Proceedings of the 2nd Annual Workshop on Meteorological and Environmental Inputs to Aviation Systems

The proceedings of a workshop held at the University of Tennessee Space Institute, Tullahoma, Tennessee, March 28-30, 1978, are reported. The workshop was jointly sponsored by NASA, NOAA, FAA, and brought together many disciplines of the aviation communities in round table discussions. The major objectives of the workshop are to satisfy such needs of the sponsoring agencies as the expansion of our understanding and knowledge of the interactions of the atmosphere with aviation systems, as the better definition and implementation of services to operators, and as the collection and interpretation of data for establishing operational criteria, relating the total meteorological inputs from the atmospheric sciences to the needs of aviation communities

Dyslexia and Medicine: The experience and the impact of dyslexia on the education, training, and practice of doctors.

Introduction: Dyslexia is the most common specific learning difficulty, affecting of about 6% of the population. In medicine, the numbers of learners disclosing a diagnosis of dyslexia is rising. Small-scale studies have begun to venture into the effects of dyslexia on the education of medical students, and doctors in foundation year training and beyond. There is a call for research to develop a more nuanced understanding of how dyslexia affects doctors during their training and practice. Methodology: Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, this project aimed to develop a greater understanding of the ways in which dyslexia affects the training and practice of doctors. The data collection followed a three-phase approach, employing semi-structured interviews, a Self-Characterisation Sketch exercise, and Critical Incident Reflection audio-diaries. Analysis: In-depth, idiographic analysis of anonymised case studies for 10 doctors in training across a variety of specialties, from England and Wales was undertaken. The detail of the analysis cannot be adequately captured in a short summary but the overarching themes identified in the data included: Self; Belonging; and Coping. Each theme is supported by subthemes: good enough, chaos and power of the label; black sheep, conformity, and community; and difficulties and capabilities, agency and attribution, and strategies and risk, respectively. Notable ‘pearls’ within the data included the notion of partitioning, and that of brute failure. Discussion: The in-depth analysis of these doctors’ experience of their dyslexia, with reference to their education, training and practice, provides a unique insight into an unstudied aspect of lived experience of doctors. The analysis of the data from these doctors offers a unique understanding of self-concept, attribution and learned helplessness. These findings bear significance for engaging with, and seeking help from the team and wider structures in medical education. Synthesis of this analysis with wider literature would suggest a role for self-compassion and individual counselling approaches in medical education.I was in grateful receipt of a Studentship from the College of Social Sciences and International Studie

RADAR SIMULATOR TRAINING FOR EFFECTIVE MARITIME SEARCH AND RESCUE

The main effort in locating and rescuing survivors of a maritime incident is borne by merchant shipping. This research shows that search and rescue is a task that will face most seafarers, but as they generally lack the necessary levels of skill and knowledge required the task will often be poorly performed. A remedy to this unsatisfactory situation lies in proper training and guidance for ships' officers. This thesis evaluates, using illuminative techniques, the first simulator course devised to provide such training. The evaluation will be of particular use to others called upon to provide similar training. It also shows a requirement for the adoption of improved procedures in merchant ship searches, makes relevant recommendations, and identifies areas for further research. More significantly the study has allowed, through simulation, an opportunity unparalleled in the real situation to assess the guidance contained in the Merchant Ship Search and Rescue Manual (MERSAR). This International Maritime Organization manual is the primary aid available to seafarers facing search and rescue responsibilities. The assessment concludes there is scope for extensive amendment to MERSAR amounting to overall rather than piecemeal revision. Positive recommendations are made, particularly in the areas of communications, control and co-ordination. It is anticipated that this original research will have an important role to play in MERSAR's revision, and through this improve the effectiveness of maritime search and rescue.United States Coast Guard Research and Development Center, Groton, C

Grit attitudes demonstrated by school superintendents in California urban school settings

