The 50 most-cited articles in Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research, 2018

In April 2017, United Airlines had a passenger removed from one of its airplanes. Video of the bleeding man being dragged off through the aisle went viral the next day. United’s initial response attempted to downplay this offensive act (relying primarily on differentiation and mortification, but not really apologizing for this offensive act). This stance provoked outrage and ridicule. This study applies image repair theory (Benoit, 2015) to the discourse in this case study. United’s CEO, Oscar Munoz, was forced to offer a “do-over,” stressing mortification and corrective action that were actually directed to the offensive act. United finally arrived at the proper response, but it came too late to realize its full potential. This essay argues that corrective action can be an important strategy in crisis communication theory; it also explains that social media have changed the crisis situation (with nearly instant and widespread criticism) and compressed the time in which those accused of wrongdoing can respond.

The Ebola outbreak and its rapid spread throughout West Africa and other countries was a megacrisis that imposed numerous challenges to those communicating to nonscientific publics about the epidemic. This article examines the instructional risk messages offered in the days that followed the 2014 infection and death of Liberian national Thomas Eric Duncan in Dallas, Texas. More specifically, we apply the IDEA model for effective instructional risk and crisis communication embellished by exemplification theory to conduct a thematic analysis of messages offered locally (Dallas news stories and press releases), nationally (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Live Chat Twitter posts), and internationally (website content from the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and Doctors Without Borders). Our conclusions reveal that the majority of messages offered from each organization privileged the element of explanation over internalization and action as well as negative over positive exemplification. On the basis of these conclusions, and informed by…

Ants can display modified behaviors that represent the extended phenotypes of genes expressed by parasites that infect them. In such cases, the modifications benefit the parasite. Alternatively, displayed behaviors can represent host responses to infection that benefit colony fitness. Though some enigmatic examples of behavioral manipulation have been reported, parasitism of ants and its effects on ant behavior and ecology are generally poorly understood. Here, we summarize some of the present-day literature on parasite-ant interactions. Our main focus is on interactions that change host behavior so drastically that infected ants play a seemingly different societal and, perhaps, ecological role. We highlight the parallels that can be found across parasite-ant symbioses that result in manipulated behaviors, such as summiting, phototaxis, substrate biting, and wandering. We also point out the many present knowledge gaps that could be filled by efforts ranging from novel parasite discovery, to more detailed behavioral observations and next-generation sequencing to start uncovering…

As of August 2017, approximately 684 people have died in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since the coronavirus Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) outbreak in 2012. Saudi Arabia became the leading country for the number of illnesses and deaths related to MERS-CoV, making this a health megacrisis. Early Ministry of Health (MOH) communication efforts proved ineffective and created anger, confusion, and mistrust. Changes in command, implementation of new guidelines and policies, and a health preventive campaign have been instrumental in the fight. The MOH launched the “We Can Stop It” campaign in 2015. This study shares results from a survey of 875 students from King Saud University on the credibility of MOH information and effectiveness of the campaign’s prevention recommendations. Results show that the MOH is a credible source of information and that Saudis are following most, but not all, recommended preventive measures. Those persons with higher perceived benefits and lower barriers are more likely to follow recommended guidelines.

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss stress training – training that is designed to counter stress effects. Despite the general tendency for authors to note the lack of progress in any given field, we feel that research on stress training has been quite promising. In fact, we know a great deal more about stress training than we did a decade ago. There have been a number of valuable books (Cannon-Driskell and Salas, 1996; Bowers and Salas, 1998), book chapters (Johnston and CannonBowers, 1996; Keinan and Friedland, 1996), technical reports (Staal, 2004; Helmus and Glenn, 2005; Kavanagh, 2005), and research articles (Saunders et al., 1996; Morris, Hancock and Shirkey, 2004) that represent a considerable advance over previous conceptualizations of stress training.

This article details some of the writing and high-school-to-college transitioning experiences through nine Black American student voices collected from interviews at a predominantly White university in the southern United States. These accounts show what gaps exist in current scholarship and disciplinary knowledge about student writers and transitioning as well as how college educators might create antiracist, culturally sustaining writing pedagogy at the transition level.

