Large Deformation Dynamic Bending of Composite Beams

Studies were conducted on the large deformation response of composite beams subjected to a dynamic axial load. The beams were loaded with a moderate eccentricity to promote bending. The study was primarily experimental but some finite element results were obtained. Both the deformation and the failure of the beams were of interest. The static response of the beams was also studied to determine potential differences between the static and dynamic failure. Twelve different laminate types were tested. The beams were loaded dynamically with a gravity driven impactor traveling at 19.6 ft/sec and quasi-static tests were conducted on identical beams in a displacement controlled manner. For laminates of practical interest, the failure modes under static and dynamic loadings were identical. Failure in most of the laminate types occurred in a single event involving 40% to 50% of the plies. However, failure in laminates with 30 deg or 15 deg off-axis plies occured in several events. All laminates exhibited bimodular elastic properties. Using empirically determined flexural properties, a finite element analysis was reasonably accurate in predicting the static and dynamic deformation response

Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Developing and Advanced Countries\u27 Reserve Holdings

The reserve holdings held by the central bank of a country, and more importantly, the changes in those holdings as a percentage of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, can indicate a lot about the financial health of an economy. In this paper, we examine the cross-sectional differences between emerging and advanced economies’ reserve holdings as well as their variations over time, around the global financial crisis of 2008. It is apparent that countries hold reserves for various reasons, primarily for insurance and to attract future investment, and that they are more crucial to emerging economies than developed

Impact of cooperative co-teaching relationships on student achievement outcomes in the 7th grade inclusion mathematics class

Since the inception of the No Child Left Behind law in 2002, much attention has been paid to its effects on the special education population of students. This law, as well as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), required school districts in the United States to include students with special needs in general education classrooms to provide an atmosphere of least restricted environment (LRE). This practice has come to be known as inclusion which has become the forefront of educating students with special needs in United States’ public schools. Inclusion continues to be a controversial practice and matter of debate within educational circles with varying attitudes among teacher towards this practice. Research has found that in order for the model of inclusion to be carried out successfully, a key ingredient is cooperative communication and collaboration between the special education and general education teachers. If teacher collaboration is emphasized as the key to success in the inclusion model, it is important to assess the effects of a cooperative co-teaching relationship among inclusion classroom teachers. Specifically, this study asks, does a cooperative relationship between regular education and special education teacher in the 7th grade inclusion mathematics classroom have a positive effect on student achievement as measured by the North Carolina End-of Grade (EOG) Mathematics test? The participants in this study are 276 teachers practicing the inclusion co-teaching model, 138 regular education mathematics teachers and 138 special education teachers. The study assesses all Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools seventh grade inclusion mathematics classrooms. The pools of student participants that are being assessed are 3,447 seventh grade students in the inclusion mathematics classrooms. Teachers were first given Teacher Collaboration Assessment Survey (TCAS) to assess whether or not their relationship with their co-teacher was deemed cooperative or uncooperative. Then data was collected after the students in the inclusion classes took their End-of-Grade Mathematics standardized test. Results from the survey showed that that inclusion teaching pair have a collaborative relationship in the 7th grade mathematics class. This collaborative relationship is positively correlated with student achievement outcomes on the NC EOG math test. These findings have important implications for schools and educators who work in inclusive classrooms and suggest that fostering collaboration among inclusion teaching pairs can have a positive impact on student outcomes. With the intense implementation of the inclusion model since No Child Left Behind, further research aimed on collaboration and student achievement should focus on the co-teaching relationship as many of American children are learning in the inclusion classroom, whether or not they are classified as regular education, or special education