This study’s purpose is to explore grit attributes California urban school superintendents demonstrated. The literature review revealed 5 grit attributes: courage, conscientiousness, endurance toward long-term goals, optimism and resilience, and excellence over perfection. There is scant scholarly research connecting urban school superintendents to the 5 grit attributes and understanding grit’s 5 attributes school district leaders reflected is valuable to the industry and the profession. This research implemented a qualitative methodology. Following an extensive review of the literature, a panel of experts developed and reviewed research questions to establish validity. The data collected were gathered from publicly available and accessible published texts regarding superintendents from 7 California urban school districts. Corresponding text from the data sources were reviewed and compared with the grit attributes in the theoretical framework in order to code for themes. The themes were reviewed for alignment to the 5 attributes of grit theory that formed this study’s conceptual framework. Limitations included that there was no interaction with superintendents in this study as only publicly available information served as data, and urban school districts in only 1 state were represented in this study. Findings based on publicly accessed information revealed 15 practices of demonstrating grit in 5 categories: 2 practices demonstrating the attribute of courage; 3 practices demonstrating the attribute of conscientiousness; 5 practices demonstrating the attribute of endurance toward long-term goals; 3 practices demonstrating the attribute of optimism and resilience; and 2 practices demonstrating the attribute of excellence over perfection. In addition to correlating practices with the 5 attributes of grit theory, more than 70 authors supported the 4 theoretical components. The results of the study provide information that can assist leaders, persons providing professional development, and policymakers in education. The data in this study support the relationship of the grit attributes as school superintendents in California urban settings demonstrated. This research adds to the literature regarding the disciplines of educational leadership, organizational leadership, and positive psychology in organizations, including topics related to persistence and resiliency studies. Additionally, the results of this study add to the existing body of literature specifically related to grit theories

Advanced flight control system study

The architecture, requirements, and system elements of an ultrareliable, advanced flight control system are described. The basic criteria are functional reliability of 10 to the minus 10 power/hour of flight and only 6 month scheduled maintenance. A distributed system architecture is described, including a multiplexed communication system, reliable bus controller, the use of skewed sensor arrays, and actuator interfaces. Test bed and flight evaluation program are proposed

Beyond Dissociation and Appropriation: Evaluating the Politics of U.S. Psychology Via Hermeneutic Interpretation of Culturally Embedded Presentations of Yoga

Psychology in the United States (U.S.) is partially constituted by a cultural history of intellectual imperialism that undermines its altruistic intent and prevents disciplinary reflexivity. The scholarship and clinical application of Yoga exemplifies the way U.S. psychology continues to give lived authority to imperialism as part of the neoliberal agenda. Through a hermeneutic literature analysis of two source Yogic texts and peer-reviewed articles that exemplify the dominant discourse on Yoga in U.S. psychology, this dissertation identified themes that describe culturally embedded presentations of Yoga and their sociopolitical implications. Through interpretation, Yoga was conceptualized as: (a) a 5,000 year-old tradition that prescribes a life path to achieving one’s full potential and includes (but is not limited to) an expression of psychology unique to Yoga that encompasses a complex moral framework, theory of mind, conceptualization of suffering and illness, and rich collection of healing technologies; (b) a phenomenological state of being, or unwavering realization of the self as undifferentiated unified consciousness; and (c) an artifact of U.S. psychology that enacts dissociated, unformulated, and unarticulated sociopolitical arrangements and events. Themes were presented as dialogue, allowing Yogic theory, philosophy, psychology, and morality to call into question facets of U.S. psychology as they relate to the human condition, psyche, mental illness, and healing technologies. Within the scope of the dissertation, there were four articulated pathways for Yoga to influence U.S. psychology without reverting back to the unconscious inclination to dissociate or appropriate: (a) participate in the tradition of Yoga rather than trying to possess it; (b) acknowledge what the moral framework of Yoga highlights about the complicity of U.S. psychology in the neoliberal agenda; (c) discontinue practices that normalize and sustain intellectual imperialism; and (d) commit to disciplinary refinement and integrity. Also addressed were the limitations of this project and fruitful avenues of further inquiry, including possible steps towards disciplinary refinement and integrity

Timor-Leste: stability at what cost?

