Design guidelines for remotely maintainable equipment

The quantity and complexity of on-orbit assets will increase significantly over the next decade. Maintaining and servicing these costly assets represent a difficult challenge. Three general methods are proposed to maintain equipment while it is still in orbit: an extravehicular activity (EVA) crew can perform the task in an unpressurized maintenance area outside any space vehicle; an intravehicular activity (IVA) crew can perform the maintenance in a shirt sleeve environment, perhaps at a special maintenance work station in a space vehicle; or a telerobotic manipulator can perform the maintenance in an unpressurized maintenance area at a distance from the crew (who may be EVA, IVA, or on the ground). However, crew EVA may not always be possible; the crew may have other demands on their time that take precedence. In addition, the orbit of the tasks themselves may be impossible for crew entry. Also crew IVA may not always be possible as option for equipment maintenance. For example, the equipment may be too large to fit through the vehicle airlock. Therefore, in some circumstances, the third option, telerobotic manipulation, may be the only feasible option. Telerobotic manipulation has, therefore, an important role for on-orbit maintenance. It is not only used for the reasons outlined above, but also used in some cases as backup to the EVA crew in an orbit that they can reach

Understanding Clergy Resilience: A Mixed Methods Research Study

There is limited literature on the current nature of clergy resilience, the specific variables that enable clergy to positively adapt to adversity, and the aspects of pre-service training and professional development that best foster clergy resilience. Clergy face adversity similar to other human service providers as well as other adversity that is unique to the profession. Burnout is a significant concern for the clergy profession, those they serve, and their families. It decreases ministry effectiveness, lowers the sense of personal accomplishment in their role, and negatively impacts the quality of family life and family relationships. Since clergy are at risk of experiencing the negative impacts of role-related stress and adversity, especially burnout, knowledge of the nature and state of clergy resilience may provide valuable intelligence to mitigate these impacts. The positive psychology perspective of resilience research seeks to understand positive adaptation to adversity rather than its negative outcomes. This study approached resilience from a holistic, systemic perspective using the strength-focused philosophy of positive psychology. This study used an operational definition of resilience as a developmental process that arises from a combination of individual, relational, and contextual variables, including cognitive appraisal, and results in positive adaptation to adversity and stress (Fletcher & Sarka, 2011; Gu & Day, 2007; Masten, 2001; Windle, 2011). The purpose of this study was to explore Christian clergy perceptions of variables that impact the development of professional resilience in their roles. This study involved a holistic investigation of variables that clergy perceive as impacting their professional resilience, including adversity, individual, relational, contextual, and organizational variables. This study also considered how pre-service training and professional development could support clergy resilience. This study used a mix-methods convergent exploratory design, began with an online survey that collected data from 519 clerics across Canada. The survey consisted of closed-ended scale questions analyzed through SPSS, and open-ended questions, which were analyzed through thematic coding, using NVivo 12. Simultaneously, as the survey, 13 one-on-one interviews were conducted with clerics using a semi-structured interview guide with questions related to adversity, variables that support clergy resilience, and helpful and desired initiatives. Interview data were analyzed through thematic coding, using NVivo 12. Following the initial analysis of the survey and interview data, findings were presented to interpretation panels to add interpretative data. Interpretational panel data was also analyzed through thematic coding, using NVivo. This study's findings provided valuable insights into the development of clergy resilience for individual clerics, educational institutions, denominations, and congregations. Through the survey scales, the current nature of resilience and well-being appeared to be good. Several areas showed some strength, including high resiliency trait, a good level of grit, and participant satisfaction with their health and wellness. Congregational flourishing, age, distance from personal supports, and mentors all had statistical connection to scale responses. Clergy participants reported adversity variables that are challenging in their role or to their resilience, categorized in the themes of workload, expectations, isolation, and personal challenges. Clergy also reported variables that support their resilience, categorized in the themes of spiritual life, relational supports, personal aspects, and organizational practices. Spiritual dimensions were very prominent for clergy, especially the centrality of calling to ministry, theological meaning-making, and relationship with God. Participants reported helpful aspects of pre-service training and professional development. Aspects of pre-service training included rigorous discernment and screening of calling and the inclusion of required practices, such as spiritual direction or mentorship. Aspects of professional development included a variety of skill development opportunities, lifelong learning, and conferences and networking with peers. Participants also reported desired initiatives which included more wellness opportunities and increased organizational prioritization of clergy wellness. The Clergy Resilience Model was developed from these findings as a tool that may help clergy resilience both on an individual and systemic level by creating awareness of critical factors. This study is unique in its focus on Canadian Christian clergy, and while some of the findings may have value to clergy in other contexts, the findings should be generalized with caution

To Your Room Give That Personal Touch

In an incentive to newcomers, Margaret Ann Clarke, suggests room tricks already playe

Manipulator arm design for the Extravehicular Teleoperator Assist Robot (ETAR): Applications on the space station

The preliminary conceptual design of a new teleoperator robot manipulator system for space station maintenance missions has been completed. The system consists of a unique pair of arms that is part of a master-slave, force-reflecting servomanipulator. This design allows greater dexterity and greater volume coverage than that available in current designs and concepts. The teleoperator manipulator is specifically designed for space applications and is a valuable extension of the current state-of-the-art earthbound manipulators marketed today. The manipulator and its potential application on the space station are described

