Research and technology: 1994 annual report of the John F. Kennedy Space Center

As the NASA Center responsible for assembly, checkout, servicing, launch, recovery, and operational support of Space Transportation System elements and payloads, the John F. Kennedy Space Center is placing increasing emphasis on its advanced technology development program. This program encompasses the efforts of the Engineering Development Directorate laboratories, most of the KSC operations contractors, academia, and selected commercial industries - all working in a team effort within their own areas of expertise. This edition of the Kennedy Space Center Research and Technology 1994 Annual Report covers efforts of all these contributors to the KSC advanced technology development program, as well as our technology transfer activities. The Technology Programs and Commercialization Office (DE-TPO), (407) 867-3017, is responsible for publication of this report and should be contacted for any desired information regarding the advanced technology program

Additive Manufacturing Technologies and Applications

The present Special Issue proposes articles in the area of Additive Manufacturing with particular attention to the different employed technologies and the several possible applications. The main investigated technologies are the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). These methodologies, combined with the Computer Aided Design (CAD), provide important advantages. Numerical, analytical and experimental knowledge and models are proposed to exploit the potential advantages given by 3D printing for the production of modern systems and structures in aerospace, mechanical, civil and biomedical engineering fields. The 11 selected papers propose different additive manufacturing methodologies and related applications and studies

Background Examples of Literature Searches on Topics of Interest

A zip file of various literature searches & some resources related to our work related to exposure after the Chernobyl accident and as we began looking at helping in Semey Kazakhstan----a collection of literature reviews on various topics we were interested in... eg. establishing a registry of those exposed for longterm follow-up, what we knew about certain areas like genetics and some resources like A Guide to Environmental Resources on the Internet by Carol Briggs-Erickson and Toni Murphy which could be found on the Internet and was written to be used by researchers, environmentalists, teachers and any person who is interested in knowing and doing something about the health of our planet. See more at https://archives.library.tmc.edu/dm-ms211-012-0060

Ice Blink

Northern Canada's distinctive landscapes, its complex social relations and the contested place of the North in contemporary political, military, scientific and economic affairs have fueled recent scholarly discussion. At the same time, both the media and the wider public have shown increasing interest in the region. This timely volume extends our understanding of the environmental history of northern Canada - clarifying both its practice and promise, and providing critical perspectives on current public debates. Ice Blink provides opportunities to consider critical issues in other disciplines and geographic contexts. Contributors also examine whether distinctive approaches to environmental history are required when studying the Canadian North, and consider a range of broader questions. What, if anything, sets the study of environmental history in particular regions apart from its study elsewhere? Do environmental historians require regionally-specific research practices? How can the study of environmental history take into consideration the relations between Indigenous peoples, the environment, and the state? How can the history of regions be placed most effectively within transnational and circumpolar contexts? How relevant are historical approaches to contemporary environmental issues? Scholars from universities in Canada, the United States and Britain contribute to this examination of the relevance of historical study for contemporary arctic and sub-arctic issues, especially environmental challenges, security and sovereignty, indigenous politics and the place of science in northern affairs. By asking such questions, the volume offers lessons about the general practice of environmental history and engages an international body of scholarship that addresses the value of regional and interdisciplinary approaches. Crucially, however, it makes a distinctive contribution to the field of Canadian environmental history by identifying new areas of research and exploring how international scholarly developments might play out in the Canadian context

NASA Tech Briefs, July 2002

Topics include: a technology focus sensors, software, electronic components and systems, materials, mechanics, machinery/automation, manufacturing, bio-medical, physical sciences, information sciences, book and reports, and a special section of Photonics Tech Briefs

"This awesome field"; a history of United States nuclear testing and its influence on nuclear thought, 1945-1963