UN peacekeepers withdrew from Timor-Leste in December 2012, ending a thirteen-year presence after two successful elections underscored the country’s continued stability. Pragmatic decisions by local leaders after the 2006 crisis to use swelling petroleum industry revenues to buy peace have paid dividends. But that strategy rests on three anchors: the authority of the current prime minister; the deferral of institutional reforms in the security sector; and the flow of oil and gas revenues from the Timor Sea. The dependence on the petroleum industry is unsustainable, and the need to develop alternative anchors may be more urgent than it appears. Timor-Leste has recovered well from the 2006 crisis, when tensions spilled onto the streets as police, army and disaffected veterans fought one another, and over 100,000 Dili residents were displaced. Oil and gas revenues have helped provide the cure. The Petroleum Fund began to swell after production from the Timor Sea began in 2004 and now stands at $11.7 billion. The money gave the Aliança da Maioria Parlamentar (AMP) government headed by Xanana Gusmão the confidence and the resources to spend its way out of conflict. It gave rewards to the surrendering “petitioners”, whose desertions from the army had set the crisis in motion; offered cash grants to persuade the displaced to return; funded lavish pensions for disgruntled veterans; and put potential spoilers to work pursuant to lucrative construction contracts. The 2012 elections bore testament to greater political stability but placed power in the hands of a few. Gusmão’s party returned with a broader mandate and streamlined coalition; his former guerrilla army subordinate (and recent armed forces chief), Taur Matan Ruak, became president. Both mobilised the structures of the resistance to aid their elections, while business interests also played a large role in the parliamentary poll. Though he formed a 55-member cabinet, Gusmão has been reluctant to delegate political authority to potential successors, instead centralising power under himself and a few key ministers. All political parties face internal problems, and the question of who will succeed such a dominant figure remains. Ruak is one possibility – he has been a vocal government critic, providing some accountability not offered by a weak parliament. But there are few other obvious successors, and the transition could be messy. Overly centralised political power sharpens risks from the dual lack of effective oversight and of adequate institutional arrangements in the security sector. Gusmão, who reappointed himself joint security and defence minister, has used his personal authority to tamp down tensions among and between the various security forces rather than make long-term policy. The police are without clear leadership and hobbled by inadequate investigative skills and discipline problems. Proposals to establish a separate criminal investigation service to address the poor track record of prosecutions may only weaken the force as a whole. The military has become more professional, but as it doubles in size and deploys across the country, the reluctance to outline a clear division of labour between the security forces poses greater risks. That task will not be made easier by the anomaly that though the country faces almost no external threats, the army’s ambitions are expanding. The government will also have to work harder to ensure improved and more equitable returns on its investments. The Petroleum Fund provides considerable independence from donor-driven priorities and freedom to spend without going into debt. The government views spending as an economic stimulus measure and improvements to infrastructure as a prerequisite to sustainable growth, but returns have been woeful. In recent years, over half the state budget has been devoted to construction projects, but actual execution has sometimes seemed an afterthought. Limited investment in the weak education and health sectors is not doing enough to ensure the welfare of future generations. The greatest challenge facing this government will be to make progress in providing economic opportunities without exhausting national wealth. It will have to prioritise the search for more sustainable employment for a rapidly growing workforce, driven by one of the world’s highest birth rates. It will also need to find ways to tackle the perceived growth in social inequality, as elites largely centred in the capital benefit from access to increased spending. It must produce visible results against alleged corruption. And in designing major measures, such as land-titling legislation and decentralisation, it will need to work with parliament and civil society in order to produce legislation and policies that enjoy a greater degree of public legitimacy. Timor-Leste deserves praise for the success with which it has implemented pragmatic policies designed to bring rapid stability following the 2006 crisis. Promoting confidence at home and abroad is important for transforming any post-conflict economy. But it likely has a very limited window of opportunity during which to make investments – both political and financial – that might mitigate the still real risks of an eventual return to conflict

Rebuilding trust in community colleges

The California Community College (CCC) system is the largest system of higher education in the United States, with 72 districts and 113 colleges. The CCC system exhibits statistics demonstrating success; however, as with any organization, trust, communication, and leadership play an essential role in creating stable and productive organizations. Institutions that struggle with trust within the system are often plagued with rotating administration, a breakdown in communication, and accreditation issues. Unique to CCCs is the required participation of its staff in the decision-making process, which is known as shared or participatory governance. Along with participatory governance, the stringent accreditation standards and retiring work force create a delicate situation where trust and leadership are in a state of consistent transition. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the critical components of rebuilding trust within a CCC after trust has been broken. Specifically, this study focused on the practices a CCC administrator can engage in to rebuild trust within his/her institution after trust is broken. Based on in-depth interviews with eight CCC presidents, findings revealed that a president’s personal character, ethics, and morals are determining factors in developing and reestablishing trust within a CCC. The importance of relationship building, using multiple communication styles, and catering communication channels to target audiences played a critical role in these presidents’ ability to develop trust. Most importantly, strategic, authentic, and consistent leadership were some one of the most significant factors related to rebuilding trust within a CCC after trust has been broken. It is recommended that CCC presidents and administrators become familiar with the complex layers of CCCs, specifically with building and rebuilding trust within an institution. Additional research on the CCC presidential leadership style; the relationship among adult learning, emotional healing, and storytelling; as well as supplemental quantitative research to strengthen the external validity of this study are needed