Paying to Play: Social Media in Advancement 2016

To cut through the growing chatter across social media channels, many educational institutions are paying to increase the visibility of their content on Facebook, Twitter and other digital platforms, according to a new white paper by CASE, Huron and mStoner, Inc."Paying to Play: Social Media in Advancement 2016" reports that 83 percent of surveyed respondents are boosting or promoting posts or advertising on Facebook; 16 percent are advertising or promoting tweets on Twitter and 9 percent report advertising on LinkedIn.Schools, colleges and universities worldwide are paying to boost and promote content as the organic reach across all social channels declines, write "Paying to Play" co-authors Jennifer Mack of Huron and Michael Stoner of mStoner Inc."Paying to improve exposure is the single best way to ensure that a particular piece of content reaches as many fans and followers as possible, allowing them the opportunity to engage with it in some way," according to Mack and Stoner.Surveyed institutions boosted, promoted or advertised posts to increase attendance at events, encourage more engagement with an important campaign and grow awareness of giving days, among other reasons. These institutions, however, were selective about which posts to boost as most don't yet have much, if any, budget for amplifying social content.Beyond this growing pay-to-play trend among educational institutions, the white paper reveals common practices of institutions that are most successful with social media. According to the white paper, these institutions are:More likely to boost, promote and advertise their postsMore likely to share content generated by their constituents on social channelsLikely to use social media for prospect researchAdept at turning their expertise in using social media into dollars for their institutionsOther findings include:Nearly 90 percent of respondents agreed that social media is a much more important part of their communications and marketing efforts than three years ago.When convincing senior leadership of the value of social media, 45 percent of respondents point to the opportunity to connect with new audiences while 42 percent name the ability to engage young alumni.Use of Instagram rose from 54 percent in 2015 to 65 percent in 2016.Use of Snapchat grew from 5 percent in 2015 to 15 percent in 2016."Paying to Play: Social Media in Advancement 2016" reports on findings from the seventh survey of social media in advancement, which was conducted earlier this year by Huron and mStoner in partnership with CASE. Nearly 1,200 respondents at educational institutions worldwide provided feedback on their use of social media

Social Media Enters the Mainstream: Report on the Use of Social Media in Advancement, 2014

Social media use is becoming increasingly engrained in the work of alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing professionals at educational institutions, according to results cited in a new white paper. This white paper reports on findings from the fifth survey of social media in advancement, conducted earlier this year by Huron Education and mStoner in partnership with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Nearly 2,000 respondents provided feedback on the tools they are using, how they use them, which are most successful and how to measure return on investment. Among the notable findings is growing recognition by advancement practitioners of the importance of social media to advancement. The white paper includes three profiles of institutional executives who successfully use social media

Predicting Culvert Deterioration Using Physical and Environmental Time-Independent Variables

Given a database of approximately 8,000 culverts in South Carolina with varying sizes, types, configurations, and the associated ratings of different output categories, a predictive deterioration model was produced in an attempt to match the ratings of these output categories. These models used the physical culvert information given in the database of culverts and associated environmental characteristics including historical temperature, precipitation, pH, and estimated runoff coefficient as inputs for the model. The models used combinations of inputs that produced the model with the best performance measures. In addition, a separate group of models was created for each of the six culvert types commonly found in South Carolina. These models used different combinations of the input variables to produce a model that rated a culvert in ten categories: cracking, separation, corrosion, alignment, scour, sedimentation, vegetation, erosion, blockage, and piping. The scores for each of these categories were combined to give an overall composite score for each of the culverts. Two types of models were used for each of the culvert types and output categories, a logistic regression model and an artificial neural network model. The purpose of this model was to allow the user of the model to input a culvert or group of culverts and receive their expected culvert ratings in accordance with the SCDOT Field Inventory and Inspections Guidelines. The model also produced a composite rating, consisting of a combination of the ten input categories predicted by the model. There were several preset composite weights for these categories, but the model also adapted for a user input combination of output categories. The models produced were shown to have a coefficient of determination of between 0.25 for poorly correlated models to a coefficient of determination 0.80 for better correlated models when comparing the predicted culvert score with the actual culvert score. The models that were produced were meant to serve as both a tool to determine the approximate health of a group of culverts, and to compare the scores of a group of culverts allowing the SCDOT to make decisions about rehabilitation and repair without physically inspecting a culvert

