Analysis of Problems Encountered in R and D Project Management

Types and frequencies of problems encountered by project and laboratory managers working on 32 government-supported projects in aerospace and electronics industrie

Does Everyone Really Change in the End?: Analyzing the Perceived Transformative Powers of Islamic Fundamentalism

This paper argues that the theological ideologies of Islamic fundamentalist groups frame doctrine and scripture in a way that highlights spiritual and personal transformative powers. These then allow a fascination with such groups to grow and more effectively recruits any individual seeking a similar change in themselves, expecting a renewed and purpose-filled life. Islamic fundamentalism’s position in certain areas affords the opportunity to recruit individuals and offer a so-called “packaged deal.” A focus on the transformative religious identity enhances people’s fascination with the group to the benefit of the group. Muslim fundamentalists, once they join and begin to participate fully in the movement, feel alive with a sense of importance and relevance. Once-neglected individuals in society are able to find for themselves power and value. Theological ideologies of Islamic fundamentalist groups overly emphasize the potential for spiritual and personal transformation and capitalize tremendously on the human desire and need to belong. Islamic fundamentalist groups of varying sizes and locations have risen to global prominence in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, basing their ideas off of twentieth century Islamic thinkers such as Sayyid Quṭb, ʿAlī Sharīaʿtī, Jalal Al-ī Aḥmad, and Abūl A\u27la Maudūdī. These men’s positions in their respective communities offered the ability to create religious revolutions that preached strict theological aspects grounded in philosophy, sociology, and history. This paper explores the ideologies of these thinkers and how they are used today by groups to attract recruits, what transformations occur, and if the transformations are permanent

Prelude to the Anthropocene: Two new North American Land Mammal Ages (NALMAs)

Human impacts have left and are leaving distinctive imprints in the geological record. Here we show that in North America, the human-caused changes evident in the mammalian fossil record since c. 14,000 years ago are as pronounced as earlier faunal changes that subdivide Cenozoic epochs into the North American Land Mammal Ages (NALMAs). Accordingly, we define two new North American Land Mammal Ages, the Santarosean and the Saintagustinean, which subdivide Holocene time and complete a biochronologic system that has proven extremely useful in dating terrestrial deposits and in revealing major features of faunal change through the past 66 million years. The new NALMAs highlight human-induced changes to the Earth system, and inform the debate on whether or not defining an Anthropocene epoch is justified, and if so, when it began

Landmine Neutralization: Air Excavation Unit

The Landmine Neutralization team’s poster will present our team’s progress towards designing and prototyping an air excavation unit. To accomplish this, the project team is working with the HALO Trust, the world’s largest demining NGO. The HALO Trust works in many countries to remove the remnants of war, including improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and unexploded ordnance (UXOs). This project seeks to help deminers by providing a device that blows air at high velocity to clear dust and other debris away from potential IEDs and UXOs in war-torn areas to help in their effort of demining. We have focused on designing our prototype to operate reliably in harsh environments while fulfilling our client’s specifications. Our client requested that we design our excavation unit to be easily installed onto their Volvo 220 backhoes and their custom-made backhoe attachments. The current design is modular and consists of a hydraulic motor powering a fan from a backpack leaf blower, all of which is assembled within a steel frame that attaches to the rake of the HALO excavators. Due to circumstances beyond our control, our project will be wrapping up at the end of this semester, which is sooner than anticipated. This means the goals of our project have been narrowed to having a functional prototype and relevant documentation that we can present to our client.https://mosaic.messiah.edu/engr2021/1008/thumbnail.jp