The Emerging Role of Universities in Collective Impact Initiatives for Community Benefit

Universities are increasing their efforts to more clearly demonstrate their social value. This article illustrates how higher education administrators can incorporate collective impact partnerships in their community benefit strategies. The article explores two of the more familiar paradigms for community benefit—community engagement and anchor institution. Collective impact principles and practices are then presented. Finally, a case study provides a tangible example of how one university’s role in a collective impact initiative transitioned in response to the community. We end the article with ten takeaways and an invitation for higher education administrators to identify their own learning and action steps that can help shift focus from proving to improving their institution’s value to the community

Attitude Model of a Reaction Wheel/Fixed Thruster Based Satellite Using Telemetry Data

Attitude determination of satellites is normally the job of inertial instruments, such as gyroscopes, or through sensing instruments, such as star trackers or Global Positioning Satellites (GPS). Satellite health monitoring systems watch and determine if the satellite deviates from its normal operating attitude orientation. Knowing the orientation of a satellite is essential in being able to control it in order to complete the satellite\u27s designated mission. While there are a multitude of ways to determine a satellite\u27s orientation, very little research has been done on determining if the attitude of a satellite can be determined directly from telemetry data of the attitude control systems and an accurate spacecraft model. The fidelity of a satellite attitude determination model required to get reasonable predictions from using only telemetry data of the attitude controllers, such as thruster on/off indicators and reaction wheel rotor speeds, is investigated. Experimental tests using telemetry data received from the Air Force Institute of Technology\u27s (AFIT) Simulated Satellite, SimSat, is used in verifying a Matlab model which outputs SimSat\u27s orientation from SimSat\u27s reaction wheel and thruster telemetry data. Software modeling results showed that it is possible to determine a satellite\u27s attitude from only the attitude controllers\u27 telemetry data when the satellite\u27s dynamic model is known. Testing involving SimSat showed that attitude determination from the Matlab model is possible but not perfect. Additional information needs to be known about the satellite\u27s systems and characteristics and about the environment in which the satellite operates, in order to increase the fidelity of the model for more accurate predictions of the satellite\u27s attitude. Even though more research is needed, there is promise for using satellite attitude controllers fields such as health monitorin

Form-of-Life: From Politics to Aesthetics (and Back)

This article examines an often-mentioned but largely undeveloped concept in the work of Giorgio Agamben and in particular his Homo Sacer project: form-of-life. What is at stake in this concept is, I attempt to show, a way of thinking “politics” outside of the space of sovereignty. By examining a short text on this notion published just before the opening installment of the Homo Sacer sequence, this article demonstrates the way this early formulation of the concept is indebted to certain strains of Italian workerist and post-workerist thought. The fundamental question this analysis poses, however, is whether the concept of form-of-life, being to some extent “beyond” the classical space of politics, should in fact be understood as fundamentally aesthetic in nature

Decay estimates for variable coefficient wave equations in exterior domains

In this article we consider variable coefficient, time dependent wave equations in exterior domains. We prove localized energy estimates if the domain is star-shaped and global in time Strichartz estimates if the domain is strictly convex.Comment: 15 pages. In the new version, some typos are fixed and a minor correction was made to the proof of Lemma 1

Jane Jacobs' ‘Cities First’ Model and Archaeological Reality

In The Economy of Cities, Jane Jacobs conjectured that the world's first cities preceded the origins of agriculture, a proposition that was most recently revived by Peter Taylor in the pages of this journal. Jacobs' idea was out of line with extant archaeological findings when first advanced decades ago, and it remains firmly contradicted by a much fuller corpus of data today. After a review of how and why Jacobs formulated her ‘cities first’ model, we review current archaeological knowledge from the Near East, China and Mesoamerica to document the temporal precedence of agriculture before urbanism in each of these regions. Contrary to the opinions of Jacobs and Taylor, archaeological data are in fact sufficiently robust to reconstruct patterns of diet, settlement and social organization in the past, and to assign dates to the relevant sites. Our response illustrates how generations of archaeological discoveries have yielded solid empirical foundations for the evaluation of wider social scientific debates.Anthropolog

AWIPS II Application Development, a SPoRT Perspective

The National Weather Service (NWS) is deploying its nextgeneration decision support system, called AWIPS II (Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System II). NASA's Shortterm Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center has developed several software 'plugins' to extend the capabilities of AWIPS II. SPoRT aims to continue its mission of improving shortterm forecasts by providing NASA and NOAA products on the decision support system used at NWS weather forecast offices (WFOs). These products are not included in the standard Satellite Broadcast Network feed provided to WFOs. SPoRT has had success in providing support to WFOs as they have transitioned to AWIPS II. Specific examples of transitioning SPoRT plugins to WFOs with newly deployed AWIPS II systems will be presented. Proving Ground activities (GOESR and JPSS) will dominate SPoRT's future AWIPS II activities, including tool development as well as enhancements to existing products. In early 2012 SPoRT initiated the Experimental Product Development Team, a group of AWIPS II developers from several institutions supporting NWS forecasters with innovative products. The results of the team's spring and fall 2013 meeting will be presented. Since AWIPS II developers now include employees at WFOs, as well as many other institutions related to weather forecasting, the NWS has dealt with a multitude of software governance issues related to the difficulties of multiple remotely collaborating software developers. This presentation will provide additional examples of ResearchtoOperations plugins, as well as an update on how governance issues are being handled in the AWIPS II developer community