Index to 1981 NASA Tech Briefs, volume 6, numbers 1-4

Short announcements of new technology derived from the R&D activities of NASA are presented. These briefs emphasize information considered likely to be transferrable across industrial, regional, or disciplinary lines and are issued to encourage commercial application. This index for 1981 Tech Briefs contains abstracts and four indexes: subject, personal author, originating center, and Tech Brief Number. The following areas are covered: electronic components and circuits, electronic systems, physical sciences, materials, life sciences, mechanics, machinery, fabrication technology, and mathematics and information sciences

A COMMODITY MARKET SIMULATION GAME FOR TEACHING MARKET RISK MANAGEMENT

The Market Risk Game is a computerized simulation game available for IBM PC and Apple II microcomputers that is designed to give realistic practice in making decisions in a risky market environment. It illustrates the use of hedging and put options to reduce risk in livestock and grain markets. It is best suited for individuals who have a basic understanding of commodity trading, but who need experience to solidify their knowledge to a functional level. Through the game this is done without facing the risk of an actual investment or requiring the time involved in watching a market over an extended period.Risk and Uncertainty,

Teaching humanoid robotics by means of human teleoperation through RGB-D sensors

This paper presents a graduate course project on humanoid robotics offered by the University of Padova. The target is to safely lift an object by teleoperating a small humanoid. Students have to map human limbs into robot joints, guarantee the robot stability during the motion, and teleoperate the robot to perform the correct movement. We introduce the following innovative aspects with respect to classical robotic classes: i) the use of humanoid robots as teaching tools; ii) the simplification of the stable locomotion problem by exploiting the potential of teleoperation; iii) the adoption of a Project-Based Learning constructivist approach as teaching methodology. The learning objectives of both course and project are introduced and compared with the students\u2019 background. Design and constraints students have to deal with are reported, together with the amount of time they and their instructors dedicated to solve tasks. A set of evaluation results are provided in order to validate the authors\u2019 purpose, including the students\u2019 personal feedback. A discussion about possible future improvements is reported, hoping to encourage further spread of educational robotics in schools at all levels

Aeronautical Engineering: A continuing bibliography (supplement 138)

This bibliography lists 366 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in July 1981

Aeronautical engineering: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 212)

This bibliography lists 493 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in March, 1987

An analysis of computer aided instruction for cognitive-psychomotor development

The problem of this study was to evaluate the relationship between cognition and psychomotor development in a computer based arc welding simulation. A prettest-posttest control group design with two treatment groups and one control was used in the investigation. Forty-five Iowa State University students were selected as subjects and placed into the groups. Data collected from all participants were as follows: (1) demographic information; (2) eye-hand coordination; (3) cognitive pretest and posttest scores. The two treatment groups also provided weld quality scores. Initial training and pretesting was given to all groups in the study. The first treatment group used a microcomputer based arc welder simulation to develop welding motor skills. The second treatment group used an actual arc welder for the skill development. After a demonstration and a period of practice, the two treatment groups were instructed to complete a weld on steel plates. The welds were subsequently judged and scores recorded. Following the welding activity, all three groups received the posttest;The data collected in the study were analyzed and the findings are as follows: (1) A partial correlation showed a relationship between cognitive test performance and psychomotor skill development; (2) an analysis of variance procedure showed no difference between the welding performances of the two treatment groups while, in the weld score multiple regression equation, only posttest score and sex were shown to be valuable predictors of weld score; (3) an analysis of variance showed no difference between means of cognitive test scores of the treatment groups

Aeronautical engineering: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 140

This bibliography lists 386 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in September 1981

Aeronautical Engineering: A continuing bibliography (supplement 158)

This bibliography lists 499 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in January 1983

Aeronautical engineering: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 201)

This bibliography lists 438 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in May 1986