The history of U. S. nuclear testing between 1945 and 1963 is not only a vivid and exciting story but also one of profound historical importance. It is the story of trailblazing scientific progress; improvement and miniaturization of weapons of mass destruction; accidents and affected populations and radiological contamination; and politics, posturing, and diplomacy. The normalisation of the testing of nuclear weapons was not a process that inevitably occurred in the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But rather there was a very real discourse within and among the American political and public spheres regarding nuclear testing, and ultimately it was a victory for those who argued in favor of national security over diplomatic and environmental costs that normalized nuclear weapons tests. The testing of nuclear weapons that defined the course and consequence of the Cold War was itself a crucial dimension to that narrative. But, above all else, the story of nuclear testing is one in which the central question – why conduct nuclear tests? – was fully debated among American politicians, generals and scientists. It is the examination of this question, beginning with the road to “normalisation” and later “denormalisation” of nuclear testing, leading to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, in 1963, that this thesis is dedicated. As states continue to pursue nuclear weaponry, nuclear testing remains an important political issue in the twenty-first century, and the study of its history is vital

Comparing Management Approaches for Automatic Test Systems: A Strategic Missile Case Study

From 1980 to 1992, the DoD spent over $50 billion acquiring Automatic Test Systems (ATS) used to test weapon systems. At that time, procuring unique ATS to support single weapon systems was the norm. In 1994, the DoD made a dramatic change to their ATS acquisition policy; common ATS that supported multiple weapon systems was preferred over ATS tailored to support a single weapon system. Expected benefits of this new policy included: more reliable equipment, increased supportability, decreased cost, smaller logistics footprint, and decreased manning. To date, the common ATS initiative has garnered little support AF-wide due to lack of substantive data supporting the expected benefits in a practical setting. The majority of the ATS procured in the 1980-1992 bubble is still in service but is facing severe aging and obsolescence issues. The purpose of this research was to compare two ATS programs selected because of their numerous similarities, with their singular difference being whether the equipment was managed as common core (Cruise Missile ATS) or managed as part of the weapon system (ICBM ATS). This research seeks to satisfy two goals. The first goal of this case study was to determine if the expected benefits of common ATS are being realized in a practical setting. Second, if the expected benefits are not being met, the hindrances should be understood so they may be corrected

Business excellence: lessons for the construction industry

The construction industry has been accused of being, at its worst, wasteful, inefficient and ineffective, wasting over £1 billion in 1999 due to errors and rework (Nicholson, 1999). Competitive pressures from within industry, as well as external political, economic and other considerations are forcing the industry to re-examine and improve its modus operandi (Anumba et al, 2000). The message is that to survive and prosper, the industry must change its management and practice. Nevertheless it took the publication of both the Latham (1994) and Egan (1998) Reports, both advocating the use of performance measurement, for the industry to recognise that it needed to modernise in order to tackle the severe problems facing it. However, in order for it to improve, the Construction Industry is faced with a bewildering range of business improvement models and approaches, all with their unique features, to use on their quality journey, all proclaiming to improve organisational capability and results. Hence, the aim of this research is to provide guidance on how these business improvement models and approaches can be used to support and improve bottom-line results to achieve business excellence. The scope of this research is to focus on three industry sectors and companies: Construction (Morgan Est Pic), automotive (Lear, a first tier supplier) and aerospace (Rolls Royce), as proof of concepts. An analysis of the overlap between the business improvement models and approaches, conducted in the literature review, confirms the need for this research. The initial concept adopted in this research is to pursue and evaluate the most popular business improvement models; ISO 9001; the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model and the American Baldrige Model and the business improvement approaches such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Business Improvement Review (BPIR), Six Sigma and other "tools" that help Managers understand the business, such as Balanced Scorecards and the Process Classification Framework (PCR). Accordingly, a theoretical evaluation model was developed to demonstrate where the approaches support the business improvement models. The model was subjected to the empirical feedback of expert interviews and case studies and to confirm its suitability for use within the construction industry. The now developed evaluation model demonstrated that these models and approaches are "TQM" with ISO 9001 providing the support and consistency between them all. Furthermore, the results of a questionnaire survey revealed that ISO 9001 can be the starting point for the journey towards world-class performance. It provides the platform for taking the organisation forward by achieving control over leadership, customer focus and continual improvement. However, it needs to be implemented with a view to excellence rather than compliance. The main finding from this research is that the construction sector still needs to provide major investment in improvement models and approaches to deliver bottom-line results and achieve business excellence

Cesium

prepared by Syracuse Research Corporation."April 2004.""Prepared by Syracuse Research Corporation under contract no. 205-1999-00024; prepared for U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry."Chemical manager(s)/author(s): Malcolm Williams ... [et al.]--P. xi.Also available via the World Wide Web.Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-224)