beyond the border : Border bottlenecks hamper trade

Mexico ; North American Free Trade Agreement ; Texas ; Trade

The DPG-star method

This article introduces the DPG-star (from now on, denoted DPG$^*$) finite element method. It is a method that is in some sense dual to the discontinuous Petrov-Galerkin (DPG) method. The DPG methodology can be viewed as a means to solve an overdetermined discretization of a boundary value problem. In the same vein, the DPG$^*$ methodology is a means to solve an underdetermined discretization. These two viewpoints are developed by embedding the same operator equation into two different saddle-point problems. The analyses of the two problems have many common elements. Comparison to other methods in the literature round out the newly garnered perspective. Notably, DPG$^*$ and DPG methods can be seen as generalizations of $\mathcal{L}\mathcal{L}^\ast$ and least-squares methods, respectively. A priori error analysis and a posteriori error control for the DPG$^*$ method are considered in detail. Reports of several numerical experiments are provided which demonstrate the essential features of the new method. A notable difference between the results from the DPG$^*$ and DPG analyses is that the convergence rates of the former are limited by the regularity of an extraneous Lagrange multiplier variable

The MPD thruster program at JPL

The topics covered are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: engine lifetime assessment; lithium magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster development; and radiation-cooled, applied-field engine testing

REALIZATION OF A CANINE POSITIONING DEVICE FOR IN SITU PROSTATE PHASE CONTRAST – COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IMAGING

Background: Worldwide, prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer in men. The current diagnostic standard of PCa requires invasive procedures such as needle biopsies. Non-invasive medical imaging techniques, such as Computed Tomography (CT), are only used as an adjunct for staging PCa. The development of a novel non-invasive imaging technique for PCa could revolutionize diagnostic standards and improve patient prognosis. The similarity between canine and human prostates, as well as similar PCa pathophysiology, makes the dog an ideal model for human PCa research. Initial investigations with Phase Contrast – CT (PC-CT) has shown potential for detecting morphological abnormalities in ex vivo canine prostates and therefore warrants further testing as a potential PCa diagnostic imaging technique. This research addresses the design, development and implementation of a canine positioning device used for in situ prostate PC-CT imaging on the Biomedical Imaging and Therapy –Insertion Device Beamline at the Canadian Light Source. This device is currently being used to collect micron-level resolution PC-CT reconstructions of canine cadaver prostates. This thesis lays the ground work for canine imaging on the BMIT – ID beamline at the CLS. The design and implementation of the device are described, along with the issues discovered and addressed

Cost Analysis of Stratospheric Albedo Modification Delivery Systems

We perform engineering cost analyses of systems capable of delivering 1–5 million metric tonnes (Mt) of albedo modification material to altitudes of 18–30 km. The goal is to compare a range of delivery systems evaluated on a consistent cost basis. Cost estimates are developed with statistical cost estimating relationships based on historical costs of aerospace development programs and operations concepts using labor rates appropriate to the operations. We evaluate existing aircraft cost of acquisition and operations, perform in-depth new aircraft and airship design studies and cost analyses, and survey rockets, guns, and suspended gas and slurry pipes, comparing their costs to those of aircraft and airships. Annual costs for delivery systems based on new aircraft designs are estimated to be $1–3B to deliver 1 Mt to 20–30 km or$2–8B to deliver 5 Mt to the same altitude range. Costs for hybrid airships may be competitive, but their large surface area complicates operations in high altitude wind shear, and development costs are more uncertain than those for airplanes. Pipes suspended by floating platforms provide low recurring costs to pump a liquid or gas to altitudes as high as ~ 20 km, but the research, development, testing and evaluation costs of these systems are high and carry a large uncertainty; the pipe system's high operating pressures and tensile strength requirements bring the feasibility of this system into question. The costs for rockets and guns are significantly higher than those for other systems. We conclude that (a) the basic technological capability to deliver material to the stratosphere at million tonne per year rates exists today, (b) based on prior literature, a few million tonnes per year would be sufficient to alter radiative forcing by an amount roughly equivalent to the growth of anticipated greenhouse gas forcing over the next half century, and that (c) several different methods could possibly deliver this quantity for less than $8B per year. We do not address here the science of aerosols in the stratosphere, nor issues of risk, effectiveness or governance that will add to the costs of solar geoengineering.Engineering and Applied Science

Guest Editorial: The 2014 Capstone Design Conference

The goal of the 2014 Capstone Design Conference held in Columbus, OH was to build upon the success of three previous conferences (2007 and 2010 in Boulder, CO, and 2012 in Champaign, IL) and expand the community of educators, students, and industry members engaged in discussing, analyzing, and improving capstone design education. Sessions at the 2014 Capstone Design Conference were designed for vibrant sharing of ideas and experiences across the capstone community via interactive panel sessions, poster session socials, and hands-on workshops. This editorial discusses conference planning, structure, and feedback. Technical papers that follow in this issue document scholarship surrounding noteworthy capstone course innovations. Most of these began as four page peer-reviewed papers included in the conference proceedings

Studies on the Allocation of Water Over Space and Among Users in an Arid Environment

After a decade in a long-tenn research program at Utah State Univers\u27ity it is appropriate to review the concepts, progress and possible changes in direction. In the late 1960\u27s grants were received froln the Office of Water Resources and Technology and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Funding was also received from the Utah Center for Water Resources and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station. These grants enabled a beginning of the research using extensive linear programming models that is still underway, many grants and many people later. The list of publications at the end of this paper fonn the basis for this report, but are not cited herein. A number of studies in other departments also drew from the program