Flight flutter testing the B-58 airplane

The flight flutter tests on the B-58 airplane are described, and the philosophy of flight flutter testing is discussed. The instrumentation used in the airplane and in the telemetering receiving station on the ground is described along with the methods used for exciting the airplane and the flight test procedure. Also described is the type of data obtained and its reduction. An evaluation of the procedure and instrumentation is given with a discussion of desirable improvements for future testing

Recovery of spinning satellites

The behavior of a space tug and a spinning satellite in a coupled configuration was simulated and analyzed. A docking concept was developed to investigate the requirements pertaining to the design of a docking interface. Sensing techniques and control requirements for the chase vehicle were studied to assess the feasibility of an automatic docking. The effects of nutation dampers and liquid propellant slosh motion upon the docking transient were investigated

Gemini 15 Memories

Answers given by Karen Mahaffey to WKU Gemini jazz bands questionnaire in spring of 2016. See Gemini Jazz Bands online exhibit for more information

Primary task event-related potentials related to different aspects of information processing

The results of two studies which investigated the relationships between cognitive processing and components of transient event-related potentials (ERPs) are presented in a task in which mental workload was manipulated. The task involved the monitoring of an array of discrete readouts for values that went out of bounds, and was somewhat analogous to tasks performed in cockpits. The ERPs elicited by the changing readouts varied with the number of readouts being monitored, the number of monitored readouts that were close to going out of bounds, and whether or not the change took a monitored readout out of bounds. Moreover, different regions of the waveform differentially reflected these effects. The results confirm the sensitivity of scalp-recorded ERPs to the cognitive processes affected by mental workload and suggest the possibility of extracting useful ERP indices of primary task performance in a wide range of man-machine settings

Brain-wave measures of workload in advanced cockpits: The transition of technology from laboratory to cockpit simulator, phase 2

The present Phase 2 small business innovation research study was designed to address issues related to scalp-recorded event-related potential (ERP) indices of mental workload and to transition this technology from the laboratory to cockpit simulator environments for use as a systems engineering tool. The project involved five main tasks: (1) Two laboratory studies confirmed the generality of the ERP indices of workload obtained in the Phase 1 study and revealed two additional ERP components related to workload. (2) A task analysis' of flight scenarios and pilot tasks in the Advanced Concepts Flight Simulator (ACFS) defined cockpit events (i.e., displays, messages, alarms) that would be expected to elicit ERPs related to workload. (3) Software was developed to support ERP data analysis. An existing ARD-proprietary package of ERP data analysis routines was upgraded, new graphics routines were developed to enhance interactive data analysis, and routines were developed to compare alternative single-trial analysis techniques using simulated ERP data. (4) Working in conjunction with NASA Langley research scientists and simulator engineers, preparations were made for an ACFS validation study of ERP measures of workload. (5) A design specification was developed for a general purpose, computerized, workload assessment system that can function in simulators such as the ACFS

Designing Difference: Co-Production of Spaces of Potentiality

Design and Planning professionals have long been influenced by the belief in physically and spatially deterministic power over people and the environment, a belief that their representations of space become space. As a result the goal of design often becomes “fixing” or directing behavior and culture instead of letting culture happen. This outlook often prevents designers from engaging critically with culture, through representational space and spatial practice, as a crucial, possibly the most crucial, aspect in the design process. Just as human cultures interact to constantly reproduce and co-produce hybrid cultures, the professional designer and those users and experiencers of design (at whatever scale) must interact to co-produce spaces and places of activity. Through a critique of the practice of placemaking, we highlight the need to differentiate between participation and co-production. Understanding participation as one element of the design process and the role of design at larger scales of co-productive processes can help designers have a better understanding of how spaces are produced, and the role of designers in the creation of spaces of potentiality. Agamben’s writing on potentialities and Lefebvre’s spatial triad offer a theoretical framework to investigate the ethical role of professional designers in society while taking a critical stance against the singular solutions of modernist urban transformation. Spaces of Potentiality are seen here as a designer’s simultaneous withdrawal from rational problem solving and deterministic solutions, and an engagement with open source strategies for the co-production of urban space

“There Is Something Unique … about the Government Funding of the Arts for First Amendment Purposes”: An Institutional Approach to Granting Government Entities Free Speech Rights

The common understanding of the First Amendment is that its purpose is primarily libertarian, serving to protect private citizens\u27 expression from government censorship. In the modern era, however, the government\u27s pervasive presence-especially in the role of funder of private activity-has blurred the lines between governmental and private speech. Further, the relatively new, increasingly influential government speech doctrine-which dictates that the government will not be subjected to First Amendment scrutiny when it is engaging in communication-has been the Supreme Court\u27s guidepost of late when the Court has been confronted with a case involving expression with both private and public elements. The government speech doctrine as currently applied by the Court is a relatively blunt instrument, one which does not distinguish between different levels of government or the varied purposes of government activity. The overwhelming weight of First Amendment doctrine, however, suggests that the application of the Free Speech Clause should be case-specific, with each type of government regulation receiving a level of scrutiny appropriately tailored to thespecific type of speech with which it deals and the context in which that speech operates. This Note argues that the Court should adopt a similarly contextual approach when choosing how and whether to apply the government speech doctrine. Specifically, it posits that when a government organization is charged with a task that heavily implicates the First Amendment rights of private parties-such as arts funding-and Congress has purposefully given it a measure of independence to allow it to fulfill that role in a neutral manner, the Court should afford that organization\u27s selection activities protection under the Free Speech Clause, rather than treating them as government speech. This approach would allow independent organizations responsible for promoting activities clearly protected by the First Amendment-like creative writing, journalism, and the visual arts-todefend their merit-based selection decisions against partisan political influence, instead of conflating the two levels of decisionmaking into one broad category of government speech. Though this approach ostensibly goes against the libertarian aims of the First Amendment, this Note seeks to demonstrate that giving independent-minded government organizations free speech rights on an institutional basis actually comports more closely with the theory, history, and doctrine of the First Amendment than does the current government speech doctrine

Evaluating the Biomechanics of the Pediatric Foot in Turner Syndrome

Turner syndrome is a genetic disorder that can present clinically with multiple concurrent comorbidities. This case report describes a 12-year-old girl with Turner syndrome who was referred for podiatric medical assessment and explores the application of optoelectronic stereophotogrammetry in the biomechanical assessment of the foot and lower limb. A four-segment kinematic foot model using 14-mm reflective markers was applied to the foot and lower limb of the patient to track motion at the tibia, rearfoot, forefoot, and hallux. Kinematic results presented in this case study illustrate evidence of excessive foot pronation throughout the stance phase of gait. Whether excessive pronation is a general characteristic of foot function in Turner syndrome remains to be confirmed, but the findings presented suggest that a comprehensive evaluation of foot biomechanics in patients with Turner syndrome may be warranted

Cytosolic Phospholipase A2α and Eicosanoids Regulate Expression of Genes in Macrophages Involved in Host Defense and Inflammation

Acknowledgments: We thank Dr. Robert Barkley and Charis Uhlson for mass spectrometry analysis. Funding: This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health HL34303 (to C.C.L., R.C.M. and D.L.B), DK54741 (to J.V.B.), GM5322 (to D.L.W.) and the Wellcome Trust (to N.A.R.G. and G.D.B.). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD