Selection of traffic controls for severe weather conditons /

Final report, issued March 1977.

Additional information on the Social Security Administration's management of data communications contracts with Paradyne Corporation.

"B-213963."

Selective attention for threatening information in anxious mood states

Attention for threatening information was investigated using a computerised version of the emotional Stroop. The study examined the influence of state and trait anxiety in an unselected student sample assigned to high trait anxious (HTA) or low trait anxious (LTA) groups on the basis questionnaire scores. State anxiety was manipulated within participants through the threat of electric shock. Threatening words that were either unrelated (e.g., cancer, danger) or related to the source of the threat (e.g., electrocute, shock) were presented to participants both within and outside of awareness. In the latter condition, a backward masking procedure was used to prevent awareness of the stimulus material. In the masked condition, despite chance performance in identification of the lexical status of stimulus items, HTA participants showed facilitated colour naming for all threat words relative to control items under threat of shock, but this effect was not evident in the shock safe condition. For unmasked trials the HTA group showed significant interference in colour naming for all threat words relative to controls under the threat of shock, but not in the shock safe condition. Neither valence of the items nor the threat of shock influenced colour naming latencies for the LTA group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exchange controls and the transmission of equity market volatility:the case of the UK

The paper investigates the impact that the relaxation of UK exchange controls in October 1979, had on the transmission of equity market volatility from the UK to other major equity markets. It is suggested that the existence of exchange controls in the UK was an important source of market segmentation which disturbed the transmission of shocks from one country to another, even when shocks contained global information. It is found that when a spillover GARCH(1,1) model is estimated for the five years before and after the removal of exchange controls, volatility shocks spill over from the UK to other markets much more strongly after the removal of exchange controls. This appears to suggest that volatility as well as returns have become more closely related since the UK removed exchange controls.

The direction of motion of machine tool controls

DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT

Environmental controls on bioturbation processes in marine benthic habits

Through bioturbation, the macrofauna mediate chemical, physical and biological processes in marine benthic ecosystems. Because of the importance of bioturbation as ecosystem mediator, various studies have been conducted on bioturbation intensity and depth, and the relation of bioturbation processes to environmental condition and ecosystem state. This thesis builds on those previous studies, using a standard field and analytical protocol and by expanding the geographical scale to three climatic regions along Canada’s East Coast and Arctic margins, the Arctic Archipelago, the coastal Subarctic (Labrador Fjords), and the temperate continental climate zone (Gulf of Maine and adjacent Scotian shelf/slope). This Ph.D. study provides a comprehensive assessment of environmental influences on bioturbation along gradients in latitude and ocean depth. Bioturbation intensity, mixing depth, and bioturbation structures were studied in relation to the quantity and quality of potential food sources (organic matter) and substrate characteristics to gain an understanding of the environmental controls on bioturbation in these regions. The three main research chapters of this thesis are divided based on the contrasting climatic and geographical regions studied. The analytical approach included seabed sampling with a boxcorer, describing the sedimentary fabric and bioturbation structures by X-radiography, estimating bioturbation intensity and depth applying a biodiffusion model to particle tracer profiles of ²¹⁰Pbₓs, ²²⁸Thₓs, ²³⁴Thₓs, and chlorophyll-a, and analyzing benthic organic matter and substrate characteristics. Strong regional and cross-climatic relations of bioturbation processes with combinations of environmental factors were observed. In particular, bioturbation depth and the vertical extent of bioturbation structures responded to the environmental patterns observed and, therefore, represented potentially applicable predictors of environmental conditions and ecosystem state. The results of this Ph.D. study may be further extended to other geographical regions with similar environmental characteristics to predict the effects of benthic habitat alterations through environmental stresses on a global scale. Integrated with biological data produced by fellow CHONe scientists the presented data may provide valuable information about functional roles of macrofaunal species and community traits in marine benthic ecosystems along Canada’s extensive East Coast and Arctic margins.

