IXPE Mission System Concept and Development Status

The Goal of the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) Mi SMEX), is to expand understanding of high-energy astrophysical processes and sources, in support of NASAs first science objective in Astrophysics: Discover how the universe works. IXPE, an international collaboration, will conduct X-ray imaging polarimetry for multiple categories of cosmic X-ray sources such as neutron stars, stellar-mass black holes, supernova remnants and active galactic nuclei. The Observatory uses a single science operational mode capturing the X-ray data from the targets. The IXPE Observatory consists of spacecraft and payload modules built up in parallel to form the Observatory during system integration and test. The payload includes three X-ray telescopes each consisting of a polarization-sensitive, gas pixel X-ray detector, paired with its corresponding grazing incidence mirror module assembly (MMA). A deployable boom provides the correct separation (focal length) between the detector units (DU) and MMAs. These payload elements are supported by the IXPE spacecraft which is derived from the BCP-small spacecraft architecture. This paper summarizes the IXPE mission science objectives, updates the Observatory implementation concept including the payload and spacecraft ts and summarizes the mission status since last years conference

All Together Now: A Framework for Research on Mob Programming

Mob programming (MP) is a relatively new phenomenon in software development. So far, the academic literature has not published in this domain. The goal of this paper is to develop a framework for researching the MP phenomenon. We first outline current practitioner descriptions of and justifications for MP. We then examine concepts from team theory and practices from agile development to identify the team processes and taskwork involved in MP. Based on these, we present a research framework for the academic study of MP. We conclude by considering how the framework can be used by IS researchers

Exploring the Future Shape of Business Intelligence: Mapping Dynamic Capabilities of Information Systems to Business Intelligence Agility

A major challenge in today’s turbulent environments is to make appropriate decisions to sustainably steer an organization. Business intelligence (BI) systems are often used as a basis for decision making. But achieving agility in BI and cope with dynamic environments is no trivial endeavor as the classical, data-warehouse (DWH)-based BI is primarily used to retrospectively reflect an organization’s performance. Using an exploratory approach, this paper investigates how current trends affect the concept of BI and thus their ability to support adequate decision making. The key focus is to understand dynamic capabilities in the field of information systems (IS) and how they are connected to BI agility. We therefore map dynamic capabilities from the IS literature to agility dimensions of BI. Additionally, we propose a structural model that focusses on DWH-based BI and analyze how current BI-related trends and environmental turbulence affect the way that BI is shaped in the future

Software developers reasoning behind adoption and use of software development methods – a systematic literature review

When adopting and using a Software Development Method (SDM), it is important to stay true to the philosophy of the method; otherwise, software developers might execute activities that do not lead to the intended outcomes. Currently, no overview of SDM research addresses software developers’ reasoning behind adopting and using SDMs. Accordingly, this paper aims to survey existing SDM research to scrutinize the current knowledge base on software developers’ type of reasoning behind SDM adoption and use. We executed a systematic literature review and analyzed existing research using two steps. First, we classified papers based on what type of reasoning was addressed regarding SDM adoption and use: rational, irrational, and non-rational. Second, we made a thematic synthesis across these three types of reasoning to provide a more detailed characterization of the existing research. We elicited 28 studies addressing software developers’ reasoning and identified five research themes. Building on these themes, we framed four future research directions with four broad research questions, which can be used as a basis for future research

AGILE SOLUTIONS & DATA ANALITICS FOR LOGISTICS PROVIDERS BASED ON SIMULATION

The current advances are enabling the development of new solutions in data analytics and decision making in many fields; it is quite interesting to analyze the impact of this approach on logistics providers; this paper proposes examples of these challenges in this context as well as an example of a simulation based solution able to interconnect the different information sources and to fuse the data in order to analyze the logistics processes and support decisions. The proposed solution is based on web services and web application that are adopting the MSaaS concept (Modeling & Simulation as a Service) by using stochastic models

Challenges to transferring and sharing of tacit knowledge within a construction supply chain

Purpose – This paper investigates the potential challenges that hinder the effective transfer and sharing of Tacit Knowledge (Knowledge Communication) within a construction supply chain (CSC). Design/Methodology/Approach – This study identifies six challenges (through literature review) with fifteen positive correlations between them. Quantitative methodology is employed to validate those challenges and correlations between challenges. Firstly, data is collected through semi-structured e-survey questionnaire. Afterwards, a Frequency and Kruskal-Wallis H test is run for initial validation of identified challenges. A correlation analysis is used to highlight the taxonomic relations between those challenges. Finally, the study establishes the rank order of the first and following challenges. Findings – This study highlights that traditional ways of working with construction organisations are the predominant challenge that hinders effective transferring and sharing of Tacit Knowledge. The cause of challenges is the fragmented nature of CSC. Also, it brings out the correlation between those challenges. The study draws the conclusion and recommendation to implement Knowledge Communication (KC) within a CSC. Originality/Value – The study highlights the challenges that hinder KC in a construction process of a CSC. It establishes that the fragmented nature of the construction sector is not the first challenge that hinders implementation of transferring and sharing of Tacit Knowledge but somewhat traditional organisation structures and working processes. This is the first paper that investigates and tests the challenges in four dimensions and establishes the rank order of challenges with crucial distinction in a KC approach within a CSC. Conclusion – This study identifies the rank order of challenges. It also discusses the implementation of KC within a CSC. It reflects the current understanding of KC in the construction sector and pinpoints the contribution of this study in academia and practice. Keywords - Construction Supply Chains, Knowledge Management, Tacit Knowledge, Transferring and Sharing Tacit Knowledge, Knowledge Communication in Construction Processes, Knowledge Communicatio

