Search

Coherence-based models of reasoning suggest that the ways in which individuals incorporate information into a decision representation varies dependent upon whether it is hypothesis-consistent or hypothesis-inconsistent. This is particularly relevant in a legal context as in order to produce a judgment or decision, legal decision makers must decide which pieces of information are relevant to their preferred explanation of the case and what information will be filtered out. Background knowledge, order of information presentation, and strength of arguments have been highlighted as important to decision making. However, these elements have not yet been explored together to determine whether there are any interaction effects upon decisions made in the face of hypothesis-inconsistent information. Through the use of fictional murder and robbery scenarios, two experiments were conducted in order to determine the effects of incriminating and non-incriminating evidence on decision making in conditions of varying suspect-related background information and order of evidence presentation. Additionally, each experiment looked at different strengths of hypothesis-inconsistent arguments. In both experiments, the relationship between decision making and order of non-incriminating evidence presentation was different dependent upon background information, however, this relationship also varied between the murder and robbery scenarios. These experiments have added to the literature which suggest that the preconceptions of investigators can bias their evaluation and perception of subsequent information, and that order of evidence presentation impacts subsequent judgments of guilt. Additional research is required to determine whether these findings may generalise to more complex investigative representations.

Serious issues including solidification porosity, columnar grains, and large grain sizes are common during fusion-based metal additive manufacturing due to the inherent melting and solidification that occurs during printing. In recent years, a high-temperature, rapid plastic deformation technique called additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) has shown great promise in overcoming these issues. Because the deposited material stays in the solid state during printing, there are no melting and solidification events and the process can result in as-printed material that is fully-dense with equiaxed, fine grains. As AFSD is an emerging process, developing an understanding of the synergy between material deformation and the resultant microstructure evolution, especially the strain magnitude, its influence on dynamic microstructure evolution, and material flow details, is imperative for the full implementation of AFSD. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to investigate the severe plastic deformation in AFSD through complementary studies on the concurrent evolution of shape and microstructure during the deposition of dissimilar aluminum alloys. In this work, we systematically study (1) the entire deposition via dissimilar cladding along with (2) specific volumes within the deposited layer via embedded tracers printed at varied processing parameters. X-ray computed tomography and electron backscatter diffraction are employed to visualize the complex shape of the deposits and understand the microstructure progression. Investigation of dissimilar cladding of homogeneous AA2024 feed-rods onto an AA6061 substrate establishes a working understanding of the mechanisms related to material flow and microstructure evolution across the whole deposit (macroscopic shape evolution) as well as at the interface between the deposit and the substrate. Variations in tooling and rotation rate affect the interfacial features, average grain size, and depth of microstructural influence. The non-planar and asymmetric nature of AFSD on the macro-scale is revealed and a maximum boundary of deposited material is established which gives a frame of reference for the next material flow study within the deposition zone. An understanding of the mesoscopic morphological evolution and concurrent dynamic microstructure evolution of representative volumes within the deposition zone is determined by comparing depositions of hybrid feed-rods (AA6061 matrix containing an embedded tracer of AA2024). Samples were printed with and without an in-plane velocity to compare initial material feeding to steady-state deposition. Variations in initial tracer location and tool rotation rate/in-plane velocity pairs affect the final morphology, intensity of mixing, and microstructure of the deposited tracer material. The tracer material undergoes drastic mesoscopic shape evolution from millimeter-scale cylinders to long, curved micro-ribbons. There is simultaneous grain refinement in AA2024 via geometric dynamic recrystallization during initial material feeding, after which the grain size remains relatively constant at a steady-state size. The lower bound of strain is estimated based on extrusion, torsion, and shear-thinning factors. The step-by-step mesoscopic deformation and microstructure evolution is further elucidated by characterizing depositions of hybrid feed-rods with a series of embedded tracers. The AFSD tooling is stopped quickly at the end of the deposition with a quench applied to "freeze" the sample. X-ray computed tomography reveals multiple intermediate morphologies including the progression from a cylinder to a tight spiral, to a flattened spiral shape, and to a thin disc. EBSD mapping shows that a refined microstructure is formed soon after the material leaves to tool head with areas off the centerline reaching a fully recrystallized state more quickly. The findings from this work summarize the current understanding of the link between material deformation and microstructure evolution in AFSD. Hopefully these first fundamental studies on the co-evolution of material flow and grain structure during AFSD can inspire future work, especially in the area of heterogeneous multi-material printing. Doctor of Philosophy Additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) is a new metal 3D printing process that uses friction to heat up and deposit materials rather than using a laser to melt the material into place. This is beneficial since it avoids problems that come from melting and solidification (e.g., porosity, hot cracking, residual stresses, columnar grains). Since AFSD is such a new technology, an understanding of some of the fundamental processing science is needed in order to predict and control the performance of the resultant parts. This is because the processing of a material affects its structure (at multiple scales, for example macro-, micro-, atomic) which then affects the properties a material will exhibit which, finally, dictates the performance of the overall part. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to explore how the feed material is transformed and deposited into the final layer after printing and to link the original processing conditions to the resultant structure. To investigate the interface between the deposited layer and the substrate, we use a simple feed-rod of one aluminum alloy (AA2024) and deposit it onto a substrate of another aluminum alloy (AA6061). To look at just one small volume within the deposited layer, we use a hybrid feed-rod that is mostly AA6061 except for small cylinders of AA2024 that are placed either in the center or on the edge of the feed-rod so that we can track the AA2024. Printing these feed-rods under different processing conditions will help us understand the connection between processing and structure. Using a characterization technique called X-ray computed tomography we can visualize a 3D representation of the final position for the AA2024 material. In order to evaluate the structure on the micro-scale, a characterization technique called electron backscatter diffraction is used to show the individual grains of our metal. The main contributions of this work are as follows: 1) a lower bound of strain is estimated for AFSD, 2) various intermediate deformation steps are captured for the tracer cylinders including a progression from cylinder to multiple spiral shapes to a thin disc to long ribbons, 3) these deformation steps are linked to different microstructures, and 4) changing the tool geometry and other processing parameters significantly alters the range of shapes and microstructures developed in the deposited material. These findings bring us closer to a fully controllable system as well as sparking some interesting areas for future research because of the complex shapes we observed. These results could lead to the customization and optimization of 3D spirals, ribbons, etc. designed for a certain application.

