Implementation of Geostar's RDSS system

The Geostar (Trademark) system began its initial operations in 1988 and was the first domestic satellite system to provide regular service to mobile users within the United States. Here, an overview is given of Geostar's radiodetermination satellite system (RDSS) concept and its development by Geostar, with a focus on the current operational status of Geostar's interim RDSS system and services

Licensing of future mobile satellite systems

The regulatory process for licensing mobile satellite systems is complex and can require many years to complete. This process involves frequency allocations, national licensing, and frequency coordination. The regulatory process that resulted in the establishment of the radiodetermination satellite service (RDSS) between 1983 and 1987 is described. In contrast, each of these steps in the licensing of the mobile satellite service (MSS) is taking a significantly longer period of time to complete

Effects of Gender on the Career Aspirations of Administrators in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System

A recent national survey found women hold only 23% of higher education institution presidencies (American Council on Education, 2007). However, women now earn 58% of all bachelor’s degrees and 4% of all doctorates (U.S. Department of Education, 2005). These findings suggest something may be interfering with the pool of capable women moving through the pipeline to attain higher education administrative positions. Gender differences in career aspirations have been suggested as one potential reason for this disparity. This study examined the career aspirations of women and men holding administrative positions of dean or higher (excluding presidents) within the institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system. An online questionnaire was sent to 389 administrators, and 139 participated. Analysis of the data found that female and male administrators did not differ in their desire to advance to higher administrative positions, perceptions of how much they would need to change their leadership style in order to advance, level of career planning, or number of current mentors. Women were found to participate more in leadership development programs than men. Women also felt more geographically constrained in their careers than men. Overall these findings suggest that, with the exception of geographic mobility, factors other than career aspirations may be the cause of barriers to female advancement to high level administrative positions. Variables such as institutional and societal barriers may need to be more closely investigated and more vigorously challenged if this gender disparity is to improve

Effects of Globalization and Tourism on the Commercialization of Hue Royal Cuisine

The ancient royal city of Hue, located in the center of Vietnam, is known for being the former capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802-1945. Since receiving the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, Hue has become a popular tourist destination in Vietnam. Many foreigners visit the city to experience the remnants of an ancient past still visible in the architecture, music, and cuisine and to see how the people live today. The royal cuisine of Hue, created under the Nguyen Dynasty, is one element of the city’s royal history that is becoming increasingly available for tourists who wish to try food fit for an emperor. This study explores the culinary traditions of the ancient city of Hue in the modern era, specifically how modern culinary techniques, the influx of tourism, and the availability of foreign ingredients has influenced the commercialization of the royal cuisine in Hue. This study looks at how restaurants offer the royal cuisine to tourists and Vietnamese people. Through participant observations at two Hue restaurants and comprehensive interviews and questionnaires with Vietnamese restaurant chefs, historians, and students, this research examines how globalization and tourism are affecting Hue’s royal cuisine characteristics. This study also investigates the attempts being made by Hue people to actively preserve their cuisine traditions in a city that is becoming increasingly globalized

CMOS-Compatible SOI MESFETS for Radiation-Hardened DC-to-DC Converters

A radiation-tolerant transistor switch has been developed that can operate between 196 and +150 C for DC-to-DC power conversion applications. A prototype buck regulator component was demonstrated to be performing well after a total ionizing dose of 300 krad(Si). The prototype buck converters showed good efficiencies at ultra-high switching speeds in the range of 1 to 10 MHz. Such high switching frequency will enable smaller, lighter buck converters to be developed as part of the next project. Switching regulators are widely used in commercial applications including portable consumer electronics

Ultra-Low-Dropout Linear Regulator

A radiation-tolerant, ultra-low-dropout linear regulator can operate between -150 and 150 C. Prototype components were demonstrated to be performing well after a total ionizing dose of 1 Mrad (Si). Unlike existing components, the linear regulator developed during this activity is unconditionally stable over all operating regimes without the need for an external compensation capacitor. The absence of an external capacitor reduces overall system mass/volume, increases reliability, and lowers cost. Linear regulators generate a precisely controlled voltage for electronic circuits regardless of fluctuations in the load current that the circuit draws from the regulator

Survey-Based Cross-Country Comparisons Where Countries Vary in Sample Design: Issues and Solutions

In multi-national surveys, different countries usually implement different sample designs. The sample designs affect the variance of estimates of differences between countries. When making such estimates, analysts often fail to take sufficient account of sample design. This failure occurs sometimes because variables indicating stratification, clustering, or weighting are unavailable, partially available, or in a form that is unsuitable for cross-national analysis. In this article, we demonstrate how complex sample design should be taken into account when estimating differences between countries, and we provide practical guidance to analysts and to data producers on how to deal with partial or inappropriately-coded sample design indicator variables. Using EU-SILC as a case study, we evaluate the inverse misspecification effect (imeff ) that results from ignoring clustering or stratification, or both in a between-country comparison where countries’ sample designs differ. We present imeff for estimates of between-country differences in a number of demographic and economic variables for 19 European Union Member States. We assess the magnitude of imeff and the associated impact on standard error estimates. Our empirical findings illustrate that it is important for data producers to supply appropriate sample design indicators and for analysts to use them

Risk indicators for dental caries using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS)

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73802/1/j.1600-0528.2006.00369.x.pd

Attitudes of pregnant women towards participation in perinatal epidemiological research

Nechuta S, Mudd LM, Biery L, Elliott MR, Lepkowski JM, Paneth N, Michigan Alliance for the National Children's Study. Attitudes of pregnant women towards participation in perinatal epidemiological research. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2009. We assessed attitudes of a multi-ethnic sample of pregnant women in regard to participation in five data collection procedures planned for use in the National Children's Study. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in nine prenatal clinics in Kent County, Michigan between April and October 2006. Women were approached in clinic waiting rooms at the time of their first prenatal visit and 311 (91.0%) participated. Women were asked about their willingness to participate, and the smallest amount of compensation required for participation in a 45-min in-person interview, a 15-min telephone interview, maternal and infant medical record abstraction, and an infant physical examination. Percentages for willingness to participate were highest for telephone interview (83%), followed by in-person interview (60%), infant examination (57%), and maternal (56%) and infant medical records (54%). About 34–48% of women reported that no compensation would be required for participation by data procedure. Some women reported unwillingness to participate in telephone (9%) or personal (17%) interview, record abstraction (34%) or infant examination (26%), even with compensation. Education greater than high school was associated with increased odds of refusal for infant physical examination, adjusted odds ratio 2.44 [95% confidence interval 1.41, 4.23]. In conclusion, 9–34% of pregnant women, depending on procedure, stated they would not participate in non-invasive research procedures such as medical record abstraction and infant examination, even with compensation. Resistance to these research procedures was especially noted among more highly educated women. Planning for the National Children's Study will have to address potential resistance to research among pregnant women.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71397/1/j.1365-3016.2009.01058.x.pd