Survey of currently available high-resolution raster graphics systems

Presented are data obtained on high-resolution raster graphics engines currently available on the market. The data were obtained through survey responses received from various vendors and also from product literature. The questionnaire developed for this survey was basically a list of characteristics desired in a high performance color raster graphics system which could perform real-time aircraft simulations. Several vendors responded to the survey, with most reporting on their most advanced high-performance, high-resolution raster graphics engine

Nurses' retention and hospital characteristics in New South Wales, CHERE Discussion Paper No 52

Nursing shortages are commonly observed features of hospital systems in Australia, Europe and the United States. To date there has been very little research on the effects of hospital characteristics on the retention of the nursing staff. In this paper we match individual data on registered nurses (RNs) working in the public sector in NSW in 1996 to the hospital in which they work. We analyze the annual retention probability for these RNs using the nurses? personal characteristics as well as the characteristics of the hospitals. It is found that the type of hospital per se does not help explain the retention probability of the nurses employed in the premise but the hospital characteristics do. Hospital characteristics include measures of size, complexity, intensity, expenditures and staffing levels. The results suggest that the effects of these variables are complex. For example, complexity of the work as measured by admissions from emergency increase retention while high cost procedures and large ANDRG weights reduce retention. Higher levels of expenditures (at constant staffing levels) increase retention except for expenditures on visiting medical officers which reduce retention. The effects on the expected retention probability are very large and significant. One implication of our findings is that simply increasing staffing levels is unlikely to achieve much impact on nurses? retention levels unless problem areas of the job are also addressed.Medical workforce

Healthy, wealthy and insured? The role of self-assessed health in the demand for private health insurance, CHERE Working Paper 2006/2

Both adverse selection and moral hazard models predict a positive relationship between risk and insurance; yet the most common finding in empirical studies of insurance is that of a negative correlation. In this paper we investigate the relationship between ex ante risk and private health insurance using data from the 2001 Australian National Health Survey (NHS). The Australian health system provides a setting where the relationship between risk and insurance is more transparent than many other institutional frameworks; private health insurance is not tied to employment; community rating limits the actions of insurers; and private coverage is high for a country providing free public hospital treatment. We find a strong positive association between self-assessed health and private health cover. We use the detailed information available in the NHS to investigate whether we can identify factors responsible for the negative correlation between risk (lower SAHS) and insurance cover. However this relationship persists despite the inclusion of a large set of controls for personal and socio-economic characteristics, risk-related behaviours, objective health measures and an index of mental health. The opposite effect of self-assessed health and long-term conditions on coverage suggests that SAHS is capturing factors such as personality or risk preferences.Private health insurance, self-assessed health, Australia

Simulator comparison of thumball, thumb switch, and touch screen input concepts for interaction with a large screen cockpit display format

A piloted simulation study was conducted comparing three different input methods for interfacing to a large screen, multiwindow, whole flight deck display for management of transport aircraft systems. The thumball concept utilized a miniature trackball embedded in a conventional side arm controller. The multifunction control throttle and stick (MCTAS) concept employed a thumb switch located in the throttle handle. The touch screen concept provided data entry through a capacitive touch screen installed on the display surface. The objective and subjective results obtained indicate that, with present implementations, the thumball concept was the most appropriate for interfacing with aircraft systems/subsystems presented on a large screen display. Not unexpectedly, the completion time differences between the three concepts varied with the task being performed, although the thumball implementation consistently outperformed the other two concepts. However, pilot suggestions for improved implementations of the MCTAS and touch screen concepts could reduce some of these differences

Her-stories in South African sport: gender and sport in the Cape Colony 1806-1910

INTRODUCTION: The gendering of South African sport has a point of origin which is not explicitly evident until one examines the impact of the combined effects of the masculinity-sports relationship during the Victorian era, British imperialism and colonization in Southern Africa, and the institutionalisation of sports in England and her colonies. The question that emerges is "how did this shape the sports(s) practices of women at the time?" OBJECTIVES: The objective is to highlight the way the sporting culture of Victorian England and the associated ideals of womanliness and manliness shaped the initial construction of gender and sport in South Africa. METHODS: Review of literature on sport in the history of South Africa, 1806-1910. The article has been written within the framework of subsequent emerging themes. DISCUSSION: In this article the focus is on (1) the way the importance placed on the reproductive role of women promoted the view that females were physically more vulnerable than males and therefore their participation in sports put them at risk; (2) how female sports participation was both liberating and restrictive and led to a redefinition of femininity; and (3) the scant reference to sporting females in the Cape media of the time. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND RESEARCH: It is not possible to obtain an understanding of the way sport constructs unequal gender relations without some knowledge of how they evolved over time. Scholarship in sports history should incorporate gender relations as an analytical category of historical research

