A Science Strategy for Space Physics

This report by the Committee on Solar and Space Physics and the Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Research recommends the major directions for scientific research in space physics for the coming decade. As a field of science, space physics has passed through the stage of simply looking to see what is out beyond Earth's atmosphere. It has become a 'hard' science, focusing on understanding the fundamental interactions between charged particles, electromagnetic fields, and gases in the natural laboratory consisting of the galaxy, the Sun, the heliosphere, and planetary magnetospheres, ionospheres, and upper atmospheres. The motivation for space physics research goes far beyond basic physics and intellectual curiosity, however, because long-term variations in the brightness of the Sun virtually affect the habitability of the Earth, while sudden rearrangements of magnetic fields above the solar surface can have profound effects on the delicate balance of the forces that shape our environment in space and on the human technology that is sensitive to that balance. The several subfields of space physics share the following objectives: to understand the fundamental laws or processes of nature as they apply to space plasmas and rarefied gases both on the microscale and in the larger complex systems that constitute the domain of space physics; to understand the links between changes in the Sun and the resulting effects at the Earth, with the eventual goal of predicting the significant effects on the terrestrial environment; and to continue the exploration and description of the plasmas and rarefied gases in the solar system

Requirement validation with enactable descriptions of use cases.

The validation of stakeholder requirements for a software system is a pivotal activity for any nontrivial software development project. Often, differences in knowledge regarding development issues, and knowledge regarding the problem domain, impede the elaboration of requirements amongst developers and stakeholders. A description technique that provides a user perspective of the system behaviour is likely to enhance shared understanding between the developers and stakeholders. The Unified Modelling Language (UML) use case is such a notation. Use cases describe the behaviour of a system (using natural language) in terms of interactions between the external users and the system. Since the standardisation of the UML by the Object Management Group in 1997, much research has been devoted to use cases. Some researchers have focussed on the provision of writing guidelines for use case specifications whereas others have focussed on the application of formal techniques. This thesis investigates the adequacy of the use case description for the specification and validation of software behaviour. In particular, the thesis argues that whereas the user-system interaction scheme underpins the essence of the use case notation, the UML specification of the use case does not provide a mechanism by which use cases can describe dependencies amongst constituent interaction steps. Clarifying these issues is crucial for validating the adequacy of the specification against stakeholder expectations. This thesis proposes a state-based approach (the Educator approach) to use case specification where constituent events are augmented with pre and post states to express both intra-use case and inter-use case dependencies. Use case events are enacted to visualise implied behaviour, thereby enhancing shared understanding among users and developers. Moreover, enaction provides an early "feel" of the behaviour that would result from the implementation of the specification. The Educator approach and the enaction of descriptions are supported by a prototype environment, the EducatorTool, developed to demonstrate the efficacy and novelty of the approach. To validate the work presented in this thesis an industrial study, involving the specification of realtime control software, is reported. The study involves the analysis of use case specifications of the subsystems prior to the application of the proposed approach, and the analysis of the specification where the approach and tool support are applied. This way, it is possible to determine the efficacy of the Educator approach within an industrial setting

Factors affecting the development of sophisticated database marketing systems.

In the late 1980s, companies in a wide variety of industries began to implement segmented marketing strategies using database marketing (DBM) systems. Several surveys noted that some organisations were developing sophisticated DBM systems to achieve competitive advantage, while others, in similar marketplaces, seemed unable, or unwilling, to exploit the potential benefits of these powerful systems. Alternatively, evidence from industrial reports suggested that most companies were failing to fully exploit the capabilities oftheir systems. Hence, this research was designed to determine the factors affecting levels of sophistication in database marketing (DBM) systems. First, theories from marketing and information systems were synthesised to develop a generic model of DBM systems. Next, notions about the sources of competitive advantage were reviewed to identify potential factors promoting the development of sophisticated DBM systems. This review resulted in four such factors being hypothesised: market orientation as a specific organisation culture, database size (i.e. number of customers) as a key resource, locus of control of the senior marketing manager as an important individual characteristic, and the difference between consumer and business markets as a factor in firms' external environment. Empirical data were collected from two random samples of senior marketing managers in US catalogue companies using postal surveys. Data from the first sample (36 observations) were used to develop a valid and reliable construct to measure the level of sophistication in DBM systems. Further data were collected from a second random sample using two further postal surveys (69 observations), which confirmed and replicated the results obtained from the first sample. Overall, the research findings show that the development of sophisticated DBM systems is positively associated with two factors: market orientation of organisation culture, and database size. The other two factors - locus of control and type of market - failed to show any association with the level of sophistication in DBM systems. Further data analyses revealed a strong association between the elements of sophisticated OBM systems and marketing notions of sources of competitive advantage

Women and women voices: their literary expression in France c.1500 - c.1540

The purpose of this thesis is to examine woman as reader and writer in early sixteenth-century France. As a focal point to the study, I concentrate on the theme of speech. The exclusion of the Renaissance woman from mixed-sex conversations allows us to perceive her writing as a form of vicarious speech. The thesis is divided into two distinct parts. Part 1 (Chapters 1-3) deals with various images and stereotypes of the female sex, which feature in texts by male writers. Chapter 1 discusses the behavioural models set out in etiquette books, while emphasizing the differing ideals for each of the sexes. A comparison of these role models shows that all aspects of the ideal for the female sex, revolving around a central concern with chastity, seek to curb feminine behaviour. Chapter 2 explores the notion of male writing as a public dialogue in which woman frequently becomes the subject of scurrilous debate. In works such as the Blasons Anatomiques and the French emblems, the male poet-cum-artisan moulds and sculpts his ideal image of woman, transforming her into a voiceless artefact. The attitude of these writers towards women tends to be aggressive, or even overtly sadistic. My third chapter is devoted to the examination of literary representations of the sixteenth-century wife. In Chapters 1-3, emphasis is placed on woman's position as the forgotten or ignored listener, her presence needed only for a silent appreciation of male rhetoric. Part 2 (Chapters 4-5) concentrates on texts composed by women, grouping works into the categories of secular, and then devotional writings. The aim of these chapters is to rediscover writers whose works have been obscured by time. Consequently, many of the texts studied have never been previously analysed in such detail, or examined from a literary perspective. By recreating a chain of women writers, we may establish the continuity of a female tradition in the Renaissance period. Certain stylistic and thematic characteristics recur in the works of all women writers. In my analysis of feminine writing, these similarities are attributed to the social constraints shared by all women attempting to assert a voice in a male-dominated discourse

The STEM trail: Alaska Native undergraduates find the right path in higher education

Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2022The goals of this research are twofold. (1) This research explores decision making and college experiences of Alaska Native undergraduates pursuing degrees in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and (2) this research, using participant observation explores the Indigenous metaphor of "the trail" to frame student persistence towards their degrees. Twelve participants, representing various STEM fields, Alaska Native cultures, and K12 schooling experiences, shared their motivations and aspirations through interviews and photographs. Key findings indicate the significant role that Indigenous Knowledge plays in influencing student decisions around majoring in STEM degrees. Findings also illuminate the variety of K12 STEM experiences and the influence on decisions to major in STEM. Awareness (ellangeq) and self-authorship as student development theory, also impact decision making. The use of "the trail" as a metaphor for persistence illustrates a strength-based model for persistence, that notes the importance of the individual and the role of the individual as a community member. This metaphor also displays aspects of preparation, finding the right path, obstacles, supports, and destinations. This metaphor also calls into question the role of the institution as students work to navigate the terrain towards their degrees.Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, AISES Lighting the Pathway to Faculty Careers, Calista Education and Culture, Inc., and UAF College of Rural and Community Developmen