An Examination of the Risks Associated with Widespread Deployment of Current Biometric Technologies for Data Security

Biometric technologies have been under development for years. Finger, face, and iris scanners are already in place in both high and low security environments. Over the next decade, many companies are preparing to deploy biometric scanners in everything from cars and pocketbooks to corporate offices and ATMs. The proliferation of a technology that is currently unregulated, non-standardized, and uses questionably secured databases to hold unique, non-secret, and irreplaceable personal identifiers - whether fingerprint, iris, facial scan, or some other - is a risky proposition. This paper looks at the myriad complications and caveats of biometric technology, and should serve to caution anyone, especially decision makers and influencers who manage data access and those who may consider implementing or authorizing the use of biometrics in their data environment

Analysis of selected materials flown on interior locations of the Long Duration Exposure Facility

This report documents the post-flight condition of selected hardware taken from interior locations on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). This hardware was generally in excellent condition. Outgassing data is presented for heat shrink tubing and fiberglass composite shims. Variation in total mass loss (TML) values for heat shrink tubing were correlated with location. Nylon grommets were evaluated for mechanical integrity; slight embrittlement was observed for flight specimens. Multi-layer insulation blankets, wire bundles, and paints in non-exposed interior locations were all in visibly good condition. Silicon-containing contaminant films were observed on silver-coated hex nuts at the space- and Earth-end interior locations

Post-modernism's use and abuse of Nietzsche

I focus on Nietzsche's architectural metaphor of self-construction in arguing for the claim that postmodern readings of Nietzsche misunderstand his various attacks on dogmatic philosophy as paving the way for acceptance of a self characterized by fundamental disunity. Nietzsche's attack on essentialist dogmatic metaphysics is a call to engage in a purposive self-creation under a unifying will, a will that possesses the strength to reinterpret history as a pathway to "the problem that we are". Nietzsche agrees with the postmodernists that unity is not a pre-given, however he would disavow their rejection of unity as a goal. Where the postmodernists celebrate "the death of the subject" Nietzsche rejects this valorization of disunity as a form of Nihilism and prescribes the creation of a genuine unified subjectivity to those few capable of such a goal. Postmodernists are nearer Nietzsche's idea of the Last Man than his idea of the Overman.Articl

Evaluation of Space Power Materials Flown on the Passive Optical Sample Assembly

Evaluating the performance of materials on the exterior of spacecraft is of continuing interest, particularly in anticipation of those applications that will require a long duration in low Earth orbit. The Passive Optical Sample Assembly (POSA) experiment flown on the exterior of Mir as a risk mitigation experiment for the International Space Station was designed to better understand the interaction of materials with the low Earth orbit environment and to better understand the potential contamination threats that may be present in the vicinity of spacecraft. Deterioration in the optical performance of candidate space power materials due to the low Earth orbit environment, the contamination environment, or both, must be evaluated in order to propose measures to mitigate such deterioration. The thirty two samples of space power materials studied here include solar array blanket materials such as polyimide Kapton H and SiO(x) coated polyimide Kapton H, front surface aluminized sapphire, solar dynamic concentrator materials such as silver on spin coated polyimide and aluminum on spin coated polyimide, CV 1144 silicone, and the thermal control paint Z-93-P. The physical and optical properties that were evaluated prior to and after the POSA flight include mass, total, diffuse, and specular reflectance, solar absorptance, and infrared emittance. Additional post flight evaluation included scanning electron microscopy to observe surface features caused by the low Earth orbit environment and the contamination environment, and variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry to identify contaminant type and thickness. This paper summarizes the results of pre- and post-flight measurements, identifies the mechanisms responsible for optical properties deterioration, and suggests improvements for the durability of materials in future missions

The Art of Hegel's Aesthetics. Hegelian Philosophy and the Perspectives of Art History

This volume explores one of modernity’s most profound and far-reaching philosophies of art: the Vorlesungen über die Ästhetik, delivered by Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel in the 1820s. The book has two overriding objectives: first, to ask how Hegel’s work illuminates specific periods and artworks in light of contemporary art-historical discussions; second, to explore how art history helps us make better sense and use of Hegelian aesthetics. In bringing together a range of internationally acclaimed critical voices, the volume establishes an important disciplinary bridge between aesthetics and art history. Given the recent resurgence of interest in ‘global’ art history, and calls for more comparative approaches to ‘visual culture’, contributors ask what role Hegel has played within the field – and what role he could play in the future. What can a historical treatment of art accomplish? How should we explain the ‘need’ for certain artistic forms at different historical junctures? Has art history been ‘Hegelian’ without fully acknowledging it? Indeed, have art historians shirked some of the fundamental questions that Hegel raised

Demonstration of an off-axis parabolic receiver for near-range retrieval of lidar ozone profiles

During the 2017 Ozone Water Land Environmental Transition Study (OWLETS), the Langley mobile ozone lidar system utilized a new small diameter receiver to improve the retrieval of near-surface signals from 0.1 to 1&thinsp;km in altitude. This new receiver utilizes a single 90&thinsp;∘ fiber-coupled, off-axis parabolic mirror resulting in a compact form that is easy to align. The single reflective surface offers the opportunity to easily expand its use to multiple wavelengths for additional measurement channels such as visible wavelength aerosol measurements. Detailed results compare the performance of the receiver to both ozonesonde and in situ measurements from a UAV platform, validating the performance of the near-surface ozone retrievals. Absolute O3 differences averaged 7&thinsp;% between lidar and ozonesonde data from 0.1 to 1.0&thinsp;km and yielded a 2.3&thinsp;% high bias in the lidar data, well within the uncertainty of the sonde measurements. Conversely, lidar O3 measurements from 0.1 to 0.2&thinsp;km averaged 10.5&thinsp;% lower than coincident UAV O3. A more detailed study under more stable atmospheric conditions would be necessary to resolve the residual instrument differences reported in this work. Nevertheless, this unique added capability is a significant improvement allowing for near-surface observation of ozone.</p