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Radiation Detecting Robot
Get PDFTeam 10, The Radiation Detecting Robot was requested by Dr. Bahram Nassersharif at the University of Rhode Island to design a robot capable of detecting multiple radiation sources/spills within a lab environment. The criteria that must be satisfied inorder to fulfill the request of Dr. Nassersharif is that the robot must be able to scan a 12ft by 12ft room in less than 30 minutes while accurately visualizing the location of any radiation spill. The robot must also be able to avoid any obstacles that could be in its path while being fully autonomous, with the creation of an efficient search algorithm all while being under $1,000. In order to properly produce a successful solution to the problem definition, the team went through a series of steps that revolved around the production of multiple designs in order to apply QFD and Pugh analysis to see which were best fit to efficiently solve the problem. The design and analytical process came after the extensive research the team conducted by looking at previous patents and reviewing literature of potential solutions already produced. The team then took the best results from the finalized analysis to construct a full robot to prove that the design is functional and able to complete the entire problem definition. Construction of the prototype demonstrated the functionality of the radiation sensor, ultrasonic sensor, gyroscope, data storage, physical and digital marking capabilities, and autonomous movement. In conclusion, it can be stated that the design choices produced from the analytic results proved to be successful as a functional robot was created and can compete with other designs
Resolution of Cable and Bellmouth Wear Issues
Get PDFA marine winch system is designed to raise and lower objects from a boat into the ocean. In this system, a cable is fed through a bellmouth from the ship lowering down to the water with a load of up to 50,000 Newtons. With a load this high, frictional wear is inevitable. Ensuring that most of this frictional wear affects the fairlead system, and protects the multimillion-dollar cable is essential.
The project\u27s objective is to improve the current fairlead system that Raytheon uses on the stern of their research vessel. The focus of this improvement will be reducing the amount of friction between the cable and fairlead system. Certain ideas such as using a form of lubrication on the bellmouth or changing the angle at which the cable is fed through the bellmouth are both possible improvements to be made. However, after various methods of reasoning and testing, it was decided that implementing a four-roller system instead of the bellmouth would be the most effective way to reduce friction on the cable.
In the design process, the four-roller system is directly compared to the bellmouth to compare the amount of friction on both. The angle of the cable going over the rollers, the thickness of the cable, and the angle of the rollers are all taken into consideration in the design process. The four-roller system was proven to be successful as there is no way for the cable to escape and travel outside the closed system. The design also allows for no snagging in any corners and the side rollers keep the cable in line with the boat. There is a great reduction in the amount of friction occurring as this is proven with a heat generation test
Preventing Thermal Overstress Caused by Tomahawk Missile Plume
Get PDFGroup 19, Team America, was tasked with preventing thermal overstress to the launch pad surface and hatch caused by tomahawk missile plume by any means possible by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC). Research and engineering analysis needed to be conducted in order to develop the best concept for the design: prevent thermal overstress to the steel structure. The team worked step-by-step to perform a literature search and patent search to begin the design. Next, the team focused on roles and project planning to have an organized method of working together. The team then developed design specifications once concluding research and after holding a discussion with NUWC sponsor, Greg Sisco. Once the team had the design specifications, it was time to brainstorm, and each team member made thirty conceptual designs to solve the problem. The team worked their way down to one final conceptual design and performed many engineering criteria to prove the concept. This design included a garage door type hatch that was broken up into ten different pieces running along a bracket/rod track that would automatically move the hatch off and back on to the silo. This method would best be used with the use of hydraulics on a true naval vessel. The second portion of the design includes a Barricade Fire Gel that prevents any damage to the surface of the ship from the heat exhaust of the missile plume. Through testing and analyzing, it was determined the fire gel prevented any damage to the areas tested on as well as the new hatch design limiting any exposure to the heat exhausted by the missile plume making the design an overall success
Neurodiversity, Networks, and Narratives: Exploring Intimacy and Expressive Freedom in the Time of Covid‐19
Get PDFThe Narratives of Neurodiversity Network (NNN) is a neurodivergent academic, creative, and educator collective that came together with allies during the Covid‐19 pandemic to create a network centred around emerging narratives about neurodiversity and exploring new ways of learning and socialising. The network focuses on exploring the roles of written, spoken, and visual narratives across cultural locations about neuro‐atypical experiences in generating improved agency and self‐advocacy for those who have been subject to pathologization through neuro‐normativity and intersecting oppression. During the last year, widening access to digital platforms has provided a space to explore these issues outside of traditional academic spaces. We run a monthly “Salon,” our mixed‐media “reading, listening, and watching” group, in an effort to find positive representation within contemporary culture. Discussions have moved beyond mimesis and into a consideration of how narrative and storyworlds can question the supposed naturalness of certain ways of being in and perceiving the world. This article interrogates the network’s core principles of nonhierarchical co‐production, including the roles of creativity, community, identity, and emancipatory research which were animated by the new techno‐social context. We consider the cultural lives of neurodiversity in the West and beyond, including ethical and aesthetic dimensions. We share a faith in the power of storytelling to inform new social identities for neurodivergent people and to inform scientific understandings of atypical cognition. In exploring this, we speak through a porous first‐person plural narrator, to unsettle the idea that there is a hegemonic “we” speaking on behalf of all neurodivergent people
Sedimentary Accumulation of Black Carbon on the East Coast of The United States
