Beta distributions: A computer program for probabilities and fractile points

A beta distribution is specified by range parameters a b, and two shape parameters alpha and beta 0. The computer program presented calculates any desired probability and/or fractile point for specified values of a, b, alpha, and beta. This program additionally computes gamma function values for integer and noninteger arguments

The power of parasocial learning: Nurses’ experiences of learning through entertainment-education in the online learning environment

Entertainment-education is a pedagogy commonly used in the sphere of public health to transmit educational messages via mass media such as TV and radio soap operas style dramas. In this context learners are perceived as the passive recipients of educational messages. In my work I explore the use of entertainment-education in the higher education setting with nurse learners using entertainment-education dramas in the online learning environment. By exploring nurse learners’ experience of online entertainment-education dramas I discovered that learning through entertainment-education is an active, emotional and transformative experience. I have called this process parasocial learning

Mathematical analysis study for radar data processing and enchancement. Part 2: Modeling of propagation path errors

A study is performed under NASA contract to evaluate data from an AN/FPS-16 radar installed for support of flight programs at Dryden Flight Research Facility of NASA Ames Research Center. The purpose of this study is to provide information necessary for improving post-flight data reduction and knowledge of accuracy of derived radar quantities. Tracking data from six flights are analyzed. Noise and bias errors in raw tracking data are determined for each of the flights. A discussion of an altitude bias error during all of the tracking missions is included. This bias error is defined by utilizing pressure altitude measurements made during survey flights. Four separate filtering methods, representative of the most widely used optimal estimation techniques for enhancement of radar tracking data, are analyzed for suitability in processing both real-time and post-mission data. Additional information regarding the radar and its measurements, including typical noise and bias errors in the range and angle measurements, is also presented. This report is in two parts. This is part 2, a discussion of the modeling of propagation path errors

Extreme Mean and Its Applications

Extreme value statistics obtained from normally distributed data are considered. An extreme mean is defined as the mean of p-th probability truncated normal distribution. An unbiased estimate of this extreme mean and its large sample distribution are derived. The distribution of this estimate even for very large samples is found to be nonnormal. Further, as the sample size increases, the variance of the unbiased estimate converges to the Cramer-Rao lower bound. The computer program used to obtain the density and distribution functions of the standardized unbiased estimate, and the confidence intervals of the extreme mean for any data are included for ready application. An example is included to demonstrate the usefulness of extreme mean application

Bivariate normal, conditional and rectangular probabilities: A computer program with applications

Some results for the bivariate normal distribution analysis are presented. Computer programs for conditional normal probabilities, marginal probabilities, as well as joint probabilities for rectangular regions are given: routines for computing fractile points and distribution functions are also presented. Some examples from a closed circuit television experiment are included

Methane mole fraction and δ13^{13}C above and below the trade wind inversion at Ascension Island in air sampled by aerial robotics

The Authors.Ascension Island is a remote South Atlantic equatorial site, ideal for monitoring tropical background CH4. In September 2014 and July 2015, octocopters were used to collect air samples in Tedlar bags from different heights above and below the well-defined Trade Wind Inversion (TWI), sampling a maximum altitude of 2700 m above mean sea level. Sampling captured both remote air in the marine boundary layer below the TWI and also air masses above the TWI that had been lofted by convective systems in the African tropics. Air above the TWI was characterized by higher CH$_{4}$, but no distinct shift in δ$^{13}$C was observed compared to the air below. Back trajectories indicate that lofted CH$_{4}$ emissions from Southern Hemisphere Africa have bulk δ$^{13}$C$_{CH4}$ signatures similar to background, suggesting mixed emissions from wetlands, agriculture, and biomass burning. The campaigns illustrate the usefulness of unmanned aerial system sampling and Ascension's value for atmospheric measurement in an understudied region.This work was part of the investigation of the southern methane anomaly: causes, implications, and relevance to past global events funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) (grant NE/K006045/1) and NERC studentship. Data will be deposited in the UK Centre for Environmental Data Analysis on completion of Rebecca Brownlow’s PhD thesis

Mathematical analysis study for radar data processing and enhancement. Part 1: Radar data analysis

A study is performed under NASA contract to evaluate data from an AN/FPS-16 radar installed for support of flight programs at Dryden Flight Research Facility of NASA Ames Research Center. The purpose of this study is to provide information necessary for improving post-flight data reduction and knowledge of accuracy of derived radar quantities. Tracking data from six flights are analyzed. Noise and bias errors in raw tracking data are determined for each of the flights. A discussion of an altiude bias error during all of the tracking missions is included. This bias error is defined by utilizing pressure altitude measurements made during survey flights. Four separate filtering methods, representative of the most widely used optimal estimation techniques for enhancement of radar tracking data, are analyzed for suitability in processing both real-time and post-mission data. Additional information regarding the radar and its measurements, including typical noise and bias errors in the range and angle measurements, is also presented. This is in two parts. This is part 1, an analysis of radar data

Parasocial Activity: Nurse Learner's Experience of Entertainment Education

This paper aims to disseminate the findings of my doctoral research study exploring student experience of an innovative pedagogy, entertainment-education in the online learning environment. In the light of recent reports that question nurses’ capacity to care and their ability to manage the emotional challenges of practice, pedagogical approaches that can influence nurses’ clinical knowledge and promote caring attitudes are needed. New pedagogical approaches within nurse education are beginning to emerge and stories, simulation and online learning are being adopted to ensure safe and supportive learning experiences for nurses and their patients. In this concurrent session, I will report on my doctoral study which explores the experiences of registered nurses learning through the innovative use of a pro-social pedagogy called entertainment-education in the online learning environment. I will identify how nurses learned from entertainment education characters as if they were real people: a process I have called parasocial learning. I will discuss the significance of the emotional response to characters and storylines within entertainment-education to the parasocial learning process. I will argue that rather than protecting students from difficult emotions in educational settings as some author’s recommend, entertainment-education can be used to help students acknowledge difficult emotions and work with them as part of their professional development. In my study I discovered that the parasocial relationships students built with entertainment-education characters occupied the same social space as real people. I will discussed how students used these parasocial relationships in to translate theory into practice and work towards enhancing the quality of personal practice and service delivery In concluding I will recommend that entertainment-education is an effective pedagogical approach for providing safe and supportive vicarious learning experiences for nurses that can help them to build relationships with patients, manage the emotional challenges of care and translate theory into practice at an individual and social level