IGDS/TRAP Interface Program (ITIP). Software Design Document

The preliminary design of the IGDS/TRAP Interface Program (ITIP) is described. The ITIP is implemented on the PDP 11/70 and interfaces directly with the Interactive Graphics Design System and the Data Management and Retrieval System. The program provides an efficient method for developing a network flow diagram. Performance requirements, operational rquirements, and design requirements are discussed along with sources and types of input and destination and types of output. Information processing functions and data base requirements are also covered

An appetite for learning : increasing employee demand for skills development

Raising the demand for skills amongst individuals in the workforce is critical if the UK is to meet its 2020 Ambition. This edition of Praxis highlights a number of policy interventions that the evidence suggests can work, and proposes a policy framework for describing and understanding these. The paper aims to stimulate wider debate about the policy interventions most likely to address the barriers to learning faced by the UK workforce. To this end the UK Commission welcomes readers' responses to the following questions, prompted by this paper

Has New Zealand benefited from its investments in research & development?

We use panel data for nine industries to evaluate research and development (R&D) investments in New Zealand over the past forty years. We estimate the impact of R&D stocks in a particular industry on output per person in that industry and on output per person in the rest of the economy. We examine both public and private R&D investments. Privately provided R&D has a statistically significant positive impact on own-industry output per person, suggesting it increases productivity. However, publicly provided R&D has no impact on own-industry output per person. There is also evidence that private R&D in certain industries positively affects output per person in the rest of the economy, i.e. it generates positive spillovers. There is no evidence of positive spillovers from publicly provided R&D.R&D; spillovers; productivity

Who Uses External Business Advice?

This paper examines factors that influence the propensity of a firm to take up external business support using random effects nominal probit regression analysis to capture sector heterogeneity. The results suggest a strong positive association between the orientation of the firm towards growth and its propensity to seek external business advice. ‘Push’ factors, including the existence of recruitment difficulties, are identified as key triggers for the seeking of business advice. These findings demonstrate the value of using advanced econometric techniques to analyse business survey data, and provide valuable guidance to public policy organisations concerned with business development and competitiveness.Business advice, business support policy, multivariate probit analysis

Results from the testing and analysis of LDEF batteries

Batteries were used on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) to provide power to both the active experiments and the experiment support equipment such as the Experiment Initiative System, Experiment Power and Data System (data acquisition system), and the Environment Exposure Control Canisters. Three different types of batteries were used: lithium sulfur dioxide (LiSO2), lithium carbon monofluoride (LiCF), and nickel cadmium (NiCd). A total of 92 LiSO2, 10 LiCF, and 1 NiCd batteries were flown on the LDEF. In addition, approximately 20 LiSO2 batteries were kept in cold storage at NASA LaRC. The various investigations and post-flight analyses of the flight and control batteries are reviewed. The primary objectives of these studies was to identify degradation modes (if any) of the batteries and to provide information useful to future spacecraft missions. Systems SIG involvement in the post-flight evaluation of LDEF batteries was two-fold: (1) to fund SAFT (original manufacturer of the LiSO2 batteries) to perform characterization of 13 LiSO2 batteries (10 flight and 3 control batteries); and (2) to integrate investigator results

A Single Man and Christmas

Steve Johnson is a resident of Fifty Washington Square, Newport, Rhode Island. His work has appeared in In the Heart of the City, a literary magazine produced by the residents of Fifty Washington Square