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Building Resilience: Strategies for Sustainable Wildfire Management in California
Get PDFWildfires in California are becoming more intense and destructive, threatening communities, ecosystems, and livelihoods. This project explores how resilience and sustainability can work together to reduce wildfire risks and long-term damage. By reviewing research, case studies, and expert insights, it examines what’s driving these fires, climate change, poor land management, and human activity, and looks at solutions that can make a real difference. From community education programs to AI-driven fire detection and smarter policies, the findings highlight practical ways to better prepare for and manage wildfires. The goal is to contribute to a future where communities and the environment are more adaptable, protected, and prepared for the growing wildfire challenges ahead
UAV Assisted Sustainable Data Gathering Techniques in Internet of Remote Things
No full textUAV-IoRT (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle—Internet of Remote Things) is Kennesaw State’s project for the 2024-2025 AFRL (Air Force Laboratory) Design Radio (SDR) Challenge. The goal of the project is to create a system designed to gather data from IoT devices in remote areas lacking access to the internet. Our approach employs UAVs to retrieve data from IoT clusters and relay it to a server to be uploaded to the cloud. Currently, we are working on key components of our system, including decoding a proprietary LoRa frame format, creating a MAC protocol, and implementing distributed transmit beamforming. Moving forward, we are transitioning from the design and development phase to the optimization and field testing phase, which focuses on improving performance
A Case Study in Improvements to the Aerodynamic Efficiency of the Boeing 777-300 Empennage
No full textBackground: In aircraft design considerable weight is placed on aircraft efficiency. The aerodynamic efficiency of an aircraft can increase aircraft range and fuel efficiency while reducing environmental aircraft. A large focus on aircraft efficiency has focused on the aircraft wings, resulting in aircraft tail efficiency less researched than other parts of aircraft efficiency. The Boeing 777-300 is a high-capacity transonic commercial aircraft. The purpose of this case study will demonstrate the impact of geometric changes on a transonic commercial aircraft’s empennage by modifying the geometry of the Boeing 777-300’s empennage and testing how the modifications impacted empennage efficiency. Methods: A baseline model of the Boeing 777-300’s airframe will be reverse engineered from available data on the aircraft. The geometry of the aircraft’s tail will then be modified to create alternative models. The models will then be tested using Computational Flow Dynamics. The results of this analysis will be compared to the baseline model and the percent change in control authority, stability, and efficiency will be calculated. Results: The results will include the modification and its effect in percent change relative to the baseline model. This data will be compiled and presented in order to disseminate the results of the case study. The conclusions of the study will include how and to what degree certain geometric modifications of the aircraft empennage impact the ability and efficiency of the empennage. As such in early stages of airframe design the results can be used to determine to what degree to modify empennage geometry to achieve necessary design specifications
Missing the Mark: How Inadequate Sex Education Policies Leave U.S. Youth Vulnerable
Get PDFIn the U.S., most schools require some form of sex education, but it is rarely comprehensive even though it needs to be. Young adults aged 15 – 24 account for half of all new STI cases each year, despite making up only a fourth of the population. Teen birth rates remain a significant problem. This can lead to a myriad of challenges, including health issues, educational setbacks, and financial instabilities. They frequently exclude crucial topics, such as contraception, teen pregnancy, dating violence, consent, and sex trafficking. Lack of federal mandates leaves decisions up to the state based on community values. This often results in delivering limited sex education. The purpose of this research was to examine state policies on sex education in relation to political affiliation, teen birth rates, sexually transmitted infection rates, contraception use, consent, and dating violence. Sex education policies, state statutes, state board of education policies, and state department of education or curriculum standards were obtained and analyzed for all 50 states. The policies for each state were coded using a binary coding scheme for the presence or absence of the following content: state-mandated sexual education, sex trafficking education, consent, HIV/AIDS, abstinence-only, parental review option, parental opt-in, and parental opt-out. Results showed that comprehensive sex education is limited in the U.S., especially in conservative states. Most states had some form of mandated sexual education (54%), HIV/AIDS (86%) prevention, abstinence-only (76%), and offered parental review (52%), and parental opt-out (74%). Few states addressed consent (26%) or sex trafficking education (34%); most did not require parents to opt-in for their child to participate. Mandated sex education, rates of teen births, gonorrhea, and chlamydia differed significantly based on political affiliation by state. Failure to provide comprehensive sex education in all states can increase vulnerability among youth
The Evolution of Attitudes and Perceptions of First-Year Theatre Students
