University of South Alabama Institutional Repository
University of South Alabama Institutional RepositoryNot a member yet
5383 research outputs found
Sort by
Feedback Strategies in the Market with Uncertainties
No full textThis paper explores how established firms use strategic advertising to deter new competitors in uncertain markets. Specifically, it models a situation where market demand evolves unpredictably - captured by the CKLS stochastic process, and the incumbent firm may be either strong or weak, a fact hidden from potential entrants. For a company already in the market, advertising is not just about driving immediate sales, it is a strategic tool to project an image of strength and deter potential new competitors. On the other side, a business thinking about entering that market faces a high-stakes, irreversible decision. It will typically hold back, waiting until customer demand reaches a proven level before taking the plunge. Our research uses an advanced analytical model to pinpoint the strategies each side uses. The findings reveal that less-established market leaders often adjust their spending reactively as demand changes, while newcomers time their entry based on the signals they observe. To ground this theory in reality, we applied our model to actual revenue data from the energy sector, demonstrating just how much the unpredictability of market demand shapes both competitive advertising and the critical decision of when to enter
Dual-Task Interaction Between Vestibular Function and Cognitive Processing Using the P300 Event-Related Potential
No full textPrevious research has established links between vestibular function and cognitive processing, aging and cognitive function, and aging and vestibular function. Theories of cognitive resource allocation discuss how cognitive resources, such as attention, are devoted towards and divided between tasks when multitasking. This dual-task study, utilizing a balance task and a listening/cognitive task, across the young- and middle-aged adult age range, aimed to evaluate potential relationships between vestibular function, cognition, and age, and to examine how cognitive resources might be allocated under dual-task conditions.
The dual-task protocol in this study utilized an oddball paradigm with tonal stimuli to measure the P300 Event-Related Potential (P300), which is known to be sensitive to age and modulations in attention, as the listening/cognitive task. This task allowed for the representations of the strength and timing of neural resources to be analyzed, using P300 amplitude and latency, respectively. Balance was assessed using the Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration in Balance (mCTSIB), which has four conditions of varying difficulty, allowing for the quantification of sway velocity (indicating the speed and stability of the center-of-pressure) during the four conditions. Participants across the age range (18-55 years) completed these two tasks alone, as single tasks, and completed the two tasks simultaneously, as dual-task conditions.
The results of this study revealed that both P300 amplitude and sway velocity in the mCTSIB were significantly impacted in dual-task conditions, while no significant effects were observed for P300 latency or age. Specifically, P300 amplitude was significantly lower in all four dual-task conditions compared to P300 amplitude in the single task/ baseline condition, indicating that less neural resources were available for the cognitive task under dual-task conditions. Conversely, sway velocity in the mCTSIB was significantly lower (improved) in dual-task balance conditions, compared to baseline/single-task conditions. An interaction effect revealed that sway velocity was significantly improved for each of the compliant surface conditions of the mCTSIB (compliant surface, eyes open [CSEO] and compliant surface, eyes closed [CSEC], the two most difficult conditions of the mCTSIB. Taken together, these results seem to suggest some prioritization of the balance task over the listening/cognitive task when the two are performed simultaneously
The Article Processing Charge (APC) Costs How Much?
No full textWays to work with USA Libraries to avoid expensive APC charges and publish Gold Open Access.
USA Libraries, Acquisitions Librarian, Tracy M. Cole, shares how university faculty can publish journal articles and avoid expensive article processing charges, or APC’s. The session will explore the USA Libraries three different transformative agreements that will make your article immediately Gold Open Access, all while avoiding the APC cost barrier. In addition, the session will include a general primer on the types of Open Access, as well as why it matters for research impact, teaching, and access to knowledge
Investigating Potential Relationships Among Access to Green Spaces, Perceived Safety, and Health Disparities Along the Gulf Coast
No full textAs an African American woman from Birmingham, Alabama, I have witnessed firsthand how environmental changes can impact the quality of one’s life. I have noticed how neighborhoods only a few miles apart could have extremely different degrees of safety, wellness, and green space availability and their residents reflected these inequities. This project examines these disparities within coastal counties by assessing how individuals perceive safety and general health in local green spaces. Using a cross-sectional survey of 118 participants, the study identifies patterns shaped by socioeconomic status, occupation, and education. These results revealed how lower income individuals and those with environmentally demanding jobs experience lower perceived safety and reported poorer health. Other findings showed that participants who felt safest also reported the highest levels of health, emphasizing a connection between environment and well being. These results highlight the importance access to green space is to public health and equitable investment in community spaces
Autonomous Control of a Hybrid Unmanned Aerial Towed System on a Moving Platform
Full text linkWith tethered rotor drones being more popular for aerial surveillance, moving platforms for tethered drones are being researched. However, these systems require constant power to the rotor drones for stabilization. With this difficulty in power consumption, a hybrid drone solution is presented. The hybrid drone is similar to an airplane, with quadcopter motors attached for stabilization and thrust when not moving.
