Local Government Policy and Planning for Unmanned Aerial Systems

This research identifies key state and local government stakeholders in California for drone policy creation and implementation, and describes their perceptions and understanding of drone policy. The investigation assessed stakeholders’ positions, interests, and influence on issues, with the goal of providing potential policy input to achieve successful drone integration in urban environments and within the national airspace of the United States. The research examined regulatory priorities through the use of a two-tiered Stakeholder Analysis Process. The first tier consisted of a detailed survey sent out to over 450 local agencies and jurisdictions in California. The second tier consisted of an in-person focus group to discuss survey results as well as to gain deeper insights into local policymakers’ current concerns. Results from the two tiers of analysis, as well as recommendations, are provided here

An evaluation of noise reduction strategies at large commercial airports in the United States: A policy analysis and framework classification

Noise pollution from aircraft, specifically in the vicinity of airports as aircraft takeoff and land, is a problem that has been shown to have negative impacts on the welfare of humans, animals, and the surrounding environment. The problem may only become worse as air travel increases for cargo and passenger operations, populations increase, and the overall number of aircraft increase. Currently, guidance has been issued from the International Civil Aviation Organization on how to combat the issue of noise pollution through policy, both at that national regulatory level, and at the local airport level. This study evaluated the local airport policy implementation schemes at 132 Class B and Class C airports in the United States. A latent class analysis was used to determine that six different airport clusters existed, each with a different set of noise pollution mitigation strategies ranging from the implementation of only noise mitigation strategies specifically approved by the FAA (e.g., noise abatement procedures), to airports that invest millions of dollars in the community for soundproofing homes and schools in addition to fines for aircraft violating specific noise threshold limits set in noise monitoring sensors around a community. In addition to the latent class analysis, this study found that several characteristics of the airport and the local surrounding community (within 10 miles) appeared to predict the potential policies that an airport might choose to implement. The region of the country in which an airport is located, and the population per square mile within ten miles of the center of the airport were significant predictors of the likelihood of an airport implementing a certain set of policies. Airports with larger population densities and located in the western portion of the United States, were more likely to belong to the cluster of airports that implemented a multitude of policy strategies than belong to the cluster of airports that sparsely implemented a few aircraft procedural policies

A Multicarrier Technique for Monte Carlo Simulation of Electrothermal Transport in Nanoelectronics

The field of microelectronics plays an important role in many areas of engineering and science, being ubiquitous in aerospace, industrial manufacturing, biotechnology, and many other fields. Today, many micro- and nanoscale electronic devices are integrated into one package. e capacity to simulate new devices accurately is critical to the engineering design process, as device engineers use simulations to predict performance characteristics and identify potential issues before fabrication. A problem of particular interest is the simulation of devices which exhibit exotic behaviors due to non-equilibrium thermodynamics and thermal effects such as self-heating. Frequently, it is desirable to predict the level of heat generation, the maximum temperature and its location, and the impact of these thermal effects on the current-voltage (IV) characteristic of a device. is problem is furthermore complicated by nanoscale device dimensions. As the ratio of surface area to volume increases, boundary effects tend to dominate the transfer of energy through a device. Effects such as quantum confinement begin to play a role for nanoscale devices as geometric feature sizes approach the wavelength of the particles involved. Classical approaches to charge transport and heat transfer simulation such as the drift-diffusion approach and Fourier’s law, respectively, do not provide accurate results at these length scales. Instead, the transport processes are governed by the semi-classical Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) with quantum corrections derived from the Schrodinger equation ̈ (SE). In this work, a technique is presented for coupling a 3D phonon Monte Carlo (MC) simulation to an electron multi-subband Monte Carlo (MSBMC) simulation. Both carrier species are first examined separately. An electron MC simulation of bulk silicon, a silicon n-i-n diode, and an intrinsic-channel fin-field effect transistor (FinFET) structure are also presented. A 3D phonon MC algorithm is demonstrated in bulk silicon, a silicon thin film, and a silicon nanoconstriction. These tests verify the correctness of the MC framework. Finally, a novel carrier scattering system which directly accounts for the interaction be- tween the two particle populations inside a nanoscale device is shown. e tool developed supports quantum size effects and is shown to be capable of modeling the exchange of energy between thermal and electronic particle systems in a silicon FinFET

Concerns and Mitigating Strategies for Aircraft Noise Pollution on Airport Communities

Where there are airports, there are noise complaints from residents in the community. Aircraft produce a unique sound that interrupt an existing environment as they traverse a particular point. Noise disturbances from aircraft appear to distract residents near airports more than other types of vehicles such as cars or trains

Searching for Normal: A History of the Discourse of the Modern Gay Rights Movement

Across the industrialized world, nations and subnational entities are establishing methods by which to recognize same-sex unions, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, and making policy decisions about how to legislate sexuality based upon the ideology of the gay rights movement. This movement relies on the classical liberal and modernist ideal of citizenship, with its grounding in human rights, and the theory of biologically innate sexual orientation to advocate for the inclusion, and perhaps the assimilation, of LGBTQ people into state and society. The critics of gay rights argue that this tactic is, at its best, assimilationist and, at its worst, harmful to queer people. In analyzing the discourse surrounding the legislation that has been passed in three case studies (the cities of São Paulo, Brazil, Mexico City, and San Francisco, California and the states in which they reside), the author hopes to determine “who is right on rights.

