Improving IT Requirement Accountability

The Communication & Information (SC) Directorate has centralized the collection and management of Information Technology (IT) requirements used by the center to request, acquire, and install IT related items using a Government Off The Shelf (GOTS) application called the Information Technology Requirements Database (ITRDB). While the ITRDB works sufficiently, a decision was made to pursue ways to increase accountability within the tool for requirements that request: hardware renewals, software renewals, and requirements that stop having forward progress in the process

THERMION: Verification of a Thermionic Heat Pipe in Microgravity

The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (lNEL) is conducting intensive research in the design and development of a small excore heat-pipe-thermionic space nuclear reactor power system (SEHPTR). The SEHPTR spacecraft will be able to supply 40 kW of power in any given orbit. Figure 1-1 shows a conceptual diagram of the SEHPTR spacecraft. The key components in this reactor are the thermionic heat pipes. The heat pipes have two major functions: first, to convert heat energy into electrical energy, and second, to radiate the excess heat to space

Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit-Bag And Smile, Smile, Smile

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/2924/thumbnail.jp

Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit-Bag And Smile, Smile, Smile

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/2460/thumbnail.jp

Automated Magnetic Field Scanning System

One of Jefferson Laboratory’s research areas is in Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) science and technology. SRF cavities are tested in the Vertical Testing Area (VTA) at Jefferson Laboratory, within a series of large cylindrical dewars. The measured quality factor (Q factor) of the SRF cavity is directly influenced by any existing magnetic field. Because the VTA previously housed a cyclotron, all the rebars within the building have residual magnetic fields emanating from them. This magnetic field effect of the building renders the measurements of Q factor on the devices inaccurate and the testing data unreliable. A magnetic field scanning system must be employed to accurately map the magnetic field within the testing dewar so that an existing set of current-carrying coils installed around the dewar can be used properly for cancellation of the residual magnetic fields. This process will ensure the initial testing conditions are free of any unwanted magnetic fields that could cause unreliable testing data. The proposed system will scan the residual magnetic field inside vertical dewars of varying sizes (16”- 34” diameter by 72”- 132” depth) in three dimensions and log data for later use, as well as display a visual mapping of the data to the operator through LabView. A sensor with a sensitivity of at least 0.1 milligauss will be attached to the bottom of a long pole that will be lowered into the dewar. Translation in the z direction, on the dewar’s central axis, will be achieved by using a pair of stepper motors controlling a rack and pinion set up on the center pole. To achieve incremental mapping in the x-y plane, an arm will be attached to the bottom of the pole that will house additional sensors. The platform holding the stepper motors will turn on a dial with degree measurements, allowing for rotational movement of the entire center pole and arm. By calculating the x-y values for each sensor on the arm at that set degree amount, mapping of set increments in the x-y plane can be achieved.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/capstone/1036/thumbnail.jp

A Study of Juvenile Shoplifting Behavior

With shoplifting being the largest monetary crime in the nation, attempts have been made in earlier studies to profile shoplifters but little attention has been given to conditions leading to such behavior. The present study provides a framework for studying such behavior; it seeks explanation for this type of deviant consumer behavior from theories of developmental psychology and sociological models of human behavior. The focus is on juvenile shoplifters who. are believed to account for the largest percentage of all shoplifters. A survey of 7,379 juveniles demonstrated the usefulness of using interdisciplinary perspectives in understanding and explaining shoplifting behavior

Onshore–Offshore Trends in the Size-Frequency Distribution of Death Assemblages: Northwestern Gulf of Mexico

