An evaluation of selected NASA scientific and technical information products: Results of a pilot study

A pilot study was conducted to evaluate selected NASA scientific and technical information (STI) products. The study, which utilized survey research in the form of a self-administered mail questionnaire, had a two-fold purpose -- to gather baseline data regarding the use and perceived usefulness of selected NASA STI products and to develop/validate questions that could be used in a future study concerned with the role of the U.S. government technical report in aeronautics. The sample frame consisted of 25,000 members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the U.S. with academic, government or industrial affiliation. Simple random sampling was used to select 2000 individuals to participate in the study. Three hundred fifty-three usable questionnaires (17 percent response rate) were received by the established cutoff date. The findings indicate that: (1) NASA STI is used and is generally perceived as being important; (2) the use rate for NASA-authored conference/meeting papers, journal articles, and technical reports is fairly uniform; (3) a considerable number of respondents are unfamiliar with STAR (Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports), IAA (International Aerospace Abstracts), SCAN (Selected Current Aerospace Notices), and the RECON on-line retrieval system; (4) a considerable number of respondents who are familiar with these media do not use them; and (5) the perceived quality of NASA-authored journal articles and technical reports is very good

The Use of Affinity Groups by Fortune 100 Firms

We found that 66 of the Fortune 100 firms mentioned affinity groups on their websites. The most frequently mentioned themes were professional development (68%) and diversity (66%). The vast majority represent protected classes. Fifty-eight percent fell into the “legal” category; 30% fulfilled a business function in that they were targeted at people from different countries which could benefit marketing, recruiting, and retention efforts; and 13% fell into the “other” category. We present possible reasons why firms may not have them listed. We conclude by discussing SMART goals and how they can be used to make affinity groups more effective

The Great Academic-Practitioner Divide: A Tale of Two Paradigms

For decades, many academicians have expressed concern about the gap between themselves and practitioners. In those decades, much has been written about the probable causes of and methods for narrowing this gap. Despite the dialog and the efforts to narrow it, the gap remains. This paper explores four assumptions related to the gap. We use paradigm theory to examine the academic world and the practitioner world and to explain how the separate worlds perpetuate the gap. We then propose that academicians either accept the gap or legitimize the pracademic viewpoint. a paradigm that reconciles the differences between the academic and practitioner paradigms. Specific suggestions are provided regarding the establishment and development of the pracademic paradigm

What Tattoos Tell Customers About Salespeople: The Role of Gender Norms

This study looks at how the meaning of visible tattoos impacts customer ratings of salespeople. Given the prevalence of tattoos, sales managers can no longer have a no tattoo policy. As such, they must understand how customers view different types of tattoos on salespeople. To this end, we examine the meaning and appropriateness of highly masculine and highly feminine tattoos on salespeople in two industries, real estate and automobile sales. Overall, people with tattoos trust and are more willing to work with tattooed salespeople than people who do not have tattoos. Furthermore, salespeople with masculine tattoos are considered more masculine than salespeople with feminine tattoos. People view feminine tattoos more positively than masculine tattoos. As such, customers trust and are more willing to work with saleswomen who have feminine tattoos. These effects are diminished for salesmen because feminine tattoos are gender inconsistent

The Impact of Bilingual Labeling in the U.S. on Package and Product Evaluation

This paper explores the effect of bilingual (English-Spanish) product packaging on the perceptions of U.S. consumers toward the package and the product inside. Two experimental studies show that 1) products in bilingual packages are seen as targeting Hispanics living in the U.S., 2) package characteristics and the product itself are rated lower when the product is in a bilingual package versus an English-only package, especially among highly ethnocentric subjects, and 3) of the three bilingual formats tested (English on two sides with Spanish on the other two; an English paragraph followed by a Spanish paragraph on the same side; and alternating lines of English and Spanish on the same side), the alternating paragraph format is rated most favorably

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 4:] Technical communications in aerospace: An analysis of the practices reported by US and European aerospace engineers and scientists

Two pilot studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of U.S. and European aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: (1) solicit opinions regarding the importance of technical communications; (2) determine the use and production of technical communications; (3) seek views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; (4) determine use of libraries, information centers, and online database; (5) determine use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to randomly selected aerospace engineers and scientists, with a slightly modified version sent to European colleagues. Their responses to selected questions are presented in this paper

