An Analysis of the Impact of Defense Acquisition Reforms and External Factors on Schedule Growth of Defense Weapon Systems

The growth in the acquisition cycle time of large defense systems from what was planned (i.e., schedule growth) creates several issues for defense acquisition managers and policy makers. These issues include increased likelihoods of cancellations, changes in requirements, and delays in the fielding of improved combat capabilities and replacements for legacy systems, which have resulted in further cost and schedule growth. As a result, Congress, the DoD, and the individual military services implemented several major reforms to address the cost and schedule growth of weapon systems. This research presents an empirical model of schedule growth to evaluate the impact of acquisition reform efforts, defense budget changes, unexpected inflation, and major contingency operations (war) on schedule growth of major weapon systems. A fixed-effects panel regression model was utilized to describe the schedule performance (using earned value data) of the major weapon system programs managed by the Army, Air Force, and Navy from 1980 to 2002. This research found that unexpected inflation results in increased schedule growth. In addition, the 2000 revision of the DoD 5000 series accounted for a reduction in schedule growth. The other examined acquisition reforms—the Packard Commission of 1986 and the 1993-1996 reform efforts [e.g., the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 and the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996]—were not correlated with schedule growth. This lack of a relationship suggests these reforms were not fully internalized into the Department of Defense’s acquisition process and appear to have not been successful at limiting schedule growth

About multi-resolution techniques for large eddy simulation of reactive multi-phase flows

A numerical technique for mesh refinement in the HeaRT (Heat Release and Transfer) numerical code is presented. In the CFD framework, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach is gaining in importance as a tool for simulating turbulent combustion pro- cesses, also if this approach has an high computational cost due to the complexity of the turbulent modeling and the high number of grid points necessary to obtain a good numerical solution. In particular, when a numerical simulation of a big domain is performed with a structured grid, the number of grid points can increase so much that the simulation becomes impossible: this problem can be overcomed with a mesh refinement technique. Mesh refinement technique developed for HeaRT numerical code (a staggered finite difference code) is based on an high order reconstruction of the variables at the grid interfaces by means of a least square quasi-eno interpolation: numerical code is written in modern Fortran (2003 standard of newer) and is parallelized using domain decomposition and message passing interface (MPI) standard

An Evaluation of Operation Street Sweeper - 2006

Operation Street Sweeper (OSS) was a multi-level, interagency collaboration with multiple purposes. According to OSS documents, Operation Street Sweeper goals included the following: (1) to reduce gang-related criminal and violent activity in Nampa and Caldwell, Idaho through aggressive, proactive, and coordinated street enforcement between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and local law enforcement; (2) to deter criminal activity through high profile enforcement activity; (3) to develop and/or increase the number of positive community contacts; (4) to show the community and gang members that law enforcement is serious about reducing gang and violent crime in the area; and (5) to use the media to showcase a law enforcement effort to reduce gang violence and activity

Behavior of confined granular beds under cyclic thermal loading

We investigate the mechanical behavior of a confined granular packing of irregular polyhedral particles under repeated heating and cooling cycles by means of numerical simulations with the Non-Smooth Contact Dynamics method. Assuming a homogeneous temperature distribution as well as constant temperature rate, we study the effect of the container shape, and coefficients of thermal expansions on the pressure buildup at the confining walls and the density evolution. We observe that small changes in the opening angle of the confinement can lead to a drastic peak pressure reduction. Furthermore, the displacement fields over several thermal cycles are obtained and we discover the formation of convection cells inside the granular material having the shape of a torus. The root mean square of the vorticity is then calculated from the displacement fields and a quadratic dependency on the ratio of thermal expansion coefficients is established

Relevance of brands and beef quality differentials for the consumer at the time of purchase

The objective of this study was to identify the purchase habits and preferences of beef consumers, their level of knowledge on brands and products with quality differentials (certifications, packaging, premium lines), and the relevance of different attributes in the purchase decision, and to group consumers according to the profile of purchase decision. The methodology consisted of using an information-collecting instrument applied to 271 beef consumers. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistical analyses, chi-square analysis, and correspondence analysis, relating socio-demographic profile of the respondents with the other variables collected. Chi-square and correspondence analyses showed that younger consumers with lower levels of income and education are influenced by posters and advertisements at the point of sale, unaware of differentiated and branded products, and that they do not choose branded beef at the time of purchase. Consumers over 60 years showed a more conservative purchase profile, with no influence. The most valued attributes are appearance, price, and type of cut, being brand and certifications little relevant as tools to help decide the product purchase

Possible Clinical Failure of Artemether-Lumefantrine in an Italian Traveler with Uncomplicated Falciparum Malaria.

Artemisinin-combination therapies (ACTs) are recommended for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in endemic areas with multidrug resistant Plasmodium falciparum. We report a case of possible artemether-lumefantrine clinical failure in an Italian traveler with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria imported from Democratic Republic of Congo

Fifth Annual Idaho Public Policy Survey

The Fifth Annual Idaho Public Policy Survey was conducted December 5-13, 2019, and surveyed 1,000 adults over the age of 18 who currently live in Idaho. The sample is designed to be representative of the population of the state both geographically and demographically. This was a mixed-mode survey which contacted respondents on land line phones (33%), cell phones (33%), online (30%), and via text message (5%). The goal of using multiple means to contact respondents is to increase our coverage of the population to people who may not respond to traditional phone surveys. This survey focused on important issues facing Idaho including growth, education, taxes, and the environment. The survey has a simple random sampling margin of error of +/- 3.1% and was conducted by GS Strategies Group

Growth in the Treasure Valley in 2020

The Sixth Annual Idaho Public Policy Survey was conducted November 29-December 3, 2020, and surveyed 1,000 adults over the age of 18 who currently live in Idaho. The Treasure Valley was oversampled to survey 750 residents of Ada (66%), Canyon (27%), Gem (4%), Boise (4%), and Owyhee (1%) counties. The results here focus on this Treasure Valley sample. The sample is designed to be representative of the population of the region both geographically and demographically. This was a mixed-mode survey which contacted by phone (58%), online (32%), and via text message (10%). The goal of using multiple means to contact respondents is to increase our coverage of the population to people who may not respond to traditional phone surveys. The survey has a simple random sampling margin of error of +/- 3.6% for the Treasure Valley, and was conducted by GS Strategy Group