Automated mixed traffic transit vehicle microprocessor controller

An improved Automated Mixed Traffic Vehicle (AMTV) speed control system employing a microprocessor and transistor chopper motor current controller is described and its performance is presented in terms of velocity versus time curves. The on board computer hardware and software systems are described as is the software development system. All of the programming used in this controller was implemented using FORTRAN. This microprocessor controller made possible a number of safety features and improved the comfort associated with starting and shopping. In addition, most of the vehicle's performance characteristics can be altered by simple program parameter changes. A failure analysis of the microprocessor controller was generated and the results are included. Flow diagrams for the speed control algorithms and complete FORTRAN code listings are also included

Automated mixed traffic vehicle design AMTV 2

The design of an improved and enclosed Automated Mixed Traffic Transit (AMTT) vehicle is described. AMTT is an innovative concept for low-speed tram-type transit in which suitable vehicles are equipped with sensors and controls to permit them to operate in an automated mode on existing road or walkway surfaces. The vehicle chassis and body design are presented in terms of sketches and photographs. The functional design of the sensing and control system is presented, and modifications which could be made to the baseline design for improved performance, in particular to incorporate a 20-mph capability, are also discussed. The vehicle system is described at the block-diagram-level of detail. Specifications and parameter values are given where available

Measuring access: how accurate are patient-reported waiting times?

Introduction: A national audit of waiting times in England’s genitourinary medicine clinics measures patient access. Data are collected by patient questionnaires, which rely upon patients’ recollection of first contact with health services, often several days previously. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of patient-reported waiting times. Methods: Data on true waiting times were collected at the time of patient booking over a three-week period and compared with patient-reported data collected upon clinic attendance. Factors contributing to patient inaccuracy were explored. Results: Of 341 patients providing initial data, 255 attended; 207 as appointments and 48 ‘walk-in’. The accuracy of patient-reported waiting times overall was 52% (133/255). 85% of patients (216/255) correctly identified themselves as seen within or outside of 48 hours. 17% of patients (17/103) seen within 48 hours reported a longer waiting period, whereas 20% of patients (22/108) reporting waits under 48 hours were seen outside that period. Men were more likely to overestimate their waiting time (10.4% versus 3.1% p<0.02). The sensitivity of patient-completed questionnaires as a tool for assessing waiting times of less than 48 hours was 83.5%. The specificity and positive predictive value were 85.5% and 79.6%, respectively. Conclusion: The overall accuracy of patient reported waiting times was poor. Although nearly one in six patients misclassified themselves as being seen within or outside of 48 hours, given the under and overreporting rates observed, the overall impact on Health Protection Agency waiting time data is likely to be limited

A PHENOMENOLOGY OF MIMETIC LEARNING AND MULTIMODAL COGNITION: INTEGRATING EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE INTO PROGRAMS IN RHETORIC, COMPOSITION, AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

My dissertation emphasizes a cognitive account of multimodality that explicitly integrates experiential knowledge work into the rhetorical pedagogy that informs so many composition and technical communication programs. In these disciplines, multimodality is widely conceived in terms of what Gunther Kress calls “socialsemiotic” modes of communication shaped primarily by culture. In the cognitive and neurolinguistic theories of Vittorio Gallese and George Lakoff, however, multimodality is described as a key characteristic of our bodies’ sensory-motor systems which link perception to action and action to meaning, grounding all communicative acts in knowledge shaped through body-engaged experience. I argue that this “situated” account of cognition – which closely approximates Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of perception, a major framework for my study – has pedagogical precedence in the mimetic pedagogy that informed ancient Sophistic rhetorical training, and I reveal that training’s multimodal dimensions through a phenomenological exegesis of the concept mimesis. Plato’s denigration of the mimetic tradition and his elevation of conceptual contemplation through reason, out of which developed the classic Cartesian separation of mind from body, resulted in a general degradation of experiential knowledge in Western education. But with the recent introduction into college classrooms of digital technologies and multimedia communication tools, renewed emphasis is being placed on the “hands-on” nature of inventive and productive praxis, necessitating a revision of methods of instruction and assessment that have traditionally privileged the acquisition of conceptual over experiential knowledge. The model of multimodality I construct from Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, ancient Sophistic rhetorical pedagogy, and current neuroscientific accounts of situated cognition insists on recognizing the significant role knowledges we acquire experientially play in our reading and writing, speaking and listening, discerning and designing practices

AMTV headway sensor and safety design

A headway sensing system for an automated mixed traffic vehicle (AMTV) employing an array of optical proximity sensor elements is described, and its performance is presented in terms of object detection profiles. The problem of sensing in turns is explored experimentally and requirements for future turn sensors are discussed. A recommended headway sensor configuration, employing multiple source elements in the focal plane of one lens operating together with a similar detector unit, is described. Alternative concepts including laser radar, ultrasonic sensing, imaging techniques, and radar are compared to the present proximity sensor approach. Design concepts for an AMTV body which will minimize the probability of injury to pedestrians or passengers in the event of a collision are presented

The New Amy, Vicky, and Andy Act: A Positive Step Towards Full Restitution for Child Pornography Victims

In this article, we review some of the valuable steps forward found in the AVAA, as well as the work that remains to be done. But in closing, it may be useful to remember that the legal issues swirling around restitution decisions have real world consequences, both for the defendants who must pay the restitution awards and the victims who need and deserve compensation. As between these two groups, however, the equities tip decisively in favor of victims. To be sure, large restitution awards have financial consequences for criminal defendants. But the stark fact remains that criminals have a choice to commit the crime or not. Having voluntarily chosen to commit a crime producing serious lifelong financial repercussions for victims, a defendant has no right to complain when courts require him to contribute to making victims whole. Victims of child pornography crimes – and, more broadly, all serious federal crimes – deserve to have their interests prioritized in federal sentencing statutes. The AVAA is a modest but useful step in that direction

U.S. v. Clinesmith: Amicus Brief in Support of Motion for Relief Under The Crime Victims\u27 Rights Act

This amicus brief was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in support of Dr. Carter Page’s motion to be recognized as a “victim” under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA) in U.S. v. Clinesmith. The brief discusses the important issue who qualifies as a “victim” for purposes of obtaining CVRA protections and concludes that Dr. Page is a “victim” in the case.In the underlying criminal case, Page argues that he is a “victim” of Clinesmith’s false statement, made in connection with FISA warrant renewal application by the Government to surveil Dr. Page’s communications. The amicus brief provides background on the CVRA’s expansive protections, which cover any individual who is “directly and proximately harmed” as the result of a crime. In this case, because Clinesmith’s false statement subverted the FISA process by providing false information to the FISA Court, the false statement alone created sufficient harm to trigger CVRA “victim” status.The amicus organizations on this brief are the National Crime Victim Law Institute, The National Organization for Victim Assistance, The National Center for Victims of Crime, Arizona Voice for Crime Victims, The Network for Victim Recovery of the District Of Columbia, Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center, Rocky Mountain Victim Law Center, South Carolina Victim Assistance Network, And Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic as Amici Curiae In Support of Motion for Relief Under the Crime Victims’ Rights Ac

Development of the Runway Incursion Advisory and Alerting System (RIAAS): Research Summary

This report summarizes research conducted on an aircraft based Runway Incursion Advisory and Alerting System (RIAAS) developed under a cooperative agreement between Rannoch Corporation and the NASA Langley Research Center. A summary of RIAAS is presented along with results from simulation and flight testing, safety benefits, and key technical issues