Test, Control and Monitor System (TCMS) operations plan

The purpose is to provide a clear understanding of the Test, Control and Monitor System (TCMS) operating environment and to describe the method of operations for TCMS. TCMS is a complex and sophisticated checkout system focused on support of the Space Station Freedom Program (SSFP) and related activities. An understanding of the TCMS operating environment is provided and operational responsibilities are defined. NASA and the Payload Ground Operations Contractor (PGOC) will use it as a guide to manage the operation of the TCMS computer systems and associated networks and workstations. All TCMS operational functions are examined. Other plans and detailed operating procedures relating to an individual operational function are referenced within this plan. This plan augments existing Technical Support Management Directives (TSMD's), Standard Practices, and other management documentation which will be followed where applicable

‘Maturing Out’ as dilemmatic: Transitions towards relatively light drinking practices among UK University students

Objectives University students in the UK engage in relatively high alcohol consumption levels, yet young adults, including students, now drink less than previously and abstain more. Against this cultural backdrop, our objective was to further understanding of ‘maturing out’ of excessive drinking practices among students by focusing on drinking transitions that had taken place during university years. Design A qualitative interview study. Methods Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with ten 18‐ to 27‐year‐old UK undergraduate university students who self‐identified as light or non‐drinkers. Interviews were audio‐recorded, and anonymized interview transcripts were subjected to an experience‐focused application of thematic analysis. Results Participants reported dilemmas involved in transitions from relatively high to low levels of alcohol consumption. One dilemma was characterized by managing to drink less (or nothing) without cutting off social options with university friends/peers. A second dilemma concerned not wishing to fully abandon the pleasures and increased social confidence that alcohol consumption could afford. Results also demonstrated that self‐reported drinking could contradict participants’ self‐defined ‘light drinker’ status. Conclusions This study reinforces the view that ‘maturing out’ involves more than simply having gained new responsibilities during young adulthood. Recognition of these dilemmatic features of drinking transitions could be drawn on in novel campus‐based interventions. Such interventions may help strengthen realistic and sustainable moderate drinking by guiding students to anticipate potential difficulties involved in planned reductions in personal drinking but may also help foster students’ ability to view drinking choices as in transition rather than as permanent and enduring

Enamel thickness in South African australopithecines: noninvasive evaluation by computed tomography

Until recently, it has not been possible to systematically study enamel thickness in fossil hominids except by physically sectioning the teeth. Because sectioning studies destroy original specimens, sample sizes will always be low. For this reason, anthropologists have had to devise other methods for acquiring these data such as by measuring enamel in naturally fractured teeth or where it is exposed in worn teeth. It is clearly important to develop and apply non-invasive techniques to augment and expand the data base of early hominid enamel thickness. This is a first attempt to provide such data for a sample of South African australopithecines by utilizing high-resolution computed tomography (CT). This study is based on over 130 CT scans taken at 1 mm slice thickness on a sample of 22 original Australopithecus africanus and A. robustus lower molars from Sterkfontein, Kromdraai, Makapansgat, Swartkrans and Taung. Mean values of absolute and relative enamel thickness between A. africanus and A. robustus are significantly different, confirming that robust australopithecines have thicker enamel than their gracile counterparts. CT sections were taken in the buccolingual plane through the mesial cusps (protoconid, metaconid). While the mean value of enamel thickness at the buccal cusp (protoconid) is greater in A. robustus than in A. africanus, the difference is not statistically significant. The difference in enamel thickness at the lingual cusp (metaconid) is statistically significant, however. This study represents an important, albeit preliminary, first step in establishing a methodology for the non-invasive evaluation of enamel thickness in fossil hominids by computed tomography. It demonstrates the viability of the technique and the type of problem oriented approach that can be tackled using computed tomography in modem anthropological research. Measurements derived from CT cannot, of course, be expected to have the same degree of precision as those taken directly from sectioned teeth; nevertheless, important insights into the functional morphology of early hominid teeth are still easily decipherable from the CT data. Given that the alternative to CT is the physical destruction of original hominid fossils, the slight loss in mensurational accuracy seems well worth the price.National Science Foundatio

Emotional Geographies: Head, Heart, Time, and Place

This paper is modelled on a study and paper by Kamila Klingorová and Banu Gökarıksel which used auto-photography to examine examined emotional geographies. The author takes the position of an independent participant by selecting and describing photos of seemingly non-descript places and then offering reflections on reasons why these photos elicited strong emotions

The Search for Worth: How Relationship Conflicts Reveal the Universal Nature of Insecurity

Since the beginning of time, romantic relationships and their dynamics have taken center stage in media--whether in books, plays, or other forms of literature. In this essay, a comparison of couples\u27 relationships in James Joyce\u27s The Dead and Marina Carr\u27s play The Mai reveals the core human element of insecurity, prevalent in moments of marital conflict