Habitat automation

A habitat, on either the surface of the Moon or Mars, will be designed and built with the proven technologies of that day. These technologies will be mature and readily available to the habitat designer. We believe an acceleration of the normal pace of automation would allow a habitat to be safer and more easily maintained than would be the case otherwise. This document examines the operation of a habitat and describes elements of that operation which may benefit from an increased use of automation. Research topics within the automation realm are then defined and discussed with respect to the role they can have in the design of the habitat. Problems associated with the integration of advanced technologies into real-world projects at NASA are also addressed

RISKY BUSINESS: VISUALIZING AND HISTORICIZING THE ROLE OF GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION AND THINKING IN AMERICAN BUSINESS

Geographic representation and thinking has a long history in the American business world. This thesis examines the role of geographic representation and thinking in the fire insurance industry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through the Sanborn Map Company and in the development of site selection as a concept in the mid-twentieth century through the biography of William Applebaum. Through these case studies, I explore the relevance applied cartographic representations to the business world and the opportunities it presents towards advancing geography as a discipline

Social Cognitive Theory as a Framework for Understanding the Relationships Between Competition and Cooperation: A Three Essay Story of Emerging Coopetition and Entrepreneurial Team Outcomes

Three essays explore the role social cognitive theory (SCT) plays in the interactions between competitive and cooperative traits, goal structures, and behaviors on simultaneous competition and cooperation, termed coopetition. Though the concept is advantageous and popular both in theoretical and practical terms, there are large gaps in the study of the phenomenon at the individual and collective level. In Essay One, I present a theoretical model for the emergence of collective competition, cooperation, and coopetition. Specifically, I propose collective coopetition as a meso level, compilation construct based on the individual characteristics of team members, their interactions, and the situational and environmental influences. In Essay Two, I empirically test coopetition using a primary data sample of students. The study utilizes individual-level competitive and cooperative traits, goal interdependencies and goal perceptions to determine whether or not they engage in coopetition based on the triadic model of SCT. I find they each influence competitive and cooperative behaviors. In Essay Three, I identify the relationships and interplay of coopetition using competitiveness and cooperativeness, competitive and cooperative goal interdependence, and competitive and cooperative behaviors on new venture team outcomes. Using a primary data sample from the Table Top Games industry, I find entrepreneurs have higher levels of competitiveness than cooperativeness, and that their team perceptions of interdependence lead to whether the team engages in competitive or cooperative behaviors

Teaching and Learning Qualitative Inquiry Online and Impacts on Family Life

This study uses letters-to-self and a group interview to integrate the experiences of two groups of participant-researchers—(1) a professor of qualitative inquiry and two of his doctoral students in an online qualitative research class and (2) this same professor and his family. The specific purpose of this study for the first group, comprised of the professor and his two former doctoral students, was to jointly explore perceptions of teaching and learning qualitative inquiry in a formal university setting as well as these students’ perceptions of the impacts that their entry into full-time doctoral study has had on their family life. The specific purpose for the second group, comprised of the professor and his family, was to jointly explore perceptions of teaching and learning qualitative inquiry in a family setting. It was found that a richer understanding of the dynamics of teaching and learning qualitative inquiry amidst the dynamics of family life emerged from this study and will hopefully lead to further explorations of this complex phenomena among professors, students, and families

C-Ring Strength of Advanced Monolithic Ceramics

Alumina, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, and zirconia are common candidate ceramics for load-bearing tubular components. To help facilitate design and reliability modeling with each ceramic, Weibull strength distributions were determined with each material using a diametrally compressed c-ring specimen in accordance with ASTM C1323. The investigated silicon nitride and zirconia were found to exhibit higher uncensored characteristic strengths than the alumina and silicon carbide. The occurrence of chamfer-located fracture initiation was problematic, and hindered the ability to generate valid design data in some of these ceramics. Fractography and stress modeling results suggest that some aspects of ASTM C1323 should be revised to further minimize the frequency of chamfer-located failure initiation in c-ring test specimens

