Judicial Review Standards for Interest Arbitration Awards Under the Employee Free Choice Act

This Comment discusses the landscape that newly unionized employees face in negotiating a contract with an employer, argues that the EFCA will lead parties to fall back on interest arbitration to award them a contract, examines why federal judicial policy surrounding arbitration of disputes under a pre-existing collective bargaining agreement and existing standards for judicial review of administrative decisions are, inadequate tools, and examines Canadian law and state law concerning judicial review of interest arbitration decisions

History of auditors\u27 independence in the U.S.

Independence has long been a fundamental concept to the attest function of the accounting profession. Independence provides the profession with a philosophical and historical foundation. At one time independence was assumed to mean integrity, honesty, and objectivity. Another interpretation has referred to freedom from the control of those whose records are being reviewed. Independence has also been characterized as a state of mind and a matter of character

Effects of Dual-Frequency Environment Exploration on Stiffness Discrimination Thresholds

Previously, excitation frequency has been found to alter perceptual discrimination thresholds of stiffness, mass, and damping. Here, we explore how the blending of two frequencies could affect the just noticeable difference for stiffness. In a perceptual experiment based on the method of adjustments, we tested participants’ ability to match a reference stiffness moving at combinations of two frequencies to explore the effects on stiffness discrimination. As more of the lower frequency was added, participants’ ability to accurately match the reference was hampered. Results suggest that as two frequencies are excited, the resulting perceptual thresholds are blended between the levels for the individual frequencies

On the Performance of Multi-Antenna Techniques for Spatially and Temporally Correlated Wireless Channels

As the demand for advanced wireless services continues to grow, system designers must employ innovative signal processing techniques to increase data throughput and maintain reliablity under adverse channel conditions. Multi-antenna techniques, such as space-time coding and beamforming, have shown promise in realizing these goals. As these and other techniques are introduced, understanding their performance in realistic scattering environments is of paramount importance. This thesis contributes to the field of wireless communications by determining the performance of multi-antenna techniques for spatially and temporally correlated wireless channels. First, we propose a general space-time covariance model that is applicable to arbitrary scatterer geometry, arbitrary array geometry at the base station and the mobile, and includes Doppler effects due to mobile motion. We then apply this model, in conjunction with a two-dimensional Gaussian scatterer model based on recent field measurements, to evaluate the exact pairwise error probability for arbitrary space-time block codes and determine an upper bound on the probability of a block error. In addition, we derive exact closed-form expressions for the symbol error probability for orthogonal space-time block coding, maximum ratio transmission, and beamsteering for spatially correlated quasi-static wireless channels. Finally, we present extensive numerical results that illustrate the performance of these techniques for varying degrees of spatial and temporal correlation. We also provide a comparative performance assessment of beamforming and orthogonal space-time block coding and determine the channel conditions for which one technique is favored over the other

Solar Panel Sun-Tracking System for Home Use Final Project Report

Team 2 of the Sun-Tracking Solar Panels for Home Use seeks to design a residential solar panel system that has the ability to track the sun. The main objectives of this project are to design and construct a sun-tracking solar panel system that is able to maximize the amount of sunlight captured throughout a day. The following report covers the features of our complete design and its three subsystems that combine to accomplish the requirements of the sun-tracking system. The primary functions of the three subsystems are as follows: the sun-tracking sensor will read photoresistor values that determine whether the solar panel’s angle should be adjusted, the mechanical movement device will adjust the angle of the solar panel, and the electric circuit and control system will make the determination as to whether the solar panel should be shifted and by how much. Following the design overview is an evaluation of the final design through the scope of project requirements and constraints, as well as the associated tests used in assessing the overall system’s performance. Based on discussions with the Project Sponsor, two primary constraints were identified by the Sun-Tracking Solar Panel Team. The cost of designing, prototyping, testing, and building the product is limited to a $1200 budget provided by Trinity University. The time allotted for designing, prototyping, testing, and building of the product is limited to Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters. The final design is held to certain project requirements that will be discussed in future sections. The requirement that the solar panel system should be water-resistant through hurricane caliber rains was met with an IP-55 rated box. The requirement that the solar panel system should be windproof up to 60 mph was tested and partially met using a Fusion 360 wind simulation. When the actuators were fully extended, the system was unable to withstand 60 mph winds, though it was able to while flat and half extended. The requirement that the solar panel should be able to rest on a slanted residential roof with roof pitch ranging up to 9/12 (36.9) was met by building a makeshift roof and performing the weight test. The solar panel system was then rested on this roof. The requirement that the solar panel system should be more energy-efficient than a stationary solar panel was met. The financial requirement that the additional cost of the final product to the residential unit should be recovered within ten years of installation, however, was not met. Looking forward, we would like to resolve the current issues preventing us from meeting our design requirements. For the wind simulation, the most likely way to resolve this would be to add a wind sensor to our design. When the wind sensor is reading above a certain value, the panel will retract to its flat state, as it is the most windproof of any tilt setting. In order to combat the financial issue we ran into, we must either harvest more energy, or lower the production cost of our system. We think harvesting more energy is the more viable option, and thus think that adding a second axis of tilt to our solar panel would be our best option