This paper focuses on democracy protests in developing countries and how they affect total and USAID foreign aid disbursements. I hypothesize that democratic donor countries decrease foreign aid to recipient countries after a democracy protest because the democracy protests signal that the country is politically unstable and experiencing democratic backsliding. However, opposed to my original hypotheses, the findings in this paper lend evidence to support the idea that a democracy protest is associated with an increase in foreign aid disbursements. For total foreign aid disbursements, these increases occur in the first two years after a democracy protest. USAID disbursements increase three to five years after a democracy protest, but this increase is dependent on the level of democratic stock in the recipient country. This signals that donors may have varying motivations when a democracy protest occurs. For some, stability, no matter the domestic politics of the recipient country motivates an increase in disbursements. For other countries, like the United States, democracy promotion remains at the center of foreign aid decisions.

A large portion of the hinterland of the central Grenville Province is characterized by mid-pressure granulite-facies metamorphic rocks. In the Manicouagan – Lac du Milieu region of Quebec, aluminous gneisses derived from hydrothermally altered felsic protoliths provide a record of anatectic processes and of the pressure–temperature (P–T) evolution during orogenesis. Samples collected in areas separated by several tens of kilometres consist of garnet + biotite + quartz + K-feldspar ± plagioclase ± sillimanite, with retrograde cordierite in some, and most display microstructural evidence of partial melting. However, they have a wide range of bulk compositions and textures, and may be grouped into two types: sillimanite-rich rocks, with a high alumina index and sillimanite-poor rocks with low alumina index and in which sillimanite is not part of the peak assemblage. Phase equilibria modeling with THERMOCALC software constrained the P–T field of the peak mineral assemblage(s) at 800–900 °C and 6–11 kbar (1 kbar = 100 MPa), with melt solidification in the range of 800–865 °C and 6–8 kbar. The presence of sillimanite inclusions in garnet, and the scarcity of retrograde cordierite are consistent with moderate dP/dT gradient “hairpin” P–T paths. The data suggest that this part of the mid-P hinterland in the central Grenville experienced a rather uniform high-temperature metamorphic evolution, with large temperature variations relative to pressure. This is consistent with the thermal evolution of middle crust beneath an orogenic plateau.

Although previous national surveys have shown an increase in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the U.S. population, racial and ethnic minority populations were under-represented in these surveys. As a result, a profile of the CAM user as white, female, affluent, middle-aged and well educated has emerged. Representing the mainstream population, these previous studies did not take into account the racial and ethnic minority populations who may have their own healing traditions and who may hold different beliefs, use different terminology, and have unique patterns of CAM use. In partnership with community-based organizations and community residents, a culturally sensitive survey instrument and protocols were designed and tested to gather data on lower income, urban African-Americans' use of, attitudes toward, and understanding of CAM. The major findings of this pilot research are 1.) Community-partnered research can help researchers gain access to sensitive data and design culturally appropriate studies; 2.) CAM terminology varies by cultural group; 3.) Certain forms of CAM (folk or family practices) are commonly found in African-American populations; and 4.) Factors that affect CAM use--including age, lack of access to conventional medicine, cultural heritage, and dissatisfaction with conventional medicine.