The size-frequency distributions of death assemblages were compared at three sites on the inner continental shelf of Texas by means of three descriptor variables, numerical abundance, paleoproduction (biomass at death), and paleoingestion (lifetime ingestion, a measure of energy flow). These death assemblages were then compared with six other death assemblages covering a transect from the estuary (Copano Bay, TX) to the continental slope. Typically, size-frequency distributions are based on abundance and size classes are set proportional to the largest individual in the collection. Restriction to this one analysis would have identified few of the important trends observed in this study. The evaluation of size frequency on the basis of species\u27 maximum size as well as assemblage maximum size and the comparison of a suite of assemblages on the basis of the largest maximum size provide important new inferences into community dynamics. The distribution of measures of energy flow across the size-frequency spectrum provided an additional, valuable source of information on community structure and habitat optimality. Within-habitat variability was consistently less than between-habitat variability. The autochthonous continental slope assemblages were the most diverse in their size-frequency spectra. Comparison between habitats showed that the continental slope assemblages had the largest proportion of adult individuals. The continental shelf assemblages were dominated by juveniles. The chemoautotrophic and heterotrophic assemblages in Copano Bay and on the continental slope were similar in most respects despite substantial differences in their trophic structure. Similarity existed in the proportion of adults, in the tendency toward bimodality, and in the degree to which species reached maximum size. The shapes of the size-frequency spectra were controlled in large measure by (a) the relative loss of juveniles through taphonomy, (b) the degree of survivorship to adulthood, probably predominately determined by predation, (c) the food and space resources present that control species size, and (d) the optimality of the habitat that allowed animals to approach maximum size. The habitats on the continental slope had the highest proportion of individuals near maximum size. The Copano Bay assemblages were also characterized by a large proportion of adult individuals; however, these normally did not reach sizes above 70% of species\u27 maximum size. The largest individuals were found at the petroleum seeps and in the heterotrophic assemblages from Copano Bay. Continental slope habitats should be temporally most stable, and our information supports that expectation. Food supply should be greatest in estuaries and in cold seeps where chemosynthetic processes dominate. Our data support this expectation

Status of sonic boom methodology and understanding

In January 1988, approximately 60 representatives of industry, academia, government, and the military gathered at NASA-Langley for a 2 day workshop on the state-of-the-art of sonic boom physics, methodology, and understanding. The purpose of the workshop was to assess the sonic boom area, to determine areas where additional sonic boom research is needed, and to establish some strategies and priorities in this sonic boom research. Attendees included many internationally recognized sonic boom experts who had been very active in the Supersonic Transport (SST) and Supersonic Cruise Aircraft Research Programs of the 60's and 70's. Summaries of the assessed state-of-the-art and the research needs in theory, minimization, atmospheric effects during propagation, and human response are given

The War on Drugs: Wasting Billions and Undermining Economies

Whilst accurate figures are hard to come by, global spending on drug law enforcement certainly exceeds $100 billion each year. Given current economic conditions it is more important than ever that spending is effective and not a waste of taxpayer money.However, the huge investments in enforcement have consistently delivered the opposite of their stated goals—to reduce drug production, supply and use. Instead they have created a vast criminal market. This in turn has substantial social and economic costs, through crime and ill health, far exceeding even the billions in enforcement spending.There are huge opportunity costs to wasteful expenditure on this scale. As drug enforcement budgets continue to grow, other areas are being starved of funds, and cuts in government budgets are hitting public services and support for the needy.Despite the appalling track record of failure, the level of value-for-money scrutiny applied to drug enforcement spending has been almost zero, at both national and international levels. At a time of global economic crisis, after literally trillions wasted over the last half-century, it is time to meaningfully count the real economic costs of the war on drugs. This report is part of the Count the Costs series. Count the Costs is a collaborative project between a range of organizations that, while representing a diverse range of expertise and viewpoints, share a desire to reduce the unintended costs of the war on drugs

Effects of roadside edge on nest predators and nest survival of Asian tropical forest birds

Creation of roadside forest edges can have indirect effects on forest bird communities, as edges can promote species detrimental to forest-nesting birds such as nest predators. We assessed species-specific rates of nest survival of understory birds, relative abundances of specific nest predators and predator-specific rates of nest predation relative to the distance from roadside forest edge in a dry evergreen forest in northeastern Thailand. During the breeding seasons (FebruaryeAugust) of 2014e2016 we searched for nests along two, 1-km transects which ran perpendicular from the edge of a five-lane highway into the forest interior. To assess nest predator species, video cameras were placed on active nests of understory birds and multiple techniques were used to assess the relative abundances of the documented nest predators. We found 306 active nests of 26 species and recorded 179 predation events from 13 species of nest predators. Distance to edge influenced the daily nest survival rates for four of seven focal bird species, with three species having higher survival rates nearer to the edge. Four of six predators had higher relative abundances in the forest interior. Rats and the Common Green Magpie (Cissa chinensis) had higher abundances nearer the edge. Snake detections were too few to assess statistically. Nest predation rates for the top three predators, Northern Pig-tailed Macaque (Macaca leonina), Green Cat Snake (Boiga cyanea) and Crested Goshawk (Accipiter trivirgratus) were significantly greater in the forest interior. The fourth-most important, Common Green Magpie, was the only predator responsible for more nest predation events closer to habitat edge compared to interior. Our study suggests that the impacts of edges on nesting success are highly dependent on the nest predator community and the species-specific responses of predators to edges