Closing Remarks

This closing remark conatins the text of John Salter\u27s speech closing the conference organized by the Human Rights Institute to commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration of the International Bar Association

Real time control for NASA robotic gripper

Control laws (in some optimal sense) are being developed for the gripper/nut runner end effector. Control laws for the gripper and nut runner portions of the end effector may be developed independently since these two systems are decoupled. A hybrid force/position controller will be used for both the gripper and nut runner. The development of the gripper controller is explained. Sensory data available to the controller is obtained from an array of strain gages as well as a linear potentiometer. Applying well known optimal control theoretic principles, the control which minimizes the transition time between positions is obtained. In addition, a robust force control scheme is developed to contend with the strain gage drift caused by extreme temperature variations encountered in space

John A. Salter to Dr. Silver, 6 March 1958

Personal correspondenc

Financial Confidence Among Retirees: The Role of Financial Advice and Planning Duration

This paper examines the factors contributing to the financial confidence of retirees using the 2008 wave of a new nationally representative proprietary dataset of retirees. The results indicate that income, risk tolerance, duration of pre-retirement financial planning, and the utilization of professional financial advice are positive predictors of retirement confidence. The results also indicate that retirees with defined benefit plans are more likely to be confident about their retirement and conversely, retirees with defined contribution plans are less likely to be confident about their retirement. This paper provides useful discussion for financial planning practitioners, economists, and policy makers.Retirement planning, Financial advice, Planning duration

Why is Water so Efficient at Suppressing the Effects of Explosions?

When most experienced explosives engineers first observe an explosion suppressed by bags of water, they are convinced that there has been a misfire. Depending on the amount of water and the way it is contained, the overpressure can be reduced by a factor of ten, sometimes more than twenty. The number of fragments from shell cases can be one hundred times less. Their velocities can be seven times. Slugs from focal point charges are stopped. Safety distances around magazines can be cut. The number of people evacuated from a bomb disposal site can be reduced. In June 1999, engineers from 33 Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) saved an entire village in Kosovo from the detonation of a 2,000-pound NATO bomb by using water bags

Raskolnikov’s Return to Nature

In this paper I suggest a partial reading of Crime and Punishment which draws on the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. I outline the Rousseauan idea of a “return to nature,” and then apply it to the case of Raskolnikov, as a means of revealing important commonalities between Rousseau’s and Dostoevsky’s thoughts about society. I maintain that a Rousseauan perspective can help us to understand the way in which Crime and Punishment connects with Dostoevsky’s social-philosophical concerns, through outlining the mechanics of how the story of Raskolnikov can be seen as serving Dostoevsky’s attack on Nihilism and illustrating his positive social ideal, the altruistic Christian brotherhood

Coyote Mail

This thesis consists of four short stories. They are traditional in the sense that each involves a conflict, and resolution of a conflict. Coyote Mail, the first story, deals with a grandfather who must face the fact that change is inevitable, and that he cannot interrupt it. Ambush involves a young man who, after being pushed to the limit by a bully, decides to take drastic action. The third story, Every Blue in the Sky concerns a law enforcement officer who finds himself forced to think about his racial heritage. The fourth story, Big Rabbit Sets Me Free, concerns a man who overcomes great odds to succeed at a task given him by a mystical being. The stories in this thesis offer variety in terms of point of view, subject matter, length, voice, and verb tense. They offer an interesting reading experience, but should also inspire the reader to consider his/her own conflicts and experiences