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 2:] Technical communications in aeronautics: Results of an exploratory study. An analysis of managers' and nonmanagers' responses

Data collected from an exploratory study concerned with the technical communications practices of aerospace engineers and scientists were analyzed to test the primary assumption that aerospace managers and nonmanagers have different technical communications practices. Five assumptions were established for the analysis. Aerospace managers and nonmanagers were found to have different technical communications practices for three of the five assumptions tested. Although aerospace managers and nonmanagers were found to have different technical communications practices, the evidence was neither conclusive nor compelling that the presumption of difference in practices could be attributed to the duties performed by aerospace managers and nonmanagers

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 3:] Technical communications in aeronautics: Results of an exploratory study. An analysis of profit managers' and nonprofit managers' responses

Data collected from an exploratory study concerned with the technical communications practices of aerospace engineers and scientists were analyzed to test the primary assumption that profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community have different technical communications practices. Five assumptions were established for the analysis. Profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community were found to have different technical communications practices for one of the five assumptions tested. It was, therefore, concluded that profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community do not have different technical communications practices

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 1, part 1:] Technical communications in aeronautics: Results of an exploratory study

A study was undertaken that explored several aspects of technical communications in aeronautics. The study, which utilized survey research in the form of a self-administered questionnaire, was sent to 2,000 randomly selected members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Six hundred and six usable questionnaires (30.3 percent) were received by the established cut off date. The study had five objectives. The first was to solicit the opinions of aeronautical engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine their use and production of technical communications; third, to seek their views on the content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine their use of libraries/technical information centers; and finally, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. The findings add considerable information to the knowledge of technical communications practices among aeronautical engineers and scientists and reinforce some of the conventional wisdom about technical communications and question other widely-held notions

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Use of Communications Sources: An Intercultural Investigation of Practices in the US and Russia

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of U.S./Russian cultural differences in communications among scientists and engineers in applied technology industries. This is important because the advent of perestroika, the breakup of the Soviet Union, and massive moves toward privatization make Russia a potential partner in economic endeavors and, at the same time, a possible competitor in the international arena. Unfortunately the results of U.S./Soviet collaborative endeavors have not always met with expectations. Since 1987, when the former USSR adopted a law on joint ventures, evidence has emerged as to the causes of many failures of these cooperative arrangements. While international strategic alliances face many structural barriers, failures of these cooperative ventures have often resulted from a lack of understanding of the more intangible barrier of major differences in cultural environments between the partners (Cattaneo, 1992). Cultural differences not only affect business operations but also raise questions for scholars and practitioners who have advocated that U.S. management theories apply abroad. Boyacigiller and Adler (1991), Doktor, Tung, and Von Glinow (1991), and Hofstede (1993) observed that most U.S. scholars have continued to export management concepts and practices abroad assuming the concepts were universally valid despite the fact that Western organizational theory has placed little emphasis on factors such as history, social setting, culture, and government (Boyacigiller & Adler, 1991). High technology industries such as aerospace, which includes the cormmercial aviation segment, have characteristics that make the industry an excellent platform to study cultural implications for technical communications. The investigation of this group is worthwhile for several reasons. First, high technology industries are becoming more international and more engaged in collaborative endeavors. Second, the industries are highly dependent on effective innovation diffusion which, according to Fischer (1979), is essentially information exchange. And, third, studies of innovative project management have found that information availability was a critical factor in project success or failure (e.g., Link & Zmud, 1987; Tushman, 1978, 1979). We propose that a gap in the literature exists that centers on whether U.S. paradigms of commnunications behavior apply to other cultures. First, we will explore early findings in the U.S. that held that the choice of an information source was a function of the 'law of least effort' rather than quality (e.g., Allen, 1977; Cuinan, 1983; DeWhirst, 1971; Hardy, 1982; O'Reilly, 1982; Rosenberg, 1967). Second, we will explore the contingency approaches such as that of Tushman (1979) and the later work of Daft and Lengel (1984, 1987), Huber and Daft (1987) and Lengel and Daft (1988) who held that information choice was a function of the nature of the task at hand. A third issue to be addressed is the confounding problem of presumed differences between scientists and engineers in information gathering behavior (Allen, 1977). Finally, we will investigate whether cultural differences cast doubt on the applicability of findings from U.S. situations to other cultures