Vibrations of viscoelastically damped laminated structures.

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COVID-19 Disrupts U.S. Higher Education Industry Reimagining the Future

As people and businesses around the world enter the new year, businesses, economists, policy makers and risk management specialists begin to develop a list of existing and new sources of global risks. Ringing in “Year 2020” was no different. But the possibility that, COVID-19 would turn into global pandemic did not make the list. The World Health Organization (WHO) labeled the new virus a pandemic in the beginning of year 2020. China recognized this highly contagious and dangerous virus in December 2019. As we welcomed year 2020, the coronavirus crisis (COVID-19) began to upend the economies, industries as well as the lives of people around the world. Using secondary research sources, I will present the challenges that HEI will face in years to come in the aftermath of COVID-19

AI-Driven Predictive Analytics for Business Forecasting and Decision Making

"Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become instrumental in reshaping business forecasting and decision-making processes. This study delves into the integration and impact of AI-driven predictive analytics systems within these domains. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, the research assesses the deployment of AI-powered predictive analytics for enhancing business forecasting and decision-making capabilities. Results demonstrate improved accuracy in predictions, faster decision cycles, and enhanced strategic insights. However, challenges related to data quality and interpretability of AI-driven models also surface. These findings underscore the evolving role of AI in augmenting predictive analytics and decision-making processes in business contexts. The discussion explores future directions to address issues of model transparency and trust as AI adoption accelerates

Enhancing Software Project Management and Task Allocation with AI and Machine Learning

The effective allocation of resources and tasks is critical for the successful delivery of software projects. However, traditional project management approaches often rely on intuitive and manual techniques for resource allocation, which can lead to suboptimal outcomes. This paper proposes an AI-optimized approach for software project management and task allocation. A literature review covers key concepts including software project management challenges, resource allocation techniques, task allocation models, and relevant AI methods. An integrated AI optimization system is proposed, comprising natural language processing (NLP), reinforcement learning, and Bayesian networks. This system extracts task requirements from project documents, predicts optimal resource allocation using reinforcement learning, and validates allocations using a Bayesian network trained on past project data. A prototype of the system is developed and evaluated on simulated project data. Results demonstrate a 21% improvement in resource utilization, 31% faster project delivery, and 83% better alignment with expert task allocations compared to baseline manual approaches. The integrated AI system enables data-driven, dynamic optimization of resource and task allocation for enhanced software project performance. Further research could evaluate real-world implementation and refine the AI techniques for greater scalability

Teacher Acculturation: From Platform Theatre to Improvised Theatre and Learning Dynamic Choreography

This research, using ethnographic methods, focuses on the acculturation process experienced by a group of teachers who moved from India to the US. I looked at the phenomenon from the eyes of the teachers as they struggled to describe, explain and understand the new setting in which they were working and their new roles. Their teaching skills were culturally rooted and ineffective. The reworking of their identity i.e. feeling of being self-efficacious, occurred through a process of learning, which occurred while being engaged with the students and based on improvisation to the actual emergent situations in class. A mediating element of this trial and error process was the formal and informal networks with colleagues, mentors, and superiors. The study identifies various coping choices that were available to the teachers. The teachers differed in their attitudes towards the approach to adapt to the situation, choices of coping options exercised and in the approach to obtaining feedback. Some teachers adapted better and were using a wider spectrum of strategies to adapt. The research seems to suggest an agenda for future research in correlating different situations with degree of individual embedded-ness and adaptive efficacy. Acculturation can be seen as a process of identity reconstruction that involves cognitive and behavioral changes. The study has managerial implications for enabling entry of executives into organizations

Structural dynamic modification using additive damping

In order to control dynamic response in structures and machines, modifications using additive viscoelastic damping materials are highlighted. The techniques described for analysis include analytical methods for structural elements, FEM and perturbation methods for reanalysis or structural dynamic modification for complex structures. Optimisation techniques used for damping effectiveness include multi-parameter optimisation techniques and a technique using dynamic sensitivity analysis and structural dynamic modification. These have been applied for optimum dynamic design of structures incorporating viscoelastic damping. Some current trends for vibration control are also discussed

