Space Shuttle booster thrust imbalance analysis

An analysis of the Shuttle SRM thrust imbalance during the steady-state and tailoff portions of the boost phase of flight are presented. Results from flights STS-1 through STS-13 are included. A statistical analysis of the observed thrust imbalance data is presented. A 3 sigma thrust imbalance history versus time was generated from the observed data and is compared to the vehicle design requirements. The effect on Shuttle thrust imbalance from the use of replacement SRM segments is predicted. Comparisons of observed thrust imbalances with respect to predicted imbalances are presented for the two space shuttle flights which used replacement aft segments (STS-9 and STS-13)

What is the impact of health trainer interventions within a mental health setting?

This paper relates to a single case study that was part of a larger project using a tried and tested evaluation methodology to evaluate the role of health trainers (HTs) working with groups who are considered ‘difficult’ to engage in health care. In this example, the HTs were based in a mental health centre run by a charity. The service was commissioned by a Primary Care Trust (PCT) located in the North East of England. Data collected between April 2010 and July 2011 included quantitative data from 72 service users from the National Data Collection and Reporting System. Additional quantitative data were obtained from the HTs relating to the usage of group activities and a satisfaction questionnaire completed by service users. Qualitative data included interviews with four key stakeholders, a focus group with service users, case studies and progress reports provided as part of the Centre’s annual reporting requirements for the PCT. Findings reveal that more service users aged 26-44 used the service compared with national figures. Partnership working was essential to embed the initiative into the Centre. HT interventions that were flexible, and gave service users options, encouraged mental health promotion. The success of the intervention depended less on what the HT did and more importantly on how they did it

USING REAL OPTIONS TO EVALUATE PRODUCER INVESTMENT IN NEW GENERATION COOPERATIVES

New Generation Cooperatives have emerged as a contemporary means for farmers to invest in further processing activities. This paper considers real options as the basis for evaluating producer investment in a start-up cooperative that involves technological uncertainty. The investment and risk inherent in producer membership in an NGC is analyzed using real options theory logic. Real options theory has recently been extended to technology positioning projects and how the extent of uncertainty influences the value of a technology "option". Conventional net present value formulas have been shown to be limited when the conditions of the investment require substantial commitment under uncertainty, such as investments in technology. Implications for producers are drawn from the analysis. Producers always have the alternative of not investing in the initial start-up but waiting and buying in at a later time, perhaps when less uncertainty prevails. Results indicate that producers are better able to evaluate investment in a NGC using real options.Agribusiness,

Distortion of the Magnetosphere During a Magnetic Storm on 30 September, 1961

Magnetosphere distortion during magnetic storm observed by Explorer XII satellit

Bi-polar phase detector and corrector for split phase PCM data signals Patent

Bipolar phase detector and corrector for split phase PCM data signal

AVIRIS data characteristics and their effects on spectral discrimination of rocks exposed in the Drum Mountains, Utah: Results of a preliminary study

Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data collected over a geologically diverse field site and over a nearby calibration site were analyzed and interpreted in efforts to document radiometric and geometric characteristics of AVIRIS, quantify and correct for detrimental sensor phenomena, and evaluate the utility of AVIRIS data for discriminating rock types and identifying their constituent mineralogy. AVIRIS data acquired for these studies exhibit a variety of detrimental artifacts and have lower signal-to-noise ratios than expected in the longer wavelength bands. Artifacts are both inherent in the image data and introduced during ground processing, but most may be corrected by appropriate processing techniques. Poor signal-to-noise characteristics of this AVIRIS data set limited the usefulness of the data for lithologic discrimination and mineral identification. Various data calibration techniques, based on field-acquired spectral measurements, were applied to the AVIRIS data. Major absorption features of hydroxyl-bearing minerals were resolved in the spectra of the calibrated AVIRIS data, and the presence of hydroxyl-bearing minerals at the corresponding ground locations was confirmed by field data

After Regions: what next for local enterprise partnerships?

Standing out as an oddity in comparison to the convergence of policy across EU nations whereby the merits of regional apparatus – however defined – for administering development support appear to be accepted, the UK Government has abandoned England’s experiment with regionalism. Under the banner of localism, providing the thinnest of masks for swingeing public expenditure cuts, sub-national development activity (encompassing planning, regeneration, infrastructure development, enterprise support and spatial leadership) is in the throes of considerable economic shifts, policy flux and institutional upheaval (Ward & Hardy, 2012). This article attempts to address some of the questions posed in The regional lacuna: a preliminary map of the transition from Regional Development Agencies to Local Economic Partnerships (Pugalis, 2011) and helps to advance some of the points relating to the emerging sub-national development landscape published in recent issues of Regions (e.g. Bailey, 2011). The purpose is to take stock of policy developments underway by means of a post-regional sub-national review in order to outline the future development trajectory of Local Enterprise Partnerships

The 2~μ\mum spectrum of the auroral emission in the polar regions of Jupiter

We report observations of the high (R$\sim$18000) and medium (R$\sim$5900) resolution, near-infrared spectra of Jupiter's polar regions with the GNIRS instrument at the Gemini North telescope. The observations correspond to the area of main auroral oval in the South and the main spot of the Io footprint in the North. We detected and assigned 18 emission lines of the H$_{3}^{+}$, 2$\nu_{2}\rightarrow 0$ overtone band in the region from 4800 to 4980 cm$^{-1}$ and 5 additional lines in the extended low-resolution spectrum. We use our new modelling scheme, ATMOF to remove telluric absorption bands of CO$_2$ that feature strongly in the 2 $\mu$m region. The H${_2}$ 1-0 S(1), S(2) and S(3) emission lines are also detected in the observed spectral region. We found the rotational temperature and column density of H$_{3}^{+}$ emission at the peak intensity for both northern and southern auroral regions to be the same within the measurement errors (T$_{rot} \sim950$K and N(H$_{3}^{+}$) $\sim$ 4.5$\times10^{16}$m$^{-2}$). The estimates of T$_{rot}$ from H$_{2}$ are consistent within much higher uncertainties with temperatures derived from H$_{3}^{+}$ emissions. We derived the profiles of the H$_{3}^{+}$ emissivity and ion density for both auroral regions providing the first such measurement for the emission associated with the main spot of the Io footprint. We also found a number of weaker lines in the high-resolution spectra that could be associated with emission from high excitation levels in neutral iron, which could be deposited in Jupiter's atmosphere as a result of meteor ablation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Icaru

Relaxation Mechanism for Ordered Magnetic Materials

We have formulated a relaxation mechanism for ferrites and ferromagnetic metals whereby the coupling between the magnetic motion and lattice is based purely on continuum arguments concerning magnetostriction. This theoretical approach contrasts with previous mechanisms based on microscopic formulations of spin-phonon interactions employing a discrete lattice. Our model explains for the first time the scaling of the intrinsic FMR linewidth with frequency, and 1/M temperature dependence and the anisotropic nature of magnetic relaxation in ordered magnetic materials, where M is the magnetization. Without introducing adjustable parameters our model is in reasonable quantitative agreement with experimental measurements of the intrinsic magnetic resonance linewidths of important class of ordered magnetic materials, insulator or metals

Electronic compensation for reflector surface distortion to improve radiation pattern characteristics of antennas

A simple procedure is described for determining the excitation coefficients of an array feed which compensates for the surface distortion of a reflector antenna to improve the radiation pattern in such a way as to approximate the performance of the undistorted antenna. A computer simulation for a practical feed array is presented as an example of compensation for the distortion of an actual antenna