Anderson v. State, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 56 (Nov. 27, 2019)

The Court determined that (1) when the government relies on the forfeiture exception of the Confrontation Clause to introduce a witness’s out-of-court statements, the burden of proof the litigant must meet is that of preponderance of the evidence; and (2) that a trial court does not abuse its discretion in denying a motion to substitute counsel and thereby violate the Sixth Amendment right to counsel when the trial court holds a Young hearing for each motion and enough evidence indicates there is not a complete breakdown in the attorney-client relationship

Control Over Dispute-System Design and Mandatory Commercial Arbitration

This article argues that mandatory arbitration is not itself the problem. The problem is instead that in some instances, one party to the dispute has exclusive control of the design of the dispute-resolution system. Consequently, research on mandatory arbitration should concentrate on who is structuring it, how they structure it, why this is so and how these choices affect dispute outcomes

Proprioceptive perception of phase variability

Previous work has established that judgments of relative phase variability of 2 visually presented oscillators covary with mean relative phase. Ninety degrees is judged to be more variable than 0° or 180°, independently of the actual level of phase variability. Judged levels of variability also increase at 180°. This pattern of judgments matches the pattern of movement coordination results. Here, participants judged the phase variability of their own finger movements, which they generated by actively tracking a manipulandum moving at 0°, 90°, or 180°, and with 1 of 4 levels of Phase Variability. Judgments covaried as an inverted U-shaped function of mean relative phase. With an increase in frequency, 180° was judged more variable whereas 0° was not. Higher frequency also reduced discrimination of the levels of Phase Variability. This matching of the proprioceptive and visual results, and of both to movement results, supports the hypothesized role of online perception in the coupling of limb movements. Differences in the 2 cases are discussed as due primarily to the different sensitivities of the systems to the information

"Look Mum, no hands!" : the effects of increasing opportunities for choice-making and independence for children with disabilities when using a Riding for the Disabled programme : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

Many non-disabled people take for granted their ability to choose when they receive help from others. Those with disabilities are often denied this choice, having minimal control over their lives. Increasing literature and research advocate that children with disabilities should be allowed choice-opportunities, as this is an essential component of becoming self-determined. Increasing access to choice has many benefits, including increasing enjoyment, confidence, assertiveness, motivation, and performance. Furthermore, it has been shown to decrease challenging and undesirable behaviour. The current project investigated the effects of providing choice to children with disabilities while participating in riding sessions at the Riding for the Disabled. Furthermore, it investigated whether the children could become more independent when completing riding related tasks. The mastery of two routines (mounting and dismounting) was analysed. All participants improved in their mastery of routines, and thus their independence increased. The hypothesis that with the provision of choice and increase in independence, the children would express higher levels of enjoyment was supported. Those who see providing choice as a deleterious concept fear that children with disabilities will make poor decisions. The project investigated the effect of choice opportunities on the level of risk that the children engaged in when performing riding activities. It was found that the children did not expose themselves to any unnecessary risk despite the increase in control they experienced while riding. An alternating treatment design was used for eight single-case studies. Dependent variables measured were expressions of enjoyment, inattention, undesirable behaviour, level of risk, mastery of routines, number of prompts needed, and incidents of crying

Nonlinear state-observer techniques for sensorless control of automotive PMSM's, including load-torque estimation and saliency

The paper investigates various non-linear observer-based rotor position estimation schemes for sensorless control of permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs). Attributes of particular importance to the application of brushless motors in the automotive sector, are considered e.g. implementation cost, accuracy of predictions during load transients, the impact of motor saliency and algorithm complexity. Emphasis is given to techniques based on model linearisation during each sampling period (EKF); feedback-linearisation followed by Luenberger observer design based on the resulting �linear� motor characteristics; and direct design of non-linear observers. Although the benefits of sensorless commutation of PMSMs have been well expounded in the literature, an integrated approach to their design for application to salient machines subject to load torque transients remains outstanding. Furthermore, this paper shows that the inherent characteristics of some non-linear observer structures are particularly attractive since they provide a phase-locked-loop (PLL)-type of configuration that can encourage stable rotor position estimation, thereby enhancing the overall sensorless scheme. Moreover, experimental results show how operation through, and from, zero speed, is readily obtainable. Experimental results are also employed to demonstrate the attributes of each methodology, and provide dynamic and computational performance comparisons

Integrated series active filter for aerospace flight control surface actuation

The paper investigates integrated series active filters to satisfy aircraft power quality benchmarks and underlying design compromises. Advantages include reduced component count and retrofitting capability. Further insights into the merits of the proposed solution are included, along with representative results from a prototype system