Applications of the Upside-Down Normal Loss Function

The upside-down normal loss function (UDNLF) is a weighted loss function that has accurately modeled losses in a product engineering context. The function\u27\u27s scale parameter can be adjusted to account for the actual percentage of material failing to work at specification limits. Use of the function along with process history allows the prediction of expected loss-the average loss one would expect over a long period of stable process operation. Theory has been developed for the multivariate loss function (MUDNLF), which can be applied to optimize a process with many parameters-a situation in which engineering intuition is often ineffective. Computational formulae are presented for expected loss given normally distributed process parameters (correlated or uncorrelated), both in the univariate and multivariate case

Large Dog Relinquishment to Two Municipal Facilities in New York City and Washington, D.C.: Identifying Targets for Intervention

While the overall trend in euthanasia has been decreasing nationally, large dogs are at a higher risk of euthanasia than other sized dogs in most animal shelters in the United States. We hypothesized one way to increase the lives saved with respect to these large dogs is to keep them home when possible. In order to develop solutions to decrease relinquishment, a survey was developed to learn more about the reasons owners relinquish large dogs. The survey was administered to owners relinquishing their dogs at two large municipal facilities, one in New York City and one in Washington, D.C. There were 157 responses between the two facilities. We found both significant similarities and differences between respondents and their dogs from the two cities. We identified opportunities to potentially support future relinquishers and found that targets for interventions are likely different in each community

Soap talk: The appeal of soap opera to contemporary female audiences

The purpose of this paper is to explain why women find contemporary television soap operas so enjoyable to consume. The primary methodology that is utilized to accomplish this purpose is a structural analysis of the eleven characteristics of soap opera proposed by communication cultural analyst Mary Ellen Brown (1994). To support this analysis, examples are taken from a currently airing television soap opera, All My Children, which can be seen daily at noon on ABC. Implications for further study of the soap opera genre are then discussed. First, however, a brief history of soap opera and several of its contemporary definitions are offered