An Examination of the Demographic and Career Progression of Air Force Institute of Technology Cost Analysis Graduates

The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) was asked to develop a graduate curriculum to support cost analysts in the acquisition arena in October 1980. The first class entered in May 1982 and graduated in September 1983 with Master of Science degrees in Systems Management. This degree program gained autonomy by offering its first true Master of Science degree in Cost Analysis in 1988. Now there are nearly thirteen years of graduate cost analysts (GCAs) in the workforce. This thesis examined the impact this program has had on these graduates and the Air Force. Surveys were mailed out to 73 of the 75 currently active-duty graduates in the classes from 1983 through 1994. Forty responses were received and evaluated. The general consensus is that the GCA program is very useful to the graduates and beneficial to their careers. The main strengths of the program include the ACEIT software training and the combination of Department of Defense (DOD) application, regression, and statistics. The weaknesses of the program include a lack of training to actually complete a cost estimate and a need for more in-depth education regarding budget topics. Overall, graduates believe this program could not be replaced by a civilian institution

Turning the shelves: empirical findings and space syntax analyses of two virtual supermarket variations

The spatial structure of a virtual supermarket was systematically varied to investigate human behavior and cognitive processes in unusual building configurations. The study builds upon experiments in a regular supermarket, which serve as a baseline case. In a between-participant design a total of 41 participants completed a search task in two different virtual supermarket environments. For 21 participants the supermarket shelves were turned towards them at a 45° angle when entering the store, giving high visual access to product categories and products. For 20 participants the shelves were placed in exactly the opposite direction obstructing a quick development of shopping goods dependencies. The obtained differences in search performance between the two conditions are analyzed using space syntax analyses and comparisons made of environmental features and participants’ actual search path trajectories

Path rendering by counting pixel coverage

A frequent task in computer graphics is to render a closed path, e.g., a polygon or other shape. Such shapes are found in typography, vector graphics, design applications, etc. Current path-rendering techniques have certain drawbacks, e.g., paths cannot scale too far during animation, control points within the path must remain static, etc. The ability to render paths efficiently and with fewer constraints allows interfaces and applications with richer and more dynamic content. This disclosure describes techniques for efficient path rendering using a GPU. In particular, it introduces the concept of fractional coverage counting, which ameliorates aliasing at the edges of shapes. These techniques can reduce or eliminate reliance on hardware multisampling to achieve anti-aliasing, and open up the possibility of sophisticated graphics rendering on mobile devices or other platforms with resource constraints

The percutaneous absorption of soman in a damaged skin porcine model and the evaluation of WoundStat™ as a topical decontaminant

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate a candidate haemostat (WoundStat™), down-selected from previous in vitro studies, for efficacy as a potential skin decontaminant against the chemical warfare agent pinacoyl methylfluorophosphonate (Soman, GD) using an in vivo pig model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An area of approximately 3 cm2 was dermatomed from the dorsal ear skin to a nominal depth of 100 µm. A discrete droplet of 14C-GD (300 µg kg-1) was applied directly onto the surface of the damaged skin at the centre of the dosing site. Animals assigned to the treatment group were given a 2 g application of WoundStat™ 30 s after GD challenge. The decontamination efficacy of WoundStat™ against GD was measured by the direct quantification of the distribution of 14C-GD, as well as routine determination of whole blood cholinesterase and physiological measurements. RESULTS: WoundStat™ sequestered approximately 70% of the applied 14C-GD. Internal radiolabel recovery from treated animals was approximately 1% of the initially applied dose. Whole blood cholinesterase levels decreased to less than 10% of the original value by 15 min post WoundStat™ treatment and gradually decreased until the onset of apnoea or until euthanasia. All treated animals showed signs of GD intoxication that could be grouped into early (mastication, fasciculations and tremor), intermediate (miosis, salivation and nasal secretions) and late onset (lacrimation, body spasm and apnoea) effects. Two of the six WoundStat™ treated animals survived the study duration. CONCLUSIONS: The current study has shown that the use of WoundStat™ as a decontaminant on damaged pig ear skin was unable to fully protect against GD toxicity. Importantly, the findings indicate that the use of WoundStat™ in GD contaminated wounds would not exacerbate GD toxicity. These data suggest that absorbent haemostatic products may offer some limited functionality as wound decontaminants.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Developing an integrated concept for the E-ELT Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOSAIC): design issues and trade-offs

We present a discussion of the design issues and trade-offs that have been considered in putting together a new concept for MOSAIC, the multi-object spectrograph for the E-ELT. MOSAIC aims to address the combined science cases for E-ELT MOS that arose from the earlier studies of the multi-object and multi-adaptive optics instruments. MOSAIC combines the advantages of a highly-multiplexed instrument targeting single-point objects with one which has a more modest multiplex but can spatially resolve a source with high resolution (IFU). These will span across two wavebands: visible and near-infrared