Performance of Cross-Laminated Timber as a Residential Building Material Subject to Tornado Events

Innovations in the use of wood as a structural material have included the invention of engineered wood products including Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) for which markets are expanding. One such market is residential construction where many structures are built using light-frame construction techniques. These structures have shown vulnerabilities to hazards such as tornadoes; whereas, CLT has shown potential to withstand these hazards. The project had two main components: an experimental test phase and an analytical phase. Results from experimental debris impact testing demonstrated that 3-ply CLT could reliably resist the debris associated with EF-2 and EF-3 level events while failing approximately 50% of the time when subject to EF-5 level hazards. CLT shear wall tests on assemblies with and without out-of-plane walls sought to quantify the performance of configurations that would likely be present in residential structures with more box-like geometries and behavior. In addition, it was determined that out-of-plane walls could resist the uplift forces that develop due to lateral loads. A simplified analytical method for determining the capacity of CLT shear wall assemblies was proposed based on the connection capacities of the assembly. The analytical phase of the project included the development of a structural performance model for residential archetypes designed using CLT. Results from this study indicated that the archetypes experienced a 10% probability of failure in EF-4 events. In comparison, light-frame construction has shown vulnerabilities to EF-0 and EF-1 level events. In addition, the hazard assessment of light-frame structures based on historical tornado data showed that significant portions of the United States exhibited a reliability index less than the target reliability described in ASCE 7-16, dropping to nearly 0% when built using CLT. A comparative cost analysis shows that for locations with high tornado hazard, it would take up to 100 years for CLT construction to be economically competitive with light-frame construction considering only the differences in upfront construction costs and tornado-induced losses. Ultimately, CLT exhibits an increased level of performance compared to light-frame residential construction in tornado events. Further developments in the mass timber market could make such an alternative to light-frame construction more realistic

Chemicals having estrogenic activity can be released from some bisphenol a-free, hard and clear, thermoplastic resins

Background: Chemicals that have estrogenic activity (EA) can potentially cause adverse health effects in mammals including humans, sometimes at low doses in fetal through juvenile stages with effects detected in adults. Polycarbonate (PC) thermoplastic resins made from bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that has EA, are now often avoided in products used by babies. Other BPA-free thermoplastic resins, some hypothesized or advertised to be EA-free, are replacing PC resins used to make reusable hard and clear thermoplastic products such as baby bottles. Methods: We used two very sensitive and accurate in vitro assays (MCF-7 and BG1Luc human cell lines) to quantify the EA of chemicals leached into ethanol or water/saline extracts of fourteen unstressed or stressed (autoclaving, microwaving, UV radiation) thermoplastic resins. Estrogen receptor (ER)-dependent agonist responses were confirmed by their inhibition with the ER antagonist ICI 182,780. Results: Our data showed that some (4/14) unstressed and stressed BPA-free thermoplastic resins leached chemicals having significant levels of EA, including one polystyrene (PS), and three Tritan™ resins, the latter reportedly EA-free. Exposure to UV radiation in natural sunlight resulted in an increased release of EA from Tritan™ resins. Triphenyl-phosphate (TPP), an additive used to manufacture some thermoplastic resins such as Tritan™, exhibited EA in both MCF-7 and BG1Luc assays. Ten unstressed or stressed glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG), cyclic olefin polymer (COP) or copolymer (COC) thermoplastic resins did not release chemicals with detectable EA under any test condition. Conclusions: This hazard survey study assessed the release of chemicals exhibiting EA as detected by two sensitive, widely used and accepted, human cell line in vitro assays. Four PC replacement resins (Tritan™ and PS) released chemicals having EA. However, ten other PC-replacement resins did not leach chemicals having EA (EA-free-resins). These results indicate that PC-replacement plastic products could be made from EA-free resins (if appropriate EA-free additives are chosen) that maintain advantages of re-usable plastic items (price, weight, shatter resistance) without releasing chemicals having EA that potentially produce adverse health effects on current or future generations.This work was supported by the following NIH/NIEHS grants: R44 ES011469, 01–03 (CZY); 1R43/44 ES014806, 01–03 (CZY); subcontract (CZY, PI) on an NIH Grant 01–03 43/44ES018083-01. This work was also supported by NIH grants to MSD (P42 ES004699), and DJK and SIY (1R43ES018083-01-03, NIEHS 1R44ES019442-01-03 and NIEHS 2R44ES016964-01-03).Neuroscienc