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In a social context where two or more interlocutors interact with each other in the same space, one's sense of copresence with the others is an important factor for the quality of communication and engagement in the interaction. Although augmented reality (AR) technology enables the superposition of virtual humans (VHs) as interlocutors in the real world, the resulting sense of copresence is usually far lower than with a real human interlocutor. In this paper, we describe a human-subject study in which we explored and investigated the effects that subtle multi-modal interaction between the virtual environment and the real world, where a VH and human participants were co-located, can have on copresence. We compared two levels of gradually increased multi-modal interaction: (i) virtual objects being affected by real airflow as commonly experienced with fans in summer, and (ii) a VH showing awareness of this airflow. We chose airflow as one example of an environmental factor that can noticeably affect both the real and virtual worlds, and also cause subtle responses in interlocutors.We…

Seismocardiographic (SCG) signals are the acoustic and vibration induced by cardiac activity measured non-invasively at the chest surface. These signals may offer a method for diagnosing and monitoring heart function. Successful classification of SCG signals in health and disease depends on accurate signal characterization and feature extraction. In this study, SCG signal features were extracted in the time, frequency, and time-frequency domains. Different methods for estimating time-frequency features of SCG were investigated. Results suggested that the polynomial chirplet transform outperformed wavelet and short time Fourier transforms. Many factors may contribute to increasing intrasubject SCG variability including subject posture and respiratory phase. In this study, the effect of respiration on SCG signal variability was investigated. Results suggested that SCG waveforms can vary with lung volume, respiratory flow direction, or a combination of these criteria. SCG events were classified into groups belonging to these different respiration phases using classifiers, including…

Crisis events have the potential to create broad impacts across a variety of contexts and require multi-disciplinary approaches to understand the causes and consequences. Communication is instrumental to both the understanding and the management of risks and crises and needs to be systematically examined within these contexts. The Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research is designed to be an outlet for multi-disciplinary inquiry of communication phenomena within a wide range of crises and risks using multiple methods and perspectives.

Digitization enables firms to create greater economic value and also creates greater value for consumers. However, there are many examples of failed digital investments caused by firms taking an uncritical view of the alluring benefits of digitization. By applying basic economic concepts (including Reservation Price and Value Appropriation), we identify the conditions under which firms implement robust digital initiatives but don't effectively create or appropriate economic value. To avoid such situations, managers must mindfully assess sociotechnical, strategic and risk aspects when embarking on digital initiatives.Click here for free presentation slides (pdf)

Social media platforms influence the flow of information and technologically mediated communication during a storm. In 2015, Stewart and Wilson introduced the STREMII (pronounced STREAM-ee) as a six-phase model for social media crisis communication in an eff ort to assist institutions and organizations during unanticipated events, using the crisis of Hurricane Sandy as an applied example. Since the inception of the model, several advancements in social media strategy have revealed the opportunity for further development. This current work presents a revision of the original model, emphasizing the need for ongoing social listening and engagement with target audiences. These aspects of the revised model are discussed in interpersonal and organizational contexts related to examples of social media use during the October 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Matthew.

Existing models of organizational crisis response effectiveness provide useful insights but are limited in terms of offering a guide for practitioners dealing with actual crisis situations. This analysis examines the relative effectiveness of image repair tactics based on differences in root causes of crisis events. Results suggest that certain image repair tactics are seen as the most and the least effective regardless of crisis type. At the same time, there were some differences across crisis types that could guide practitioner tactic choices. Limited results here and in past research raise questions about whether image repair tactic effectiveness can be usefully mapped to situational variables, such as audience or crisis type. This article concludes with discussion on this matter and suggestions for future research.