Older nurses’ experiences of providing direct care in hospital nursing units

Background: Most developed countries throughout the world are experiencing an aging nursing workforce as their population ages. Older nurses often experience different challenges then their younger nurse counterparts. With the increase in older nurses relative to younger nurses potentially available to work in hospitals, it is important to understand the experience of older nurses on high paced hospital nursing units. This understanding will lend knowledge to ways of lessening the loss of these highly skilled experienced workers and improve patient outcomes. Objectives: To identify, evaluate and synthesize the existing qualitative evidence on older nurses’ experiences of providing direct care to patients in hospital nursing units. Inclusion criteria: The review considered studies which included registered nurses 45 years and over who work as direct caregivers in any type of in-patient hospital nursing unit. The phenomenon of interest was the experience of older nurses in providing direct nursing care in any type of in-patient hospital nursing unit (i.e. including but not limited to medical/surgical units, intensive care units, critical care units, perioperative units, palliative care units, obstetrical units, emergency departments and rehabilitative care units). The review excluded studies focussing entirely on enrolled nurses, licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses. Types of studies: Qualitative data including, but not limited to the following methodologies: phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, action research and feminist research. Methods: The databases CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, AgeLine, Sociological Abstracts and SocINDEX were searched from inception; the search was conducted on October 13, 2017; no date limiters or language limiters were applied. Each paper was assessed by two independent reviewers for methodological quality using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. Any disagreements that arose between the reviewers were resolved through discussion. Data extraction was conducted by two independent reviewers using the standardized qualitative data extraction tool from JBI. The qualitative research findings were pooled using JBI methodology. The JBI process of meta-aggregation was used to identify categories and synthesized findings. Results: Twelve papers were included in the review. Three synthesized findings were extracted from 12 categories and 75 findings. The three synthesized findings extracted from the papers were: (1) Love of nursing: It's who I am and I love it; (2) It's a rewarding but challenging and changing job; it's a different job and it can be challenging; (3) It's a challenging job; can I keep up? Conclusions: Older nurses love nursing and have created an identity around their profession. They view their profession positively and believe their job to be unlike any other, yet they identify many ongoing challenges and changes. Despite their desire to continue in their role they are often faced with hardships that threaten their ability to stay at the bedside. A key role of hospital administrators to keep older nurses in the workplace is to develop programs to prevent work related illness and to promote health. Given the low ConQual scores in the current systematic review, additional research is recommended to understand the older nurses’ experience in providing direct care in hospital nursing units as well as predicting health age of retirement and length of bedside nursing

Experiences and cessation needs of Indigenous women who smoke during pregnancy: a systematic review of qualitative evidence

Objectives: The aim of this review was to identify and synthesize the best available evidence to address two questions: i) what is the experience of smoking during pregnancy for Indigenous women? and ii) what are the smoking cessation needs of Indigenous women who smoke during pregnancy? Introduction: Smoking during pregnancy not only affects pregnant women's general health but also causes such serious problems as pre-term delivery, low birth weight, and sudden infant death. Rates of smoking during pregnancy are particularly high among Indigenous women. Learning about Indigenous women's experiences of smoking during pregnancy and associated smoking cessation needs is important to providing informed health care to them. Inclusion criteria: The participants of interest were Indigenous women who smoked during a current or past pregnancy. The phenomena of interest were the experiences of smoking during pregnancy for Indigenous women and the smoking cessation needs of Indigenous women during pregnancy. The context was any community worldwide where pregnant Indigenous women live. Studies considered for this review were those in which qualitative data were gathered and analysed on the phenomena of interest, including mixed methods research. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted for published studies in academic databases (i.e. PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, Sociological Abstracts, SocINDEX, and Web of Science), unpublished studies in sources of gray literature (i.e. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, OAIster, LILACS, MedNar, Google, Google Scholar, OpenGrey and relevant websites), and any additional studies in reference lists. Language and date limiters were not applied. The searches included all studies globally and were carried out on October 31, 2016. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were assessed for methodological quality by two reviewers independently, using the criteria of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. Descriptive details of each study accepted for this review were extracted in accordance with the elements of the JBI Data Extraction Form for Qualitative Research. The research findings that were relevant to the phenomena of interest and had participant voice were extracted from each included study and synthesized using the JBI meta-aggregative approach. The synthesized findings were assigned confidence scores in accordance with the JBI ConQual approach. Results: Thirteen studies were included in this review following careful consideration of the methodological quality of each study. The studies yielded a total of 116 research findings, which were grouped into 19 categories and then aggregated to form five synthesized findings. Confidence in the findings was determined to be low to very low (see ConQual Summary of Findings). Conclusion: There is a small body of research evidence on Indigenous women's experiences of smoking during pregnancy and their smoking cessation needs. Confidence in the synthesized findings is constrained due to methodological limitations in many of the primary studies included in this review, along with mixed credibility of the research findings from across primary studies