High temperature polyimide foams for shuttle upper surface thermal insulation

Polyimide foams developed by Monsanto Company were examined for use as upper surface space shuttle thermal insulation. It was found that postcured polyimide foams having a density of 64 kg/cu m (4 lb/cu ft) had acceptable physical properties up to and exceeding 700 K (800 F). Physical tests included cyclic heating and cooling in vacuum, weight and dimensional stability, mechanical strength and impact resistance, acoustic loading and thermal conductivity. Molding and newly developed postcuring procedures were defined

Could humans recognize odor by phonon assisted tunneling?

Our sense of smell relies on sensitive, selective atomic-scale processes that are initiated when a scent molecule meets specific receptors in the nose. However, the physical mechanisms of detection are not clear. While odorant shape and size are important, experiment indicates these are insufficient. One novel proposal suggests inelastic electron tunneling from a donor to an acceptor mediated by the odorant actuates a receptor, and provides critical discrimination. We test the physical viability of this mechanism using a simple but general model. Using values of key parameters in line with those for other biomolecular systems, we find the proposed mechanism is consistent both with the underlying physics and with observed features of smell, provided the receptor has certain general properties. This mechanism suggests a distinct paradigm for selective molecular interactions at receptors (the swipe card model): recognition and actuation involve size and shape, but also exploit other processes.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur

Influential factors of aligning Spotify squads in mission-critical and offshore projects – a longitudinal embedded case study

Changing the development process of an organization is one of the toughest and riskiest decisions. This is particularly true if the known experiences and practices of the new considered ways of working are relative and subject to contextual assumptions. Spotify engineering culture is deemed as a new agile software development method which increasingly attracts large-scale organizations. The method relies on several small cross-functional self-organized teams (i.e., squads). The squad autonomy is a key driver in Spotify method, where a squad decides what to do and how to do it. To enable effective squad autonomy, each squad shall be aligned with a mission, strategy, short-term goals and other squads. Since a little known about Spotify method, there is a need to answer the question of: How can organizations work out and maintain the alignment to enable loosely coupled and tightly aligned squads? In this paper, we identify factors to support the alignment that is actually performed in practice but have never been discussed before in terms of Spotify method. We also present Spotify Tailoring by highlighting the modified and newly introduced processes to the method. Our work is based on a longitudinal embedded case study which was conducted in a real-world large-scale offshore software intensive organization that maintains mission-critical systems. According to the confidentiality agreement by the organization in question, we are not allowed to reveal a detailed description of the features of the explored project

Changes in aroma and sensory profile of food ingredients smoked in the presence of a zeolite filter

During smoking, formation of desirable smoky compounds and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are inextricably linked. We have previously developed a zeolite filter technology (PureSmoke Technology or PST) that reduces the PAH content of a smoke stream, particularly reducing the concentration of benzo[a]pyrene, a known carcinogen, by up to 93%. The aim of this work was to determine whether there were changes in the volatile and sensory profiles of ingredients smoked using PST compared to the traditional smoking process (Trad). Smoked tomato flakes (either PST or Trad) were added to either low-fat or full-fat cream cheese for sensory profiling and consumer preference tests, and volatile analysis was carried out using solid phase microextraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The sensory analysis showed a significant decrease (p < 0.01) in bitterness when the PST was employed and a significant decrease in overall smoky aroma and flavor (p < 0.001), which resulted in an increase in the perception of cheesy aroma and flavor. This was consistent with a decrease in many of the smoky aroma compounds, particularly the guaiacols. However, consumer preference tests showed that there was no adverse effect on the flavor of the products, and there was even a tendency for the PST product to be preferred to the Trad product (p = 0.096). The smoke compounds were quantitated and compared in smoked tomato paste. Odor activity values (OAVs) calculated from the literature thresholds suggested that guaiacol and 4-alk(en)yl-substituted guaiacols are likely to be among the most highly odor-active compounds in these smoked ingredients