Improvements in Scanning Infrared Thermography

Non-destructive evaluation techniques are important for many industries. Scanning infrared thermography systems have the potential to analyze materials and parts, quickly, accurately, and at a reduced cost compared to other systems. Scanning infrared thermography uses Fourier's law of conductive heat transfer to detect both material and geometric anomalies in a particular sample. The current system has been developed to create an easy to operate physical system and an interface utilizing commercial software packages. New hardware components have been designed to work in concert with specially developed analytical models to treat surfaces with changing emissivity and uniformly finished surfaces like those used in traditional infrared scanning systems.A newly developed LabView program has simplified the data collection process by combining all data analysis into a single program. The program uses radiative heat transfer theory and incorporates temperature data from several sources to calculate the true surface temperature of the sample which is crucial for defect detection. An improved camera shroud has also improved the ability to handle variable emissivity surfaces.Several computational models have been developed to determine the defect detection resolution of a variety of defects using this system. Results obtained from the models showed that the system is capable of detecting crack defects as small as 0.5 cm in lateral length. Void defects and other 3-dimensional defects were shown to be marginally detectable as well. Radiative heat transfer analysis was performed on the camera shroud and it was determined that the camera shroud has little effect on the radiation received by the camera.The system has been successful at detecting defects on coated surfaces where cracks were oriented parallel to the heating element and at sub-optimal angles. In addition, new experimentation has shown the new camera shroud and LabView program to be successful at removing reflected radiation from variable emissivity, diffuse surfaces. However, the system has only been marginally successful at removing artifacts of reflected radiation from thermographic images of surfaces that show a high degree of specularity, making temperature correction and crack detection difficult.The system has also been used to test non-metallic samples to determine whether it would be a viable choice for applications in this area. A set of composite samples was tested to verify whether defects in this type of material could be successfully detected. Testing showed that sub-surface changes in thermal-conductivity could be detected using the current system. However, due to the extremely low thermal conductivities of some of the materials, testing proved to be much more time consuming and less successful than it is with metal samples. For thin sheets, delaminations and other sub-surface defects may prove difficult to detect

Audio-based localization for ubiquitous sensor networks

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-101).This research presents novel techniques for acoustic-source location for both actively triggered, and passively detected signals using pervasive, distributed networks of devices, and investigates the combination of existing resources available in personal electronics to build a digital sensing 'commons'. By connecting personal resources with those of the people nearby, tasks can be achieved, through distributed placement and statistical improvement, that a single device could not do alone. The utility and benefits of spatio-temporal acoustic sensing are presented, in the context of ubiquitous computing and machine listening history. An active audio self-localisation algorithm is described which is effective in distributed sensor networks even if only coarse temporal synchronisation can be established. Pseudo-noise 'chirps' are emitted and recorded at each of the nodes. Pair-wise distances are calculated by comparing the difference in the audio delays between the peaks measured in each recording. By removing dependence on fine grained temporal synchronisation it is hoped that this technique can be used concurrently across a wide range of devices to better leverage the existing audio sensing resources that surround us.(cont.) A passive acoustic source location estimation method is then derived which is suited to the microphone resources of network-connected heterogeneous devices containing asynchronous processors and uncalibrated sensors. Under these constraints position coordinates must be simultaneously determined for pairs of sounds and recorded at each microphone to form a chain of acoustic events. It is shown that an iterative, numerical least-squares estimator can be used. Initial position estimates of the source pair can be first found from the previous estimate in the chain and a closed-form least squares approach, improving the convergence rate of the second step. Implementations of these methods using the Smart Architectural Surfaces development platform are described and assessed. The viability of the active ranging technique is further demonstrated in a mixed-device ad-hoc sensor network case using existing off-the-shelf technology. Finally, drawing on human-centric onset detection as a means of discovering suitable sound features, to be passed between nodes for comparison, the extension of the source location algorithm beyond the use of pseudo-noise test sounds to enable the location of extraneous noises and acoustic streams is discussed for further study.Benjamin Christopher Dalton.S.M

Environmental Dependence of the Fundamental Plane of Galaxy Clusters

Galaxy clusters approximate a planar (FP) distribution in a three-dimensional parameter space which can be characterized by optical luminosity, half-light radius, and X-ray luminosity. Using a high-quality catalog of cluster redshifts, we find the nearest neighbor cluster for those common to an FP study and the cluster catalog. Examining scatter about the FP, we find 99.2% confidence that it is dependent on nearest neighbor distance. Our study of X-Ray clusters finds that those with high central gas densities are systematically closer to neighbor clusters. If we combine results here with those of Fritsch and Buchert, we find an explanation for some of our previous conclusions: Clusters in close proximity to other clusters are more likely to have massive cooling flows because they are more relaxed and have higher central gas densities.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters. Moderate revisions, including more statistical analysis and discussion. Latex, 7 page

A Comprehensive Wetland Program For Fringing Salt Marshes In The York River, Maine

The overall goal of this project was to assist the Town of York, Maine, in its efforts to monitor and protect the fringing salt marshes along the York River. In particular, the project focused on potential impacts to the marshes due to shoreline development pressures. Specific objectives included (1) gathering baseline data about the marshes (2) developing a set of indicators to be used in future monitoring, and (3) generating management recommendations

Dancing with the Avatars: Minimal Avatar Customisation Enhances Learning in a Psychomotor Task

Virtual environments can support psychomotor learning by allowing learners to observe instructor avatars. Instructor avatars that look like the learner hold promise in enhancing learning; however, it is unclear whether this works for psychomotor tasks and how similar avatars need to be. We investigated ‘minimal’ customisation of instructor avatars, approximating a learner’s appearance by matching only key visual features: gender, skin-tone, and hair colour. These avatars can be created easily and avoid problems of highly similar avatars. Using modern dancing as a skill to learn, we compared the effects of visually similar and dissimilar avatars, considering both learning on a screen (n=59) and in VR (n=38). Our results indicate that minimal avatar customisation leads to significantly more vivid visual imagery of the dance moves than dissimilar avatars. We analyse variables affecting interindividual differences, discuss the results in relation to theory, and derive design implications for psychomotor training in virtual environments