User interface devices for mission control

The Mission Control Center (MCC) at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, is being upgraded with new technology engineering/scientific workstations. These workstations will replace the existing consoles and will emulate the present hardware input and display media. The workstations will be using new and different input devices for the flight controller to interact with the workstation and mainframes. This paper presents the results of the User Interface survey conducted by the Workstation Prototype Lab (WPL). The WPL offered the opportunity for users to do hands-on evaluations of a number of user interface options prototyped by lab personnel

On identities in the products of group varieties

Let ${\cal B}_n$ be the variety of groups satisfying the law $x^n=1$. It is proved that for every sufficiently large prime $p$, say $p>10^{10}$, the product ${\cal B}_p{\cal B}_p$ cannot be defined by a finite set of identities. This solves the problem formulated by C.K. Gupta and A.N. Krasilnikov in 2003. We also find the axiomatic and the basis ranks of the variety ${\cal B}_p{\cal B}_p$. For this goal, we improve the estimate for the basis rank of the product of group varieties obtained by G. Baumslag, B.H. Neumann, H. Neumann and P.M. Neumann long ago.Comment: 9 page

Insight for Teacher Preparation Program Administrators: Enhancing Pre-service Educators\u27 lntercultural Sensitivity and Deep Proficiency in Culturally Responsive Teaching through Short-Term Study Abroad

Teacher preparation program administrators face the issue of expanding curricula to prepare teacher candidates for the diverse population of students they will encounter {Trent, Kea, Oh, 2008). Globalization demands that teacher candidates grasp how to function in a more integrated and interdependent society (McGrew, 2005). According to Smith-Davis (2004) students from non-English speaking countries compose the fastest growing United States K-12 student population, and those identified as limited English proficient were over 10 million in 2004. The United States Census reported in the New Census Bureau Report the number of individuals five and older who speak languages other than English at home more than doubled in the past three decades (2010). If teacher preparation program leaders fail to prepare future educators with the dispositions, knowledge, and skills necessary to meet the needs of the nation\u27s school population, the national security and economic development may be hindered, and the position of the United States in the world community may be challenged (Zanh, 2011)

Switching Circuit for a Permanent Magnet DC Motor

The project is a circuit that will basically supply current from the battery to the different stator coils at opportune moments. With a hall-effect sensor on the shaft as a feedback to a microcontroller, I was able to toggle switches based on the position of the shaft at the moments where we would be using as little power as possible. The operation of the control circuit works similar to a stepper motor; it takes a signal from the microcontroller that is sent to some FET drivers, which in turn sends signals to the FETs to open or close as the shaft is rotating. Since the stator coils are set at a certain angle apart from each other, it was an advantage to know where the starting point was, and extrapolate where every other magnet was with respect to the coils by putting the hall-effect sensor in line with one set of permanent magnets. This way, current was only sent to the stator coils when it was necessary to turn the motor. The idea was that we could conserve power by drawing from the battery less often, but made little progress in the final testing stages in conjunction with the motor. We ran into many problems with the inductor coils on the stator due to a communication error, so the core for the inductors needed to be completely redesigned

PSYCHOLOGY: Hot or Not? I’m masking you.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to multiple societal and behavioral changes, including the addition of mask wearing. This material covers the face from the bridge of the nose to the base of the chin, which limits the availability of facial cues that are often used in social interactions (Gori et al. 2021). Research has demonstrated cognitive recognition challenges, with mask wearing decreasing facial recognition abilities (Freud et al. 2020). Similarly, mask wearing has been associated with decreased ability to perceive facial emotions (Ziccardi et al. 2021). When information is missing, humans tend to try to “fill in the blank” to make sense of the information presented (Smith et al. 2010), which may potentially inject biases in that processed information. The current study examines mask wearing in relation to facial recognition, facial symmetry, and perceived attractiveness. A novel task involved recognition and attractiveness ratings of masked to unmasked faces. Participants were individually presented 30 photos of natural (non-altered) and symmetric (altered) faces, adorned with digital lower-face masks. Subsequently, participants were tasked to recognize the previously-seen masked face in a forced-choice paradigm presenting natural and symmetrically-altered permutations of the same face. Participants are also asked to rate the chosen face’s attractiveness. Data collection for the study is ongoing, with expected results to reveal higher attractiveness ratings for symmetric faces, both masked and unmasked. It is also expected to uncover higher attractiveness rating for unmasked symmetrical faces compared to masked asymmetrical faces. Results may aid in better understanding how faces understood and how missing information is extrapolated