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After decades of basic research and more promises than impressive applications, artificial intelligence (AI) is starting to deliver benefits. A convergence of advances is motivating this new surge of AI development and applications. Computer capability as it has evolved from high throughput and high performance computing systems is increasing. AI models and operations research adaptations are becoming more mature, and the world is breeding big data not only from the web and social media but also from the Internet of Things. Organizations around the world have been realizing that there are substantial performance gains and increases in productivity for the use of AI and predictive analytics techniques. Their use is bringing a new era of breakthrough innovation and opportunities. This book, compiles research insights and applications in diverse areas such as manufacturing, supply chain management, pricing, autonomous vehicles, healthcare, ecommerce, and aeronautics. Using classical and advanced tools in AI such as deep learning, particle swarm optimization, support vector machines and…

This book explores how digital technologies are revealing fresh information regarding the tragic history of Rosewood, Florida, and demonstrates how racial violence in the past relates to social inequality in the present

Message sidedness, including its later format inoculation, and conclusion explicitness have been identified by researchers as two prominent message factors that may influence advocating effects. Two-sided messages, which contain both supporting and opposing information about the issue, particularly those containing inoculation components that refute the negative side, are found to be more effective than one-sided messages. Messages with explicit conclusions are also found to be more persuasive than those that let the audience draw the conclusions themselves. This study tested the persuasion effectiveness of message inoculation and conclusion explicitness on a new scientific concept, the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus, of which the public has little knowledge. This study used five randomly assigned groups (total N = 524) and found that messages with explicit conclusions are more persuasive than those with implicit conclusions; however, it found no difference between the effectiveness of one-sided messages and of refutational two-sided messages. The study suggests that a clear…

The concept of Motivation Theories has been established for hundreds of years. Early theorists who contributed to this area of study mainly focused on the biological derivatives of humans, and sought to assess solely how these factors had an inherent effect on motivation. However, it was not until the 1940’s in which a true study of behavioral perceptions and characteristics served to negate elements of these theoretical premises in the world of social science. Foundational theories have helped to create a base level of knowledge in behavioral studies for theorists and practitioners over multi-disciplinary fields. Their importance is inherent based on the reasoning that foundational motivation theories uncover the “how” and “why” of intrinsic behavior-helping theorists understand the way humans respond to situations.

The social force of race in relation to natural resources plays a prominent role in which communities are disproportionately affected by pollution. Scholars have described how people of color are disproportionately victims of environmental discrimination and disparities because they lack the necessary social capital to bring attention to their plight, as demonstrated by the case of the Flint, Michigan, Water Crisis. In this article, we use a critical race theory lens to explore how the Flint Water Crisis constitutes a case study of environmental racism. More specifically, we discuss the public health implications of environmental racism on the residents of Flint and conclude with a discussion of the overall implications of environmental justice for public health and social science research.

\\This article applies the crisis renewal model to a multinational organizational crisis in Nigeria not only to analyze the crisis points of conflict in the multinational’s corporate rhetoric but also to examine how global relations; situated exigencies; and cultural, social, and economic tensions contextualize corporate communication strategies during crises. Rhetoric of renewal was evident as the multinational corporation responded to a prolonged crisis involving multiple state and local stakeholders. Although the renewal model itself redresses traditional Aristotelian crisis rhetoric models, the Nigerian situation calls for a significant reframing of rhetorical strategies accountable to the colonialist legacies, cultural traditions, political volatilities, and socioeconomic particularities of these contexts. Lessons learned and implications for organizational crisis rhetoric and practices in an age of increasing global interconnectedness are offered.

In this paper, we look at the use of hash-based, one-time signatures in the context of the Blockchain systems and demonstrate how the replacement of currently utilized schemes into a one-time signature can help deter double-spending. Towards this goal, we make the following contributions. 1) We introduce a notion of double- spending deterrence, a form of malleability that does not require pre-authorization from the signer to create a signature on an arbitrary message using two previously signed messages. It is used as a penalty to deter double-spending and disincentivize forgery. 2) We study features of various one-time signature schemes, and we demonstrate their effectiveness in thwarting double-spending. 3) We explore the design space of applying our methodology to the Blockchain system with a clear example and design options to deter double-spending. The results reported in this paper are promising, and open several new directions.

