Study of Charm Baryons with the BaBar Experiment

We report on several studies of charm baryon production and decays by the BaBar collaboration. We confirm previous observations of the $\Xi_c^{'0/+}$, $\Xi_c(2980)^+$ and $\Xi_c(3077)^+$ baryons, measure branching ratios for Cabibbo-suppressed $\Lambda_c^+$ decays and use baryon decays to study the properties of the light-quark baryons, $\Omega^-$ and $\Xi(1690)^0$.Comment: 8 pages, 5 postscript figues, contributed to the Proceedings of ICHEP200

The mm-colored composition poset

We generalize Bj\"{o}rner and Stanley's poset of compositions to $m$-colored compositions. Their work draws many analogies between their (1-colored) composition poset and Young's lattice of partitions, including links to (quasi-)symmetric functions and representation theory. Here we show that many of these analogies hold for any number of colors. While many of the proofs for Bj\"{o}rner and Stanley's poset were simplified by showing isomorphism with the subword order, we remark that with 2 or more colors, our posets are not isomorphic to a subword order.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur

NASA CPAS Drogue Textile Riser Feasibility Study

Steel cable was chosen for the lower end of the drogue and main parachute risers on NASA's Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) to protect the risers from extreme temperatures and abrasion should they contact the crew module during deployment, as was done for Apollo. Due to the weight and deployment complexity inherent in steel, there was significant interest in the possibility of substituting textile for steel for the drogue and main parachute risers. However, textile risers could be damaged when subjected to high temperature and abrasion. Investigations were consequently performed by a subset of the authors to determine whether sacrificial, non-load-bearing textile riser covers could be developed to mitigate the thermal and abrasion concerns. Multiple material combinations were tested, resulting in a cover design capable of protecting the riser against severe riser/crew module contact interactions. A feasibility study was then conducted to evaluate the performance of the textile drogue riser cover in relevant abrasive environments. This paper describes the testing performed and documents the results of this feasibility study

Reverse supply chain forecasting and decision modeling for improved inventory management

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division; and, (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-71).This thesis details research performed during a six-month engagement with Verizon Wireless (VzW) in the latter half of 2012. The key outcomes are a forecasting model and decision-support framework to improve management of VzW's reverse supply chain inventory. The forecasting model relies on a reliability engineering formulation and incorporates a learning component to allow incremental forecast improvement throughout the device lifecycle. The decision-support model relies on Monte Carlo simulations to quantify the uncertainty and risk associated with different inventory management policies. These tools provide VzW stakeholders with a full-lifecycle perspective so that inventory planners can avoid costly end-of-life underages and overages. Prior to this effort, inventory planners at VzW relied on a three month returns forecast despite the fact that customers can return devices more than three years after launch. The decision-support model replaces existing heuristics to improve inventory management. Model efficacy is demonstrated through case studies. For a variety of representative SKUs, the returns forecast model is found to predict cumulative lifecycle returns within 10% using data available six months from launch. Had inventory been managed according to the policies recommended by the decision support model instead of policies from existing heuristics, VzW could have avoided an end-of-life stockout of more than 20,000 devices for a particular SKU.by Brian J. Petersen.M.B.A.S.M

Engineering Consent: Peenemuende, National Socialism, and the V-2 Missile, 1924-1945

ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: ENGINEERING CONSENT: PEENEMUENDE, NATIONAL SOCIALISM, AND THE V-2 MISSILE, 1924-1945 Michael Brian Petersen, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 Dissertation Directed By: Professor Jeffrey Herf Department of History This dissertation is the story of the German scientists and engineers who developed, tested, and produced the V-2 missile, the world's first liquid-fueled ballistic missile. It examines the social, political, and cultural roots of the program in the Weimar Republic, the professional world of the Peenemünde missile base, and the results of the specialists' decision to use concentration camp slave labor to produce the missile. Previous studies of this subject have been the domain of either of sensationalistic journalists or the unabashed admirers of the German missile pioneers. Only rarely have historians ventured into this area of inquiry, fruitfully examining the history of the German missile program from the top down while noting its administrative battles and technical development. However, this work has been done at the expense of a detailed examination of the mid and lower-level employees who formed the backbone of the research and production effort. This work addresses that shortcoming by investigating the daily lives of these employees and the social, cultural, and political environment in which they existed. It focuses on the key questions of dedication, motivation, and criminality in the Nazi regime by asking "How did Nazi authorities in charge of the missile program enlist the support of their employees in their effort?" "How did their work translate into political consent for the regime?" "How did these employees come to view slave labor as a viable option for completing their work?" This study is informed by traditions in European intellectual and social history while borrowing from different methods of sociology and anthropology. I argue that a web of professional ambition, internal dynamics, military pressure, and fear coalesced in this project. The interaction of these forces made the rapid development of the V-2 possible, but also contributed to an environment in which terrible crimes could be committed against concentration camp prisoners in the name of defending National Socialist Germany

Measuring e-learning program effectiveness : a stakeholder approach to scorecarding performance

The ability of learning executives to understand how effectively their e-learning programs are contributing towards corporate business goals is a necessary and critical activity within organizations today. This research project investigated how different stakeholders within a corporate environment could develop key performance criteria (KPCs) that could be integrated into Thomas Gilbert's (1996) performance requirements model and was used to evaluate the effectiveness of an organizational e-learning program with the result being an e-Learning Effectiveness Index (e-LEI) scorecard. Concept mapping and pattern matching techniques was used in a single case study involving 39 employees that included performance designers, e-learning end-users and managers from a large retailing company to investigate stakeholder variation. End-user of the e-learning program responded through a survey to answer their perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the e-learning program and a scorecard was created called the e-learning effectiveness index (e-LEI). The central focus for the research involved answering the following three questions: (1) What key performance criteria (KPC) could contribute to developing a procedure to measure the effectiveness of an e-learning program within an organization? (2) To what extent do stakeholder groups differ in their perceptions about the KPCs and their importance in evaluating e-learning programs? (3) What and how could key performance indicators (KPI) integrated into Gilbert's performance model be used in the development of an e-Learning Effectiveness Index (e-LEI) scorecard? The results of the study to question 1 showed that through the use of Trochim's concept mapping procedure, KPCs could be identified and ranked by importance then used as metrics in which to measure the effectiveness of an e-learning program. With regards to question 2, the study found clear differences between stakeholders perceptions on the importance of KPCs used for measurement benchmarks. Finally the results showed in answering question 3 that KPCs integrated into Gilbert's model of performance requirements can be used in the development of a balanced scorecard that provides management with insight on how effective their e-learning programs are operatin