Fall 2017 Enrollment Report

The following report provides summary information regarding enrollment at the University of Maine System for the 2017 Fall Semester. All data reported is as of the census date, October 15, 2017

Clarifying Uncertainty: Why We Need a Small Claims Copyright Court

This article is concerned with the question of whether copyright law in the United States is currently equipped to achieve its original goal, set within the U.S. Constitution, to promote innovation and progress. This article suggests that copyright law is not equipped to achieve this goal because a paradox inherent in copyright law is hindering copyright litigation and causing uncertainty. The paradox is found in 17 U.S.C. § 106, which protects transformative works that are derivative, and 17 U.S.C. § 107, which protects transformative works as fair use. Ideally, the federal courts would solve this dilemma by interpreting the appropriate application of these competing protections through numerous case-by-case analyses. However, few cases are currently reaching the courts or are resulting in judicial opinions because the federal court system is ill-equipped for the task due to the expense, time, and damages involved in litigation. For effectiveness and to meet the goals of copyright, copyright litigation must become affordable, accessible, and timely, resulting in more judicial opinions and individual case analyses. To this end, I propose a two-fold plan including (1) reducing statutory damages in copyright cases throughout all levels of litigation, and (2) introducing a small claims copyright court

Mission Tasking, Path Planning, and System Integration for an Autonomous Surface Vessel

This thesis presents the design and development of a fully autonomous surface vessel for use as a research platform for the Office of Naval Research and as a competition entry to the International Maritime RobotX Challenge in 2014 and 2016. The author’s contributions to this include the development of safety systems, power distribution systems, communications software, tasking software, and planning algorithms. The results of these developments include a hardware based safety system, a modular power and health monitoring system, an easy to use autoconfiguring inter-process communications stack, a dynamic tasking engine, and a comparison of two solutions to planning with a kinodynamically constrained vehicle. Several recommendations are made for future work including combining the two planning algorithms and expanding the tasking framework to include multiple vehicles

On Guichard's nets and Cyclic systems

In the first part, we give a self contained introduction to the theory of cyclic systems in n-dimensional space which can be considered as immersions into certain Grassmannians. We show how the (metric) geometries on spaces of constant curvature arise as subgeometries of Moebius geometry which provides a slightly new viewpoint. In the second part we characterize Guichard nets which are given by cyclic systems as being Moebius equivalent to 1-parameter families of linear Weingarten surfaces. This provides a new method to study families of parallel Weingarten surfaces in space forms. In particular, analogs of Bonnet's theorem on parallel constant mean curvature surfaces can be easily obtained in this setting.Comment: 25 pages, plain Te

Distant Transmissions

Shortwave radio and the Space Race technology of the 1950's and 1960's cultivated intensely individual and collective cultural experiences that encouraged us to explore the unknown. My research on shortwave radio and space travel as landmarks of exploration includes photographs, shortwave spy codes, a spacesuit, and a collection of the QSL cards that shortwave operators mail to one another. The process of constructing my own spacesuit is a manifestation of my experiences and a collaborative effort to examine the power of technology with those I've met while traveling. Photography encourages us to dream of exploring unknown lands through its subjective nature. This research is comprised of photography, audio, and sculpture and is presented under the guise of the "American Interterrestrial Society." This fictitious organization archives my research and illustrates the tension between truth and the fabrication of the photograph

Evaluation de l'usure de la glène avant implantation de prothèses d'épaule

Question de recherche : Les prothèses d'épaule sont devenues au cours des années un traitement courant pour différentes affections de l'épaule, notamment l'arthrose gléno-humérale. L'évaluation de l'usure de la glène est un élément important pour le chirurgien, car la durée de vie des implants dépendra en effet d'un bon alignement de la tête humérale prothétique et de l'axe de la scapula. Dans le cas contraire, la glène prothétique peut s'user ou se desceller précocément. Il existe aujourd'hui une méthode de classification de l'usure ; elle a été étudiée par Walch grâce à l'utilisation du CT-Scan en 2 dimensions. L'usure de la glène a été classifiée en 3 types (A,B,C dépendant de la localisation présumée de l'usure). Cependant, cette méthode a montré ses limites face aux reconstructions en 3 dimensions. Ceci est notamment dû au fait de l'incidence des coupes de CT-Scan qui sont perpendiculaires au corps du patient et non pas alignées avec le corps de la scapula. De plus, l'usure se trouve dans une grande partie des cas dans la partie postéro-inférieure de la glène. Il est donc évident que la reconstruction en 3 dimensions d'images de CT-Scan permettrait d'obtenir de meilleures informations concernant l'usure de la glène. Objectifs : Mesurer les types d'usure de la glène en 3D dans un collectif de CT. Méthode : - Reconstruction en 3 dimensions (3D) d'images de CT-Scan de l'épaule en utilisant le logiciel Amira. La scapula entière sera reconstruite puis la surface articulaire glénoïdale sera sélectionnée manuellement. - Analyse de l'usure de la glène à partir des données récoltées lors de la reconstruction. L'analyse sera effectuée par un algorithme exécuté par le logiciel Matlab. Pour cela, il faudra déterminer le centre de la glène. Il sera également possible d'estimer l'angle de rétroversion. Ceci se déroulera au laboratoire d'orthopédie biomécanique (LBO) de l'Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). - Classification en différents groupes de types d'usure de la glène. Résultats attendus : Obtenir une classification 3 dimensions des différentes usures de la glène

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION: TESTING THE SPRIAL OF SILENCE IN COMPUTER-MEDIATED AND FACE-TO-FACE CONTEXTS

The purpose of this investigation is to further an understanding of the spiral of silence theory as it functions within both face-to-face (FtF) and computer-mediated contexts. Computer-mediated communication (CMC is often touted for being an empowering medium as it affords its users anonymity. This finding could have an impact on whether the spiral of silence occurs within CMC. Previous studies have relied upon hypothetical scenarios and have established weak support for the theory. Despite this study’s utilization of a within-subjects experimental design, however, no significant differences in minority opinion holders’ fear of isolation were found. Similarly, no significant relationship was found between minority opinion holders’ attention paid to news and fear of isolation. In regards to both majority and minority opinion holders, no significant differences in perceptions of opinions expressed in either condition were found. Reasons for such unexpected findings, as well as strengths, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed