A Review of Noninvasive Tools Used for Measuring Flexion of the Lumbar Spine

The purpose of this study is to compare the reliability, validity, and ease of administration for various noninvasive tools used for measuring flexion of the lumbar spine. A synopsis of several clinical techniques is offered: Schober\u27s technique, modified Schober, modified modified Schober, fingertip to floor, modified fingertip to floor, goniometer, single inclinometer, double inclinometer, and flexicurves. The results were variable for the different techniques with each having its own inherent advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, the clinician can weigh the information presented when choosing a technique. It appears that a true gold standard has yet to be described. Therefore, it is the intention of this review to stimulate further research which will allow for greater accuracy in the measurements of flexion in the lumbar spine

The construction and evaluation of a word pronunciation test for grades four, five, and six

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Production and perception of individual speaking styles

As explanation of between-speaker differences in speech production moves beyond sex-and age-related differences in physiology, discussion has focused on individual vocal tract morphology. While it is interesting to relate, say, variable recruitment of the jaw to extent of palate doming, there is a substantial residue of arbitrary differences that constitute the speaker's "style". Style differences observed across a well-defined social group indicate group membership. Other style differences are idiosyncratic "habits" of articulation, individual solutions to the many-to-many mapping between motoric and acoustic representations and to the many different attentional trading relationships that can exploit the typical patterns of redundant variation in independent acoustic correlates of any minimal contrast. Perceptual studies of social style differences suggest that perceptibility depends upon the task and upon the hearer's own group membership. The few studies of idiosyncratic differences suggest that speakers perceive each others' productions in terms of their own habits. Thus, perceptual compensation for speaker differences must go beyond mere vocal tract normalization. A promising route for describing how listeners compensate for the arbitrary variation of style is an instance-based (or exemplar) model of speech perception in which the distribution of exemplars is heavily weighted by instances of the speaker's own productions

Sustainability Reporting Practices of Group III U.S. Air Carriers

Once a side note, sustainability reporting has become an important issue for companies and airlines globally and in the U.S. This exploratory study examined the sustainability reporting practices of U.S. passenger and cargo air carriers with total revenues exceeding $1 billion classified as Group III air carriers by the U.S Department of Transportation. The results showed that 53% of Group III air carriers published sustainability reports. Out of these 53%, all except one referenced the Global Reporting framework in their sustainability reports. Forty percent or 6 out of 15 carriers participated in at least one Carbon Disclosure Project questionnaire. Based on these results, it appears that the U.S. airline industry has considerable room for improvement in terms of the percentage of companies involved in sustainability reporting

Effects of a Carbon Emissions Trading System on Aviation Financial Decisions

The cost of providing air transportation for passengers and cargo to, from, and within the European Union was scheduled to increase in 2012 due to the EU Emission Trading Scheme. The European Union (EU) has legislated that aircraft landing or taking off from EU airports are subjected to the Emission Trading System (ETS) and are levied a charge for the estimated amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) generated during the entire flight. Since direct measurement of CO2 emitted during flight is not practical, the EU carbon emissions are estimated using the amount of fuel consumed. CO2 is a greenhouse gas associated with detrimental environmental impacts. Transportation in the US contributed 31% of CO2 emissions and 26% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2010. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), aviation is responsible for 2% of global CO2 emissions, and currently represents a growing percentage. Reducing fuel consumption is the most effective way to reduce CO2 emissions, but operational changes, design changes, and use of alternative fuels are also effective. While ETS charges are controversial, the purpose of this paper is to discuss ETS and illustrate its inclusion in aviation financial considerations. This paper introduces aviation carbon ETS, discusses the impact of ETS on airlines, and presents a methodology to quantify the cost differences in fuel and EU ETS charges incurred by introducing a stop for flights into and out of the EU

Estimating Airport Operations at General Aviation Airports Using the FAA NPIAS Airport Categories

The number of annual aircraft operations (take-offs and landings) is a significant concern to both airport owners and operators and to governmental agencies because operations data are one of the most important criteria used for determining future investments in airports. However, estimating the number of aircraft operations at non-towered general aviation airports is challenging work due to the lack of counts from air traffic control towers or useful estimates developed using models. Previous work in estimating annual aircraft operations has resulted in models and sampling methods that are imprecise or difficult to use. In 2014, new classification categories of 2,939 public-use general aviation airports in the United States were published in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) 2015-2019 Report. The goal of this research is to determine if the new airport classification categories provide an opportunity to improve models for estimating aircraft operations at GA airports. This research used the FAA Form 5010 data reported by airport managers. Another potential source for operations is the TAF (Terminal Area Forecast). Both Form 5010 and TAF have inaccuracies for non-towered airports. The Form 5010 was selected because it is one of the sources for the TAF. Based on this study, the NPIAS categories were found to be significant in the regression model developed. Future research will investigate using TAF data

Estimating Operations and Airport-Specific Landing & Take-off Cycles at GA Airports

Estimating Operations and AirportSpecific Landing Take-off Cycles at GA Airports—Estimating greenhouse gas and particulate emissions around airports is important when seeking to understand the impact on a community of existing or increasing aviation operations. Environmental consultants prepare models, and these models need estimates of the number of operations and landing/take-off (LTO) cycle characteristics. This information is difficult for GA airport managers to obtain. This presentation shows how to estimate LTO characteristics and the number of operations more easily by using sampling methods