Assessing the Commercial Aviation Impact of the Year 2000 Open Skies Agreements between the United States and African Countries with Longstanding Flights

The U.S. started a comprehensive campaign towards Open Skies agreement in 1992. The major benefits of Open sky agreement are reported to include increase of passenger and cargo volume between partners. This study analyzes passenger traffic and cargo volume between six African countries that have had commercial aviation with the U.S. since 1990 to 2014, and with direct flights between them. Two of the countries have had no Open Skies agreement with the U.S., while four have had Open Skies agreement beginning in 2000. A multi linear modeling process was applied on the two categories to determine whether there is a significant effect of Open Skies agreement on commercial aviation between the African countries and the U.S. The expected results are to indicate that a decision on whether the U.S. should pursue Open Skies agreement should be evaluated on case-to-case basis. Keywords: Open skies, linearization, bilateral agreemen

Evaluating the Progress of the Liberalization of International Aviation toward Open Skies

The United States has engaged in well over 100 Open Skies Agreements with other ICAO member state partners reaching all parts of the globe. These Open Skies Agreements have established a practice of liberalization for airlines to have the most freedom to choose when, where, how often, and for how much they fly to locations. Despite a majority of ICAO member state partners engaging in Open Skies, there has been a reluctance of the member states to engage in the same practices with other aviation partners for similar access. A similar pattern is also evident for liberalization through the Freedoms of the Air, a key philosophical understanding set forth through ICAO practices describing the ways in which airlines can fly between the member states in the interest of international aviation. This paper evaluates the trend among the member states to engage in more liberalized aviation through their granted access to reduced government oversight of foreign airline access to sovereign airspace and the number of rights granted to their respective operational international partners. While the overwhelming number of agreements may not be fully liberalized Open Skies, there does appear to be an increasing desire to promote practices that connect member states at greater efficiencies and give travelers more options and more access to airline choice

Development and Evaluation of an Online Fatigue Training Course for Collegiate Aviation Pilots

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have called for a holistic approach toward improving safety. One area of focus is the reduction of fatigue related aircraft accidents. Collegiate aviation flight students are a unique population that has been under researched when compared to scheduled service and military flight operations. This population often engages in rigorous course schedules, studying, student organization participation, and often have part time jobs. Yet, all of them are actively involved with flight activities. These conditions may create conditions conducive to fatigue. One recent study conducted at eight 4-year university flight programs found that approximately half of the participants indicated they had received fatigue training (n = 422). Previous studies have suggested fatigue training and education protocols have resulted in knowledge transfer and retention, behavioral changes, improved sleep times, and a healthier lifestyle among airline pilots. The research team has developed an open access, motivating, and engaging fatigue training program specific to collegiate aviation pilots. Three modules within the course include causes and symptoms of fatigue, best solutions for fatigue mitigation efforts, and best approaches when fatigue occurs before and during a flight. The course was deployed at two university programs (3 courses) for testing. Effectiveness of the fatigue training protocol has been assessed by a pre-and posttest design and through a course evaluation. Preliminary results and recommendations toward the improvement of fatigue mitigation efforts will be presented to the audience

Responses of two Sericoda Kirby, 1837 (Coleoptera: Carabidae) species to forest harvesting, wildfire, and burn severity

Forest fires are among the most important natural disturbances in the boreal region, but fire-initiated succession is increasingly often interrupted by salvage logging, i.e., post-fire removal of burned trees. Unfortunately, very little is known about the ecological effects of this practice. To address this knowledge gap and to examine other factors affecting the abundance of two fire-associated carabid species (Sericoda quadripuntata and S. bembidioides) we conducted three field studies based on pitfall trapping in recent burns in Alberta, Canada. The results suggest that the abundance of both species drastically decreased from the first to the third post-fire year and that fire severity was positively associated with abundance of both species. The combined effects of wildfire and forest harvesting were associated with higher catches of S. quadripunctata, but lower catches of S. bembidioides. We discuss these findings in the contexts of salvage logging and species ecology

An Analysis of Federal Aviation Administration Enforcement Actions Against sUAS Operators

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has promulgated regulations to govern the commercial operation of small uncrewed aircraft systems (sUAS). Compliance with these regulations is essential for maintaining safety in the National Airspace System. And if sUAS operators fail to comply with applicable federal aviation regulations, the FAA has been granted the authority to enforce these regulations. This study explores how the FAA has been exercising its enforcement power in the context of sUAS operator regulatory noncompliance. Using data obtained from a Freedom of Information Act request, this study examines 62 FAA enforcement actions levied against sUAS operators from 2012 until 2020. Key findings include trends in enforcement activity following the promulgation of Part 107 regulations; timelines associated with civil penalty and certificate action cases; and the specific regulations most frequently prosecuted by the FAA in sUAS enforcement cases