abstract: There are significant fuel consumption consequences for non-optimal flight operations. This study is intended to analyze and highlight areas of interest that affect fuel consumption in typical flight operations. By gathering information from actual flight operators (pilots, dispatch, performance engineers, and air traffic controllers), real performance issues can be addressed and analyzed. A series of interviews were performed with various individuals in the industry and organizations. The wide range of insight directed this study to focus on FAA regulations, airline policy, the ATC system, weather, and flight planning. The goal is to highlight where operational performance differs from design intent in order to better connect optimization with actual flight operations. After further investigation and consensus from the experienced participants, the FAA regulations do not need any serious attention until newer technologies and capabilities are implemented. The ATC system is severely out of date and is one of the largest limiting factors in current flight operations. Although participants are pessimistic about its timely implementation, the FAA's NextGen program for a future National Airspace System should help improve the efficiency of flight operations. This includes situational awareness, weather monitoring, communication, information management, optimized routing, and cleaner flight profiles like Required Navigation Performance (RNP) and Continuous Descent Approach (CDA). Working off the interview results, trade-studies were performed using an in-house flight profile simulation of a Boeing 737-300, integrating NASA legacy codes EDET and NPSS with a custom written mission performance and point-performance "Skymap" calculator. From these trade-studies, it was found that certain flight conditions affect flight operations more than others. With weather, traffic, and unforeseeable risks, flight planning is still limited by its high level of precaution. From this study, it is recommended that air carriers increase focus on defining policies like load scheduling, CG management, reduction in zero fuel weight, inclusion of performance measurement systems, and adapting to the regulations to best optimize the spirit of the requirement.. As well, air carriers should create a larger drive to implement the FAA's NextGen system and move the industry into the future. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Aerospace Engineering 2014

More than thirty years ago Congress passed the Educational Amendments to ensure fair treatment for all students. Specifically, Title IX provided that [N]o person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance (Educational Amendments of 1972,p. 7). The number of court cases against colleges and high schools for violating various aspects of Title IX continues to increase. This study looked at court cases involving high school and college athletes claiming violations of Title IX, then six schools were selected in Virginia to determine if these schools met the legal standards, as determined by the Code of Federal Regulations. An analysis of judicial opinions for cases on Title IX formed the foundation of this study. The six schools were visited, records reviewed, principals, and coaches were interviewed The information and data gathered from site visits and interviews as well as the statistical data generated by the statistical software were used to determine if these schools were in compliance with Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972. / Ed. D.

The objective of this study was to determine the patterns of regulatory noncompliance, as identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and their effects on meta-analyses. In order to achieve these objective, three studies were undertaken: analysis of citations issued by FDA Investigators at the conclusion of an inspection; analysis of regulatory actions taken by the FDA towards clinical researchers based on the observations cited by FDA Investigators; and sensitivity analysis of meta-analyses based on the Agency’s determination of research misconduct, primarily the falsification of data. FDA Investigator citations were analyzed using Chi-Square analysis based on geographic location of the inspection, type of inspection, and type of violation. Temporal changes in the number of inspections and the violations cited were analyzed using bivariate Poisson regression models. Bonferroni correction was employed for temporal changes across the time period analyzed. Regulatory actions taken by the agency were analyzed via Chi-Square or Fisher’s exact test based on changes identified in previous publications, temporal changes, and differences between regulatory action types. Sensitivity analysis of meta-analyses identified through a systematic review were assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively for the effects of including publications of apixaban trials with significant FDA regulatory action, i.e. the comparison of odds ratio point estimate, upper and lower 95% confidence interval, both before and after consideration of falsified data. Under the FDA’s Bioresearch Monitoring program from 2007-2015, the number of inspections increased, but the rate of citation issuance per inspection decreased. One third of the violations were related to adherence to investigational procedures followed by informed consent violations and violations involving study records. During this same time period, 194 clinical researchers received a regulatory action based on FDA’s review of inspection results. Since 2007, rates of significant deviations had decreased. Lack of researcher supervision and submission of false information were cited more frequently for disqualification proceedings. A systematic review found 99 statistical analyses from 22 different meta-analyses available for sensitivity analyses. Nearly one-third resulted in a change in the conclusions reported in the originally published statistical analyses. In approximately the last decade, the number of violations cited during inspections under the Bioresearch Monitoring program has decreased; however, significant improvements can continue to be made regarding adherence to study procedures, the consenting of human subjects, and creation of adequate and accurate study documentation. Disqualification of clinical researchers is more likely to occur when researchers fail to supervise a clinical trial or false information is submitted to the FDA. Falsified data can make its way into the exploding field of meta-analyses, a study method that provides a concise and compelling method for the dissemination of medical intervention knowledge; however, this method can be highly unstable and can provide biased results. A robust sensitivity analysis that considers data quality from available sources can help ensure calculations of the best estimates.