Portuguese Nouns and Their Plurals Checklist

Nouns in Portuguese take different forms in the singular (one) and the plural (more than one). In the majority of cases the formation of the plural is based on the singular form, with a change in ending. In the great majority of cases these changes are based on certain rules, which are summarised in this document for easy reference

Assessment of Pain in adults with cognitive impairment : a review of the tools

The aim of this paper is to discuss the results of a review into the literature related to chronic pain and the older adult. Several themes within the review have been identified and reported elsewhere and the final report has been published by the University of Sheffield in the form of an annotated bibliography. This report focuses upon the findings of the in relation to the assessment of pain in the adult with cognitive impairment. Issues surrounding assessment in the non-cognitively impaired older adult have also been reported elsewhere. For this paper nine studies will be discussed which report the development and testing of pain assessment scales the focus of which is upon behavioural indicators of pain. Some scales have been omitted from the review and the rationale for this decision will be discussed. Each of the selected scales will be discussed and the authors will make recommendations for both clinical practice and for future research based upon the validity, reliability and user friendliness of the scales. From the paper it can be concluded that the Abbey, DOLOPLUS-2 and PACSLAC appear to be the most reliable and valid and in terms of the “user friendliness” would be appropriate to explore further. Recommendations are made for further multi-centre evaluation of these scales.University of Sheffiel

Assessment of pain in older people : where are we now and what needs to be done?

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a review of the literature into pain and older people. The funded study was part of the development of an annotated bibliography published in August 2005. The review included all major databases and involved the collection of 214 papers between the dates of 1995 and 2005. The papers were divided into several major themes, which include experiences, management (pharmacological and non-pharmacological), assessment, and attitudes. Within this paper, the results of the review into pain assessment will be discussed, which includes 42 of the collected papers. The other sections will be published later. The paper will discuss issues pertaining to the development of specific tools for older people, a discussion of tools already available, comparisons of staff versus older people’s perceptions of pain scales, and articles with cognitive impairment as a focus. Recommendations for further study are made.University of Sheffiel

Paper Session II-B - Sensor Data Display For Telerobotic Systems

Future earth orbiting, lunar and planetary missions will require the performance of tasks that are beyond human capability or are in an environment where human entry would be too costly or too hostile. These tasks will be candidates for performance by telerobotic systems whereby an electro-mechanical manipulator device performs the task in the remote hostile environment and the operator controlling or supervising the task remains at a work station in a safe location. Efficient operator participation in a telerobotic task occurs only when operators experience telepresence , that is they feel that they are present at the remote site in making the various decisions to control the task. Telepresence is therefore enhanced by presenting to operators the various inputs, for example visual, tactile, and force/torque information, that they would receive if they were actually present at the remote site. This paper addresses the problem of enhancing telepresence by displaying telerobotic sensor information to operators at their work stations. The paper is divided into four sections. First, a discussion is presented on some of the problems of displaying data from remote tasks. Second, an effort at Rockwell International to identify requirements for operator friendly display of data from telerobotic sensors, i£ described. Third, work performed at Rockwell s Robotic Facility is addressed. This work involves the integration of various sensors on a telerobotic device, and the design and implementation of operator friendly data display which adheres to the guidelines described above. Lastly, our future research plans and objectives in this area are discussed

'Mediterranean' dietary pattern for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease

It is well established that diet plays a major role in cardiovascular disease risk. The traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern is of particular interest because of observations from the 1960s that populations in countries of the Mediterranean region, such as Greece and Italy, had lower mortality from cardiovascular disease compared with northern European populations or the US, probably as a result of different eating habits. This review assessed the effects of providing dietary advice to follow a Mediterranean-style dietary pattern to healthy adults or people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease in order to prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular disease and reduce the risk factors associated with it. Definitions of a Mediterranean dietary pattern vary and we included only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions that reported at least two of the following components: (1) high monounsaturated/saturated fat ratio, (2) low to moderate red wine consumption, (3) high consumption of legumes, (4) high consumption of grains and cereals, (5) high consumption of fruits and vegetables, (6) low consumption of meat and meat products and increased consumption of fish, and (7) moderate consumption of milk and dairy products. The control group was no intervention or minimal intervention. We found 11 RCTs (15 papers) that met these criteria. The trials varied enormously in the participants recruited and the different dietary interventions. Four trials were conducted in women only, two trials were in men only and the remaining five were in both men and women. Five trials were conducted in healthy individuals and six trials were in people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease or cancer. The number of components relevant to a Mediterranean dietary pattern ranged from two to five and only seven trials described the intervention as a Mediterranean diet. The largest trial, which recruited only postmenopausal women and was not described as a Mediterranean diet meeting only two of the criteria described above, reported no difference in the occurrence of cardiovascular disease between the dietary advice group and the control group. The other trials measured risk factors for cardiovascular disease. As the studies were so different, it was not possible to combine studies for most of the outcomes. Where it was possible to combine studies, we found small reductions in total cholesterol levels as well as in the harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations. The reductions in total cholesterol were greater in the studies that described themselves as providing a Mediterranean diet. None of the trials reported side effects. The review concludes that, from the limited evidence to date, a Mediterranean dietary pattern reduces some cardiovascular risk factors. However, more trials are needed to look at the effects of the different participants recruited and the different dietary interventions to see which interventions might work best in different populations