Improving the Efficiency of the Hydrogen Engine.

Internal combustion engines fueled by hydrogen are among the most efficient means of converting chemical energy to mechanical work. The exhaust has near-zero carbon emissions and fuel efficiency exceeding fuel cells is achievable. Unfortunately, the fuel costs are high and efficient combustion of hydrogen in engines produces nitrogen oxides (NOx) that cannot be treated with conventional three-way catalysts. This work presents the results of experiments which consider changes in hydrogen engine design and/or operating strategy to improve engine performance, consisting primarily of engine efficiency and NOx emissions. Various combustion chamber designs, compression ratios, operating parameters, and injector nozzles were tested, and the relative gains found ranged from 0 to 5%. Three research areas were considered in greater detail to reduce NOx emissions and improve hydrogen engine efficiencies. The first effort focused on injecting liquid water into a cylinder filled with a premixed fuel-air charge. The results were compared against expectations for a conventionally operated hydrogen engine. Using this approach of direct injection of water into the cylinder, NOx emissions were reduced by up to 95%. At a threshold of 100 ppm of NOx, peak load possible increased by 17.3%. The second research area considered injecting water into the intake air charge. With water injection into the intake air charge, the NOx emissions were reduced by 87%. At a threshold of 90 ppm of NOx, peak load possible increased by 23.9%. Finally, experimental data were generated and analyzed for a combustion chamber with two spark plugs. An injector was designed to preferentially stratify the fuel towards the ignition sites. Results from a metal engine and an optically accessible engine are presented. Based on the metal engine data, the new cylinder head design produced a remarkable 47.7% net indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) while producing only 51 ppm of NOx. Laser induced fluorescence was used in the optically accessible engine to visualize the fuel distribution during non-firing operation. The most optimal injection conditions (based on the metal engine results) showed a fuel distribution where the equivalence ratio is approximately 0.65 near the ignition locations.PHDMechanical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96162/1/myounkin_2.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96162/2/myounkin_1.pd

The application of metal cutting technologies in tasks performed in radioactive environments

The design and use of equipment to perform work in radioactive environments is uniquely challenging. Some tasks require that the equipment be operated by a person wearing a plastic suit or full face respirator and donning several pairs of rubber gloves. Other applications may require that the equipment be remotely controlled. Other important, design considerations include material compatibility, mixed waste issues, tolerance to ionizing radiation, size constraints and weight capacities. As always, there is the ``We need it ASAP`` design criteria. This paper describes four applications where different types of metal cutting technologies were used to successfully perform tasks in radioactive environments. The technologies include a plasma cutting torch, a grinder with an abrasive disk, a hydraulic shear, and a high pressure abrasive water jet cutter

OneOklahoma Friction Free Network (OFFN) (PPT)

This session presents a stage model that describes the ongoing deployment of a Science DMZ known as the OneOklahoma Friction Free Network (OFFN) in order to guide multi-campus collaborations on their journey to a robust cyberinfrastructure model. This session defines implementation stages and describes the deliverables, benefits, challenges, best practices, and metrics for each stage. The results of the initial implementations are expected to show that metrics including speed, stack size, context switching, signal deliveries, and socket message traffic is improved and latency and errors including page faults are reduced. It is hoped that this model will serve as a sustainable model for EPSCoR states hoping to maximize research efficiency and minimize risk in their engagement of statewide research interests.N