Law Casebook Description and Table of Contents: Constitutional Environmental and Natural Resources Law [outline]

6 pages. James May, Widener University School of Law -- Agend

Law Casebook Description and Table of Contents: Constitutional Environmental and Natural Resources Law [outline]

6 pages. James May, Widener University School of Law -- Agend

Efficiently Identifying Failures using Quantitative Tests, Matrix-Pooling and the EM-Algorithm

Pooled-testing methods can greatly reduce the number of tests needed to identify failures in a collection of samples. Existing methodology has focused primarily on binary tests, but there is a clear need for improved efficiency when using expensive quantitative tests, such as tests for HIV viral load in resource-limited settings. We propose a matrix-pooling method which, based on pooled-test results, uses the EM algorithm to identify individual samples most likely to be failures. Two hundred datasets for each of a wide range of failure prevalence were simulated to test the method. When the measurement of interest was normally distributed, at a failure prevalence level of 15.6% the EM method yielded a 47.3% reduction in the number of tests needed to identify failures (as compared to testing each specimen individually). These results are somewhat better than the reduction gained by using the Simple Search method (44.9%) previously published by May et al. (2010). However, the EM procedure was able to identify failures in just 2.6 testing rounds, on average, as compared to an average of 19.2 testing rounds required by Simple Search. In settings where the turn-around time for testing services is significant, the reduction in testing rounds provided by the EM method is substantial. Unfortunately the EM method does not perform as well when the measurements of interest are highly skewed, as is often the case with viral load concentrations

Play Ball: Bringing Scrum into the Classroom

Scrum has become a widely-used framework for technology development in both private industry and the government. As a result, Information Systems recruiters and executives have recently been placing a focus on students with Scrum knowledge. Unfortunately, current System Analysis and Design textbooks provide cursory attention to Scrum. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to suggest a starting point for teaching Scrum at the university level by presenting a classroom exercise (Ball Game) that can be used as a means for learning Scrum in more detail. This tip accomplishes three things: (1) introduces students to Scrum concepts with an engaging and memorable exercise, (2) provides a means for teaching students about estimation, and (3) offers an approach that allows students to witness firsthand how self-organized teams inspect, adapt, and evolve

BEEFIN : maximizing profits from feeding beef cattle out of season

BEEFIN is a computer model that formulates profit maximising diets for finishing beef cattle to a specified carcass weight and fat thickness. It predicts cattle growth rate, feed conversion ratio, final liveweight, number of days on feed and the amount of available feedstuffs required to finish cattle to specification, The diets fulfil the animal\u27s energy, protien, mineral and roughage requirements. BEEFIN also calculates a profit and loss budget for the enterprise, performs a sensitivity analysis on changes in the price for both cattle and feed and determines the changes in feed prices needed before the composition of the diet is altered. Producers considering feeding cattle out of season can use BEEFIN to evaluate their alternative choices for feeding cattle. This free service is available through any Department of Agriculture office in the south-west

Nuisance Bird Control in Virginia

In the mid-1960s, State officials of Virginia recognized an increasing bird damage problem, yet no legislation existed that allowed any state agency the authority to initiate a nuisance bird control program. In 1968, with bird damage estimated at 25 million dollars, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Nuisance Bird Law. This law provided the basic legislation for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Commerce (VDAC) to allow its personnel to investigate complaints, conduct surveys, and initiate bird control programs when necessary. Administration of the law is by the Plant Pest Control Section of the VDAC along with a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service. This paper is intended to explain how the VDAC, now the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), conducts its program, the problem bird species encountered, the control techniques employed, the unique bird problems in the State, and the acceptance of the program by the public

Psycho-Social Roles of Medical Social Workers in Managing Stressed Patients in Government Hospitals in Rivers State, Nigeria

The focus of this study is to investigate the psycho-social roles of medical social workers in managing stressed patients in government hospitals in Rivers State, Nigeria. Two research questions are generated to guide the study. Descriptive design is adopted for the study. The population covers all medical social workers in Rivers State Government hospitals. A sample of 300 respondents is randomly selected for the study. The selection is done through the use of simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques. Questionnaire is the main instrument used for data collection. The instrument is face-validated by professionals in the Department of Educational Sociology, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt. Furthermore, the reliability value of 0.72 Correlation Co-efficient is established for the study. Percentage and frequency table are used to analyze all respondents’ data for the study. The results of the analysis revealed that psycho-social roles of medical social workers in managing stressed patients in government hospitals help the ill with such illness recuperate faster. Based on the findings, the study recommends, among others that State Government should fund the hospitals adequately, in order to train medical social workers on cutting edge counselling techniques for the treatment of stressed patients. Again, the state government should employ qualified medical social workers, who are proficient in psycho-social roles of managing stressed patients in government hospitals. Keywords: Psycho-social roles, medical social workers, managing stressed patients, government’s hospitals, Rivers State, Nigeri