Simpler ISS Flight Control Communications and Log Keeping via Social Tools and Techniques

The heart of flight operations control involves a) communicating effectively in real time with other controllers in the room and/or in remote locations and b) tracking significant events, decisions, and rationale to support the next set of decisions, provide a thorough shift handover, and troubleshoot/improve operations. International Space Station (ISS) flight controllers speak with each other via multiple voice circuits or loops, each with a particular purpose and constituency. Controllers monitor and/or respond to several loops concurrently. The primary tracking tools are console logs, typically kept by a single operator and not visible to others in real-time. Information from telemetry, commanding, and planning systems also plays into decision-making. Email is very secondary/tertiary due to timing and archival considerations. Voice communications and log entries supporting ISS operations have increased by orders of magnitude because the number of control centers, flight crew, and payload operations have grown. This paper explores three developmental ground system concepts under development at Johnson Space Center s (JSC) Mission Control Center Houston (MCC-H) and Marshall Space Flight Center s (MSFC) Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC). These concepts could reduce ISS control center voice traffic and console logging yet increase the efficiency and effectiveness of both. The goal of this paper is to kindle further discussion, exploration, and tool development

Pynchon og tresserne

David Cowart: Pynchon og tressern

SpaceOps 2012 Plus 2: Social Tools to Simplify ISS Flight Control Communications and Log Keeping

A paper written for the SpaceOps 2012 Conference (Simplify ISS Flight Control Communications and Log Keeping via Social Tools and Techniques) identified three innovative concepts for real time flight control communications tools based on social mechanisms: a) Console Log Tool (CoLT) - A log keeping application at Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) that provides "anywhere" access, comment and notifications features similar to those found in Social Networking Systems (SNS), b) Cross-Log Communication via Social Techniques - A concept from Johnsson Space Center's (JSC) Mission Control Center Houston (MCC-H) that would use microblogging's @tag and #tag protocols to make information/requests visible and/or discoverable in logs owned by @Destination addressees, and c) Communications Dashboard (CommDash) - A MSFC concept for a Facebook-like interface to visually integrate and manage basic console log content, text chat streams analogous to voice loops, text chat streams dedicated to particular conversations, generic and position-specific status displays/streams, and a graphically based hailing display. CoLT was deployed operationally at nearly the same time as SpaceOps 2012, the Cross- Log Communications idea is currently waiting for a champion to carry it forward, and CommDash was approved as a NASA Iinformation Technoloby (IT) Labs project. This paper discusses lessons learned from two years of actual CoLT operations, updates CommDash prototype development status, and discusses potential for using Cross-Log Communications in both MCC-H and/or POIC environments, and considers other ways for synergizing console applcations

Remembered Futures: A Narratological Approach to Strategic Analysis and Heuristic Scenario Planning in the Grocery Retail Industry

The purpose of this project is to illustrate how narrative techniques can be used to analyze and generate strategy. Grocery retail is the industry focus, with Loblaw Companies Limited acting as the fulcrum firm. Of particular interest are the conclusions drawn and potential new corporate and business unit direction in a mature, low-growth, and highly competitive market. Analysis of these potential strategic decisions will culminate in the development of a series of scenarios. These scenarios will then be reapplied to the organizational narrative to assess story fit

Financial Literacy and Credit Cards: A Multi-Campus Survey

In America, credit cards on campus have been a disaster, leaving students buried in debt before graduation, often with little hope of paying off the debt before high fees and interest double the amount. This research details a multi-campus survey of current American college students and their use of credit cards. In the current project, we surveyed business students across five campuses in the United States (n=725) in fall, 2009. We found significant differences between students on their knowledge of credit cards and several demographic factors. We conclude by discussing the implications for further research in this area

Marrying Social Media Approaches and Space Flight Control: Eight Years at SpaceOps

Three previous SpaceOps papers [1-3] - published in 2010, 2012 (honored by the Conference as a "Best Paper"), and 2014 - have discussed paths to using social media concepts and techniques to enhance space flight controller effectiveness by a) reducing clutter of nonverbal communications (e.g., visual flow with minimal headers and shared content instead of multiple copies), b) moving some voice communication to non-verbal transmission (virtually eliminating "say again" requests because non-verbal comm can be re-read), thus making remaining voice comm easier to focus on, and c) reducing short-term and long-term flight stress on flight control personnel. This paper shows how Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) ISS Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) is realizing the above goals via the Communications Dashboard (CommDash) software suite deployed in 2017 (including enhancements to the Console Log Tool (CoLT) discussed in earlier papers). Two larger-scope benefits spawned by CommDash evolution are also chronicled: a) emergence of an Agile Software Development (ASD) process adapted to the not-always-nimble environment of government projects, and b) the sprouting of a Human Factors Engineering (HF or HFE) community of practice within MSFC's Payload and Mission Operations Division (PMOD)

FTY720/fingolimod decreases hepatic steatosis and expression of fatty acid synthase in diet-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in mice

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a leading cause of liver dysfunction, is a metabolic disease that begins with steatosis. Sphingolipid metabolites, particularly ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), have recently received attention for their potential roles in insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis. FTY720/fingolimod, a prodrug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, is phosphorylated in vivo to its active phosphorylated form by sphingosine kinase 2 and has been shown to interfere with the actions of S1P and to inhibit ceramide biosynthesis. Therefore, in this study we investigated the effects of FTY720 in a diet-induced animal model of NAFLD (DIAMOND) that recapitulates the hallmarks of the human disease. The oral administration of FTY720 to these mice fed a high-fat diet and sugar water improved glucose tolerance and reduced steatosis. In addition to decreasing liver triglycerides, FTY720 also reduced hepatic sphingolipid levels, including ceramides, monohexosylceramides, and sphingomyelins, particularly the C16:0 and C24:1 species, as well as S1P and dihydro-S1P. FTY720 administration decreased diet-induced fatty acid synthase (FASN) expression in DIAMOND mice without affecting other key enzymes in lipogenesis. FTY720 had no effect on the expression of SREBP-1c, which transcriptionally activates FASN. However, in agreement with the notion that the active phosphorylated form of FTY720 is an inhibitor of histone deacetylases, FTY720-P accumulated in the liver, and histone H3K9 acetylation was markedly increased in these mice. Hence, FTY720 might be useful for attenuating FASN expression and triglyceride accumulation associated with steatosis. Keywords: lipogenesis; sphingolipids; sphingosine-1-phosphate