Description of a landing site indicator (LASI) for light aircraft operation

An experimental cockpit mounted head-up type display system was developed and evaluated by LaRC pilots during the landing phase of light aircraft operations. The Landing Site Indicator (LASI) system display consists of angle of attack, angle of sideslip, and indicated airspeed images superimposed on the pilot's view through the windshield. The information is made visible to the pilot by means of a partially reflective viewing screen which is suspended directly in frot of the pilot's eyes. Synchro transmitters are operated by vanes, located at the left wing tip, which sense angle of attack and sideslip angle. Information is presented near the center of the display in the form of a moving index on a fixed grid. The airspeed is sensed by a pitot-static pressure transducer and is presented in numerical form at the top center of the display

The art of being human : a project for general philosophy of science

Throughout the medieval and modern periods, in various sacred and secular guises, the unification of all forms of knowledge under the rubric of ‘science’ has been taken as the prerogative of humanity as a species. However, as our sense of species privilege has been called increasingly into question, so too has the very salience of ‘humanity’ and ‘science’ as general categories, let alone ones that might bear some essential relationship to each other. After showing how the ascendant Stanford School in the philosophy of science has contributed to this joint demystification of ‘humanity’ and ‘science’, I proceed on a more positive note to a conceptual framework for making sense of science as the art of being human. My understanding of ‘science’ is indebted to the red thread that runs from Christian theology through the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment to the Humboldtian revival of the university as the site for the synthesis of knowledge as the culmination of self-development. Especially salient to this idea is science‘s epistemic capacity to manage modality (i.e. to determine the conditions under which possibilities can be actualised) and its political capacity to organize humanity into projects of universal concern. However, the challenge facing such an ideal in the twentyfirst century is that the predicate ‘human’ may be projected in three quite distinct ways, governed by what I call ‘ecological’, ‘biomedical’ and ‘cybernetic’ interests. Which one of these future humanities would claim today’s humans as proper ancestors and could these futures co-habit the same world thus become two important questions that general philosophy of science will need to address in the coming years

Applications of Skylab EREP photographs to mapping landforms and environmental geomorphology in the Great Plains and Midwest

The following evaluations of Skylab photographs were undertaken: (1) the 1290 Skylab S190A and S190B photographs of Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota were evaluated in detail in terms of coverage, cloud cover, photographic quality, endlap, detectability of roads and stereorelief, and utility for geomorphologic mapping, and (2) the utility of the Skylab photos were tested for interpretive analytic mapping of geomorphologic features over large areas representative of different parts of this region. Photointerpretative maps of analytic geomorphology were obtained for various test areas representative of the varied landscapes in the region. These maps are useful for regional land-use planning, ground-water exploration, and other environmental geomorphologic-geologic applications. Compared with LANDSAT-1 MSS images, Skylab photos afford almost as extensive overviews of large areas but in considerably greater detail, and for many SL photos, moderate stereorelief. However, repetitive multiseasonal, cloud-free coverage by high-quality photos is very limited and many areas have no coverage at all

CHINESE CONSUMER DEMAND FOR ANIMAL PRODUCTS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR U.S. PORK AND POULTRY EXPORTS

This paper examines Chinese consumer preference for major animal products and assesses the potential impacts of a reduction in China's import tariff on its pork and poultry demand and net import. Our analysis suggests that China's demand for animal products will continue to grow as income increases. Using a trade model, results of our scenario analysis indicate that a reduction in China's import tariffs will significantly increase its net pork and poultry imports and the U.S. will capture most of the increases. Nevertheless, the impact on the market price in China and the U.S. is likely to be very small.Almost Ideal Demand System, China, Consumer demand, Demand elasticity, Food demand, Partial equilibrium model, Two-stage budgeting, U.S. meat export, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade,

Public geographies II: being organic

This second report on ‘public geographies' considers the diverse, emergent and shifting spaces of engaging with and in public/s. Taking as its focus the more ‘organic’ rather than ‘traditional’ approach to doing public geography, as discussed in the first report, it explores the multiple and unorthodox ways in which engagements across academic-public spheres play out, and what such engagements may mean for geography/ers. The report first explores the role of the internet in ‘enabling conversations', generating a range of opportunities for public geography through websites, wikis, blogs, file-sharing sites, discussion forums and more, thinking critically about how technologies may enable/disable certain kinds of publically engaged activities. It then considers issues of process and praxis: how collaborations with groups/communities/organizations beyond academia are often unplanned, serendipitous encounters that evolve organically into research/learning/teaching endeavours; but also that personal politics/positionality bring an agency to bear upon whether we, as academics, follow the leads we may stumble upon. The report concludes with a provocative question – given that many non-academics appear to be doing some amazing and inspiring projects and activities, thoughtful, critical and (arguably) examples of organic public geographies, what then is academia’s role