No full textFirst-year theatre students face challenges as they adjust to their first semester of college. Time management, navigating academic expectations, and building a sense of community are key factors that influence their academic and personal growth. The purpose of this study is to explore how attitudes and perceptions of first-year theatre students evolve as they progress through their first semester of college. The study strives to analyze how they manage these demands and how their experiences contribute to their overall academic success and growth. The methods used were a combination of data collection including collecting and organizing data from multiple surveys, interpretation, and visualization. The data comes from Dr. Jim Davis and all of his previous students in the fall semester of the years; 2022, 2023, and 2024. Three surveys were administered by Dr. Jim Davis to his fall semester first year students, sample size was around 17-20 students.The results showed most students were worried about having enough confidence to put themselves out there, mainly all the students talked about how hard it was to balance their academic and creative responsibilities. By the end of the semester, many shared a similar recognition of the importance of effective time management and finding support from peers and faculty. When asked what three things they were told about college, most of the students said college will be the best years of their life or the most challenging years, the students reflected on the duality of the college experiences either being the best or most challenging. Students also realized the importance of effective time management, becoming more academically successful overall. Many students also noted the value of finding support from peers and faculty throughout the semester. A sense of community appears to be essential not only for emotional support but also for academic success
Perspectives of Black and Latino Students on Mindfulness and Mindfulness-Based Interventions to Support Mental Health
No full textDepression and anxiety are prevalent and distressing mental health conditions that disproportionately affect Black and Latino populations in the U.S. Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) reduce symptoms of these conditions but were developed within a Western biomedical framework. Their cultural appropriateness for Black and Latino people remains largely unexamined. This two-study investigation explored perceptions of MBIs and their adaptation for Black and Latino university students. Study 1 examined whether income—a proxy for race and ethnicity in the U.S.—is associated with MBI acceptability (willingness to engage) and credibility (perceived effectiveness). Black and Latino households earn about half as much as White households and own only 15-20% of their net worth. A total of 341 community adults (43.9% cisgender women) were recruited online via TurkPrime. Participants completed demographic questions and read a vetted MBI description, then rated its acceptability and credibility. We collapsed income into high and low-income categories (n= 43) were disproportionately overrepresented in the low-income group. A one-way MANOVA found that low-income participants rated MBIs as significantly less acceptable and credible compared to high-income participants. These findings suggest financial barriers and structural inequities shape MBI perceptions. Study 2 will build on these findings by qualitatively exploring Black and Latino university students’ perspectives on MBIs, their cultural appropriateness, and potential adaptations. This research highlights the need for culturally adapted MBIs that address financial and cultural barriers, informing efforts to refine MBIs for Black and Latino student populations
Finding the Singing Spruce: Musical In-strument Makers and Appalachia’s Mountain Forests
Get PDFJasper Waugh-Quasebarth Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2023 ISBN: 9781959000006 248 p. $26.99 (Pbk
Spatial Echoes
Get PDFThis abstract critiques the limitations within the U.S. education system, arguing that its selective preservation of history often obscures crucial narratives, particularly regarding systemic racism. Focusing on the suppressed history of Oscarville and the expulsion of Black residents from Forsyth County, Georgia, in 1912, the proposal advocates for architectural intervention to combat this historical amnesia. The central research question explores how architecture can preserve and convey unbiased racial history to enhance education. The thesis posits that intentionally designed architecture can serve as a powerful and enduring educational tool, making it harder to ignore marginalized histories. To address this, the abstract proposes the design of a memorial and research center near Lake Lanier, the site of former Black-owned land. The research center aims to function as a library and archive dedicated to the history of Black-owned towns, while the memorial will acknowledge the tragedy of Oscarville. Furthermore, the center will include a multipurpose exhibit space for researchers and public discourse. By creating architecture that tells a compelling and enduring story, this project seeks to challenge the limitations of traditional education and foster a deeper understanding of America\u27s complex racial past
BEER CONSUMPTION
Get PDFAlcohol is one of the beverages with which man has had a long association. In some form it is present in almost every society, often used for social, religious, and medicinal functions. One form of this beverage, beer, in the United States is the end product of a six billion dollar industry. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate an exercise, through student inquiry, which allows the development of the patterns an.d trends of beer consumption in the United States. The activity commences with locating the geographical points where the beer is consumed, and considers the direct and indirect influences of such factors as ethnic preferences, income growth, and aggressive advertising. Students will be provided with data of per capita consumption and per capita income for the years 1949, 1959, and 1969. The statistics will be used to develop maps and graphs. These three instruments (data, maps, and graphs) will be useful in the development of skills such as, data classification, map analysis and construction, graph analysis and construction, and concepts associated with correlation, areal association, and threshold