Fostering culturally responsive teaching in an urban preschool: a qualitative case study

Preschool years are significantly important for students in urban districts. Early childhood helps set the foundation for learning about school culture. Students who are able to connect their home environment to the school environment tend to do better in their academic setting. Fostering a pedagogy that is culturally sensitive to students is a teaching stance that enables success with curriculum and addresses the inequities that accompany low socioeconomic students. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore four urban teachers\u27 formal understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy within an urban preschool. The teachers\u27 espoused and enacted practice formulated the content of professional development workshops to help transform their current pedagogy

An interactive editor for definition of touch-sensitive zones for a graphic display

In the continuing effort to develop more efficient man-machine communications methods, touch displays have shown potential as straightforward input systems. The development of software necessary to handle such systems, however, can become tedious. In order to reduce the need for redundant programming, a touch editor has been developed which allows a programmer to interactively define touch-sensitive areas for a graphic display. The information produced during the editing process is written to a data file, which can be accessed easily when needed by an application program. This paper outlines the structure, logic, and use of the editor, as well as the hardware with which it is presently compatible

Qualitative evaluation of a conformal velocity vector display for use at high angles-of-attack in fighter aircraft

A piloted simulation study was conducted to evaluate the utility of a display device designed to illustrate graphically and conformally the approximate location of a fighter aircraft's velocity vector. The display device consisted of two vertical rows of light emitting diodes (LED's) located toward the center of the cockpit instrument panel to each side of the control stick. The light strings provided a logical extension of the head up display (HUD) velocity vector symbol at flight path angles which exceeded the HUD field-of-view. Four test subjects flew a modified F/A-18 model with this display in an air-to-air engagement task against an equally capable opponent. Their responses to a questionnaire indicated that the conformal velocity vector information could not be used during the scenarios investigated due to the inability to visually track a target and view the lights simultaneously

Factors that Effect the Course/Subject Selection Process of High School Students of African Descent

Advanced societies require technologically literate citizens who can solve problems, manage complexities, find and use resources, and learn and apply evolving technologies (Owen, 1997). Today\u27s rapidly changing economy is defined by constantly evolving technologies and falling behind is a recipe for disaster (Augustine, 1997). At the forefront is a reality that for most people, particularly the youth, the period during and beyond high school is marked by important career decision-making tasks. Determining what to do next in their lives remains an important but arduous developmental task for the youth leaving secondary school. As the world of work becomes more complex and , technologically dynamic, the career decision-making the youth undergo also becomes more complex (Ireh, 1999, p.1). Historically and presently, African Americans, as a group, continue to pursue low skilled and social type professional occupations, while the demand for math, science, and technically related workers steadily rise (Paul, 1998, p.1). In an increasingly technological society, under-representation of Blacks in math, science, and technical courses and occupations warrants serious attention (Gainor, 1997, p. 1). If this trend continues, the employment opportunities will likely become increasingly limited for the Black and female populations (Paul, 1998). The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence the subject/course selection of students of African descent who chose to take business and/or computer technology courses in high school. This study also investigated the relationships between dependent variable, the total number of business and/or computer technology courses taken, and the independent variables: gender, culture, parent occupation, source of school funding, neighborhood setting, level of perceived barriers, level of commitment, and level of academic work ethic. The sample population consisted of 117 students who are majoring in business or computer technology at Florida Memorial College. Two separate analyses were conducted to examine the impact select variables had on subject selection process of students of African descent. Analysis 1, Multiple Regression, used all independent variables, whereas Analysis 2, t-test, was restricted to two independent variables: total number of perceived barriers and culture. A crosstabulation and a correlation analysis were also conducted. For the most part, the results of the Multiple Regression Analysis did not show strong results or statistical significance. Sub-null hypothesis H-01G regarding commitment was found to have statistical significance and therefore rejected