Total Quality Management: Analysis, Evaluation and Implementation Within ACRV Project Teams

Total quality management (TQM) is a cooperative form of doing business that relies on the talents of everyone in an organization to continually improve quality and productivity, using teams and an assortment of statistical and measurement tools. The Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) Project Office was identified as an excellent project in which to demonstrate the applications and benefits of TQM processes. As the ACRV Program moves through its various stages of development, it is vital that effectiveness and efficiency be maintained in order to provide the Space Station Freedom (SSF) crew an affordable, on-time assured return to Earth. A critical factor for the success of the ACRV is attaining the maximum benefit from the resources applied to the program. Through a series of four tutorials on various quality improvement techniques, and numerous one-on-one sessions during the SSF's 10-week term in the project office, results were obtained which are aiding the ACRV Office in implementing a disciplined, ongoing process for generating fundamental decisions and actions that shape and guide the organization. Significant advances were made in improving the processes for two particular groups - the correspondence distribution team and the WATER Test team. Numerous people from across JSC were a part of the various team activities including engineering, man systems, and safety. The work also included significant interaction with the support contractor to the ACRV Project. The results of the improvement activities can be used as models for other organizations desiring to operate under a system of continuous improvement. In particular, they have advanced the ACRV Project Teams further down the path of continuous improvement, in support of a working philosophy of TQM

Mobile support in CSCW applications and groupware development frameworks

Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) is an established subset of the field of Human Computer Interaction that deals with the how people use computing technology to enhance group interaction and collaboration. Mobile CSCW has emerged as a result of the progression from personal desktop computing to the mobile device platforms that are ubiquitous today. CSCW aims to not only connect people and facilitate communication through using computers; it aims to provide conceptual models coupled with technology to manage, mediate, and assist collaborative processes. Mobile CSCW research looks to fulfil these aims through the adoption of mobile technology and consideration for the mobile user. Facilitating collaboration using mobile devices brings new challenges. Some of these challenges are inherent to the nature of the device hardware, while others focus on the understanding of how to engineer software to maximize effectiveness for the end-users. This paper reviews seminal and state-of-the-art cooperative software applications and development frameworks, and their support for mobile devices

The organization and management of the Virtual Astronomical Observatory

The U.S. Virtual Astronomical Observatory (VAO; http://www.us-vao.org/) has been in operation since May 2010. Its goal is to enable new science through efficient integration of distributed multi-wavelength data. This paper describes the management and organization of the VAO, and emphasizes the techniques used to ensure efficiency in a distributed organization. Management methods include using an annual program plan as the basis for establishing contracts with member organizations, regular communication, and monitoring of processes.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. SPIE Conference 8449: Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy

Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OPs): An Interim Assessment of Their Prospects

Provides an overview of nonprofit, member-governed plans that will create innovative care delivery and payment models to compete in states' individual and small group health insurance markets. Outlines challenges and potential effect on the market

R&D collaboration with uncertain intellectual property rights.

Patent pendencies create uncertainty in research and development (R&D) collaboration agreements, resulting in a threat of expropriation of unprotected knowledge by potential partners, reduced bargaining power and enhanced search costs. In this paper, we show that - depending of the type of partner - uncertain intellectual property rights (IPR) lead to reduced collaboration between firms and may hinder the production of knowledge. This has implications for technology policy as R&D collaborations are exempt from anti-trust legislation in order to increase R&D in the economy. We argue that a functional IPR system is needed for successful utilization of this policy.R&D collaboration; intellectual property; uncertainty; patents;

User-Oriented Authorization in Collaborative Environments

Access rights for collaborative systems tend to be rather complex, leading to difficulties in the presentation and manipulation of access policies at the user interface level. We confront a theoretical access rights model with the results of a field study which investigates how users specify access policies. Our findings suggest that our theoretical model addresses most of the issues raised by the field study, when the required functionality can be presented in an appropriate user interface

R&D collaboration with uncertain intellectual property rights

Patent pendencies create uncertainty in research and development (R&D) collaboration agreements, resulting in a threat of expropriation of unprotected knowledge by potential partners, reduced bargaining power and enhanced search costs. In this paper, we show that - depending of the type of partner - uncertain intellectual property rights (IPR) lead to reduced collaboration between firms and may hinder the production of knowledge. This has implications for technology policy as R&D collaborations are exempt from anti-trust legislation in order to increase R&D in the economy. We argue that a functional IPR system is needed for successful utilization of this policy. --R&D collaboration,intellectual property,uncertainty,patents

Sri Lanka Social Enterprise Needs Assessment and Advisory

Authored in collaboration with Oxfam, this research maps social enterprises within the agriculture sector, identifies the key challenges they face, and makes recommendations for donors and development agencies looking to support the space in Sri Lanka. Findings and recommendations developed based on secondary research and field survey of social enterprises in Sri Lanka

Index to Library Trends Volume 38

published or submitted for publicatio

Access Update, October 2013

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Healt