MSFC nuclear thermal propulsion technology program

Viewgraphs on non-nuclear materials assessment, nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) turbomachinery technologies, and high temperature superconducting magnetic bearing technology are presented. The objective of the materials task is to identify and evaluate candidate materials for use in NTP turbomachinery and propellant feed system applications. The objective of the turbomachinery technology task is to develop and validate advanced turbomachinery technologies at the component and turbopump assembly levels. The objective of the high temperature superconductors (HTS) task is to develop and validate advanced technology for HTS passive magnetic/hydrostatic bearing

Effects of the Charge-Dipole Interaction on the Coagulation of Fractal Aggregates

A numerical model with broad applications to complex (dusty) plasmas is presented. The self-consistent N-body code allows simulation of the coagulation of fractal aggregates, including the charge-dipole interaction of the clusters due to the spatial arrangement of charge on the aggregate. It is shown that not only does a population of oppositely charged particles increase the coagulation rate, the inclusion of the charge-dipole interaction of the aggregates as well as the electric dipole potential of the dust ensemble decreases the gelation time by a factor of up to twenty. It is further shown that these interactions can also stimulate the onset of gelation, or "runaway growth," even in a population of particles charged to a monopotential where previously it was believed that like-charged grains would inhibit coagulation. Gelation is observed to occur due to the formation of high-mass aggregates with fractal dimensions greater than two which act as seeds for runaway growth.Comment: 9 page

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1 page, the receiver of the letter is unknown

Board of Director Monitoring and Firm Value in REITs

This article examines the influence of board of director composition and characteristics on real estate investment trust (REIT) shareholder wealth as measured by firm market-to-book ratios. Results show that increased outside director representation on the board leads to increased market-to-book ratios up to a point. However, as outside representation becomes too large, the market discounts REIT shares. In addition, a positive relationship is observed between REIT market-to-book ratios and the dollar values of director ownership, providing support for alignment benefits associated with increased director stock ownership.

Apollo experience report: Command and service module controls and displays subsystem

A review of the command and service module controls and displays subsystem is presented. The subsystem is described, and operational requirements, component history, problems and solutions, and conclusions and recommendations for the subsystem are included

Do Management Changes Matter? An Empirical Investigation of REIT Performance

Management’s (board of directors or executive officers) contribution to a firm is difficult to directly observe, although stock return performance can be a source of information. This study addresses this issue by extending the work of McIntosh, Rogers, Sirmans and Liang (1994) by analyzing management changes within REITs from 1984 to 2002. The findings indicate a significant relationship between negative performance and a management change from a period three months prior to the change in management. Logit and probit analysis are used to determine whether negative firm performance (measured by its relationship to market returns) can predict the likelihood of a management change. No predictive ability is found.

Retention of festival volunteers: Management practices and volunteer motivation

Many volunteers in different festival organisations within the hospitality industry begin with great excitement, but slowly lose interest. This might be due to poor volunteer management practices that result in decreased motivation among volunteers, and with the consequences of them leaving the organisations all together. Therefore, this research aimed to study how volunteers’ perceived management impacted their motivation and in turn affected their intention to stay for longer periods within festival organisations. Expanding upon previous literature that investigated volunteer retention in different contexts as well as in only one festival organisation, a conceptual model was developed using existing theories focused on volunteer management practices, volunteer motivation, and volunteer retention. Using a self-administered online survey technique, 103 valid surveys from individuals currently volunteering in festival organisations were obtained. Although several limitations were present, the results still showed its suitability to volunteers in festival organisations. As such, based on the correlation and regression analyses conducted in this study, the results showed that training management practice has a strong influence on social and protective volunteer motivations; while the recognition management practice has the most influence on the volunteer motivations of social, value, understanding, and esteem. While the majority of these results contradicted previous studies, it still provided a better understanding of the volunteers’ perceptions in different festival organisations, and thus contributes to the body of knowledge for future studies in the same area. With this new knowledge, future scholars can consider the application of volunteer motivation comparisons among different festival organisations, similar studies in the management perspective, and the adaptation of the volunteer retention survey statements to episodic volunteers in the festival context. As a result, the implementation of these recommendations might enable a more effective human resource management strategy to ultimately increase volunteer retention within festival organisations.Keywords: festival volunteers, festival organisations, perceived volunteer management practices, volunteer motivation, volunteer retentio

The Effects of Aromatherapy on Laboring Mothers

Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of aromatherapy to decrease pain and anxiety in laboring mothers compared to the pharmacological route Design: Non-experimental, comparative Setting: HaysMed OB floor Participants: Consenting mothers who are transitioning to labor Results/conclusions: Pending results and data collectio