Assessing Guideline Implementation for Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) at UC Davis Children's Hospital

We aim to assess implementation of our revisedinstitutional guidelines pertaining to:(1) Initial empiric antibiotic givenAmpicillin/amoxicillin are first-line for healthy, fullyimmunizedchild; use of broad-spectrum antibiotic isdependent on various factors (Table 3)(2) Time to antibiotic de-escalationAppropriate de-escalation from a broad- to narrowspectrumantibiotic is ≤72 hours(3) Total antibiotic durationAppropriate duration of antibiotic therapy is 5-7 day

Kurumsal İtibar Yönetimi: “Kiy” Stratejik Bir Dönüşüm Mü?

Bu makalede tartışılan genel düşünce, baş harfleri kısaltması altındaki KİY’in, 9 milyar dolarlık KİY pazarm kullanılmasında bir öneme sahip olmadığıdır (Jacobs, 1999). KİY, bu makalede (Corporate Reputation Management) Kurumsal İtibar Yönetimine refere edilmiştir. Sık sık kurumsal iletişim fonksiyonları içerisinde kabul edilse de, itibar yönetimi güçlü bir kurum itibarınm oluşturulması ve gücün devamıyla ilgilidir. Bazıları kurumsal itibarı “kurumsal kimlik” olarak tanımlasalar da, diğerleri, daha önceki kayıtlara dayanan “bir organizasyona karşı paydaşların kollektif fikri” olarak tanımlamaktadırlar. İyi bir organizasyon isminin oluşturulması ve güçlendirilmesi, stratejik ve fınansal hedeflerin yerine getirilmesini sağlayacak paydaşlardan pozitif feedback üretilmesi metodu olarak da tanımlandı (Kartalia, 1999). Bir şirketin itibarı ürün ve hizmet satışı, yatırımcıların cezbedilmesi, yetenekli elemanların istihdamı ve hükümet çevresindeki etkinin kullanılması yeteneğini etkiler. Şairler ve halkla ilişkiler profesyonelleri, itibarın, büyümenin saygınlığı, gururun hak edilmesi ve güçlü bir şey olduğunu kabul etmektedirler. Ve bir kez kaybedildiğinde-veya parlaklığını yitirdiğinde- tekrar kazanılması oldukça zordur (Winkleman, 1999)

SoK: Fighting Counterfeits with Cyber-Physical Synergy Based on Physically-Unclonable Identifiers of Paper Surface

Counterfeit products cause severe harm to public safety and health by penetrating untrusted supply chains. Numerous anti-counterfeiting techniques have been proposed, among which the use of inherent, unclonable irregularities of paper surfaces has shown considerable potential as a high-performance economical solution. Prior works do not consider supply chains cohesively, either focusing on creating or improving unclonable identifiers or on securing digital records of products. This work aims to systematically unify these two separate but connected research areas by comprehensively analyzing the needs of supply chains. We construct a generalized paper-based authentication framework and identify important shortcomings and promising ideas in the existing literature. Next, we do a stage-wise security analysis of our consolidated framework by drawing inspiration from works in signal processing, cryptography, and biometric systems. Finally, we examine key representative scenarios that illustrate the range of practical and technical challenges in real-world supply chains, and we outline the best practices to guide future research

The Impact of Palatal Expansion on Airway and Breathing

Mini-implant assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE) is used to correct transverse maxillary deficiencies in orthodontics. While MARPE\u27s influence on occlusal stability and maxillary expansion is recognized, its impact on facial aesthetics, soft tissue morphology, and nasal airway function requires further examination. Our study analyzed the changes in facial soft tissue and airway dimensions in patients undergoing MARPE treatment