Subterranean ant communities are vastly understudied relative to aboveground ant communities. The thief ants of the genus Solenopsis are a globally abundant and widespread group that is a conspicuous and important part of the below ground ant community. Thief ant ecology, including their distribution and diversity at local scales, has also rarely been documented. In this study, we sampled the subterranean ant community of central Florida, a region with conspicuously high subterranean thief ant abundance. We used a stratified-random sampling protocol and collected soil environmental variables at each sampling plot to model subterranean ant diversity in relation to abiotic conditions in the soil envi ronment. Furthermore, we utilized non-parametric ordination methods and permutation-based analyses of variance to visualize and quantify associations of species based on habitats and soil strata. Our study yielded 15 species from six genera of which five were thief ant species. These five Solenopsis species represented 64% of all ant individuals found. We also identified distinct…

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the main causes of death in the world. Some CVD involve severe heart valve disease that require valve replacement. There are more than 300,000 heart valves implanted worldwide, and about 85,000 heart valve replacements in the US. Approximately half of these valves are mechanical. Artificial valves may dysfunction leading to adverse hemodynamic conditions. Understanding the normal and abnormal valve function is important as it help improve valve designs. Modeling of heart valve hemodynamics using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) provides a comprehensive analysis of flow, which can potentially help explain clinical observations and support therapeutic decision-making. This detailed information might not be accessible with in-vivo measurements. On the other hand, finite element analysis (FEA), is an efficient way to analyze the interactions of blood flow with blood vessel and tissue layers. In this project both CFD and FEA simulations were performed to investigate the flow-induced sound generation and propagation of sound waves through a…

The drive to achieve trustworthy autonomous cyber-physical systems (CPS), which can attain goals independently in the presence of significant uncertainties and for long periods of time without any human intervention, has always been enticing. Significant progress has been made in the avenues of both software and hardware for fulfilling these objectives. However, technological challenges still exist and particularly in terms of decision making under uncertainty. In an autonomous system, uncertainties can arise from the operating environment, adversarial attacks, and from within the system. As a result of these concerns, human-beings lack trust in these systems and hesitate to use them for day-to-day use. In this dissertation, we develop algorithms to enhance trust by mitigating physical attacks targeting the integrity and security of sensing units of autonomous CPS. The sensors of these systems are responsible for gathering data of the physical processes. Lack of measures for securing their information can enable malicious attackers to cause life-threatening situations. This serves…

The amount of information contained in any educational data set is fundamentally constrained by the instructional conditions under which the data are collected. In this study, we show that by redesigning the structure of traditional online courses, we can improve the ability of educational data mining to provide useful information for instructors. This new design, referred to as Online Learning Modules, blends frequent learning assessment as seen in intelligent tutoring systems into the structure of conventional online courses, allowing learning behavior data and learning outcome data to be collected from the same learning module. By applying relatively straightforward clustering analysis to data collected from a sequence of four modules, we are able to gain insight on whether students are spending enough time studying and on the effectiveness of the instructional materials, two questions most instructors ask each day.

Specializing on a subset of tasks available within a system allows agents to more efficiently fulfill system demands. When demands change, agents need to Re-Specialize. Since Re-Specialization inherently requires undoing some prior Specialization, the opposing effort often results in agents set-ding on a worse task allocation than after Specialization, even when presented with similar demands. In this work, we demonstrate these task allocation differences by looking at how well demands are fulfilled, as well as how much task switching is happening within the system. We analyze what causes the observed differences and discuss potential approaches to improving Re-Specialization in the future.

The operating theaters that soldiers face today are characterized by greater complexity than ever before. Changes in the global environment have led to an increase in asymmetric threats, growth in joint and coalition based military activities, and a shift to effects based operations. To succeed in these environments, not only do missions require the coordination between different branches of the military, the missions often require coordination and collaboration with military units and non-governmental organizations of various countries. These missions while combining elevated levels of interoperability and jointness that rely on a shared situational awareness (Warne et al., 2004) are also characterized by dynamism, ambiguity, and time pressure which serve to challenge team decision making as military teams face an enemy who is extremely adaptive in its use of unconventional warfare. Despite the increased complexity which characterizes such environments, leadership and decision-making activities are being pushed down to increasing lower levels than ever before in attempts to…

⊤-filters can be used to define ⊤-convergence spaces in the lattice-valued context. Connections between ⊤-convergence spaces and lattice-valued convergence spaces are given. Regularity of a ⊤-convergence space has recently been defined and studied by Fang and Yue. An equivalent characterization is given in the present work in terms of convergence of closures of ⊤-filters. Moreover, a compactification of a ⊤-convergence space is constructed whenever L is a complete Boolean algebra.