Design of Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Beams Considering Variability in Tensile Strength of Bamboo

In recent years, the price of steel has soared, making steel reinforcement in concrete structures unaffordable for households in low-income countries. Seismic activities in low-income households, particularly those in developing countries, pose a significant threat to life and property to unreinforced concrete structures. The application of bamboo as an alternative to steel in reinforced concrete is still in its early stages of development. Unlike steel, bamboo is a natural material, and its structural properties vary greatly based on species, location, age, and geometric properties. Thus, the design of bamboo-reinforced concrete involves more uncertainties than steel-reinforced concrete. This research investigates the structural properties of bamboo and bamboo-reinforced concrete beams through experimental testing and Monte Carlo simulation. Tension tests were conducted on ﾑMoso\u27 (Phyllostachys edulis) bamboo harvested in Clemson, United States, and the variabilities in the tensile strength and stiffness properties of the Moso bamboo were quantified. A set of tension tests was conducted in conjunction with moisture content tests each week to determine the optimum time for construction application after harvest, given the changes in strength and stiffness over time. It also served to capture the inherent variability of the bamboo material. To test the behavior of concrete reinforced with bamboo, four 25.4 cm x 35.6 cm x 3.66 m (10 in. x 14 in. x 12 ft.) concrete beams with bamboo reinforcement were tested under four-point bending. The interaction between bamboo and concrete was observed during the flexural tests. The findings derived from the tension testing of bamboo samples were utilized in a Monte Carlo simulation to generate an anticipated range of capacities for bamboo reinforced concrete beams. Subsequently, a comparative analysis was performed between the projected beam test outcomes and the actual results obtained. Based on preliminary analysis, applying the current method to estimate the capacity of steel-reinforced concrete beams to bamboo-reinforced concrete may result in an overestimation of the capacity. This could be attributed to the lack of proper quantification of the slip between the bamboo reinforcements and the concrete in the current model

The occurrence patterns of eye-hand preference in athletes and non-athletes

Eye and hand preferences were determined for 268 elite athletes and 90 non-athletes to determine occurrence patterns. Comparisons were made between athletes and nonathletes to evaluate patterns of ocular preference, hand preference and tendencies for homolateral or crossed preference. No significant differences were found for ocular or hand preferences in athletes versus nonathletes. Similarly, no significant differences were shown for homolateral or crossed preferences. Recommendations for standardizaton of evaluation technique related to eye and hand preferences are discussed

Neurobiologically Inspired Control of Engineered Flapping Flight

This article presents a new control approach for engineered flapping flight with many interacting degrees of freedom. This paper explores the applications of neurobiologically inspired control systems in the form of Central Pattern Generators (CPG) to generate wing trajectories for potential flapping flight MAVs. We present a rigorous mathematical and control theoretic framework to design complex three dimensional motions of flapping wings. Most flapping flight demonstrators are mechanically limited in generating the wing trajectories. Because CPGs lend themselves to more biological examples of flight, a novel robotic model has been developed to emulate the flight of bats. This model has shoulder and leg joints totaling 10 degrees of freedom for control of wing properties. Results of wind tunnel experiments and numerical simulation of CPG-based flight control validate the effectiveness of the proposed neurobiologically inspired control approach