The controller for the hybrid drone was tested and verified in simulation. The simulation of the system was built in Fortran and consists of a driver, a tether, and a hybrid drone. The driver was modeled after a generic pick-up truck that moves in a straight line, and the tether is a viscoelastic tether made from a bead model. The controller for the hybrid drone was then created using three separate controllers. These controllers consisted of a quadcopter controller, a plane controller, and a blend controller. Testing and verifying of the hybrid controller were done using different test cases, such as not moving, moving forward, braking, varied speed, bumpy roads, and winds. The controller and simulation were found to be stable in most cases, allowing the hybrid drone solution to be possible in all but the winds model
Adaptive Core Materials for Wireless Power Transfer: Evaluating MR Fluid in Static and Dynamic Scenarios
Full text linkThis research introduces the behavior of Magnetorheological (MR) material as a core for Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) and Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) systems. MR fluids are flexible and easily fabricable material, although they offer a lower magnetic permeability compared to conventional Ferrite cores. The main objective of this research is to investigate the potential of MR fluid as a core for static and dynamic WPT system if it improves transfer efficiency, specially under misalignment and movement. MR fluids, known for their ability to rapidly change their rheological properties in response to magnetic fields, support the power transmission between transmitter and receiver coils, a critical factor in the efficiency of WPT systems. The research will involve using two prototypes, one for static WPT and one for a dynamic WPT system that can work with different cores like Air, ferrite, flex-ferrite, and MR fluid. These materials are used as a core in this experiment to compare their effectiveness in the system. Misalignment is inevitable in dynamic WPT (DWPT) and MR fluid has potential to perform better in this condition as a core as it has adaptable rheological properties, like viscosity, when exposed to a magnetic field. The study will evaluate the performance of WPT systems integrated with MR fluid under various positions including different misalignment percentages.https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/southalabama-shgrf-posters/1000/thumbnail.jp
Exploring Differential Gene Expressions in Gonads of Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) Associated with Breeding and Non-Breeding States
No full textAseasonal or opportunistic breeders utilize short-term environmental cues to regulate and time reproductive efforts. Unlike seasonal breeding taxa, the mechanisms used by opportunistic breeders, such as Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata), to initiate or terminate reproduction are poorly understood. Regulation of reproductive function can occur at multiple levels including the brain, pituitary, and gonads. In this project, we utilized structured water restriction to induce a non-breeding state in Zebra Finches, this induced partial gonadal regression in females, but not males. Thus, we compared the gonadal transcriptomes of breeding and non-breeding males and females to identify changes in gonadal gene expression associated with reproductive state. We identified significant changes in the expression of 22 genes in females, but only one gene in males, Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory protein (StAR). StAR plays a crucial role in regulating gonadal sex hormone synthesis. Thus, altering expression of androgens responsible for modulating reproductive behavior. The single gene regulation in males compared to multigene regulation in females possibly reflects an evolutionary adaptation to optimize reproductive success. While females must invest more to maintain a developed follicular hierarchy, maintenance of moderately sized gonads and sperm production may pose minimal cost to males. Maintaining functional gonads across breeding conditions, while modulating androgen production would help males maximize their chances of successful reproduction when conditions become favorable
A Theoretical Model of Participatory Team Science Training
Full text linkBACKGROUND: Teams have long been used to address major scientific and societal problems, and interdisciplinary teams are understood to be the best approach to complex systems-based problems like climate change. Engaged research collaborations incorporating community members as equal partners in research projects are recognized as both a means of advancing equity and justice in research, and also of improving the success of research translation by developing solutions with community use-value. The science of team science (TS) and community-engaged research (CEnR) have emerged as scholarly disciplines, with attempts to define competencies, skills, functioning, and success. A growing body of literature in these fields documents team interventions and evaluations, and offers theoretical models for competencies, development, and training. However, few researchers have considered the intersection of TS and CEnR (participatory team science), and the training needed to support this type of collaboration.
METHODS: This mixed-methods grounded theory study included comparative case studies of environmental resilience centers, whose disciplines appear less often in the training literature. In Phase 1, literature on training in TS and CEnR was used to develop an initial meta-model; in Phase 2, a questionnaire surveyed resilience center personnel; in Phase 3, case study interviews were conducted with participants from two centers. The final meta model integrated data from all phases of the study.
CONCLUSIONS: The resulting Launch and Support Model for Participatory Team Science produced the first identified set of competencies for participatory team science. It suggests that teams rather than individuals should be the audience for interventions; that long-term collaborations and community engagement contribute to team member satisfaction and project success; and that both training and institutions should be structured to encourage lasting, resilient collaborations. Case study data indicated that teams working on resilience issues may have some unique challenges. This study provides a theoretical basis for further research on participatory team science training, and a starting point for institutions that want to provide training for their faculty
End-to-End (E2E) MBSE Framework
Full text linkPrinciples of systems engineering (SE) possess great influence. Frameworks are generated to execute and incorporate such principles. Framework can have various architectural constructs and simultaneously consist of diverse concepts. Concepts like modularity, scalability, integration, and the balance between performance, cost, and risk are guided by SE principles as well as the manufacturability of designed systems due to the migration from mass customization to mass personalization resulting in increased complexity, and as a result need to be guided and gives rise to modularity. However, principles are not enough for effective system design and understanding. There is a need for a framework. The purpose of this complex mixed methods case study design is to explore, understand, and develop a framework for End-to-End (E2E) Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) to contribute to the Systems Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBoK). The objective is to develop an E2E MBSE Framework and then apply the MBSE methodology to solar sail technology as a Proof of Concept (POC). Solar sail technology is a complex system because it is assembled in one domain (earth) and deployed in another domain (space). The rationale for the modeling language of choice for this research, simulation, existing SE and MBSE frameworks that exist, and their corresponding gaps are discussed. There are national security implications and need for embedment of safety critical designs. Startups, institutions, academia, industry, military, and space defense stand to benefit from the framework. The framework successfully takes users from one end of the SE V to the other end.https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/southalabama-shgrf-posters/1013/thumbnail.jp
Adversarial Attacks and Defense Methods in Robotic Systems
Full text linkPresentation slides for a presentation given at the 1st annual Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum at the University of South Alabama