The Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony

As perhaps the single most effective method of proving the elements of a crime, eyewitness testimony has been vital to the trial process for centuries. However, the reliability of eyewitness testimony has recently come into question with the work of organizations such as The Innocence Project, which works to exonerate the wrongfully convicted. This thesis examines previous experiments concerning eyewitness testimony as well as court cases in which eyewitnesses provided vital evidence in order to determine the reliability of eyewitness testimony as well as to determine mitigating or exacerbating factors contributing to a lack of reliability

Analysis and Methodology of Helical and Flexible Homopolymer Monte Carlo Simulations

The purpose of my work is to analyze the results of Monte Carlo simulations of various types of polymers: a helical homopolymer and a flexible homopolymer. Specific applications of Monte Carlo polymer simulations and parallel tempering replica exchanges are presented. Using temporal analysis, I aim to measure the efficiency of each type of simulation as it relates to equilibration time. For the helical homopolymer model, equilibration time is expanded upon to analyze the rate of structure generation and relevant hyper-phase diagram. Stable states for helical homopolymers will use data generated from parallel tempering replica exchange Monte Carlo simulations created by Dr. Matthew Williams. The stable states for flexible polymers will be analyzed and generated using a simulation created by myself. Each simulation begins with a polymer in a random configuration; as time progresses, changes to polymer structure are randomly induced to decrease the energy of each structure until equilibrium is reached. Data collected after equilibrium is reached is used to understand polymer behavior for each model and simulated temperature. Canonical analysis of post-equilibration data yields a specific heat plot for the flexible polymer model and a hyper-phase diagram for the helical polymer model. Analysis of equilibration data shows up to a 95% decrease in equilibration time for the 2D replica exchange scheme over the 1D. Additionally, the incorporation of Hamiltonian exchange into parallel tempering simulations for the helical homopolymer model leads to an average of a seven-fold increase in the rate of unique structure generation. Future research steps involve expanding the application of the 2D replica exchange scheme to differing Monte Carlo simulations as well as the addition of measurable physical and thermodynamic parameters to my simulation

Using simulation and experiments to optimize strength and ductility in metals processed by surface mechanical attrition treatment

Precision and Energy Controlled Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment (PECSMAT) is a novel technique for strengthening metal parts by impacting the surface, which causes residual stresses to increase in the material and thereby increases the strength of the part. Ductility, which is the degree to which a material will permanently deform before breaking, will decrease as a part is hardened and the strength increases. This tradeoff is undesirable as retaining both high strength and ductility will allow parts to be in service longer before the part fails. This research aims to optimize the impact energy and location on a metal part to have high strength and retain ductility. Questions to be answered during the research process include: How many impacts are optimal for a given region, and where should those impacts occur? How much energy should be put into each impact? Do the experimental results agree with the simulations? Is the ductility of the impacted part higher than conventional methods while maintaining or exceeding the strength of the material? Testing will first be conducted using commercially available software Abaqus CAE, which is a simulation based finite element analysis (FEA) tool. Subsequent validation of simulation results will be carried out experimentally performing monotonic and cyclic testing. Results and conclusions have yet to be determined to date as this is ongoing research. Implications of this research include the ability to increase the strength and ductility of a metal part so it will last longer and provide a greater factor of safety

Campus Responsibility for Alcohol -Related Injuries: a Law and Policy Analysis.

The purpose of this study was to explore the evolution of the legal concept of legal liability of higher education institutions for alcohol-related injuries using a theoretical framework provided by tort law. The analysis was designed to provide a greater understanding of how and why the law concerning this concept has evolved. In addition to a legal analysis, interviews were conducted with student affairs administrators at institutions participating in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation A Matter of Degree: Reducing High-Risk Drinking Among College Students program. Particular attention was given to the influences identified by the student affairs administrators as catalysts for change. The study also explored the history of legal liability for alcohol-related injuries and how the concept of legal liability for alcohol related injuries had evolved over time. Findings of the study showed that: (a) potential for tort liability is an influence in alcohol use policy formulation, but residential life needs and the university president were greater influences; (b) the creation of a positive learning environment and a safe campus were the primary goals of the creators of the campus alcohol use policies researched; (c) the Greek system was a concern of all student affairs administrators and the approach to management of the various Greek systems varied among institutions; and (d) the evolution of tort liability for alcohol-related injuries appears to be continuing away from the bystander era represented by Bradshaw v. Rawlings, (1979) and toward a duty of reasonable care established by Furek v. University of Delaware, (1991) and Knoll v. Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, (1999). The relevant cases analyzed indicate a need for well thought out alcohol use policies that provide a safe campus, but do not extend a university beyond its ability to reasonably implement the adopted policies