PERANCANGAN PROTOTIPE PJUTS DENGAN SYSTEM ADAPTIVE LIGHTING UNTUK EFISIENSI ENERGI STUDI KASUS JALAN DESA LOKAL PRIMER

Public Street Lighting is a lighting lamp that is general for the common interest and is usually deliberately installed on the road. That means every public road must have street lighting, but there are some areas that have not received street lighting such as at the entrance to Senggreng village. Of course, it will disturb the comfort of road users who have to pass the road. So a solution is needed to overcome these problems. In Indonesia, public street lighting is still sourced from PLN for its electrical energy source, this factor also affects why public street lighting is not evenly distributed or inadequate. Therefore, this study aims to create and test a PJUTS prototype with an adaptive lighting system so that energy efficiency increases and street lighting can be evenly distributed with case studies of primary local village roads. In accordance with the purpose of research, the appropriate and appropriate method to be used is the research and development method or commonly known as Research & Development (R&D). The prototype design consists of 10 wp solar panels, 3 watt led lights, scc, li-ion batteries, 2 HCR-SR501 sensors &; relays designed in such a way. So that efficiency can increase by 87.5% from energy savings pjuts with adaptive system for primary local village road types than conventional pjuts and conventional pju. From the test, a parameter was obtained that determines the level of efficiency, namely, the frequency of village road crowds, both people and vehicles, will affect the frequency of lights will be active. The duration of setting the time of the lights when they have been passed by people and vehicles also affects the energy used

How Vulnerable are Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) to Cyber Attack?

The FAA predicts that there will be ~3.4M consumer drones and ~327K commercial sUAS (sUAS, or commonly known as drones) operating in the U.S. by 2020. Drones are increasingly used by law enforcement, emergency services, utility companies, large agricultural providers, and many other economic sectors. A drone’s components align closely with that of small computing devices, with the addition of aeronautical hardware. As such, they may be susceptible to the same forms of attacks that are increasingly common among computing devices. To test this theory, we conducted a study to identify cyber-related vulnerabilities against a consumer model drone. We conducted a vulnerability assessment to identify vulnerabilities, and then attempted to exploit these vulnerabilities through various means. We performed attacks to identify the feasibility, practicality, and significance of the attack, as well as their effects on the drone’s ability to maintain safe, functional flight. Vulnerabilities included no authentication mechanism connecting from smartphone to drone, exposed unencrypted services requiring no authentication leading to an unrestricted superuser account, and the ability to forcibly disconnect the first-person view (FPV) camera. Additionally, the FPV feed is unencrypted (potentially leading to eavesdropping), and the drone’s communication links are susceptible to signal disruption. Based on our findings we provide a set of recommendations to improve the security of the drone. Improvements to security include closing open and insecure ports, using encrypted services, and requiring authentication

Systems thinking and six sigma: exploring an integrated model for quality management

Despite the popularity and financial benefits Six Sigma programs produce, Six Sigma has its weaknesses. Critics of Six Sigma recommend inclusion of systems thinking, a method that examines an organization as a system and views its processes holistically with Six Sigma. The purpose of this quantitative study is to compare organizations that use Six Sigma only and organizations that use an integrated approach. The research questions explore to what extent organizations that implement an integrated quality improvement method differ in the success and duration of their Six Sigma programs compared to those that implement Six Sigma as a standalone method. In addition, the study investigates factors that contribute to the success of integrating Six Sigma and system thinking, as well as differences in leadership support for an integrated model compared to those that use Six Sigma only. Conceptually, this study is framed within the theories of Six Sigma and systems thinking. The data was collected through an electronic survey of 289 participated from professional associations, whose membership include practitioners of Six Sigma and systems thinking. A descriptive analysis was conducted including frequency distribution and cross tabulation analysis. The results of this study suggest there is no statistically significant difference in the Six Sigma program success between those organizations that use Six Sigma only compared to those that use an integrated approach; they both report success. However, there is evidence of organizations that use the integrated approach of systems thinking tend to use feedback loops more frequently, have a more holistic view of quality management, and examine their organization\u27s interdependencies more than organizations that use Six Sigma only. There is evidence that as the duration of the organization\u27s use of Six Sigma matures so does the respondents\u27 support for factors of systems thinking concept. Evidence also supports that an integrated approach contributes to the success of Six Sigma programs. No empirical research on an integrated approach to quality management was available. This study contributes to providing an explorative foundation for further research as well as creating a survey questionnaire previously not available to explore the integrated approach with Six Sigma programs