Program for establishing long-time flight service performance of composite materials in the center wing structure of C-130 aircraft. Phase 5: Flight service and inspection

Inspections of the C-130 composite-reinforced center wings were conducted over the flight service monitoring period of more than six years. Twelve inspections were conducted on each of the two C-130H airplanes having composite reinforced center wing boxes. Each inspection consisted of visual and ultrasonic inspection of the selective boron-epoxy reinforced center wings which included the inspection of the boron-epoxy laminates and the boron-epoxy reinforcement/aluminum structure adhesive bondlines. During the flight service monitoring period, the two C-130H aircraft accumulated more than 10,000 flight hours and no defects were detected in the inspections over this period. The successful performance of the C-130H aircraft with composite-reinforced center wings allowed the transfer of the responsibilities of inspecting and maintaining these two aircraft to the U. S. Air Force

The VA Health Care System: An Unrecognized National Safety Net

The dominance of local health care markets in conjunction with variable public funding results in a national patchwork of "safety nets" and beneficiaries in the United States rather than a uniform system. This DataWatch describes how the recently reorganized Department of Veterans Affairs serves as a coordinated, national safety-net provider and characterizes the veterans who are not supported by the market-based system

Agreement Between HEDIS Performance Assessments in the VA and Medicare Advantage: Is Quality in the Eye of the Beholder?

Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system assess quality of care using standardized Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) performance measures. Little is known, however, about the relative accuracy of quality indicators for persons receiving care in more than one health care system. Among Veterans dually enrolled in an MA plan, we examined the agreement between MA and VA HEDIS assessments. Our study tested the hypothesis that private health plans underreport quality of care relative to a fully integrated delivery system utilizing a comprehensive electronic health record. Despite assessing the same individuals using identical measure specifications, reported VA performance was significantly better than reported MA performance for all 12 HEDIS measures. The VAs performance advantage ranged from 9.8% (glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c] < 7.0% in diabetes) to 54.7% (blood pressure < 140/90 mm Hg in diabetes). The overall agreement between VA and MA HEDIS assessments ranged from 38.5% to 62.6%. Performance rates derived from VA and MA aggregate data were 1.6% to 14.3% higher than those reported by VA alone. This analysis suggests that neither MA plans nor the VA fully capture quality of care information for dually enrolled persons. However, the VAs system-wide electronic health record may allow for more complete capture of quality information across multiple providers and settings

Program for establishing long-time flight service performance of composite materials in the center wing structure of C-130 aircraft. Phase 4: Ground/flight acceptance tests

The advantageous structural uses of advanced filamentary composites are demonstrated by design, fabrication, and test of three boron-epoxy reinforced C-130 center wing boxes. The advanced development work necessary to support detailed design of a composite reinforced C-130 center wing box was conducted. Activities included the development of a basis for structural design, selection and verification of materials and processes, manufacturing and tooling development, and fabrication and test of full-scale portions of the center wing box. Detailed design drawings, and necessary analytical structural substantiation including static strength, fatigue endurance, flutter, and weight analyses are considered. Some additional component testing was conducted to verify the design for panel buckling, and to evaluate specific local design areas. Development of the cool tool restraint concept was completed, and bonding capabilities were evaluated using full-length skin panel and stringer specimens

Teacher librarians and technology leadership

The purpose of this study is to examine the strategies and techniques of current teacher librarians who are technology leaders in their schools. It aims to clarify teacher librarians’ roles in technology integration for administrators and newly hired professionals. In order to investigate the techniques and strategies, that make teacher librarians successful technology leaders, the researcher used a qualitative approach to gather data from participants via a focus group. The study set out to find the ways technology leaders and teacher librarians are able to successfully integrate technology in lessons, how frequently they collaborate with classroom teachers, the strategies and techniques which are used to implement the technology leadership role, and how teacher librarians work with administrators and teachers to advocate for technology leadership. The researcher discovered successful teacher librarians and technology leaders work to find ways to bring the library and love of books to students by using technology. They make continued efforts to collaborate with classroom teachers and give them ideas and suggestions for technology integration. Strategies and techniques used in technology leadership included becoming involved in school leadership and making sure decision makers are aware of what is happening in the library. This includes meeting frequently with administrators to discuss technology and technology integration

What Every Business Student Needs to Know About IT

This thesis focuses primarily on assessing whether or not the objectives of the Pre-business core and the Walton College of Business program regarding exposure to all eight majors and technology utilization are being met. Emphasis is being placed on knowledge of technology related tasks. It begins by stating the importance of information systems to businesses. The next portion focuses on analyzing if the WCOB objectives are being met. Finally, students’ inputs on Information Systems are examined. There were three main hypotheses at the outset of the research. The first hypothesis was that the Walton College of Business pre-business core objective regarding exposure to all eight majors is not being met. Results could be used to enhance the learning within the pre-business core with respect to Information Systems. The second hypothesis was that the Walton College of Business program objective regarding technology utilization is not being met. This would help contribute to the understanding of whether or not students are being provided with the fundamental business knowledge regarding technology utilization that all business professionals should possess. The third hypothesis was that Walton College of Business undergraduates will see the need for an Intro to Information Systems class to be added to the pre-business core. This would show that students realize the importance of technology as an emerging field in the business world. To test these hypotheses, surveys were administered to undergraduates in the Walton College of Business. These surveys included a questionnaire about influences in choosing a major, knowledge of technology related tasks, and an open response section for students to state how they feel about Information Systems becoming more prevalent in the business core

Augustana’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: How Augie can Establish an Innovative and Entrepreneurial Campus Culture

How prepared are you to thrive in our global high-skilled workforce? Do you process the skills to solve the world’s most complex social problems? Do you have a desire to launch your own venture one day? Regardless of your deepest dreams, goals, aspirations, or ambitions my Senior Inquiry is a living document on how Augustana can foster innovative and entrepreneurial thinking on campus to solve complex issues on the local, national, and global levels. This project is an in-depth strategic proposal designed to offer Augustana’s senior leadership, administration, faculty, and additional stakeholders cutting-edge insights and creative recommendations on how Augustana can foster entrepreneurial thinking and innovation on campus. Within this project I address the following sub topics: The rise of entrepreneurship and innovation in higher education Entrepreneurial ecosystems within other higher education institutions The Emergence of Generation Z aka the iGen How this proposal complements Augie’s current 2020 Strategic Plan The importance of entrepreneurial core competencies and how these competencies improve employment in the 21st century workforce The power of a design-centric curriculum and how students can apply entrepreneurial thinking by presenting sustainable solutions to address social issues Future recommendations and initiatives on how to strengthen entrepreneurial student leadership in and outside the classroo

Re-Envisioning Distributed Collections in German Research Libraries – A View from the U.S.A.

German research libraries are undergoing a major shift as the distributed system of “Special Subject Collections” (Sondersammelgebiete) supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) transitions to a new, restructured program of “Specialized Information Services for Research” (Fachinformationsdienste für die Wissenschaft). Many of the structural issues underlying the programmatic changes in German libraries are also at work in U.S. research libraries. This article reflects on the parallels and differences in approaches to cooperative collection development in U.S. and German research libraries and reports on an ongoing discussion between the DFG and the Center for Research Libraries (CRL), a library consortium based in Chicago that supports international collections in libraries in and outside the U.S