Musculoskeletal injuries in tactical law enforcement

Context. Tactical law enforcement combines special law enforcement tactics and elite level athletic movements. There is a lack of research surrounding the frequency and types of musculoskeletal injuries incurred by tactical law enforcement officers. It is postulated that the musculoskeletal injuries seen in the military and among elite level athletes are similar to those sustained by tactical officers. Objective. The primary purpose of this study is to determine how often tactical officers experience musculoskeletal injuries, what types are most common, and when they are occurring. The secondary purpose of this study is to determine how often tactical officers have access to medical professionals, and who is managing/treating their musculoskeletal injuries. Results. The mean age of participants was 39.6+/-6.5. Most participants were part time tactical officers (78%, n=39). The majority of tactical officers (38.5%, n=20) have been employed as such for more than 10 years. The majority of tactical officers polled (76.9%, n=40) spent less than 5 hours per week on call outs, and 45.1% (n=23) spent less than 5 hours training per week. Most indicated that their tactical unit employed the Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS) system (78.8%, n=41). The most popular medical coverage was to use an outside medical professional with tactical training and TEMS certification as the TEMS provider (70.0%, n=28). When TEMS was not available an EMT in emergency situations only (61.1%, n=11) was the most common. Only 13.3% (n=4) could consider a medical provider having a full time commitment to the tactical unit. Most tactical officers claimed not having any previous injuries that were exacerbated by their tactical officer duties (71.2%, n=37). An even greater number admitted to experiencing some kind of musculoskeletal injury as a direct result of being employed as a tactical officer (80.8%, n=42), and only 67.3% (n=35) admitted to sustaining some kind of musculoskeletal injury while employed as a tactical officer as a result of non-work related activities. Common Lower extremity injuries were ankle ligament sprains (63.2%, n=12), knee tears/ruptures (68.8%, n=11), and general pain and discomfort of the knee (41.7%, n=5). The most common upper extremity injuries were shoulder dislocations (60.0%, n=6) and elbow tendinitis (62.5%, n=5). The most common trunk injuries were back muscle strains (42.1%, n=8) and vertebral disc involvement in the back (77.8%, n=7). Multiple ligament sprains (81.5%, n=13), Muscle strains (50.0%, n=9), dislocations (62.5%, n=5), tendinitis (55.5%, n=5), tears/ruptures (50%, n=7), vertebral disc involvement (55.5%, n=5), and general pain/discomfort (66.7%, n=8) were reported prior to tactical officer employment. Multiple cases of ligament sprains (73.7%, n=14), muscle strains (89.5%, n=17), fractures (58.3%, n=7), dislocations (55.5%, n=5), tendinitis (75.0%, n=6), tears/ruptures (66.7%, n=10), vertebral disc involvement (80.0%, n=8), contusions (91.0%, n=10), lacerations (84.7%, n=11), and general pain/discomfort (83.2%, n=10) were reported as a result of work related activities. Multiple ligament sprains (66.8%, n=10), muscle strains (73.6%, n=14), tendinitis (57.2%, n=4), tears/ruptures (53.9%, n=7), contusions (55.5%, n=5), and general pain/discomfort (54.6%, n=6) were reported while engaging in outside of work activities. Physicians treated the majority of all injuries regardless of when they occurred whether prior to tactical officer employment injuries (74.2%, n=23), work related injuries (82.9%, n=29), and outside of work injuries (78.1%, n=25). Most responded that injuries sustained pre-tactical officer employment (82.4%, n=28) and those sustained outside of work related activities (65.7%, n=23) resulted in no time lost from work due to injuries. While 63.2% (n=24) reported missing time from work due to injuries sustained on the job, with 34.3% (n=12) reporting missing 2-6 weeks of work due to injury. Conclusion. Ankle sprains, knee sprains, back strains, shoulder dislocations, elbow tendinitis, knee tears/ruptures, vertebral disc involvement of the back, hand lacerations, and general knee pain were the most commonly injured body parts in tactical officers. Work related injuries seemed to be the most prevalent. The information gained through this study represents a small population of tactical officers and the injuries experienced during their careers. This provides valuable information about common musculoskeletal injuries and when they are occurring. A more focused study with a larger sample size is needed to improve the validity and power of this information. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

“Traversing the legal minefields that surround academic chairpersons”

The presenter will describe common higher education law issues encountered by Chairpersons and provide a framework for analyzing them to protect the department and the Chairperson. Perspective on the process will be offered by a former chairperson, now dean, who is also an attorney and teaches courses in education law

One-Dimensional and Two-Dimensional Simulations of Helical Homopolymers: A Comparative Analysis of Energy Stabilization and Efficiency​

The purpose of our work is to analyze the results of a two-dimensional parallel tempering Monte Carlo simulation of a coarse-grained helical homopolymer. The two-dimensional simulation allows Hamiltonian exchanges across both temperature and torsion values, while the one-dimensional simulation exclusively exchanges across temperature values. The genesis of each simulation is defined by a randomly configured polymer; as time progresses, randomly generated movements of monomers decrease the structure’s energy until equilibrium is reached. Equilibrium is determined by finding the absolute minimum of the data series, computing the mean of all remaining data, and finding the intersection between the rolling average and the post-minimum mean. Data collected after equilibration is used to understand polymer behavior for each model and simulated temperature. This data aids in constructing a hyperphase diagram to visualize phase transitions of the simulated polymers. Simulation efficiencies as a function of both equilibration time and steps per new structure are calculated to compare the efficacy of the 2D parallel exchange scheme versus the 1D. Incorporating the two-dimensional Hamiltonian exchange into parallel tempering simulations lead to an average seven-fold increase in the rate at which new structures are generated in this model and a decrease in the equilibration time by as much as 95%

A Midsummer Night’s VR: An Exploration of Virtual Reality Theater

Virtual reality (VR) is a medium predicated on immersivity. It therefore has implications for a similarly immersive field – live theater. The benefits of live theater are numerous. However, not everyone has the same access to theater for a variety of reasons, including cost and mental and physical health. Could VR serve as a legitimate alternative to live theater? Investigating this question, we utilized the resources of the Yale’s CCAM to create a virtual reality adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Research shows that our brains process VR differently from either real-world stimulus or two-dimensional monitors. VR is an entirely new entity of its own. All aspects of the design and rehearsal process required adaptation for the new medium. The process of production has made clear that, while virtual reality cannot replicate all benefits of theater, it is its own unique form with vast potential