The Commonwealth Fund/National Opinion Research Center Survey of Retiree Health Benefits, 2005: A Chartbook

Analyzes the state of retiree health benefits, based on a survey of public and private employers. Looks at the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Benefit, Governmental Accounting Standards Board regulations, and past and future changes to retiree benefits

A preliminary look at techniques used to obtain airdata from flight at high angles of attack

Flight research at high angles of attack has posed new problems for airdata measurements. New sensors and techniques for measuring the standard airdata quantities of static pressure, dynamic pressure, angle of attack, and angle of sideslip were subsequently developed. The ongoing airdata research supporting NASA's F-18 high alpha research program is updated. Included are the techniques used and the preliminary results. The F-18 aircraft was flown with three research airdata systems: a standard airdata probe on the right wingtip, a self-aligning airdata probe on the left wingtip, and a flush airdata system on the nose cone. The primary research goal was to obtain steady-state calibrations for each airdata system up to an angle of attack of 50 deg. This goal was accomplished and preliminary accuracies of the three airdata systems were assessed and are presented. An effort to improve the fidelity of the airdata measurements during dynamic maneuvering is also discussed. This involved enhancement of the aerodynamic data with data obtained from linear accelerometers, rate gyros, and attitude gyros. Preliminary results of this technique are presented

Portrait of A Maine “Know-Nothing” William H. Chaney (1821-1903): His Early Years and His Role In The Ellsworth Nativist Controversy, 1853-1854

This article examines the life and career of William Chaney his role in the nativist episode and the attack on Father John Bapst in 1853 and 1854

The search for character: Servant-leadership in an Australian organisation

This study is in response to globalisation, changing world values and the call in modern literature for leaders of good character. Servant-leadership is offered to fill this requirement because its effectiveness is said to be reliant on the good character of the leader. In the literature this type of leadership is said to represent a new paradigm. The work of servant-leadership’s proponent, Robert Greenleaf, is thoroughly examined to explain how his understanding of trust as faith is linked to spirituality and this is the key to understanding the character of servant-leaders. Greenleaf’s work is compared with the modern servant-leadership literature and identifies a gap in the literature explaining Greenleaf’s spirituality. This is a qualitative analysis using classical Grounded Theory and uses the work of Anthony Giddens to give it a modern sociological grounding. Classical Grounded Theory uses typologies or “created groups” to give meaning to the way in which participants view their circumstance. The application of Giddens’ work allows for the data analysis to incorporate the historical social context that has shaped the views of the participants. Greenleaf and Giddens share the same understanding of trust and this alignment of Giddens and Greenleaf permeates the work. Giddens identifies two types of trust, which this research has termed Reciprocal Trust, and Trust as Principle. The research gives an explanation of the two types of trust and argues that understanding Trust as Principle is the key to understanding new paradigm thought. It is also the key to understanding character in terms of servant-leadership character. The research for this thesis was carried out in an organisation that until recently had been a government entity and for the purpose of this research is given the fictitious name of Railcorp. The historical circumstances of Railcorp have led to major dysfunctions, which are inhibiting the business progress of the company. There is a crisis of culture and a crisis in leadership. There is evidence of servant-leadership existing in Railcorp and these leaders have a vital role in providing the new leadership required to take Railcorp forward

“A Guard of Faithful Sentinels The Know-Nothing Appeal in Maine, 1854-1855

This article presents a history of the creation and activities of the Know-Nothing Party in the United States and the State of Maine

The effects of organic farming on the soil physical environment

The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of organic farming practices on the development of soil physical properties, and in particular, soil structure in comparison with conventional agricultural management. The soil structure of organically and conventionally managed soils at one site was compared in a quantitative manner at different scales of observations using image analysis. Key soil physical and chemical properties were measured as well as the pore fractal geometry to characterise pore roughness. Organically managed soils had higher organic matter content and provided a more stable soil structure than conventionally managed soils. The higher porosity (%) at the macroscale in soil under conventional management was due to fewer larger pores while mesoand microscale porosity was found to be greater under organic management. Organically managed soils typically provided spatially well distributed pores of all sizes and of greater roughness compared to those under conventional management. These variations in the soil physical environment are likely to impact significantly on the performance of these soils for a number of key processes such as crop establishment and water availabilit

Evaluation of proposed Skylab and SSP soap products

Three personal hygiene cleansing agents and one laundry detergent (sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate), which are all candidates for use on long-duration space missions, were evaluated in terms of dermatological effects on human subjects and effects on microbiological species. None of the four materials exhibited adverse dermatological effects from either skin patch tests of two weeks duration or a simulated Skylab personal hygiene regimen of up to four weeks duration. No significant alterations in skin microflora during the use regimen were found. None of the four materials were found to serve as microbiological support media for the species tested, but a species of air-borne mold was observed to grow rapidly in a neutralized aqueous solution. None of the candidate agents was found to be strongly biocidal