The Fear of Things to Come: Science Fiction Before and After World War II

A broad survey of science fiction before and after WWII. Examining changes in the fiction and how it is reflective of collective perception of technology

Perceptions of childcare workers about components of effective care in group homes

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of care proviided to children in group homes in San Bernardino County. In an effort to better understand the effetiveness of care, childcare workers were interviewed on their perceptions of the components of effective care for children in group homes

Status and Design Concepts for the Hydrogen On-Orbit Storage and Supply Experiment

This paper studies concepts for the Hydrogen On-Orbit Storage and Supply Experiment (HOSS). HOSS is a space flight experiment whose objectives are: Show stable gas supply for storage and direct gain solar-thermal thruster designs; and evaluate and compare low-g performance of active and passive pressure control via a thermodynamic vent system (TVS) suitable for solar-thermal upper stages. This paper shows that the necessary experimental equipment for HOSS can be accommodated in a small hydrogen dewar of 36 to 80 liter. Thermal designs for these dewars which meet the on-orbit storage requirements can be achieved. Furthermore ground hold insulation and shielding concepts are achieved which enable storing initially subcooled liquid hydrogen in these small dewars without venting in excess of 144 hours

Cooling SABER with a miniature pulse tube refrigerator

Utah State University/Space Dynamics Laboratory (USU/SDL), teaming with NASA Langley Research Center, is currently building the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry(SABER) instrument. Stringent mass and power constraints, together with a greater than two year mission life, led to the selection of a TRW miniature pulse tube refrigerator to cool SABER\u27s infrared detectors to the required temperature of 75 K. This paper provides an overview of the SABER thermal management plan and the challenges encountered in matching the refrigerator characteristics with instrument performance requirements under the broadly variant space environments expected for this mission. Innovative technologies were developed to keep heat loads within the limited cooling capacity of the miniature refrigerator, as well as mechanically isolating but thermally connecting the refrigerator cold block to the focal plane assembly (FPA). A passive radiator will maintain the SABER telescope at an average temperature of 230 K while a separate radiator will reject heat from the refrigerator and electronics at approximately 260 K. Significant breadboard tests of various components of the SABER instrument have taken place and the details of one of these will be discussed. The test included attaching a miniature mechanical refrigerator, borrowed from the Air Force, to the SABER FPA. This opportunity gave the SABER team a significant head start in learning about integrating and testing issues related with the TRW miniature pulse tube refrigerator. SABER is scheduled to be launched in January 2000 as the primary instrument of NASA\u27s TIMED (Thermosphere-lonosphere-Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics) spacecraft. The TIMED program is being managed by the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University

Building Bridges: Contextualizing Worldviews Through Cultural Syndromes and the Importance of Expressing Metaphorical Perspective

This critical review of literature draws upon current practices in teaching culture. An examination of existing theories and models exposes limitations and a lack of consensus on how to teach varying worldviews across disciplines. This analysis establishes that understanding the context of human behaviors offers a level of comprehension that results in a deeper, more significant cross-cultural communication experience. Specifically, this review probes how understanding cultural syndromes offers an appropriate contextual framework and how the use of metaphor creates insight into another culture’s meaning. The authors of this review conclude that further investigation is needed to rethink and align existing theory and methodologies into new models for teaching and understanding culture.Key words: Teaching culture; Cross-cultural communication; Metaphorical perspectiv

The GFCAT: a catalog of ultraviolet variables observed by GALEX with sub-minute resolution

We have performed the first systematic search of the full GALEX data archive for astrophysical variability on timescales of seconds to minutes by rebinning data across the whole mission to 30-second time resolution. The result is the GALEX Flare Catalog (GFCAT) which describes 1426 ultraviolet variable sources, including stellar flares, eclipsing binaries, $\delta$ Scuti and RR Lyrae variables, and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Many of these sources have never previously been identified as variable. We have also assembled a table of observations of ultraviolet flares and accompanying statistics and measurements, including energies, and of candidate eclipsing stars. This effort was enabled by a significantly-enhanced version of the gPhoton software for analyzing time-domain GALEX data; this gPhoton2 package is available to support follow-on efforts.Comment: accepted in ApJS; data available as a MAST High Level Science Product via https://dx.doi.org/10.17909/8d57-169

Knowledge of AIDS and HIV transmission among drug users in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Proper knowledge of HIV transmission is not enough for people to adopt protective behaviors, but deficits in this information may increase HIV/AIDS vulnerability.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To assess drug users' knowledge of HIV/AIDS and the possible association between knowledge and HIV testing.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A Cross-sectional study conducted in 2006/7 with a convenience sample of 295 illicit drug users in Rio de Janeiro, assessing knowledge on AIDS/HIV transmission and its relationship with HIV testing. Information from 108 randomly selected drug users who received an educational intervention using cards illustrating situations potentially associated with HIV transmission were assessed using Multidimensional Scaling (MDS).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Almost 40% of drug users reported having never used condoms and more than 60% reported not using condoms under the influence of substances. Most drug users (80.6%) correctly answered that condoms make sex safer, but incorrect beliefs are still common (e.g. nearly 44% believed HIV can be transmitted through saliva and 55% reported that HIV infection can be transmitted by sharing toothbrushes), with significant differences between drug users who had and who had not been tested for HIV. MDS showed queries on vaginal/anal sex and sharing syringes/needles were classified in the same set as effective modes of HIV transmission. The event that was further away from this core of properly perceived risks referred to blood donation, perceived as risky. Other items were found to be dispersed, suggesting inchoate beliefs on transmission modes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Drug users have an increased HIV infection vulnerability compared to the general population, this specific population expressed relevant doubts about HIV transmission, as well as high levels of risky behavior. Moreover, the findings suggest that possessing inaccurate HIV/AIDS knowledge may be a barrier to timely HIV testing. Interventions should be tailored to such specific characteristics.</p