Search

Positioning and repositioning continue to be critical topics in business strategy, and yet a review of current business research syllabi from several institutions showed that very few institutions teach the analytical underpinnings of how perceptual maps can be created using multidimensional scaling and how they should be interpreted. At the outset, the author defines multidimensional scaling and reviews various software packages that are available to create such maps, followed by an overview of a sample assignment. Then the benefits to the students are discussed, followed by extensions in graduate and in online classes as well as the impact and effectiveness of the teaching innovation.

In surgical refractive interventions over-correction or under-correction still occur in 10-15 % of cases. Improved outcomes could be achieved by incorporating patient-specific corneal biomechanics into surgical planning. As a first step, this study mechanically characterizes and numerically simulates corneal lenticules harvested during a refractive intervention called Corneal Lenticule Extraction for Advanced Refractive Correction (CLEAR). These human corneal lenticules were mechanically tested in uniaxial extension in nasal-temporal and 45 deg orientations. An HGO material model that accounts for the unique collagen arrangement of the human cornea was developed and used to identify the material parameters using a finite element model of the experimental setup. The material parameters that best represent the experimental force/displacement were obtained by parameter estimation using Bayesian optimization. The uniaxial experiments performed on 3 patients did not show distinctive differences in orientation. The estimated material parameters fit well with the experimental data, representing a promising material model. In the future, Brillouin measurements will be performed on the CLEAR patients before lenticule extraction so that material parameters can be estimated in vivo, providing the surgeon with a patient specific-surgical planning tool.

Seismic events disrupt the operation of water distribution networks. Proactive seismic rehabilitation decision-making methods are necessary to ensure maximum serviceability after a seismic event. Most recent proactive seismic rehabilitation decision-making models of water distribution networks are sensitive to network hydraulics and pipe fragilities. Although network hydraulics and pipe fragilities are influenced by pipe degradations, the effects of degradation on proactive seismic rehabilitation decision-making have not been studied. The probabilistic nature of the water pipe degradation makes the consideration of degradation challenging. This research aims to investigate the effects of the degradation of pipes on the seismic rehabilitation decision-making of water distribution networks. The methodology includes (1) designing simulation experiments; (2) integrating the effects of inside and outside degradation with seismic rehabilitation decision-making; and (3) conducting statistical analysis to identify the effects of integrating pipe degradation. The simulation experiments were designed to investigate the effects of degradation on the inside surface of pipes and the outside surface of pipes individually and combinedly. A simulated annealing (SA)–based optimization algorithm was used to identify the critical pipes and associated maximum serviceability for each experiment and each budget constraint. To assess the statistical significance of integrating degradation, two statistical tests were performed. The application of the proposed approach was illustrated on a benchmark network. The selected benchmark network consisted of cast iron pipe and ductile iron pipe. Degradation of cast iron pipe was considered in this study. This framework can be used for other materials. This study was based on five rehabilitation constraints with a focus on rehabilitation costs. The optimization algorithm was employed to identify critical pipes corresponding to each rehabilitation constraint. The results for each simulation experiment showed that the identified critical pipes differed. The associated maximum serviceability was reduced for the same budget constraints if outside and inside degradation were considered individually and combinedly. The associated maximum serviceability was reduced by 3%–4% because of the individual effect of outside or inside degradation, and 6%–7% because of the combined effect of inside and outside degradation. The changes in the identified critical pipes and associated maximum serviceability due to the consideration of outside and inside degradation imply the dependency of a proactive seismic rehabilitation decision-making model on outside and inside degradation. The statistical test results imply that the degradation of pipes in the water distribution network has an impact on seismic rehabilitation decision-making models of water distribution networks. Therefore, it is recommended to integrate the degradation effect with existing seismic rehabilitation decision-making models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-frequency speech information is susceptible to inaccurate perception in even mild to moderate forms of hearing loss. Some hearing aids employ frequency-lowering methods such as nonlinear frequency compression (NFC) to help hearing-impaired individuals access high-frequency speech information in more accessible lower-frequency regions. As such techniques cause significant spectral distortion, tests such as the S-Sh Confusion Test help optimize NFC settings to provide high-frequency audibility with the least distortion. Such tests have been traditionally based on speech contrasts pertinent to English. Here, the effects of NFC processing on fricative perception between English and Mandarin listeners are assessed. Small but significant differences in fricative discrimination were observed between the groups. The study demonstrates possible need for language-specific clinical fitting procedures for NFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]