Multi-Dimensional Damage Detection

Methods and systems may provide for a structure having a plurality of interconnected panels, wherein each panel has a plurality of detection layers separated from one another by one or more non-detection layers. The plurality of detection layers may form a grid of conductive traces. Additionally, a monitor may be coupled to each grid of conductive traces, wherein the monitor is configured to detect damage to the plurality of interconnected panels in response to an electrical property change with respect to one or more of the conductive traces. In one example, the structure is part of an inflatable space platform such as a spacecraft or habitat

Multi-Dimensional Damage Detection

Methods and systems may provide for a structure having a plurality of interconnected panels, wherein each panel has a plurality of detection layers separated from one another by one or more non-detection layers. The plurality of detection layers may form a grid of conductive traces. Additionally, a monitor may be coupled to each grid of conductive traces, wherein the monitor is configured to detect damage to the plurality of interconnected panels in response to an electrical property change with respect to one or more of the conductive traces. In one example, the structure is part of an inflatable space platform such as a spacecraft or habitat

The literacy practices for assessment in the vocational curriculum - the case of Hospitality

This article explores two case studies of the literacy practices of assessment in the vocational curriculum. Previous studies have identified learning in the vocational curriculum as being assessment-driven and that subjects often associated with limited levels of literacy actually require multiple literacy practices from students. Drawing upon studies of the literacy practices of assessment in the teaching of Hospitality, the study explores the academic and occupational forms of reading and writing required of students. These literacy practices are often invisible to both students and staff and yet are central to the success of students in relation to attainment. The article suggests that vocational subjects may actually be more demanding in the range of literacies required for assessment than is often considered to be the case

Novel Materials for Biofilm Inhibition

Microbial contamination onboard the International Space Station (ISS) continues to pose significant mission risks, both terms of crew health and functionality of mechanical systems

Rethinking Measures of Democracy and Welfare State Universalism: Lessons from Subnational Research

Democracy and the welfare state are two of the most extensively studied concepts and themes in the field of comparative politics. Debate about how to best measure the two concepts has failed to contemplate the extent to which political and social rights are uniformly present across distinct regions of the national territory, despite the presence of substantial subnational research that underscores wide variation inside countries. We argue that this omission hampers our understanding of the two phenomena and we propose a new measure of democracy and healthcare unversalism, which we call the Adjusted Measures of Democracy and Welfare Universalism. The new measures integrate territorial inequality into existing national-level indicators, providing a more accurate picture of country performance and opening the door to new, multi-level theory building

Evolution of Novel Signal Traits in the Absence of Female Preferences in Neoconocephalus Katydids (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae)

Background Significance: Communication signals that function to bring together the sexes are important for maintaining reproductive isolation in many taxa. Changes in male calls are often attributed to sexual selection, in which female preferences initiate signal divergence. Natural selection can also influence signal traits if calls attract predators or parasitoids, or if calling is energetically costly. Neutral evolution is often neglected in the context of acoustic communication. Methodology/Principal Findings: We describe a signal trait that appears to have evolved in the absence of either sexual or natural selection. In the katydid genus Neoconocephalus, calls with a derived pattern in which pulses are grouped into pairs have evolved five times independently. We have previously shown that in three of these species, females require the double pulse pattern for call recognition, and hence the recognition system of the females is also in a derived state. Here we describe the remaining two species and find that although males produce the derived call pattern, females use the ancestral recognition mechanism in which no pulse pattern is required. Females respond equally well to the single and double pulse calls, indicating that the derived trait is selectively neutral in the context of mate recognition. Conclusions/Significance: These results suggest that 1) neutral changes in signal traits could be important in the diversification of communication systems, and 2) males rather than females may be responsible for initiating signa