Merging Special Collections with GIS Technology to Enhance the User Experience

This analysis evaluates how PhillyHistory.org merged their unique special collection materials with geospatial-based progressive technology to challenge and educate the global community. A new generation of technologically savvy researchers has emerged that expect a more enhanced user experience than earlier generations. To meet these needs, collection managers are collaborating with community and local institutions to increase online access to materials; mixing best metadata practices with custom elements to create map mashups; and merging progressive GIS technology and geospatial based applications with their collections to enhance the user experience. The PhillyHistory.org website was analyzed to explore how they used various geospatial technology to create a new type of digital content management system based on geographical information and make their collections accessible via online software and mobile applications

Implementing Sustainable Meal Planning Practices Through Meal Mentoring at an East Texas Food Bank Sponsored Location

Objectives Participants being able to identify key terms on a food label. That the participants will have an awareness of healthful portion sizes. That the participants will be able to demonstrate this knowledge. This was accomplished by an initial assessment, a review and a post assessment. Each interview period had a discussion time and nutrition information was disseminated. Each participant received a one on one mentoring with the researcher covering basic nutrition content of foods during each interview

Impact of the Agricultural Sector on the Arkansas Economy in 2001

Agriculture has historically been one of Arkansas’ primary economic sectors. Agriculture is defined as the sum of agricultural production and processing activities unless otherwise specified. Agriculture contributes to the economy through direct agricultural production and value-added processing which generates economic activity in other parts of the economy

Effect of Prior Trauma Exposure on Alpha Amplitude, Heart Rate, and Self-Reported Negative Affect

This study was conducted to investigate whether the number of traumatic events an individual has previously experienced influences that individual’s physiological and psychological reactions when exposed to a negative affective stimulus followed by a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention. Twenty-eight participants were placed into intact quasi-experimental groups based on their scores on the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire (TLEQ). The negative affective stimulus consisted of a series of photos bearing negative affective valence. The photos were selected from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), and paralleled the areas of trauma exposure evaluated by the TLEQ. All participants were exposed to the same negative affective stimulus, but were randomly assigned to either the MBSR intervention or the inert control intervention. Alpha wave amplitude, as measured by EEG, and heart rate were assessed at three different times throughout the protocol. Participants’ self-reported negative affect was also measured at those same three times using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Since only half the sample (n = 14) consistently produced oscillations in the alpha range, parametric statistical tests were not performed on the EEG data. Separate ANOVAs were performed on both the heart rate and PANAS data. A significant interaction effect of the trauma group and intervention condition on overall heart rate was detected. Within the low trauma group, only, heart rate was significantly lower when exposed to the control condition compared to treatment. Time, overall, was found to have a significant effect on negative scale PANAS scores. Significant differences were found between baseline and the end of the intervention, as well as between the end of the photos and the end of the intervention. Significant differences were also found over time between the intervention conditions; scores differed significantly at all three time points within the treatment condition, only. No significant differences were found within the control condition over time

Crisis Communication Response for Field Offices of the Airline Pilots Association

This project-based thesis examines the issue of crisis management, focusing on communication as an integral part of an organization\u27s response to crisis. It explores the benefits of a crisis communication plan to successfully respond to a crisis situation and explores the components, writing style and considerations of a manual that make such a plan useable. This research highlights these communication challenges in relation to the airline industry, and more specifically, to the branch offices of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), by applying the information gathered into a written crisis communication manual. Chapter one of this thesis discusses the importance of effective and efficient communication in the aftermath of a crisis and the necessity for organizations to prepare for a crisis situation through the creation, maintenance and practice of a crisis communication manual. The chapter discusses the difficul6es of creating a crisis communication manual specific to an organization and uses the research to outline general guidelines that form the basis of every crisis plan. It also introduces the specific challenges of the airline industry in the event of a major crisis, illustrating these challenges by detailing ALP A\u27s response to the crash of TWA\u27s Flight 800. The literature-based research is detailed in chapter two, highlighting each source, its focus and level of detail. However, understanding the stress, confusion and numerous responsibilities to consider in the aftermath of a crisis is difficult to learn through this written medium. For this reason, a number of personal interviews with pilots and ALPA staff members who responded to TWA\u27s Flight 800 were conducted during the research process, and detailed in chapter three. These interviews provide an inside look at the successes and pitfalls of a specific response to a crisis in the airline industry. They also provide a detailed view of how ALPA field offices function in times of crisis, thus contributing to the conceptualization of how a crisis communication manual should be written specific to the organization. The suggestions and guidance gathered from literature written on the subject of crisis communication, coupled with the advice from those pilots and ALPA staff who responded to Flight 800, are applied in chapter four to create an actual crisis communication manual for ALPA branch offices. Through a series of checklists and expanded information sections, this manual focuses on four possible crisis scenarios including an airplane crash, a criminal act, a major mechanical incident and a pilot incident. Eliciting the editorial assistance of pilots and ALPA staff members resulted in a crisis communication manual that is specific to the airline industry and the offices of ALPA. These individuals agree, as reported in chapter five, that the steps outlined in the manual are consistent with ALPA pilot and staff responsibilities, are developed in an accessible fom1at, and will provide needed guidance to ALPA branch offices during times of crisis. This manual serves as a work in progress and must be continually updated, practiced and supported by all individuals involved to successfully aid in crisis response

Optimal active vibration absorber: Design and experimental results

An optimal active vibration absorber can provide guaranteed closed-loop stability and control for large flexible space structures with collocated sensors/actuators. The active vibration absorber is a second-order dynamic system which is designed to suppress any unwanted structural vibration. This can be designed with minimum knowledge of the controlled system. Two methods for optimizing the active vibration absorber parameters are illustrated: minimum resonant amplitude and frequency matched active controllers. The Controls-Structures Interaction Phase-1 Evolutionary Model at NASA LaRC is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the active vibration absorber for vibration suppression. Performance is compared numerically and experimentally using acceleration feedback