Weak Charge-Changing Flow in Expanding r-Process Environments

We assess the prospects for attaining steady nuclear flow equilibrium in expanding r-process environments where beta decay and/or neutrino capture determine the nuclear charge-changing rates. For very rapid expansions, we find that weak steady flow equilibrium normally cannot be attained. However, even when neutron capture processes freeze out in such nonequilibrium conditions, abundance ratios of nuclear species in the r-process peaks might still mimic those attained in weak steady flow. This result suggests that the r-process yield in a regime of rapid expansion can be calculated reliably only when all neutron capture, photodisintegration, and weak interaction processes are fully coupled in a dynamical calculation. We discuss the implications of these results for models of the r-process sited in rapidly expanding neutrino-heated ejecta.Comment: 21 pages, AAS LaTex, 2 postscript figure

Physics of Eclipsing Binaries: Heartbeat Stars and Tidally Induced Pulsations

Heartbeat stars are a relatively new class of eccentric ellipsoidal variable first discovered by Kepler. An overview of the current field is given with details of some of the interesting objects identified in our current Kepler sample of 135 heartbeats stars. Three objects that have recently been or are undergoing detailed study are described along with suggestions for further avenues of research. We conclude by discussing why heartbeat stars are an interesting new tool to study tidally induced pulsations and orbital dynamics

Properties of a relativistic equation of state for collapse-driven supernovae

We study characteristics of the relativistic equation of state (EOS) for collapse-driven supernovae, which is derived by relativistic nuclear many body theory. Recently the relativistic EOS table has become available as a new complete set of physical EOS for numerical simulations of supernova explosion. We examine this EOS table by using general relativistic hydrodynamics of the gravitational collapse and bounce of supernova cores. In order to study dense matter in dynamical situation, we perform simplified calculations of core collapse and bounce by following adiabatic collapse with the fixed electron fraction for a series of progenitor models. This is intended to give us ``approximate models'' of prompt explosion. We investigate the profiles of thermodynamical quantities and the compositions during collapse and bounce. We also perform the calculations with the Lattimer-Swesty EOS to compare the properties of dense matter. As a measure of the stiffness of the EOS, we examine the explosion energy of the prompt explosion with electron capture totally suppressed. We study the derivative of the thermodynamical quantities obtained by the relativistic EOS to discuss the convective condition in neutron-rich environment, which may be important in the delayed explosion.Comment: 42 pages, 13 figures, Nucl. Phys. A. accepte

LOCATION OF A MIXALCO PRODUCTION FACILITY WITH RESPECT TO ECONOMIC VIABILITY

Monte-Carlo simulation modeling is used to perform a feasibility study of alternative locations for a MixAlco production facility. Net present value distributions will be ranked within feasible risk aversion boundaries. If MixAlco is a profitable investment, it would have a major impact on the fuel oxygenate and gasoline markets.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Spatially varying density dependence drives a shifting mosaic of survival in a recovering apex predator (Canis lupus)

Understanding landscape patterns in mortality risk is crucial for promoting recovery of threatened and endangered species. Humans affect mortality risk in large carnivores such as wolves (Canis lupus), but spatiotemporally varying density dependence can significantly influence the landscape of survival. This potentially occurs when density varies spatially and risk is unevenly distributed. We quantified spatiotemporal sources of variation in survival rates of gray wolves (C. lupus) during a 21-year period of population recovery in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. We focused on mapping risk across time using Cox Proportional Hazards (CPH) models with time-dependent covariates, thus exploring a shifting mosaic of survival. Extended CPH models and time-dependent covariates revealed influences of seasonality, density dependence and experience, as well as individual-level factors and landscape predictors of risk. We used results to predict the shifting landscape of risk at the beginning, middle, and end of the wolf recovery time series. Survival rates varied spatially and declined over time. Long-term change was density-dependent, with landscape predictors such as agricultural land cover and edge densities contributing negatively to survival. Survival also varied seasonally and depended on individual experience, sex, and resident versus transient status. The shifting landscape of survival suggested that increasing density contributed to greater potential for human conflict and wolf mortality risk. Long-term spatial variation in key population vital rates is largely unquantified in many threatened, endangered, and recovering species. Variation in risk may indicate potential for source-sink population dynamics, especially where individuals preemptively occupy suitable territories, which forces new individuals into riskier habitat types as density increases. We encourage managers to explore relationships between adult survival and localized changes in population density. Density-dependent risk maps can identify increasing conflict areas or potential habitat sinks which may persist due to high recruitment in adjacent habitats