Salesperson Communication Style: The Neglected Dimension in Sales Performance

This article reports two studies which investigated the relationship between communication style variables and sales performance. Norton\u27s (1978) communication style construct was used as a guiding framework. Study 1 examined 74 real estate agents\u27 self-reports of communication style, performance and the general sales practices they used. The precise dimension of communication style was found to be strongly associated with effective sales performance in a real estate organization. Study 2 experimentally tested whether different combinations of the precise and friendly sub-constructs affect sales performance. Four groups of students viewed videotapes of a sales interaction and the experimental findings confirmed those obtained in the field study

Applications of Genetic Algorithms in Mission Design

Genetic algorithms (GAs) have been showed to match the requirements of optimization problems in mission design. The paper presents the approach pursued at Universita' di Roma "La Sapienza" in order to solve, by means of GAs, two different kinds of problems typical to Astrodynamics. First, the design of a constellation devoted to zonal coverage on a non-continuous time basis has been faced. GAs-specific unneeded request of the derivatives of the cost function is especially advantageous in this problem, faced as a discrete optimization one. Second, the application of GAs to identify optimal solutions to transfer between different altitudes, circular to eccentric terrestrial orbits and to the orbit acquisition since the release from the launcher in parking orbit has been carried on. The possibility to provide an efficient tool for the low-thrust techniques, requiring a detailed and therefore computation expensive analysis is the reason to prefer GAs in the latter case. While all these applications, primarily intended to test the validity of the approach, are aimed to keep as simple as possible the technique, several issues and findings deemed to be of general validity when using GAs are highlighted. More important, GAs confirm once more the interest they recently received in literature as far as it concerns Astrodynamics applications

MISSION ANALYSIS AND ORBIT CONTROL STRATEGY FOR A SPACE MISSION ON A POLAR TUNDRA ORBIT

In this paper a Polar Tundra Orbit is investigated for a space mission aiming at improving weather monitoring and forecasting on the North Pole and Canada. Specific requirements are given in terms of satellite operation lifetime, satellite-bus class, desired coverage of particular latitudes and observation sensor aperture. Orbit design is performed so to identify the set of orbital parameters which satisfy the requirements and, at the same time, limit the propellant consumption required for station keeping manoeuvres. Orbit design effectiveness is investigated by means of numerical simulations and comparison with a traditional Tundra orbit. It is also showed that with a particular selection of the initial values of the perigee argument and of the right ascension of the ascending node it is possible to limit the orbit correction to in-plane manoeuvres with a reduced propellant consumption

Interferometric Missions: Applications within ASI Space Programs

The Italian Space Agency (ASI), together with Ministry of Defence (I-AD), is involved in the realization of the COSMO-Skymed program that foresees the deployment of a constellation of 4 SAR satellites in Low Earth Orbit, dedicated to the management, control and exploitation of Earth resources for civilian and defence applications. ASI is responsible for the definition, implementation and management of the Program, while Alcatel Alenia Space Italia is the Prime Contractor responsible for the design, development and verification of the entire system. The nominal phasing of the satellites on the orbit plane has been selected in order to achieve the optimisation of the performance in terms of accessibility and revisit time w.r.t. the number of satellites. Moreover COSMO-SkyMed system is able to perform interferometric acquisitions, which yield three dimensional images and/or provide various information on land conformation change, subsidence, land-slides and so on. Then, periodically, one of the four satellites will be moved to a fixed distance with respect to another for reaching the interferometric configuration. In order to increase the operating capacity of the COSMO-Skymed system, ASI intends to start the definition of a complementary civilian program with the purpose of covering bi-static and across-track/along-across interferometry applications. Such a mission will be referred as “SABRINA”, acronym of “System for Advanced Bistatic and Radar INterferometry Applications”, based on the use of a “passive” satellite (“BISSAT”, acronym for “Bistatic and Interferometric SAR SATellite”). This satellite will fly in formation with COSMO-Skymed and then a suitable strategy shall be determined for reaching and maintaining the interferometric configuration. The paper will describe the manoeuvre strategies necessary for reaching the interferometric configuration, both for COSMO-Skymed and for BISSAT. Such strategies have been defined taking into account all the constraints coming from the satellite (Δv size, minimum interval time between two consecutive manoeuvres, propulsion S/S performance, AOC requirements). After the description of the manoeuvres requested for achieving the interferometric configurations foreseen for COSMO-Skymed (tandem and “tandem-like”), the paper will focus on the configuration requested for the BISSAT satellite for flying in formation with a single COSMO-SkyMed satellite. Two formation configurations will be selected: pendulum or cartwheel. The mission will carry out interferometric acquisitions in the following configurations: 1. Across track interferometry 2. Along track interferometry The mission will carry out bistatic acquisition multi-angle and multi-polarization with a baseline variable in the range 100-500 km

Collision Avoidance Activities for COSMO-SkyMed Constellation

COSMO-SkyMed (COnstellation of Satellites for Mediterranean basin Observation) is an Earth Observation space program funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and Ministry of Defence and managed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in conjunction with Italian MoD. COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) consists of a constellation of four Low Earth Orbit mid-sized satellites, each carrying a multi-mode, high resolution, electronically steerable Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instrument operating at X-band and a full featured Ground Segment to properly exploit space capabilities. CSK System is fully qualified and now in operative phase. This paper describes the characteristics and functionalities of COSMO-SkyMed collision avoidance system, highlighting its versatility and effectiveness for constellation in flight operations. Moreover, the application of the COSMO-SkyMed risk mitigation daily procedure during two year of operations is described

Wearable sensors in sports for persons with disability: A systematic review

The interest and competitiveness in sports for persons with disabilities has increased significantly in the recent years, creating a demand for technological tools supporting practice. Wearable sensors offer non-invasive, portable and overall convenient ways to monitor sports practice. This systematic review aims at providing current evidence on the application of wearable sensors in sports for persons with disability. A search for articles published in English before May 2020 was performed on Scopus, Web-Of-Science, PubMed and EBSCO databases, searching titles, abstracts and keywords with a search string involving terms regarding wearable sensors, sports and disability. After full paper screening, 39 studies were included. Inertial and EMG sensors were the most commonly adopted wearable technologies, while wheelchair sports were the most investigated. Four main target applications of wearable sensors relevant to sports for people with disability were identified and discussed: athlete classification, injury prevention, performance characterization for training optimization and equipment customization. The collected evidence provides an overview on the application of wearable sensors in sports for persons with disability, providing useful indication for researchers, coaches and trainers. Several gaps in the different target applications are highlighted altogether with recommendation on future directions

Risk Mitigation Activities for Potential Collision Avoidance Events for COSMO-SkyMed Constellation In-Flight Operations

COSMO-SkyMed (COnstellation of Satellites for Mediterranean basin Observation) is an Earth Observation space program funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and Ministry of Defence (It-MoD) and managed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in conjunction with Italian MoD. COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) consists of a constellation of four Low Earth Orbit mid-sized satellites, each carrying a multi-mode, high resolution, electronically steerable Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instrument operating at Xband and a full featured Ground Segment to properly exploit space capabilities. CSK System is fully qualified and now in operative phase. The aim of this paper is to describe the characteristics and functionalities of COSMO-SkyMed collision avoidance system, highlighting its versatility and effectiveness for constellation in flight operations. Moreover, it outlines the operational activities performed at ground segment level in order to mitigate the risk arising from potential collision avoidance events. Finally, it includes the description of some real cases of management of collision avoidance events, occurred during several years of satellites in flight operations