Issues in development, evaluation, and use of the NASA Preflight Adaptation Trainer (PAT)

The Preflight Adaptation Trainer (PAT) is intended to reduce or alleviate space adaptation syndrome by providing opportunities for portions of that adaptation to occur under normal gravity conditions prior to space flight. Since the adaptation aspects of the PAT objectives involve modification not only of the behavior of the trainee, but also of sensiomotor skills which underly the behavioral generation, the defining of training objectives of the PAT utilizes four mechanisms: familiarization, demonstration, training and adaptation. These mechanisms serve as structural reference points for evaluation, drive the content and organization of the training procedures, and help to define the roles of the PAT instructors and operators. It was determined that three psychomotor properties are most critical for PAT evaluation: reliability; sensitivity; and relevance. It is cause for concern that the number of measures available to examine PAT effects exceed those that can be properly studied with the available sample sizes; special attention will be required in selection of the candidate measure set. The issues in PAT use and application within a training system context are addressed through linking the three training related mechanisms of familiarization, demonstration and training to the fourth mechanism, adaptation

Preliminary evaluation of a micro-based repeated measures testing system

A need exists for an automated performance test system to study the effects of various treatments which are of interest to the aerospace medical community, i.e., the effects of drugs and environmental stress. The ethics and pragmatics of such assessment demand that repeated measures in small groups of subjects be the customary research paradigm. Test stability, reliability-efficiency and factor structure take on extreme significance; in a program of study by the U.S. Navy, 80 percent of 150 tests failed to meet minimum metric requirements. The best is being programmed on a portable microprocessor and administered along with tests in their original formats in order to examine their metric properties in the computerized mode. Twenty subjects have been tested over four replications on a 6.0 minute computerized battery (six tests) and which compared with five paper and pencil marker tests. All tests achieved stability within the four test sessions, reliability-efficiencies were high (r greater than .707 for three minutes testing), and the computerized tests were largely comparable to the paper and pencil version from which they were derived. This computerized performance test system is portable, inexpensive and rugged

Multistep self-assembly of heteroleptic magnesium and sodium-magnesium benzamidinate complexes

Reaction of the magnesium bis-alkyl Mg(CH2SiMe3)(2) and the sodium amide NaHMDS (where HMDS = N(SiMe3)(2)) with benzonitrile yields the homometallic heteroleptic complex [PhC(NSiMe3)(2)Mg{mu-NC(CH2SiMe3)Ph}](2) (1). It appears that at least six independent reactions must have occurred in this one-pot reaction to arrive at this mixed benzamidinate ketimido product. Two benzonitrile solvated derivatives of Mg(CH2SiMe3)(2) (5a and 5b) have been synthesized, with 5a crystallographically characterized as a centrosymmetric (MgC)(2) cyclodimer. When, the components of 5a are allowed to react for longer, partial addition of the Mg-alkyl unit across the C N triple bond occurs to yield the trimeric species (Me3SiCH2)(2)Mg-3[mu-N=C(CH2SiMe3)Ph](4)center dot 2N CPh (6), with bridging ketimido groups and terminal alkyl groups. Finally, using the same starting materials as that which produced 1, but altering their order of addition, a magnesium bis-alkyl unit is inserted into the Na-N bonds of a benzamidinate species to yield a new sodium magnesiate complex, PhC(NSiMe3)(2)Mg(mu-CH2SiMe3)(2)Na center dot 2TMEDA (7). The formation of 7 represents a novel (insertion) route to mixed-metal species of this kind and is the first Such example to contain a bidentate terminal anion attached to the divalent metal center. All new species are characterized by H-1 and C-13 NMR spectroscopy and where appropriate by IR spectroscopy. The solid-state structures of complexes 1, 5a, and 7 have also been determined and are disclosed within

2020/2021 Robert E. Kennedy Library Annual Report

This year’s stories highlight successes and transformations, which will remain woven into the fabric of our organization. Instituting contactless pick-up for library materials is an example of learning how to quickly bring together people to solve immediate problems. We also became more effective at engaging with our constituencies. We reached more users through virtual consultations and online reference assistance and helped them get access to the expertise and materials they needed. We opened access to special collections through on-demand digitization. We broke barriers in the adoption of digital resources for teaching. And we began the challenging work of developing a community-based, critical, anti-racist peer-review culture

A Look Back at the Past: 20 Years of Kennedy Library Exhibits

Explore past exhibits featured at Robert E. Kennedy Library over the past 20 years

2017/2018 Robert E. Kennedy Library Annual Report

The upcoming renovation of Kennedy Library brings us the opportunity to add one more pillar to our commitment of keeping people at the heart of our mission by showcasing work from across disciplines and connecting individuals to opportunities that will enrich their research and academic experiences at Cal Poly. A few examples included in this report are articles about how the continuous enhancement of the new library management system aims to improve the user experience and make discovery and access to information as seamless as possible; how the library’s exhibits educate visitors; and how our public programs enrich attendees with engaging stories