Naval applications of a TAE-derived executive

Global Imaging introduced an interactive image processing system in 1985, featuring the Global Applications Executive (GAE) which is a modified Transportable Applications Executive (TAE) environment. The executive plus a large variety of image processing functions, known commercially as the System 9000, are designed to operate on the Hewlett-Packard as its standard desktop computer (NSDTC), the System 9000 has found easy acceptance for Naval image processing applications. The Department of Oceanography at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, has installed an NSDTC with an image processing upgrade. This interactive digital image processing workstation is used by the midshipmen and staff for training and research in remote sensing oceanography. The turn-key system provides the capability to process imagery from commonly used Earth observation spacecraft, in conjunction with in situ data sets. The Acoustic Group at the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. has acquired its first System 9000 to interactively process ocean acoustic data gathered by shipboard sensors. Finally, the Naval Oceanographic Facility in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi has acquired a System 9000 to provide a second generation Tactical Environmental Support System (TESS 2) prototype with image processing capabilities. This will permit merging of conventional data with polar orbiting spacecraft imagery. A brief description of these applications and the TAE-derived system is presented

R. Crumb’s The Book of Genesis Illustrated: Biblical Narrative and the Impact of Illustration

An artist known for his sexually charged, grotesque art joins with the sacred text of the Bible’s Genesis in R. Crumb’s The Book of Genesis Illustrated. An academic approach to the graphic novel recognizes the depth of meaning the art develops through the story. The intriguing facial expressions within Crumb’s book call into question the motives of the active participants within the narrative of Noah and the infamous floating zoo. Deviant from a Christian view of the Bible, Crumb disputes the honor of Scripture and perpetuates his typical social satire though he uses a biblical text. Reflecting upon a traditional Christian understanding, Crumb’s audience reflect upon rounded, emotional characters who balance between an experience of God’s justice and His grace

Improving Control in a Joule-Thomson Refrigerator

A report discusses a modified design of a Joule-Thomson (JT) refrigerator under development to be incorporated into scientific instrumentation aboard a spacecraft. In most other JT refrigerators (including common household refrigerators), the temperature of the evaporator (the cold stage) is kept within a desired narrow range by turning a compressor on and off as needed. This mode of control is inadequate for the present refrigerator because a JT-refrigerator compressor performs poorly when the flow from its evaporator varies substantially, and this refrigerator is required to maintain adequate cooling power. The proposed design modifications include changes in the arrangement of heat exchangers, addition of a clamp that would afford a controlled heat leak from a warmer to a cooler stage to smooth out temperature fluctuations in the cooler stage, and incorporation of a proportional + integral + derivative (PID) control system that would regulate the heat leak to maintain the temperature of the evaporator within a desired narrow range while keeping the amount of liquid in the evaporator within a very narrow range in order to optimize the performance of the compressor. Novelty lies in combining the temperature- and cooling-power-regulating controls into a single control system

Use of Focus Groups in Survey Item Development

Focus groups are rapidly gaining popularity as a field research tool. This technique can be particularly effective in survey item development, as illustrated here via development of the Volunteer Work Behaviors Questionnaire. The steps involved in this process, ranging from item generation to finalizing logistics, are outlined. Implications for further research are proposed

Fault-Tolerant, Multiple-Zone Temperature Control

A computer program has been written as an essential part of an electronic temperature control system for a spaceborne instrument that contains several zones. The system was developed because the temperature and the rate of change of temperature in each zone are required to be maintained to within limits that amount to degrees of precision thought to be unattainable by use of simple bimetallic thermostats. The software collects temperature readings from six platinum resistance thermometers, calculates temperature errors from the readings, and implements a proportional + integral + derivative (PID) control algorithm that adjusts heater power levels. The software accepts, via a serial port, commands to change its operational parameters. The software attempts to detect and mitigate a host of potential faults. It is robust to many kinds of faults in that it can maintain PID control in the presence of those faults

Syrian Refugees and the Digital Passage to Europe: Smartphone Infrastructures and Affordances

This research examines the role of smartphones in refugees’ journeys. It traces the risks and possibilities afforded by smartphones for facilitating information, communication, and migration flows in the digital passage to Europe. For the Syrian and Iraqi refugee respondents in this France-based qualitative study, smartphones are lifelines, as important as water and food. They afford the planning, navigation, and documentation of journeys, enabling regular contact with family, friends, smugglers, and those who help them. However, refugees are simultaneously exposed to new forms of exploitation and surveillance with smartphones as migrations are financialised by smugglers and criminalized by European policies, and the digital passage is dependent on a contingent range of sociotechnical and material assemblages. Through an infrastructural lens, we capture the dialectical dynamics of opportunity and vulnerability, and the forms of resilience and solidarity, that arise as forced migration and digital connectivity coincide

Evaluating a Modular Decision Support Application For Colorectal Cancer Screening

BACKGROUND: There is a need for health information technology evaluation that goes beyond randomized controlled trials to include consideration of usability, cognition, feedback from representative users, and impact on efficiency, data quality, and clinical workflow. This article presents an evaluation illustrating one approach to this need using the Decision-Centered Design framework. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, through a Decision-Centered Design framework, the ability of the Screening and Surveillance App to support primary care clinicians in tracking and managing colorectal cancer testing. METHODS: We leveraged two evaluation formats, online and in-person, to obtain feedback from a range primary care clinicians and obtain comparative data. Both the online and in-person evaluations used mock patient data to simulate challenging patient scenarios. Primary care clinicians responded to a series of colorectal cancer-related questions about each patient and made recommendations for screening. We collected data on performance, perceived workload, and usability. Key elements of Decision-Centered Design include evaluation in the context of realistic, challenging scenarios and measures designed to explore impact on cognitive performance. RESULTS: Comparison of means revealed increases in accuracy, efficiency, and usability and decreases in perceived mental effort and workload when using the Screening and Surveillance App. CONCLUSION: The results speak to the benefits of using the Decision-Centered Design approach in the analysis, design, and evaluation of Health Information Technology. Furthermore, the Screening and Surveillance App shows promise for filling decision support gaps in current electronic health records

The Need to Teach Civility in ECE Classrooms

Methods for the teaching of civility to teacher education candidates—the why, what and how—are premised on the current societal need to emphasize altruistic behaviors. Survey results from 120 teacher candidates and 120 clinical supervisors within an eight- county Georgia area will be exhibited along with research literature reviews, lesson plans, and pre- and post-test data analyses