Graph analysis of verbal fluency test discriminate between patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment and normal elderly controls

Verbal fluency is the ability to produce a satisfying sequence of spoken words during a given time interval. The core of verbal fluency lies in the capacity to manage the executive aspects of language. The standard scores of the semantic verbal fluency test are broadly used in the neuropsychological assessment of the elderly, and different analytical methods are likely to extract even more information from the data generated in this test. Graph theory, a mathematical approach to analyze relations between items, represents a promising tool to understand a variety of neuropsychological states. This study reports a graph analysis of data generated by the semantic verbal fluency test by cognitively healthy elderly (NC), patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment – subtypes amnestic(aMCI) and amnestic multiple domain (a+mdMCI) - and patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Sequences of words were represented as a speech graph in which every word corresponded to a node and temporal links between words were represented by directed edges. To characterize the structure of the data we calculated 13 speech graph attributes (SGAs). The individuals were compared when divided in three (NC – MCI – AD) and four (NC – aMCI – a+mdMCI – AD) groups. When the three groups were compared, significant differences were found in the standard measure of correct words produced, and three SGA: diameter, average shortest path, and network density. SGA sorted the elderly groups with good specificity and sensitivity. When the four groups were compared, the groups differed significantly in network density, except between the two MCI subtypes and NC and aMCI. The diameter of the network and the average shortest path were significantly different between the NC and AD, and between aMCI and AD. SGA sorted the elderly in their groups with good specificity and sensitivity, performing better than the standard score of the task. These findings provide support for a new methodological frame to assess the strength of semantic memory through the verbal fluency task, with potential to amplify the predictive power of this test. Graph analysis is likely to become clinically relevant in neurology and psychiatry, and may be particularly useful for the differential diagnosis of the elderly.

Hydrothermal activity along the slow-spreading Lucky Strike ridge segment (Mid-Atlantic Ridge): Distribution, heatflux, and geological controls

We have reviewed available visual information from the seafloor, and recently acquired microbathymetry for several traverses across the Lucky Strike segment, to evaluate the distribution of hydrothermal activity. We have identified a new on-axis site with diffuse flow, Ewan, and an active vent structure ∼1.2 km from the axis, Capelinhos. These sites are minor relative to the Main field, and our total heatflux estimate for all active sites (200–1200 MW) is only slightly higher than previously published estimates. We also identify fossil sites W of the main Lucky Strike field. A circular feature ∼200 m in diameter located on the flanks of a rifted off-axis central volcano is likely a large and inactive hydrothermal edifice, named Grunnus. We find no indicator of focused hydrothermal activity elsewhere along the segment, suggesting that the enhanced melt supply and the associated melt lenses, required to form central volcanoes, also sustain hydrothermal circulation to form and maintain large and long-lived hydrothermal fields. Hydrothermal discharge to the seafloor occurs along fault traces, suggesting focusing of hydrothermal circulation in the shallow crust along permeable fault zones.

Graph analysis of verbal fluency test discriminate between patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment and normal elderly controls

Verbal fluency is the ability to produce a satisfying sequence of spoken words during a given time interval. The core of verbal fluency lies in the capacity to manage the executive aspects of language. The standard scores of the semantic verbal fluency test are broadly used in the neuropsychological assessment of the elderly, and different analytical methods are likely to extract even more information from the data generated in this test. Graph theory, a mathematical approach to analyze relations between items, represents a promising tool to understand a variety of neuropsychological states. This study reports a graph analysis of data generated by the semantic verbal fluency test by cognitively healthy elderly (NC), patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment – subtypes amnestic(aMCI) and amnestic multiple domain (a+mdMCI) - and patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Sequences of words were represented as a speech graph in which every word corresponded to a node and temporal links between words were represented by directed edges. To characterize the structure of the data we calculated 13 speech graph attributes (SGAs). The individuals were compared when divided in three (NC – MCI – AD) and four (NC – aMCI – a+mdMCI – AD) groups. When the three groups were compared, significant differences were found in the standard measure of correct words produced, and three SGA: diameter, average shortest path, and network density. SGA sorted the elderly groups with good specificity and sensitivity. When the four groups were compared, the groups differed significantly in network density, except between the two MCI subtypes and NC and aMCI. The diameter of the network and the average shortest path were significantly different between the NC and AD, and between aMCI and AD. SGA sorted the elderly in their groups with good specificity and sensitivity, performing better than the standard score of the task. These findings provide support for a new methodological frame to assess the strength of semantic memory through the verbal fluency task, with potential to amplify the predictive power of this test. Graph analysis is likely to become clinically relevant in neurology and psychiatry, and may be particularly useful for the differential diagnosis of the elderly.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS IN NONPROFIT UNIVERSITY: A PROJECT GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE

The universities rely on the Information Technology (IT) projects to support and enhance their core strategic objectives of teaching, research, and administration. The researcher’s literature review found that the level of IT funding and resources in the universities is not adequate to meet the IT demands. The universities received more IT project requests than they could execute. As such, universities must selectively fund the IT projects. The objectives of the IT projects in the universities vary. An IT project which benefits the teaching functions may not benefit the administrative functions. As such, the selection of an IT project is challenging in the universities. To aid with the IT decision making, many universities in the United States of America (USA) have formed the IT Governance (ITG) processes. ITG is an IT decision making and accountability framework whose purpose is to align the IT efforts in an organization with its strategic objectives, realize the value of the IT investments, meet the expected performance criteria, and manage the risks and the resources (Weil & Ross, 2004). ITG in the universities is relatively new, and it is not well known how the ITG processes are aiding the nonprofit universities in selecting the right IT projects, and managing the performance of these IT projects. This research adds to the body of knowledge regarding the IT project selection under the governance structure, the maturity of the IT projects, and the IT project performance in the nonprofit universities. The case study research methodology was chosen for this exploratory research. The convenience sampling was done to choose the cases from two large, research universities with decentralized colleges, and two small, centralized universities. The data were collected on nine IT projects from these four universities using the interviews and the university documents. The multi-case analysis was complemented by the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to systematically analyze how the IT conditions lead to an outcome. This research found that the IT projects were selected in the centralized universities in a more informed manner. ITG was more authoritative in the small centralized universities; the ITG committees were formed by including the key decision makers, the decision-making roles, and responsibilities were better defined, and the frequency of ITG communication was higher. In the centralized universities, the business units and colleges brought the IT requests to ITG committees; which in turn prioritized the IT requests and allocated the funds and the resources to the IT projects. ITG committee members in the centralized universities had a higher awareness of the university-wide IT needs, and the IT projects tended to align with the strategic objectives. On the other hand, the decentralized colleges and business units in the large universities were influential and often bypassed the ITG processes. The decentralized units often chose the “pet” IT projects, and executed them within a silo, without bringing them to the attention of the ITG committees. While these IT projects met the departmental objectives, they did not always align with the university’s strategic objectives. This research found that the IT project maturity in the university could be increased by following the project management methodologies. The IT project management maturity was found higher in the IT projects executed by the centralized university, where a full-time project manager was assigned to manage the project, and the project manager had a higher expertise in the project management. The IT project executed under the guidance of the Project Management Office (PMO) has exhibited a higher project management maturity, as the PMO set the standards and controls for the project. The IT projects managed by the decentralized colleges by a part-time project manager with lower project management expertise have exhibited a lower project management maturity. The IT projects in the decentralized colleges were often managed by the business, or technical leads, who often lacked the project management expertise. This research found that higher the IT project management maturity, the better is the project performance. The IT projects with a higher maturity had a lower project delay, lower number of missed requirements, and lower number of IT system errors. This research found that the quality of IT decision in the university could be improved by centralizing the IT decision-making processes. The IT project management maturity could be improved by following the project management methodologies. The stakeholder management and communication were found critical for the success of the IT projects in the university. It is hoped that the findings from this research would help the university leaders make the strategic IT decisions, and the university’s IT project managers make the IT project decisions.