In this study, an investigation of a damage detection methodology for global condition assessment is presented. A particular emphasis is put on the utilization of wireless sensors for more practical, less time consuming, less expensive and safer monitoring and eventually maintenance purposes. Wireless sensors are deployed with a sensor roving technique to maintain a dense sensor field yet requiring fewer sensors. The time series analysis method called ARX models (Auto- Regressive models with eXogeneous input) for different sensor clusters is implemented for the exploration of artificially induced damage and their locations. The performance of the technique is verified by making use of the data sets acquired from a 4- span bridge-type steel structure in a controlled laboratory environment. In that, the free response vibration data of the structure for a specific sensor cluster is measured by both wired and wireless sensors and the acceleration output of each sensor is used as an input to ARX model to estimate the response of the reference channel of that cluster. Using both data…

Research in individual differences in performance has a long history, dating to the emergence of psychology and psychometrics itself (e.g., Cattell, Galton; see Boring, 1950). However, there has been a disconnect between this tradition and that of experimental psychology (Cronbach, 1957). As the origins of human factors and human performance research were in applications of experimental psychology, the disconnect manifested in relatively limited scope of individual differences research in human factors and ergonomics. At the same time, modern emphasis on human-centered design raises questions regarding how the characteristics of the human interact with those of the interface/task to influence system performance and operator well-being. In this chapter I hope to demonstrate that a synthesis of Cronbach’s two disciplines (a rapprochement?) is possible and of great importance for understanding performance under stress, and that an integrated framework, based on cognitive science approaches, already exists and can be applied to human factors research and design. I also discuss the…

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Intelligent Virtual Agents (IVAs) received enormous attention in recent years due to significant improvements in voice communication technologies and the convergence of different research fields such as Machine Learning, Internet of Things, and Virtual Reality (VR). Interactive conversational IVAs can appear in different forms such as voice-only or with embodied audio-visual representations showing, for example, human-like contextually related or generic three-dimensional bodies. In this paper, we analyzed the benefits of different forms of virtual agents in the context of a VR exhibition space. Our results suggest positive evidence showing large benefits of both embodied and thematically related audio-visual representations of IVAs. We discuss implications and suggestions for content developers to design believable virtual agents in the context of such installations.

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Framing of crisis events is to a large extent contested, with multiple sources and conflicting messages. Theories of crisis communication acknowledge how people try to deal with these competing messages, and this article seeks to deepen the understanding the process of sense making of crisis events by connecting crisis communication to the spiral of silence theory. The spiral of silence theory, founded by Elisabeth Noelle-Neuman, proposes that people are less willing to express their opinions if they believe their beliefs are shared by a minority. This will lead to a spiral in which those who feel their opinions are popular are more inclined to express their opinions, and those who perceive their opinions are unpopular among the public become more silent. This study analyzed changes over time in the willingness to express opinions about the refugee crisis in Europe using a two-wave Web-panel survey (N = 1,185) in Sweden in 2015–2016. The focus is the impact of changing government policy, which moved from a generous refugee policy toward a more restrictive policy. Changes toward a…

Two separate studies used quasi-experimental procedures to examine how college students learn about campus shootings from press releases, television news, or exposure to both. The first study found that women tend to report higher levels of learning than men and that participants generally learn the most when exposed to messages delivered through multiple media. The second study extended the findings to include consideration of the impact of learning on organizational reputation. Taken together, the results of both studies offer further evidence that knowledge acquisition can help mitigate against the formation of negative impressions of an organization in crisis. They also offer that the relationship between learning and attitude formation may be mediated by sex. The results are discussed in terms of message placement strategy and sex differences in mediated learning processes. Implications for the relationship between these learning processes and organizational reputation are addressed.