Going Remote: Demonstration and Evaluation of Remote Technology Delivery and Usability Assessment with Older Adults

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated “going remote” with the delivery, support, and assessment of a study intervention targeting older adults enrolled in a clinical trial. While remotely delivering and assessing technology is not new, there are few methods available in the literature that are proven to be effective with diverse populations, and none for older adults specifically. Older adults comprise a diverse population, including in terms of their experience with and access to technology, making this a challenging endeavor. Objective: Our objective was to remotely deliver and conduct usability testing for a mobile health (mHealth) technology intervention for older adult participants enrolled in a clinical trial of the technology. This paper describes the methodology used, its successes, and its limitations. Methods: We developed a conceptual model for remote operations, called the Framework for Agile and Remote Operations (FAR Ops), that combined the general requirements for spaceflight operations with Agile project management processes to quickly respond to this challenge. Using this framework, we iteratively created care packages that differed in their contents based on participant needs and were sent to study participants to deliver the study intervention—a medication management app—and assess its usability. Usability data were collected using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and a novel usability questionnaire developed to collect more in-depth data. Results: In the first 6 months of the project, we successfully delivered 21 care packages. We successfully designed and deployed a minimum viable product in less than 6 weeks, generally maintained a 2-week sprint cycle, and achieved a 40% to 50% return rate for both usability assessment instruments. We hypothesize that lack of engagement due to the pandemic and our use of asynchronous communication channels contributed to the return rate of usability assessments being lower than desired. We also provide general recommendations for performing remote usability testing with diverse populations based on the results of our work, including implementing screen sharing capabilities when possible, and determining participant preference for phone or email communications. Conclusions: The FAR Ops model allowed our team to adopt remote operations for our mHealth trial in response to interruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. This approach can be useful for other research or practice-based projects under similar circumstances or to improve efficiency, cost, effectiveness, and participant diversity in general. In addition to offering a replicable approach, this paper tells the often-untold story of practical challenges faced by mHealth projects and practical strategies used to address them

Sustainability in the Aerospace, Naval, and Automotive Supply Chain 4.0: Descriptive Review

The search for sustainability in the Supply Chain (SC) is one of the tasks that most concerns business leaders in all manufacturing sectors because of the importance that the Supply Chain has as a transversal tool and due to the leading role that it has been playing lately. Of all the manufacturing sectors, this study focuses on the aerospace, shipbuilding, and automotive sectors identified as transport. The present study carries out a descriptive review of existing publications in these three sectors in relation to the sustainability of the Supply Chain in its 4.0 adaptation as an update in matters that are in constant evolution. Among the results obtained, Lean practices are common to the three sectors, as well as different technologies focused on sustainability. Furthermore, the results show that the automotive sector is the one that makes the greatest contribution in this sense through collaborative programs that can be very useful to the other two sectors, thus benefiting from the consequent applicable advantages. Meanwhile, the Aerospace and Shipbuilding sectors do not seem to be working on promoting a sustainable culture in the management of the Supply Chain or on including training programs for their personnel in matters related to Industry 4.0

Air Force Institute of Technology Research Report 2016

This Research Report presents the FY16 research statistics and contributions of the Graduate School of Engineering and Management (EN) at AFIT. AFIT research interests and faculty expertise cover a broad spectrum of technical areas related to USAF needs, as reflected by the range of topics addressed in the faculty and student publications listed in this report. In most cases, the research work reported herein is directly sponsored by one or more USAF or DOD agencies. AFIT welcomes the opportunity to conduct research on additional topics of interest to the USAF, DOD, and other federal organizations when adequate manpower and financial resources are available and/or provided by a sponsor. In addition, AFIT provides research collaboration and technology transfer benefits to the public through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)

DVB-T channels power measurements in indoor/outdoor cases

In this paper the analysis of the spectrum occupancy in the TV band is provided based on the indoor and outdoor measurements campaigns carried out in Poznan, Poland, and Barcelona, Spain, in 2013. The goal of this work is to discuss the stability and other important features of the observed spectrum occupancy in the context of indoor/outdoor Radio Environment Maps database deployment. Reliable deployment of these databases seems to be one of the critical points in practical utilization of the TV White Spaces for cognitive purposes inside buildings and in densely populated cities.Postprint (published version