How much does a man cost? A dirty, dull, and dangerous application

Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017This study illuminates the many abilities of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). One area of importance includes the UAV's capability to assist in the development, implementation, and execution of crisis management. This research focuses on UAV uses in pre and post crisis planning and accomplishments. The accompaniment of unmanned vehicles with base teams can make crisis management plans more reliable for the general public and teams faced with tasks such as search and rescue and firefighting. In the fight for mass acceptance of UAV integration, knowledge and attitude inventories were collected and analyzed. Methodology includes mixed method research collected by interviews and questionnaires available to experts and ground teams in the UAV fields, mining industry, firefighting and police force career field, and general city planning crisis management members. This information was compiled to assist professionals in creation of general guidelines and recommendations for how to utilize UAVs in crisis management planning and implementation as well as integration of UAVs into the educational system. The results from this study show the benefits and disadvantages of strategically giving UAVs a role in the construction and implementation of crisis management plans and other areas of interest. The results also show that the general public is lacking information and education on the abilities of UAVs. This education gap shows a correlation with negative attitudes towards UAVs. Educational programs to teach the public benefits of UAV integration should be implemented

Living-into, living-with: A Schutzian account of the player/character relationship

Games Studies reveals the performative nature of playing a character in a virtual-game-world (Nitsche 2008, p.205; Pearce 2006, p.1; Taylor 2002, p.48). Tbe Player/Character relationship is typically understood in terms of the player’s in-game “presence” (Boellstorff 2008, p.89; Schroeder 2002, p.6). This gives the appearance that living-into a game-world is an all-or- nothing affair: either the player is “present” in the game-world, or they are not. I argue that, in fact, a constitutive phenomenology reveals the Player/Character relationship to be a multi-dimensional matter of empathy. I advance a broadly Schutzian framework, drawing on his 1932 discussions of “face-to-face encounters” and ”historical predecessors,” showing how at- tention to empathy reveals a variety of “presences” that different kinds of Player/Character relationships afford. The central determinants of empathetic affordances which I focus on here are (i) how much players know about a character (especially the character’s past) and (ii) how players learn this information.The purpose of this discussion will be to show that a phenomenological analysis reveals that the relationship between a player and their character is complex, highly variable, and inherently social. Furthermore, it will add to the growing body of scholarship that demonstrates that video games are rich social objects deserving of study

Emden\u27s For white folks who teach in the hood ... and the rest of ya’ll too: Reality pedagogy and urban education (Book Review)

A review of Emdin, C. (2016). For white folks who teach in the hood ... and the rest of ya’ll too: Reality pedagogy and urban education. Boston: Beacon Press. 248 pp. $24.99. ISBN 978080700640

Bradley and Muller\u27s Church history: An introduction to research methods and resources, second edition (Book Review)

A review of Bradley, J. A., & Muller, R.A. (2016). Church history: An introduction to research methods and resources, second edition. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing. 214 pp. $30.00. ISBN 978080287405

Red Giants in the Halo of the S0 Galaxy NGC 3115: A Distance and a Bimodal Metallicity Distribution

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, we resolve the red giant branch in the halo of the S0 galaxy NGC 3115. We measure magnitudes and $(V-I)$ colours for stars down to 1.5 magnitudes below the tip of the red giant branch. From the brightest stars we estimate a distance modulus $(m-M)_0=30.21 \pm 0.30$, corresponding to a distance of $11.0 \pm 1.5$ Mpc. This is in excellent agreement with the value $(m-M)_0=30.17 \pm 0.13$ determined from the planetary nebula luminosity function. Our results rule out the shorter distance modulus $(m-M)_0=29.65$ determined from surface brightness fluctuations. A histogram of $(V-I)$ colours shows a clear bimodality, indicating the presence of two distinct halo populations of roughly equal size. One has [Fe/H]$\sim -0.7$ and one has [Fe/H]$\sim -1.3$. This is the most distant galaxy in which a Population II halo has been resolved, and it is the first time a colour bimodality has been observed among the halo stars of any early-type galaxy.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. MNRAS, in pres

Virgo Early-Type Dwarfs in ALFALFA

Early-type dwarf galaxies dominate cluster populations, but their formation and evolutionary histories are poorly understood. The ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA) survey has completed observations of the Virgo Cluster in the declination range of 6 - 16 degrees. Less than 2% of the early-type dwarf population is detected, a significantly lower fraction than reported in previous papers based on more limited samples. In contrast ~30 of the irregular/BCD dwarf population is detected. The detected early-type galaxies tend to be located in the outer regions of the cluster, with a concentration in the direction of the M Cloud. Many show evidence for ongoing/recent star formation. Galaxies such as these may be undergoing morphological transition due to cluster environmental effects.Comment: 2 pages. To be published in proceedings of IAU Symposium 244: 'Dark Galaxies and Lost Baryons', J. I. Davies & M. D. Disney. eds., Cambridge University Pres

Dispersion Engineering and Disorder in Photonic Crystals for Accelerator Applications

The possibility of achieving higher accelerating gradients at higher frequencies with the reduction of the effect of HOMs, compared to conventional accelerating structures, is increasing interest in the possible use of Photonic Crystals (PC) for accelerator applications. In this paper we analyze how the properties of the lattice of a PC resonator can be engineered to give a specific band structure, and how by tailoring the properties of the lattice specific EM modes can either be confined or moved into the propagation band of the PC. We further go on to discuss the role of disorder in achieving mode confinement and how this can be used to optimize both the Q and the accelerating gradient of a PC based accelerating structure. We also examine the use of high disorder to give rise to Anderson Localization, which gives rise to exponential localization of an EM mode. Discussing the difference between the extended Bloch wave, which extends over the entire PC, and the Anderson localized mode

May Federal Prosecutors Take Direction From the President?

Suppose the president sought to serve as prosecutor-in-chief, telling prosecutors when to initiate or dismiss criminal charges in individual cases and making other discretionary decisions that are normally reserved to trained professionals familiar with the facts, law, and traditions of the U.S. Department of Justice. To what extent may prosecutors follow the president’s direction? In recent presidential administrations, the president has respected prosecutorial independence; while making policy decisions, the president deferred to the Attorney General and subordinate federal prosecutors to conduct individual criminal cases. In a recent article, we argued that this is as it should be because the president has no constitutional or statutory authority to control federal criminal prosecutions. But suppose one comes to the contrary conclusion—that the president, as chief executive, has authority to decide how individual criminal prosecutions should be conducted. In this Article, we explore the consequences for prosecutors who receive the president’s orders. We argue here that federal prosecutors cannot invariably and unquestioningly follow the president’s direction because doing so would violate ethical rules and professional norms. Further, because prosecutors’ professional obligations are created by courts and endorsed by federal statute, presidential control over prosecutorial decision-making would lead to serious separation-of-powers concerns. Particularly, the integrity of the judicial system depends on the ethical rules at issue. By exploring these separation-of-powers concerns, this Article contributes to a growing debate about the power of the executive over prosecution and further supports the independence of the DOJ and federal prosecutors