International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) geotail mission

The Geotail spacecraft will be provided by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and will provide a Delta Launch Vehicle, tracking support by the Deep Space Network (DSN), and data processing support by GSFC. In exchange, ISAS will reserve part of the payload for NASA instruments together with a certain number of investigators from the United States. As the solar wind flows toward the Earth, some of the energy is modified by the Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and upper atmosphere. This interaction causes the flow to be altered, creating a plasmasphere, plasma sheet, and ring currents in the Earth's Geomagnetic Tail region. The result is a series of distinct regions which affect processes on the Earth. By traversing the tail region to a variety of depths, Geotail will be able to determine the size, position, and other properties of these regions. When correlated with information obtained from the other ISAS spacecraft, Geotail data should help to provide a more complete understanding of how the solar processes affect the Earth's environment. The flight profile is given, and information is presented in tabular form on the following topics: DSN support, frequency assignments, telemetry, command, and tracking support responsibility

RTI for English Language Learners: Appropriately Using Screening and Progress Monitoring Tools to Improve Instructional Outcomes

This brief provides a framework for using Response to Intervention (RTI) with students who are English Language Learners (ELL) from Hispanic backgrounds. The first section examines the characteristics of these students; defines the RTI process; and then models how students? linguistic, cultural, and experiential backgrounds can guide appropriate screening, progress monitoring, and goal setting that will help promote English literacy. Although the majority of ELLs in the United States are Hispanic and come from Spanish-speaking homes, students classified as ELL speak more than 350 languages (Ethnologue, 2009). This brief provides an example of the RTI framework for a student whose native language is Spanish; however, the same framework may be applied with all ELLs, taking into account other culturespecific factors. Teachers will find it helpful to learn more about their students? native languages to understand the specific challenges they will face based on the similarities and differences between their native language (L1) and English (L2). Finally, this brief discusses the crucial need for systems-level changes to ensure educational equity for ELLs and other diverse student groups

Reflections of the Pioneers: An Oral History of the Early Years of Genetic Counseling

It has been 52 years since the first class of genetic counselors in the United States graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and entered into the medical profession. The determination and spearheading mentality the first generations of genetic counselors had for their patients and proved to their colleagues is the apparent and undeniable reason they are referred to as ‘pioneers’. The aim of this study was to capture and preserve the early history of our still-young field of genetic counseling. The content was gathered via five group interviews of eleven individuals total and thirteen questionnaire submissions to represent the pioneering generation of genetic counseling. Our results demonstrated that these pioneers met both challenge and opportunity with tenacity, insight, and collaboration, enabling the profession to rapidly grow and evolve over the past half-century. Moments like the separation from the American Board of Medical Genetics and subsequent formation of the American Board of Genetic Counseling was the crucible in which the future of genetic counseling blossomed. It placed the ability to chart the course and direction of this field into our own hands. This agency is crucial in facing the current and future challenges that will shape this field. Change is our constant across generations and adaptation is necessary. While the demands we face have changed, this agency, sense of community, and pioneering mentality are traits that have and can continue to serve us in achieving greater heights

Enhancement and suppression effects resulting from information structuring in sentences

Information structuring through the use of cleft sentences increases the processing efficiency of references to elements within the scope of focus. Furthermore, there is evidence that putting certain types of emphasis on individual words not only enhances their subsequent processing, but also protects these words from becoming suppressed in the wake of subsequent information, suggesting mechanisms of enhancement and suppression. In Experiment 1, we showed that clefted constructions facilitate the integration of subsequent sentences that make reference to elements within the scope of focus, and that they decrease the efficiency with reference to elements outside of the scope of focus. In Experiment 2, using an auditory text-change-detection paradigm, we showed that focus has similar effects on the strength of memory representations. These results add to the evidence for enhancement and suppression as mechanisms of sentence processing and clarify that the effects occur within sentences having a marked focus structure

Effects of ATC automation on precision approaches to closely space parallel runways

Improved navigational technology (such as the Microwave Landing System and the Global Positioning System) installed in modern aircraft will enable air traffic controllers to better utilize available airspace. Consequently, arrival traffic can fly approaches to parallel runways separated by smaller distances than are currently allowed. Previous simulation studies of advanced navigation approaches have found that controller workload is increased when there is a combination of aircraft that are capable of following advanced navigation routes and aircraft that are not. Research into Air Traffic Control automation at Ames Research Center has led to the development of the Center-TRACON Automation System (CTAS). The Final Approach Spacing Tool (FAST) is the component of the CTAS used in the TRACON area. The work in this paper examines, via simulation, the effects of FAST used for aircraft landing on closely spaced parallel runways. The simulation contained various combinations of aircraft, equipped and unequipped with advanced navigation systems. A set of simulations was run both manually and with an augmented set of FAST advisories to sequence aircraft, assign runways, and avoid conflicts. The results of the simulations are analyzed, measuring the airport throughput, aircraft delay, loss of separation, and controller workload

Human Factors Assessment: The Passive Final Approach Spacing Tool (pFAST) Operational Evaluation

Automation to assist air traffic controllers in the current terminal and en route air traff ic environments is being developed at Ames Research Center in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration. This automation, known collectively as the Center-TRACON Automation System (CTAS), provides decision- making assistance to air traffic controllers through computer-generated advisories. One of the CTAS tools developed specifically to assist terminal area air traffic controllers is the Passive Final Approach Spacing Tool (pFAST). An operational evaluation of PFAST was conducted at the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility. Human factors data collected during the test describe the impact of the automation upon the air traffic controller in terms of perceived workload and acceptance. Results showed that controller self-reported workload was not significantly increased or reduced by the PFAST automation; rather, controllers reported that the levels of workload remained primarily the same. Controller coordination and communication data were analyzed, and significant differences in the nature of controller coordination were found. Controller acceptance ratings indicated that PFAST was acceptable. This report describes the human factors data and results from the 1996 Operational Field Evaluation of Passive FAST