THE BIOLOGICAL AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF TRANSFERABLE BACTEROIDES R PLASMIDS

In this literature review I will briefly describe the general biology of transferable antibiotic resistance in bacteria, the genetic elements involved (plasmids) and several specific plasmid associated phenotypes. This will be followed with a review of the general biology of Bacteroides, the information known concerning its plasmid reservoir and finally a review of the information documenting the emergence of transferable clindamycin resistance in Bacteroides. The latter aspect represents the central focus of research described in this thesis

Content and Context: The Contributions of William Van Alstyne to First Amendment Interpretation

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The Constitutionality of Mandatory Public School Community Service Programs

Constitutional challenges to community service programs may be divided into two generic types--those raised by students or parents who object to the requirement of community service, and those raised by students, parents, organizations, or agencies who object to the selection criteria used to include or exclude organizations or agencies eligible to participate in community service programs

Hubble Space Telescope: SRM/QA observations and lessons learned

The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Optical Systems Board of Investigation was established on July 2, 1990 to review, analyze, and evaluate the facts and circumstances regarding the manufacture, development, and testing of the HST Optical Telescope Assembly (OTA). Specifically, the board was tasked to ascertain what caused the spherical aberration and how it escaped notice until on-orbit operation. The error that caused the on-orbit spherical aberration in the primary mirror was traced to the assembly process of the Reflective Null Corrector, one of the three Null Correctors developed as special test equipment (STE) to measure and test the primary mirror. Therefore, the safety, reliability, maintainability, and quality assurance (SRM&QA) investigation covers the events and the overall product assurance environment during the manufacturing phase of the primary mirror and Null Correctors (from 1978 through 1981). The SRM&QA issues that were identified during the HST investigation are summarized. The crucial product assurance requirements (including nonconformance processing) for the HST are examined. The history of Quality Assurance (QA) practices at Perkin-Elmer (P-E) for the period under investigation are reviewed. The importance of the information management function is discussed relative to data retention/control issues. Metrology and other critical technical issues also are discussed. The SRM&QA lessons learned from the investigation are presented along with specific recommendations. Appendix A provides the MSFC SRM&QA report. Appendix B provides supplemental reference materials. Appendix C presents the findings of the independent optical consultants, Optical Research Associates (ORA). Appendix D provides further details of the fault-tree analysis portion of the investigation process

Electronic collaboration: Some effects of telecommunication media and machine intelligence on team performance

Both NASA and DoD have had a long standing interest in teamwork, distributed decision making, and automation. While research on these topics has been pursued independently, it is becoming increasingly clear that the integration of social, cognitive, and human factors engineering principles will be necessary to meet the challenges of highly sophisticated scientific and military programs of the future. Images of human/intelligent-machine electronic collaboration were drawn from NASA and Air Force reports as well as from other sources. Here, areas of common concern are highlighted. A description of the author's research program testing a 'psychological distancing' model of electronic media effects and human/expert system collaboration is given