Diffusion of a liquid nanoparticle on a disordered substrate

We perform molecular dynamic simulations of liquid nanoparticles deposited on a disordered substrate. The motion of the nanoparticle is characterised by a 'stick and roll' diffusive process. Long simulation times ($\simeq \mu s$), analysis of mean square displacements and stacking time distribution functions demonstrate that the nanoparticle undergoes a normal diffusion in spite of long sticking times. We propose a phenomenological model for the size and temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient in which the activation energy scales as $N^{1/3}$.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Trend Analysis and Operational Performance Indicators in the U.S. Airline Industry

Operational performance of the U.S. airline industry has been monitored for the past 25 years by a unique quantitative model of key metrics. As the nation’s most comprehensive study of airline performance and quality in existence, the National Airline Quality Rating (http://airlinequalityrating.com) sets the industry standard, providing consumers and industry watchers a means to compare performance quality among airlines using objective performance-based data. No other airline study in the country is based on performance measures. Criteria included in the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) report are screened to meet two basic elements: (1) they must be readily obtainable from published data sources for each airline, and (2) they must be important to consumers regarding airline quality. The resulting criteria include areas such as baggage handling, customer complaints, denied boardings and on-time arrivals. This research utilizes the application of a trend analysis methodology resulting in both industry-wide and airline specific benchmarks. Specific and unique time periods can be accessed for the compressive AQR database which has been maintained on each indicator, on a monthly basis, for more than two decades

Determinants of Underrepresentation of Women in Aviation Education

This analysis will study demographics regarding women aviation pilots/educators to ascertain the past, present, and future participation of women in all aspects of the aviation field. This review of women in aviation in general is necessary to establish the interest and participation of women in aviation. Other areas of literature that will be used include data on women entering male dominated fields such as engineering, business, education, etc. Comparisons of how women enter these male dominated fields versus aviation will be made

A Quantitative Methodology for Measuring Airline Quality

In today\u27s competitive airline industry, it is crucial that an airline do all it can to attract and retain customers. One of the best ways to do this is by offering a quality service to consumers. Perceptions of service quality vary from person to person, but an enduring element of service quality is the consistent achievement of customer satisfaction. Satisfying customer service needs keeps present customers loyal and helps establish a base for new ones. An Airline Quality Rating scale is proposed that assesses the quality of the U.S. major airlines using comparable, objective, quantifiable, periodically published data that addresses customer satisfaction concerns. This data is not consumer opinion based, but has distinct performance characteristics that are specifically attuned to the consumer\u27s point of view. The AQR outlined here focuses on quantitative factors to provide a more reliable and objective result in assessing service quality levels across all major domestic airlines. Combining quantifiable and readily available data provides an objective starting point for monitoring the quality of service an individual airline might be providing. This unique method of measuring quality, without the burdensome task of surveying thousands of consumers, resulted in findings synonymous with findings of a major consumer survey of 4,400 frequent flyers (Zagat 1991)

Designing Case Study Research for Pedagogical Application and Scholarly Outcomes

The purpose of this paper is to present the pedagogical/andragogical model of case study research in capstone courses in collegiate aviation programs. As higher education continues to advance in examining new or different ways to engage students, case study research in a capstone course affords seniors the opportunity to engage in learning how to plan, investigate, write a case study research report and present their findings on a topic of interest

Fatigue and Its Management in the Aviation Industry, with Special Reference to Pilots

