Improving Logistics and Waste Management for Deep Space Human Exploration

NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems Logistics Reduction Project is developing technologies that reduce mission mass and volume for exploration. Recently there has been increasing interest in determining the quantity of consumable logistics and system spares necessary to ensure a certain level of reliability. This is influenced by a technology's criticality and degree of impact to the overall mission. Technologies that directly reduce mass (e.g. longer wear crew clothing) are relatively straightforward for calculating the savings and understanding the mission impacts. Waste management technologies that process waste can reduce mass, but spares and contingency modes are more interwoven with other vehicle systems, so assessment is more complex. This paper considers mission benefits while also considering impacts from hardware failures for technologies including: crew clothing, reusable cargo bags for habitat outfitting, automated RFID cargo tracking, trash processing/storage/repurposing, and high reliability toilets

Going Green: Books that Invite Wonder and Action about Earth’s Endangered Environment

Global warming is a complicated, hot button topic that needs to be explored in today’s classrooms. The following books are reviewed. Grades K-3:Alarcón, Francisco X. (2008). Animal poems of the Iguazu/Animalaria del IguazuGuiberson, Brenda. Z. (2008). Ice bearsWinter, Jeannette. (2008). Wangari’s trees of peace: A true story from AfricaWalsh, Melanie. (2008). 10 things I can do to help my world Grades 4-6:Burns, Loree Griffin. (2007). Tracking trash: Flotsam, jetsam, and the science of ocean motionCherry, Lynne and Braasch, Gary. (2008). How we know what we know about our changing climate: Scientists and kids explore global warmingGore, Al. (2007). An inconvenient truth: The crisis of global warmingHarley, Bill. (2008). Night of the spadefoot toadsTrueman, Terry. (2008). Hurricane Grades 6-9:Bardhan-Quallen, Sudipta. (2008). Up close: Jane GoodallJohnson, Rebecca L. (2008). Investigating climate change: Scientists’ search for answers in a warming worldJordan, Rosa. (2008). The last wild place Grades 9-12:Bertagna, Julie. (2008). ExodusKlass, David. (2008). WhirlwindLaxer, James. (2008). OilOkorafor-Mbachu, Nnedi. (2007). The shadow speaker

Tracking Trash: An Analysis of Marine Debris from the Olympic Coast Clean-up

Washington coast beaches during annual cleanup events. WWU researchers used historical data from 2009-2012 provided by the Washington CoastSavers to establish a baseline for common marine debris trends and compared these baselines with cleanup data obtained from the 2013 CoastSavers cleanup and WWU in-depth assessments of debris removed from four beaches during this 2013 event. Debris from the tsunami, like debris from local sources, can have a significant impact on marine species. Noteworthy harmful effects of certain debris types, including polystyrene on marine biota include ingestion, entanglement, and accumulation along the ocean floor and surface. Debris from the tsunami event can have added impacts as tsunami debris has been suspended in the water for multiple years and can harbor invasive species

A One Health Approach to Marine Health

Background: Climate change, plastics, and overfishing are major threats to marine health. The scientific and public health communities will be front and center in dealing with these threats. A One Health approach, where the integration of various disciplines together promote the protection and preservation of people, animals, and the environment, represents a sound model to address marine health problems. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show how a One Health approach can be applied to marine health in order to protect and preserve marine ecosystems. A literature review was conducted on Google Scholar using the keywords “climate change”, “overfishing” and “plastics,” with inclusion criteria of publication date as 2005-present. Conclusions: A One Health model was formatted based on this review to target the marine threats of climate change, plastic pollution, and overfishing. This One Health model was found to benefit the health of marine individuals, populations, and ecosystems, as well as human health. Establishing One Health teams is an appropriate way to handle the addressed marine threats that require cross-disciplinary skills. Recommendations: The complex threats marine ecosystems face demand international cooperation and cross-disciplinary knowledge. Based on the findings of this review, a One Health approach is strongly recommended to best promote the health of marine life

