Estimating Task Duration in PERT using the Weibull Probability Distribution

The Weibull probability distribution can be used as an alternative model for task time estimates in the PERT estimating methodology. It has the same advantages as the traditional beta distribution for this application. It has additional benefits, however, that make it a preferred option

A kapwa-infused paradigm in teaching Catholic theology/catechesis in a multireligious classroom in the Philippines

The increasing religious diversity in educational space has raised a legitimate question on how Catholic theology/ catechesis must be taught in Philippine Catholic universities given the institutional mandate to educate students “into the faith of the Church through teaching of Christian doctrine in an organic and systematic way” (Wuerl, 2013, 1). On this note, the paper makes reference to “centered plural- ism” (CP), a positional posture espoused by Georgetown University in dealing with this predicament. In an attempt to (re) appropriate CP into local context, there is a need to explore the Filipino conception of self/others as enveloped within the indigenous concept of kapwa. Hereon, the paper finds that CP is not just feasibly suitable in local context but with kapwa's more inclusive description of the relationship of self and others, a CP‐based teaching paradigm in theology/ catechesis is a promising project in the educational scene of the Philippines

Rapid Implementation Of ERP Financials Into The Curriculum: A Success Story

Most academic institutions wish to provide current, up to date and real world software applications to their students and this causes a number of common difficulties.  This is especially true as those applications become far larger and more complex, such as in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, more recently referred to as Enterprise Systems.  The authors’ institution has a degree program in accounting information systems, and the authors believed that it was critical that ERP skills and applications be included in order to maintain the stature of the program.  Although difficulties were expected, the authors nonetheless pursued various classroom ERP alternatives.  This paper reports on those efforts, which culminated in the creation and offering of an ERP financial applications class in a six month time period.  It is believed that such information will provide encouragement and useful information to other institutions that are considering such implementations

Internet Based Oracle Financial Training: A Success Story

Most academic institutions wish to provide current, up to date and real world software applications to their students and this causes a number of common difficulties. This is especially true as those applications become far larger and more complex, such as Enterprise Systems. The authors’ institution has a degree program in accounting information systems, and the authors believed that it was critical that ERP skills and applications be included in order to maintain the stature of the program. Although difficulties were expected, the authors nonetheless pursued various classroom ERP alternatives. This paper reports on those efforts particularly the adoption of internet based training rather than the traditional computer lab in the creation and offering of an ERP financial applications class. It was quickly determined that avoiding a dedicated computer lab option will result in substantial saving in additional hardware expenditure. Creating an online classroom forum for sharing of ideas and information is another component of internet based training course. “Caucus” a proprietary online software developed by our university allows faculty and students share their comments, questions, comments and suggestions with one another on broad basis. It is believed that such information will provide encouragement and useful information to other institutions that are considering such implementations

Underground railroads: citizen entitlements and unauthorized mobility in the antebellum period and today

In recent years, some scholars and prominent political figures have advocated the deepening of North American integration on roughly the European Union model, including the creation of new political institutions and the free movement of workers across borders. The construction of such a North American Union, if it included even a very thin trans-state citizenship regime, could represent the most significant expansion of individual entitlements in the region since citizenship was extended to former slaves in the United States. With such a possibility as its starting point, this article explores some striking parallels between the mass, legally prohibited movement across boundaries by fugitive slaves in the pre-Civil War period, and that by current unauthorized migrants to the United States. Both were, or are, met on their journeys by historically parallel groups of would-be helpers and hinderers. Their unauthorized movements in both periods serve as important signals of incomplete entitlements or institutional protections. Most crucially, moral arguments for extending fuller entitlements to both groups are shown here to be less distinct than may be prima facie evident, reinforcing the case for expanding and deepening the regional membership regime

Uncertainty in United States coastal wetland greenhouse gas inventorying

© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Environmental Research Letters 13 (2018): 115005, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aae157.Coastal wetlands store carbon dioxide (CO2) and emit CO2 and methane (CH4) making them an important part of greenhouse gas (GHG) inventorying. In the contiguous United States (CONUS), a coastal wetland inventory was recently calculated by combining maps of wetland type and change with soil, biomass, and CH4 flux data from a literature review. We assess uncertainty in this developing carbon monitoring system to quantify confidence in the inventory process itself and to prioritize future research. We provide a value-added analysis by defining types and scales of uncertainty for assumptions, burial and emissions datasets, and wetland maps, simulating 10 000 iterations of a simplified version of the inventory, and performing a sensitivity analysis. Coastal wetlands were likely a source of net-CO2-equivalent (CO2e) emissions from 2006–2011. Although stable estuarine wetlands were likely a CO2e sink, this effect was counteracted by catastrophic soil losses in the Gulf Coast, and CH4 emissions from tidal freshwater wetlands. The direction and magnitude of total CONUS CO2e flux were most sensitive to uncertainty in emissions and burial data, and assumptions about how to calculate the inventory. Critical data uncertainties included CH4 emissions for stable freshwater wetlands and carbon burial rates for all coastal wetlands. Critical assumptions included the average depth of soil affected by erosion events, the method used to convert CH4 fluxes to CO2e, and the fraction of carbon lost to the atmosphere following an erosion event. The inventory was relatively insensitive to mapping uncertainties. Future versions could be improved by collecting additional data, especially the depth affected by loss events, and by better mapping salinity and inundation gradients relevant to key GHG fluxes. Social Media Abstract: US coastal wetlands were a recent and uncertain source of greenhouse gasses because of CH4 and erosion.Financial support was provided primarily by NASA Carbon Monitoring Systems (NNH14AY67I) and the USGS Land Carbon Program, with additional support from The Smithsonian Institution, The Coastal Carbon Research Coordination Network (DEB-1655622), and NOAA Grant: NA16NMF4630103