Abstract Fatigue is a significant contributing factor that reduces human ability and leads to accidents and threatens the safety of aircraft and human lives. Approximately 70% of fatal accidents that occur in commercial aviation operations are due to human factors. More specifically, crew fatigue contributes to nearly 15 to 20% of the accidents (Akerstedt, 2000). These accidents and incidents are associated with pilot fatigue because of the long duty periods, disruption of circadian rhythms, and inadequate sleep that are common among both commercial and military pilots. Though fatigue is seen in all the disciplines associated with the aviation industry, this paper will discuss only pilot fatigue. Based on the literature examined, this paper first defines fatigue, examines the significance of the problem, discusses what is fatigue, its types and causes, discusses fatigue-related accidents and incidents, examines fatigue in different flight operations and its impact on the wellbeing of pilots, investigates the in-flight and pre-/post-flight countermeasures (both pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods) practiced at present, and discusses the fatigue risk management system (FRMS)—in this it defines FRMS, briefly discusses its history, describes the organizational structure of FRMS, its process, and its operation in the aviation industry, merits and demerits of FRMS, and its future applications. The paper finally concludes with some recommendations for future research/study in this discipline

A Concept Model for Comparative Analysis Applied to the U.S. Airline Industry

The objective of this research is to analyze the trends in quality and performance of US airlines over the past ten years and determine what economic factors influence the level service. By identifying variables that directly affect the level of performance using data from Airline Quality Rating (AQR), service benchmarks for the airline industry can be established. Industry standard is set by AQR providing consumers and industry watchers objective performance-based data to compare performance quality among different US airlines. The AQR weighted average formula highlights criteria including baggage handling, customer complaints, denied boarding and on-time arrivals. Analyzing the data over the past ten years (2004-2014), this research will utilize the application of a comparable trend analysis methodology resulting in both industry wide and airline specific benchmarks. Data used in this research are readily available from the Department of Transportation and are considered important to the consumers regarding airline quality. Through the collected data and analysis, airlines, government entities and the traveling public will be able to make better decisions, implement policies and develop best practices

Nonmonotonic dependence of the absolute entropy on temperature in supercooled Stillinger-Weber silicon

Using a recently developed thermodynamic integration method, we compute the precise values of the excess Gibbs free energy (G^e) of the high density liquid (HDL) phase with respect to the crystalline phase at different temperatures (T) in the supercooled region of the Stillinger-Weber (SW) silicon [F. H. Stillinger and T. A. Weber, Phys. Rev. B. 32, 5262 (1985)]. Based on the slope of G^e with respect to T, we find that the absolute entropy of the HDL phase increases as its enthalpy changes from the equilibrium value at T \ge 1065 K to the value corresponding to a non-equilibrium state at 1060 K. We find that the volume distribution in the equilibrium HDL phases become progressively broader as the temperature is reduced to 1060 K, exhibiting van-der-Waals (VDW) loop in the pressure-volume curves. Our results provides insight into the thermodynamic cause of the transition from the HDL phase to the low density phases in SW silicon, observed in earlier studies near 1060 K at zero pressure.Comment: This version is accepted for publication in Journal of Statistical Physics (11 figures, 1 table

Research Benefits for Scholarly Authors Being Published on a Public Forum

The previous construct of research was focused on social media platforms as a benefactor in broadcasting towards a global audience with non-academic professions. Following along the same ideology, this research directs the attention to a pertained audience in academic profession. •Embry-Riddle is the host of Scholarly Commons which collects the research of authors (faculty members), and assists in developing a digital portfolio. This portfolio creates metric measurements on a dashboard to indicate where downloads are occurring, and aids in providing current information pertaining to the authors’ publication. •In this case, the publication of the National Airline Quality Rating (AQR) (https://airlinequalityrating.com/) in Scholarly Commons focuses on locating members that are attracted to the quantitative research on airline performance

Liquid-liquid phase transition in Stillinger-Weber silicon

It was recently demonstrated that the Stillinger-Weber silicon undergoes a liquid-liquid first-order phase transition deep into the supercooled region (Sastry and Angell, Nature Materials 2, 739 (2003)). Here we study the effects of perturbations on this phase transition. We show that the order of the liquid-liquid transition changes with negative pressure. We also find that the liquid-liquid transition disappears when the three-body term of the potential is strengthened by as little as 5 %. This implies that the details of the potential could affect strongly the nature and even the existence of the liquid-liquid phase.Comment: 13 page