Geography and computers: Past, present, and future

The discipline of Geography has long been intertwined with the use of computers. This close interaction is likely to increase with the embeddedness of computers and concomitant growth of spatially referenced data. To better understand the current situation, and to be able to better speculate about the future, this article provides two parallel perspectives: first, we offer an historical perspective on the relationship between Geography and computers; second, we document developments—in particular the nascent field of data science—that are currently taking place outside of Geography and to which we argue the discipline should be paying close attention. Combining both perspectives, we identify the benefits of tighter integration between Geography and Data Science and argue for the establishment of a new space—that we term Geographic Data Science—in which cross‐pollination could occur to the benefit of both Geography and the larger data community

IoT Frequency Band Channelization in Indonesia as A Recommendation for Machine-To-Machine Communication Preparation in the 5G Era

This study aims to provide recommendations regarding frequency and channel settings for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication in preparation for the 5G era in Indonesia. In the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT), M2M communication is becoming increasingly important to support efficient and reliable connectivity between IoT devices. In this study, we conduct an in-depth analysis of the available frequency spectrum in Indonesia, considering existing regulatory constraints and technical requirements. The results of this study show that the frequency bands 920-925 MHz and 925-928 MHz suit M2M communication in Indonesia with the suggested channel settings. These recommendations are based on spectrum availability, M2M communication needs, and relevant technical requirements. Implementing these recommendations is expected to increase the efficiency and reliability of M2M communications in Indonesia, facilitate the further development of IoT technology, and prepare Indonesia well to face the 5G era. This study contributes to designing a regulatory framework and optimal spectrum use to support successful M2M communications in Indonesia

A Component Analysis of Low-Cost Interventions to Decrease Cigarette Butt Litter in the Natural Environment

The current study examines the effects of low-cost interventions such as prompts, feedback, and the addition of receptacles on littering behavior of cigarette butts in the natural environment. Two receptacles were placed at each experimental hole, one within twenty feet of the tee box, and a second within twenty feet of the edge of the green. Prompts included (1) a reminder of the location of receptacles, (2) a slogan prompting proper disposal of cigarette butts, and (3) one piece of information regarding consequences of cigarette butt litter. Feedback included a barometer specific to each hole indicating the decrease in cigarette butt litter on each individual experimental hole since baseline. An additive component analysis was used to determine effectiveness of each low-cost intervention. Results from this study expands the literature on cost-effective, low effort, and socially valid interventions tackling litter. In the current study, simply providing receptacles for proper cigarette disposal was deemed the more effective and preferred intervention to decrease cigarette butt litter

Fast Prototyping of the Internet of Things solutions with IBM Bluemix

Fast prototyping for IoT projects has gained attraction in many industries. Today\u27s IT market requires new faster techniques to get business advantages in different industries starting from the energy consumption and retail to the manufacturing, services, and agriculture. Combining sensors and actuators, embedded systems and networks with cloud computing platforms and cognitive services in one project is a very promising approach to address industry needs. Thus, system developers have to be familiar with many design technologies and best practices. At the same time, this approach requires a profound change in the way of interaction between major IoT market actors: suppliers and consumers of cloud platfоrm and services, teams of developers and universities. In this paper, we analyze how to build effectively interaction of major IoT market actors and discuss a platform for such collaboration. We present a collaborative framework for fast prototyping of IoT solutions with different stakeholders participating. The paper demonstrates the results of this approach in the case of interaction between vendor, university, and industry. We consider a number of technological and practical aspects of this collaborative framework using IBM Bluemix cloud platform and IoT templates. We tested this approach in IoT hackathon with a participation of a vendor, local business partners, and industry representatives. Projects developed during this hackathon will be used to illustrate results achieved by applying introduced concept for IoT solutions prototyping

A Fragile Inheritance

In A Fragile Inheritance Saloni Mathur investigates the work of two seminal figures from the global South: the New Delhi-based critic and curator Geeta Kapur and contemporary multimedia artist Vivan Sundaram. Examining their written and visual works over the past fifty years, Mathur illuminates how her protagonists’ political and aesthetic commitments intersect and foreground uncertainty, difficulty, conflict, and contradiction. This book presents new understandings of the culture and politics of decolonization and the role of non-Western aesthetic avant-gardes within the discourses of contemporary art. Through skillful interpretation of Sundaram's and Kapur’s practices, Mathur demonstrates how received notions of mainstream art history may be investigated and subjected to creative redefinition. Her scholarly methodology offers an impassioned model of critical aesthetics and advances a radical understanding of art and politics in our time