With the heightened design complexity that may be achieved through additive manufacturing (AM) comes an equally complex set of distinct material characteristics. To properly characterize new materials for use in selective laser melting (SLM), extensive analysis is necessary. Traditional testing techniques, however, can be prohibitive in time and cost incurred. The small punch test (SPT) has been developed for such purposes, where material is scarce or costly. Although lacking standardization, SPT has been successfully employed with various materials to assess material properties such as the yield and ultimate strength and verified by traditional testing results. With the accompaniment of numerical simulations for use in the inverse method and determining correlation factors, several methods exist for equating SPT results with traditional results. There are, however, areas of weakness with SPT which require development, and the solution of the inverse method can be demanding of time and resources. Additionally, the combination of SPT and SLM is relatively unexplored in literature,…

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies use a 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) model to develop a component through a deposition and fusion layer process, allowing for rapid design and geometric flexibility of metal components, for use in the aerospace, energy and biomedical industries. Challenges exist with additive manufacturing that limits its replacement of conventional manufacturing techniques, most especially a comprehensive understanding of the anisotropic behavior of these materials and how it is reflected in observed tensile, torsional and fatigue mechanical responses. As such, there is a need to understand how the build orientation of as-built additively manufactured metals, affects mechanical performance (e.g. monotonic and cyclic behavior, cyclically hardening/softening behavior, plasticity effects on fatigue life etc.); and to use constitutive modeling to both support experimental findings, and provide approximations of expected behavior (e.g. failure surfaces, monotonic and cyclic response, correlations between tensile and fatigue properties), for orientations and…

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The dark ride is a format of immersive media that originated in the amusement parks of the USA in the early 20th century. Whilst their numbers have decreased, classic rides from the 1930s to the 70s, such as the Ghost Train and Haunted House experiences have been referenced is films, games and novels of the digital era. Although the format is well known, it is not well defined. There are no dedicated publications on the topic and its links to other media discourses are sparsely documented. Today, entertainment media is utilising technology extensively to create immersive experiences for audiences, transporting them into themed journeys and environments. This paper establishes the lineage of the dark ride format as an early example of this same immersive media. Field research shows the consistent use of particular technical effects over 90 years of production that are common in contemporary examples of the format. The findings clearly define the dark ride format and align it with immersive media today, making a case for greater examination of its history to inform current practice.

Storage and transfer of cryogenic liquefied gases on volume scales from under 10 liters for lab use, up to hundreds of millions of liters for industrial applications is of paramount importance across a vast range of industries. Traditionally, these commodities have been stored at or near the normal boiling point due to relative ease of operation and safety-related considerations; however, this also means that some percentage will always be lost due to environmental heat leaking into the vessel and causing boil-off. These losses become more concerning as scales increase, and are of particular importance for high-cost commodities such helium and hydrogen. Additionally, the normal boiling point marks the highest liquid density achievable; which becomes a strong driver of end-use system designs such as space launch vehicles. Recent development and testing of an Integrated Refrigeration and Storage (IRAS) system for liquid hydrogen has proven that next generation cryogenic storage operations such as zero boil-off and densification are feasible on a large scale. This IRAS system married…

This thesis investigates an understudied question in the economics literature: how does sexual harassment experienced in and around public transportation affect labor market outcomes for women? Previous research suggests that access to public transport can improve labor market outcomes and that women's use of public transportation is sometimes limited by their experience of sexual harassment. It follows that when harassment is particularly widespread or severe – as is the case in much of South Asia – it may lead women who depend on public transportation for travel to make different labor market choices or not to work at all. If this effect exists, then it holds important implications for policymakers who aim to boost economic development and social equality by increasing women's labor force participation. I analyze the case of Lahore, Pakistan using data from the Lahore Urban Transport Master Plan Household Interview Survey. I present a descriptive analysis of women's transportation usage, safety onboard transport, and employment in Lahore. I then use ordinary least squares and…

The purpose of this research is to identify the implications of blockchain technology on the auditing profession. By conducting interviews with current professionals in the auditing profession, as well as those in academic with a background in auditing, primary data was collected to aggregate what potential effects will be on the auditing profession in the next five years and the next decade. The data includes assumptions of how the accounting major itself, the auditing planning phase, assumptions of risk, and audit completions will change with the developing technology. The goal of this research is a better understanding of how auditing will be affected by blockchain technology for students, current audit professionals, and those in academia. With the results, it was concluded that training of new and current employees will need to evolve with more emphasis on IT skills and analytical reasoning, blockchain's development is on a precipice of adoption within the next decade, and that there is a current gap regarding regulation of blockchain technology.

