Effects of agricultural commercialization on land tenure, household resource allocation, and nutrition in the Philippines:

Agriculture Economic aspects Philippines., Produce trade Philippines., Land tenure Philippines., Households Philippines., Nutrition Philippines.,

Flow field over the wing of a delta-wing fighter model with vortex control devices at Mach 0.6 to 1.2

As part of a cooperative research program between NASA, McDonnell Douglas Corporation, and Wright Research and Development Center, a flow field investigation was conducted on a 7.52 percent scale windtunnel model of an advanced fighter aircraft design. The investigation was conducted in the Langley 16 ft Transonic Tunnel at Mach numbers of 0.6, 0.9, and 1.2. Angle of attack was varied from -4 degrees to 30 degrees and the model was tested at angles of sideslip of 0, 5, and -5 degrees. Data for the over the wing flow field were obtained at four axial survey stations by the use of six 5 hole conical probes mounted on a survey mechanism. The wing leading edge primary vortex exerted the greatest influence in terms of total pressure loss on the over the wing flow field in the area surveyed. A number of vortex control devices were also investigated. They included two different apex flaps, wing leading edge vortex flaps, and small large wing fences. The vortex flap and both apex flaps were beneficial in controlling the wing leading edge primary vortex

Trade openness reduces growth volatility when countries are well diversified

This paper addresses the mechanisms by which trade openness affects growth volatility. Using a diverse set of export diversification indicators, it presents strong evidence pointing to an important role for export diversification in reducing the effect of trade openness on growth volatility. The authors also identify positive thresholds for product diversification at which the effect of openness on volatility changes sign. The effect is shown to be positive only for a minority of countries with highly concentrated export baskets. This result is shown to be robust to both explicit accounting for endogeneity as well as the inclusion of a host of additional controls.Economic Conditions and Volatility,Achieving Shared Growth,Markets and Market Access,Free Trade,Emerging Markets

Pre-Flight Tests with Astronauts, Flight and Ground Hardware, to Assure On-Orbit Success

On-Orbit Constraints Test (OOCT's) refers to mating flight hardware together on the ground before they will be mated on-orbit or on the Lunar surface. The concept seems simple but it can be difficult to perform operations like this on the ground when the flight hardware is being designed to be mated on-orbit in a zero-g/vacuum environment of space or low-g/vacuum environment on the Lunar/Mars Surface. Also some of the items are manufactured years apart so how are mating tasks performed on these components if one piece is on-orbit/on Lunar/Mars surface before its mating piece is planned to be built. Both the Internal Vehicular Activity (IVA) and Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) OOCT's performed at Kennedy Space Center will be presented in this paper. Details include how OOCT's should mimic on-orbit/Lunar/Mars surface operational scenarios, a series of photographs will be shown that were taken during OOCT's performed on International Space Station (ISS) flight elements, lessons learned as a result of the OOCT's will be presented and the paper will conclude with possible applications to Moon and Mars Surface operations planned for the Constellation Program

Construction Productivity Estimation Model Using Artificial Neural Network for Founda-tions Works in Gaza Strip Construction Sites

Estimating the construction labor productivity con-sidering the effect of multiple factors is important for construction planning, scheduling and estimating. In planning and scheduling, it is important to maximize labor productivity and forecast activity durations to achieve lower labor cost and shorter project duration. In estimating, it is important to predict labor costs.The aim of this study is to develop a new technique for estimating labor productivity rate for foundation works in (m3/ day) for building projects in Gaza Strip, through developing a model that is able to help par-ties involved in construction projects (owner, contrac-tors, and others) especially contracting companies to estimating labor productivity rate for foundation works . This model build based on Artificial Neural Networks. In order to build this model, quantitative and qualitative techniques were utilized to identify the significant parameters for estimating labor productivity rate for foundation works. The data used in model development was collected using questioner survey as a tool to collect actual data from contrac-tors for many projects in Gaza Strip. These question-naires provided 111 examples.The ANN model consid-ered 16 significant parameters as independent input variables affected on one dependent output variable “labor productivity rate for foundation works in (m3/ day). Neurosolution software was used to train the models. Many models were built but GFF model was found the best model, which structured from one input layer, included 16 input neurons, and included one hidden layer with 22 neurons. The accuracy perfor-mance of the adopted model recorded 98% where the model performed well and no significant difference was discerned between the estimated output and the actual productivity value.Sensitivity analysis was per-formed using Neurosolution tool to study the influ-ence of adopted factors on labor productivity. The performed sensitivity analysis was in general logically where the “Footings Volume” had the highest influ-ence, while the unexpected result was “Payment de-lay” factor which hadn't any effect on productivity of foundation works

On-Orbit Constraints Test - Performing Pre-Flight Tests with Flight Hardware, Astronauts and Ground Support Equipment to Assure On-Orbit Success

No abstract availabl

Paper Session I-B - Young NASA Personnel Performing Hands-on Operations on Flight Hardware - A History of Experiment Integration

In the early 1980’s, NASA was preparing to launch the first Space Shuttle to begin a new era in USA Spaceflight. At the same time new hardware called “Payloads”, that would be taken into space aboard the Shuttle, were being developed. These Payloads contained a multitude of science experiments from all over the world. Many would be contained in a laboratory called Spacelab , which was being developed by NASA and the European Space Agency. How would these Payloads be prepared for launch? A concept of allowing NASA personnel to perform the job, that normally a contractor would perform, was reintroduced. Instead of overseeing a contractor, NASA would perform the engineering function him/herself and get his/her own hands dirty. So was created the “Level IV – Experiment Integration” organization at Kennedy Space Center. Many young NASA personnel, most of them right out of college, would be responsible for preparing domestic and foreign multi-million-dollar experiments for space flight. This paper tells the story of that unique group, how it was a major player in the success of the Spacelab and Science programs, where some of those people are today, and how knowledge gained by that group of people is being used for current & future space flight activities