Get PDFThe occurrence, trends and sources of soot black carbon (BC) in coastal sediments are poorly understood, particularly during the Anthropocene. Two sediment cores, covering the last ∼100 years from the US East Coast, off North Carolina and in the Florida Straits, were analyzed for organic carbon (OC), BC fluxes and BC sources. BC fluxes were 0.1 g cm−2 year−1 at both sites and accounted for 8%–22% of total OC. Carbon stable isotope values indicated OC to be of marine origin, while the BC was mostly terrestrially derived, C3-plant material. Radiocarbon values revealed BC originating mostly from fossil fuels or pre-aged carbon (fraction modern of 14%–31%) at North Carolina, while in the Florida Strait the BC was mostly derived from biomass burning (fraction modern of 70%–74%), in-line with continental (NC) or marine (FS) air mass origins. Ratios of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons broadly supported different BC sources at the two sites
More than fabricated news reports: Children’s perspectives and experiences of fake news
Get PDFThis study aims to explore what kinds of social media services children use in their everyday lives, how children describe their strategies for spotting fake news, and what kinds of fake news they report having encountered in their lived experiences. The article is based on an online questionnaire conducted in Finnish comprehensive schools with children and young people (N = 167) aged 12–15. The results show that children are active users of various social media services and that they accessed social media every day. Children perceived the fake news as much more than fabricated news reports and weaved them together with ordinary lies, rumors, and false information shared in the form of links, videos, posts, messages, and stories. Children recognized that fake news can be produced and shared by anyone with various intentions, including financial and ideological gains, but also personal gains of digital capital, causing confusion, cheating, pranking, and bullying. Children also provided examples of various kinds of myths, rumors, and false information spreading in their online communities. Notably, children typically described fake news in terms of its believability and intentions, but deeper-level evaluation strategies, such as the evaluation of the quality and consistency of evidence, were much less discussed. The results contribute to the body of literature by providing children’s perspectives regarding the complex problem of fake news and signal the need to develop pedagogical approaches that help children to better understand the basic mechanisms of machine learning, including tracking and profiling, behavior/attention engineering, and psychometrics-based advertising
Filipino Students’ Competency in Evaluating Digital Media Content Credibility: ‘Beginning’ to ‘Emerging’ Levels
Get PDFThis study investigates Filipino students’ reasoning competency levels in evaluating the credibility of digital media content and whether significant statistical differences exist in their competency by education status, sex, age group, Internet use, and geographical location. Four hundred twenty-four students representing the senior high school, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels responded to four modified versions of the Stanford History Education Group’s civic online reasoning tasks. The study found that most students have ‘beginning’ competency levels in author-checking, fact-checking, and bias-checking but ‘emerging’ competency levels for image-checking. Younger students and those who spend more hours online have higher mean competency levels for verifying the authenticity of a social media page. Postgraduate students fared better in distinguishing facts from opinions in arguments, while students residing in the Masbate province consistently registered lower mean scores for author- and fact-checking. This study indicates the need to strengthen Filipino students’ information/media literacy across educational levels
Alma Link Resolver Title & ISSN Report (Top 500) 2022-2023
No full textStatistics for 2022-2023 on the total number of OpenURL requests by journal title and ISSN made to the Ex Libris Alma link resolver for items held by the University of Rhode Island Libraries. Includes only the top 500 journals.
Information provided includes journal Title, ISSN, EISSN, Number of Requests, Number of Clicked Requests, % Clicks from Requests
Midwifery and nursing: Considerations on cord management at birth
No full textMounting evidence overwhelmingly supports the practice of the return of an infant\u27s placental blood volume at the time of birth. Waiting just a few minutes before clamping the umbilical cord can provide health benefits to infants of all gestational ages. Despite the robust evidence, uptake of delayed cord clamping (DCC) into mainstream obstetrical practice is moving slowly. The practice of DCC is influenced by various factors that include the setting in which the birth takes place, the use of evidence-informed guidelines and other influences that facilitate or hinder the practice of DCC. Through communication, collaboration, and unique disciplinary perspectives, midwives and nurses work with other members of their respective care team to develop strategies for best practice to improve an infant\u27s well-being through optimal cord management. Midwifery has been practiced for centuries throughout the world and midwives have supported DCC since the beginning of recorded history. An important tenet of midwifery philosophy is watchful waiting and non-intervention in normal processes. Nurses are vital to care of birthing families in- and out-of-hospitals as well as in prenatal and postpartum ambulatory care. Nurses and midwives are positioned to be involved in the process of adapting to the mounting evidence for DCC. Strategies to increase better utilization of the practice of DCC have been proposed. For all, teamwork and collaboration among disciplines participating in maternity care are essential for adapting to the new evidence. Involving midwives and nurses as partners in an interdisciplinary approach to plan, implement and sustain DCC at birth increases success
Knowledge gaps in optimal umbilical cord management at birth
No full textIn 2014 the World Health Organisation recommended providing placental blood to all newborn infants by waiting for at least one minute before clamping the umbilical cord. Mounting evidence supports providing a placental transfusion at the time of birth for all infants. The optimal time before clamping and cutting the umbilical cord is still not yet known, and debate exists around other cord management issues. The newborn\u27s transition phase from intra- to extra-uterine life and the effects of blood volume on the many necessary adaptations are understudied. How best to support these adaptations guides our suggested research questions. Parents’ perceptions of enrolling their unborn infant into a study play important parts in the conduct of such trials. This article aims to address these topics and suggest research questions for further studies