One of the major concerns in the behavior of an earth dam is the change in the exit gradient and the impact on the slope stability under drawdown conditions. Drawdown can cause increased seepage forces on the upstream slope which may result in the movement of soil particles in the flow direction and cause erosion problems. In this research, a numerical approach, based on the finite element method (FEM) is used to analyze the seepage through the dam and its foundation to study exit gradients and slope stability under both steady-state and transient conditions. The results show that a central core is important in reducing the flux through the dam. Constructing a cutoff under the core further increases the efficiency of the core and lowers the phreatic line. However, it is seen that the submerged weight increases when the earth dam with a core or with a complete cutoff which causes higher water flux to flow out of the dam under the drawdown condition. The exit gradient at the upstream slope may reach critical levels and cause failure of the dam due to erosion. Adding an upstream filter…

Clothing is a powerful nonverbal communicative tool and form of self-expression that provides others with clues about our personality, mood, education, culture, financial status, and social ranking, amongst numerous other impression cues. Research shows that physical appearance plays a prominent role in the formation of initial judgments and is significant in shaping a person's overall impression on others (Richmond, McCroskey, & Payne, 1991). The present study sought to quantitatively explore the effect that different styles of dress have on initial judgments formed about women in workplace settings. Using expectancy violation theory, the study investigates workplace gender bias and whether or not certain styles of women's dress garner different initial reactions. Results showed that models in feminine attire are perceived to be lower in ratings of dominance and expertise, and models in more masculine attire are perceived to be lower in ratings of kindness and friendliness.

Cellular spectrum is a limited natural resource becoming scarcer at a worrisome rate. To satisfy users' expectation from wireless data services, researchers and practitioners recognized the necessity of more utilization and pervasive sharing of the spectrum. Though scarce, spectrum is underutilized in some areas or within certain operating hours due to the lack of appropriate regulatory policies, static allocation and emerging business challenges. Thus, finding ways to improve the utilization of this resource to make sharing more pervasive is of great importance. There already exists a number of solutions to increase spectrum utilization via increased sharing. Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) enables a cellular operator to participate in spectrum sharing in many ways, such as geological database and cognitive radios, but these systems perform spectrum sharing at the secondary level (i.e., the bands are shared if and only if the primary/licensed user is idle) and it is questionable if they will be sufficient to meet the future expectations of the spectral efficiency. Along with the…

Emotional abuse is defined as humiliation, controlling behavior, financial coercion, isolation, and threatening behavior, and both men and women experience emotional abuse. This paper examined the relationship between gender and the frequency of emotional abuse, the relationship between frequency of emotional abuse and mental health outcomes, and whether there are gender differences in the relationship between frequency of emotional abuse and mental health outcomes. A total of 101 college students who had been in a romantic relationship lasting at least six months completed an online survey assessing depression, anxiety, PTSD, self-esteem, and emotional abuse. Frequency of emotional abuse did not differ between men and women, and the relationship between emotional abuse and mental health symptoms did not vary by gender. However, frequency of emotional abuse was positively associated with symptoms of depression and PTSD. The study also found high rates of emotional abuse among college students. Therefore, the results of this study underscore the importance of providing college…

Chaos theory holds that systems act in unpredictable, nonlinear ways and that their behavior can only be observed, never predicted. This is an informative model for an organization in crisis. The West Virginia water contamination crisis, which began on January 9, 2014, fits the criteria of a system in chaos. This study employs a close case study method to examine this case through the lens of chaos theory and its tenets: sensitivity to initial conditions, bifurcation, fractals, strange attractors, and self-organization. In particular, close attention is paid to emergent organizations and how their embodiment of strange attractor values spurred the self-organization process for this chaotic system.

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