Irish athletes’ attitudes towards seeking sport psychology consultation

The aim of this study was to replicate previous research examining attitudes to sport psychology consultation conducted in the United States, Germany, and United Kingdom (Martin, Lavallee, Kellmann & Page, 2004), and New Zealand (Anderson, Hodge, Lavallee, & Martin, 2004). The study employed the Sport Psychology Attitudes-Revised (SPA-R) questionnaire (Martin, Kellman, Lavallee & Page, 2002) in order to develop an understanding of the attitudes elite Irish athletes (N=240) hold toward sport psychology and also compare these attitudes with those found in other countries. Irish athletes in this study reported a generally positive attitude toward sport psychology provision overall, and also were identified as being open to receiving sport psychology assistance, reported moderately high levels of confidence in sport psychology, and indicated the lack of accessibility and availability to these services as distinguishing factors. Comparison of results with athletes from other countries suggested that positive attitudes toward sport psychology may be based on factors not directly associated with personal experiences of sport psychology. As the provision of sport psychology increases, practitioners need to better understand athletes' attitudes toward sport psychology so they can tailor their services to best meet the needs of athletes. In order to do this, further research related to cultural and national differences is required

Attitudes toward sport psychology consulting of adult athletes from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany

The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes about sport psychology consulting of athletes living in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany. The Sport Psychology Attitudes - Revised form (SPA-R; Martin, Kellmann, Lavallee, & Page, 2002) was administered to 404 athletes from the United States, 147 athletes from the United Kingdom, and 260 athletes from Germany. A 2 (Gender) x 3 (Nationality: American, British and German) x 2 (Type of Sport: physical contact and physical non-contact) MANCOVA was conducted with past sport psychology conducting experience as a covariant and attitudes about sport psychology as dependent variables. Follow-up univariate and discriminant function analyses were then performed to identify the attitiudes that maximized differences related to gender, nationality, and type of sport. Results revealed that attitudes about sport psychology services might be influenced by gender, nationality, and type of sport. Sport psychology practitioners must be sensitive to how personal characteristics and past experiences influence athletes' expectations and attitudes toward sport psychology consulting to improve the services they offer

Scaling up the Planning Game: Collaboration Challenges in Large-Scale Agile Product Development

One of the benefits of agile is close collaboration of customer and developer. This ensures good commitment and excellent knowledge flows of information about priorities and efforts. However, it is unclear if this benefit can be leveraged at scale. Clearly, it is infeasible to use practices such as planning game with several agile teams in the room. In this paper, we investigate how a large-scale agile organization manages, what challenges exist, and which opportunities can be leveraged. We found challenges in three areas: (i) the abil-ity to estimate, prioritize, and plan; (ii) the context of planning with respect to working environment, team build-up, and team spirit; and (iii) the ceremonial agreement which promises to allow leveraging abilities in a given context

A study of the Scrum Master’s role

Scrum is an increasingly common approach to software development adopted by organizations around the world. However, as organizations transition from traditional plan-driven development to agile development with Scrum, the question arises as to which Scrum role (Product Owner, Scrum Master, or Scrum Team Member) corresponds to a Project Manager, or conversely which Scrum role should the Project Managers adopt? In an attempt to answer this question, we adopted a mixed-method research approach comprising a systematic literature review and embedded case study of a commercial software development team. Our research has identified activities that comprise the Scrum Master role, and which additional roles are actually performed by Scrum Masters in practice. We found nine activities that are performed by Scrum Masters. In addition, we found that Scrum Masters also perform other roles, most importantly as Project Managers. This latter situation results in tension and conflict of interest that could have a negative impact on the performance of the team as a whole. These results point to the need to re-assess the role of Project Managers in organizations that adopt Scrum as a development approach. We hypothesize that it might be better for Project Managers to become Product Owners, as aspects of this latter role are more consistent with the traditional responsibilities of a Project Manager