Operations with the special purpose dextrous manipulator on Space Station Freedom

SPAR Canada is actively participating in the Space Station Freedom Program by contributing the Mobile Servicing System (MSS) which will be involved in assembly, maintenance and servicing of both the Space Station and the MSS itself. Part of the MSS is the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (SPDM), a two armed dextrous robot with advanced vision and manipulative capabilities. In addition to Space Station and payload servicing activities the SPDM will be designed to perform self maintenance on the MSS itself. The majority of Space Station equipment will be on orbit for the anticipated 30 year lifespan and the maintenance philosophy will be to repair by the exchange of Orbit Replacement Units or ORUs. The present concept, configuration, and operation of the SPDM and the detailed simulations associated with the maintenance of part of the MSS are described. The Design Reference Mission is the replacement of a Joint Drive Module on the Canadian large payload manipulator, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System. Other Design Reference Missions that were investigated are briefly described, and future operations activity to support the definition of SPDM requirements are discussed

Counselors Corner: A Newsletter of the Department of Counselor Education

The Fall 2014 newsletter from the Department of Counselor Education shares news about the program and the profession, as well as updates from faculty, staff, students and alumni.https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/edc_news/1011/thumbnail.jp

Divergent Selection for Water Conversion Ratio in Broiler Populations

Water scarcity is a global reality and with the anticipated population growth, freshwater resources will be further strained to meet both human needs and agriculture applications. To ensure a water sustainable and food secure future, all aspects of agriculture must become more efficient. Two strategies were explored. The potential of improving water efficiency in broilers was examined. The first strategy was to develop a more efficient and accurate method for measuring water consumption/inputs in agriculture. To date, water measuring technology has lacked the necessary sophistication to assure accuracy and repeatability of low flow water usage. After establishing a low flow water monitoring system, it was used to divergently select for water efficiency in broilers. This was done too not only to help determine heritability of water efficiency but to assess the direct response to selection and impact on correlated traits. From a modern random bred population, lines were selected based on water conversion ratio (WCR = water consumed/body weight gain) to create the low WCR (LWCR) and high WCR (HWCR) lines. After generation 2, the LWCR line had an overall WCR of 3.28 while the HWCR had a WCR of 3.46. Body weights appeared to remain similar between the lines with a slight improvement in feed conversion ratio observed in the LWCR line. Continued selection for WCR will provide further understanding of the heritability of WCR and the correlated response to selection on growth and efficiency related traits. A subsequent study utilized the low flow water monitoring system to evaluate the WCR of four contemporary broiler strains. In addition to live performance measurements, carcass traits at two market ages (day 43 and 56) were evaluated. Differences in WI and WCR were observed. WCR ranged from 2.813 to 2.887 at 42 days and 3.230 to 3.379 at a market age of 56 days, respectively. Per bird WI ranged from 8.563 to 9.892 at day 42 and 13.903 to 15.668 at day 56. The final section of this dissertation addresses steps that can be taken to assist in broiler breeder egg management to improve hatchability of eggs in tropical climates. Over the past 60 years, poultry has proven to be the most efficient and popular protein available, emerging as a food staple in less developed areas of the world. As a result, integrated poultry operations continue to push production in suboptimal environments lacking modern infrastructure and technology. Although the genetics/efficiencies of the modern-day broiler mask many of these shortcomings, the harsh environmental/climatic influences are less forgiving. The extreme temperatures of these climates pose new challenges within the poultry biological supply chain, that of which are overlooked by producers. Results show that implementation of data loggers can successfully track and identify temperature abuses of eggs from the nest through incubation and out in the field after chick placement. This technology can aid in the troubleshooting of temperature related challenges contributing to embryo and early chick loss

Bonding of reusable surface insulation with low density silicone foams

The development and evaluation of a reduced density, high reliable foamed bond strain isolation system for attaching reusable surface insulation to the space shuttle structure are reported. Included are data on virgin materials as well as on materials that received 100 cycles of exposure to 650 F for approximately 20 minutes per cycle. Room temperature vulcanizing silicon elastomers meet all the requirments for an adhesive bonding system

Counselors Corner: A Newsletter of the Department of Counselor Education

The Spring 2015 newsletter from the Department of Counselor Education shares news about the program and the profession, as well as updates from faculty, staff, students and alumni.https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/edc_news/1002/thumbnail.jp

A FORCE OF NATURE: THE MATERNAL APPETITE OF GOOD AND EVIL WOMEN IN “SNOW WHITE,” “HANSEL AND GRETEL” AND “RAPUNZEL”

ABSTRACT This thesis discusses representations of women, appetite, and food in well-known literary fairy tales and contemporary feminist works. Tales popular in North America consistently link female identity to Mother Nature by way of forbidden food and transgressive appetites, which are the prime means of establishing women’s good or evil status. The good/evil binary between heroines and witches appears representative of Jungian psychology’s Great Mother archetype; however, this binary understanding is founded on myths of motherhood and the fear of female power and sexuality. Analyzing the Grimms’ classic “Snow White,” “Hansel and Gretel,” and “Rapunzel” versions, as well as feminist revisions, I critique the supposed timelessness and universality of woman as nature—as either nurturing or castrating—as a changing, ideological concept. Through monstrous characters and plot revisions, feminists challenge the classics’ gender assumptions, but in providing their critiques, they also rely on the classics’ mothering and sexuality myths

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Techniques for Decreasing Anxiety Symptoms in Adolescents

Nearly 32% of adolescents demonstrate a lifetime prevalence of an anxiety disorder, making it the most common mental disorder among adolescents (Merikangas et al., 2010). Mindfulness-based interventions have shown success in reducing anxiety symptoms in adults. This study focused on the effects of an 8-session mindfulness group on the moderate to severe anxiety levels of middle and high school students. The objectives of the small-group intervention were to educate adolescents about mindfulness techniques and to practice ways in which they could make mindfulness part of their daily lives. The aim of this study was to highlight the impact of a small-group mindfulness intervention on experienced anxiety of middle school and high school students