Command Center Training Tool (C2T2)

This abstract presents the training approach taken to create a management-centered, experiential learning solution for the Virginia Port Authority's Port Command Center. The resultant tool, called the Command Center Training Tool (C2T2), follows a holistic approach integrated across the training management cycle and within a single environment. The approach allows a single training manager to progress from training design through execution and AAR. The approach starts with modeling the training organization, identifying the organizational elements and their individual and collective performance requirements, including organizational-specific performance scoring ontologies. Next, the developer specifies conditions, the problems, and constructs that compose exercises and drive experiential learning. These conditions are defined by incidents, which denote a single, multi-media datum, and scenarios, which are stories told by incidents. To these layered, modular components, previously developed meta-data is attached, including associated performance requirements. The components are then stored in a searchable library An event developer can create a training event by searching the library based on metadata and then selecting and loading the resultant modular pieces. This loading process brings into the training event all the previously associated task and teamwork material as well as AAR preparation materials. The approach includes tools within an integrated management environment that places these materials at the fingertips of the event facilitator such that, in real time, the facilitator can track training audience performance and resultantly modify the training event. The approach also supports the concentrated knowledge management requirements for rapid preparation of an extensive AAR. This approach supports the integrated training cycle and allows a management-based perspective and advanced tools, through which a complex, thorough training event can be developed

Solar Panel Integration as an Alternate Power Source on Centaur 2 (SPIAPS)

The dream of exploration has inspired thousands throughout time. Space exploration, in particular, has taken the past century by storm and caused a great advance in technology. In this project, a retractable solar panel array will be developed for use on the Centaur 2 Rover. Energy generated by the solar panels will go to power the Centaur 2 Robot (C2) or Regolith & Environment Science & Oxygen & Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) payload, an in-situ resource utilization project. Such payload is designed to drill into lunar and Martian terrain as well as be able to conduct other geological testing; RESOLVE is slated for testing in 2012. Ultimately, this project will fit into NASA s larger goal of deep space exploration as well as long term presence outside Earth s orbit

The development and initial evaluation of the Pornography-Use Avoidance Self-Efficacy Scale

Background and aims This study employed a newly developed questionnaire to evaluate whether men’s self-efficacy to avoid using pornography in each of 18 emotional, social, or sexually arousing situations was associated with either their typical frequency of pornography use or their hypersexuality. Methods Using an Internet-based data collection procedure, 229 male pornography users (Mage = 33.3 years, SD = 12.2) who had sought or considered seeking professional help for their use of pornography completed questionnaires assessing their situationally specific self-efficacy, history of pornography use, self-efficacy to employ specific pornography-reduction strategies, hypersexuality, and demographic characteristics. Results Frequency of pornography use was significantly negatively associated with level of confidence in 12 of the 18 situations. In addition, lower hypersexuality and higher confidence to employ pornography-use-reduction strategies were associated with higher confidence to avoid using pornography in each of the 18 situations. A principal axis factor analysis yielded three clusters of situations: (a) sexual arousal/boredom/opportunity, (b) intoxication/locations/easy access, and (c) negative emotions. Discussion and conclusions This questionnaire could be employed to identify specific high-risk situations for lapse or relapse and as a measure of treatment outcome among therapy clients, but we recommend further examination of the psychometric properties and clinical utility of the questionnaire in treatment samples. Because only one of the three clusters reflected a consistent theme, we do not recommend averaging self-efficacy within factors to create subscales

Being and Emptiness: Sartre meets Santideva

Jean-Paul Sartre was a mid-twentieth century French intellectual known for his radical politics and prolific (often opaque) philosophical musings on the human condition. At first blush, this Parisian existentialist might not seem to have a lot in common with a recondite eighth-century Madhyamaka monk named Santideva. My essay encourages a second or third blush. In it, I bridge the work of Sartre with the Buddhist philosopher Santideva by looking at their respective conceptions of freedom and moral responsibility. I provide a brief characterization of each thinker’s ideas while going over some basic terrain of the modern free will debate, which includes  essential definitions for terms such as “free will,” “determinism,” “libertarianism,” and “compatibilism.” I argue that Sartre and Santideva have a unique approach to freedom and moral responsibility that, on the one hand, fails to conform to the standard categories of the current academic free will debate and, on the other hand, moves the conversation forward in important ways.   (Production editor note: Some accented characters were replaced with plain text in order to publish this title and abstract digitally. For full/correct accented characters, please see the PDF version)

Fire Protection: Architect’s Role during Construction of Buildings

With technological advancement each year and improved awareness of fire safety measures, fires needlessly cause many casualties as well as material damages. Contractors and consultants can utilize past experiences and involvement whenever a property becomes a building site. The past knowledge of existing buildings especially those that have fire certificate and fire safety systems will be invaluable to the architects and contractors. Advance planning for fire protection and vigilance in construction safety can greatly reduce the risk of disasters. Actions necessary to minimize the chances of fire loss lies in recognizing probable causes, implementing adequate prevention measures, and preparing a plan for battling a fire should it strike. Undertaking construction work increases the risk of fire. Some are caused by tools and products used during the construction process, while others are due to carelessness on the job. Most fires can be prevented by taking routine safety precautions and eliminating the opportunities for a fire to start. Keywords: construction, building, fire, safety, site

SHRINE: Enabling Nationally Scalable Multi-Site Disease Studies

Results of medical research studies are often contradictory or cannot be reproduced. One reason is that there may not be enough patient subjects available for observation for a long enough time period. Another reason is that patient populations may vary considerably with respect to geographic and demographic boundaries thus limiting how broadly the results apply. Even when similar patient populations are pooled together from multiple locations, differences in medical treatment and record systems can limit which outcome measures can be commonly analyzed. In total, these differences in medical research settings can lead to differing conclusions or can even prevent some studies from starting. We thus sought to create a patient research system that could aggregate as many patient observations as possible from a large number of hospitals in a uniform way. We call this system the ‘Shared Health Research Information Network’, with the following properties: (1) reuse electronic health data from everyday clinical care for research purposes, (2) respect patient privacy and hospital autonomy, (3) aggregate patient populations across many hospitals to achieve statistically significant sample sizes that can be validated independently of a single research setting, (4) harmonize the observation facts recorded at each institution such that queries can be made across many hospitals in parallel, (5) scale to regional and national collaborations. The purpose of this report is to provide open source software for multi-site clinical studies and to report on early uses of this application. At this time SHRINE implementations have been used for multi-site studies of autism co-morbidity, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, peripartum cardiomyopathy, colorectal cancer, diabetes, and others. The wide range of study objectives and growing adoption suggest that SHRINE may be applicable beyond the research uses and participating hospitals named in this report

Dynamics of Housing Affordability In Nigeria

Affordable Housing provision has remained elusive to an average Nigerian, in spite of numerous programs put in action by various government of the country. The situation is similar to other developing countries, thus, it remains a critical issue in socio-economic wellbeing of these countries. The following factors were identified as contributors to poor housing delivery in the country. They include Rapid population growth, rapid urbanization process, rural-urban drift, and high cost of building materials, dearth of indigenous technology and skilled personal, inadequate financial structure as well as poor managerial skill of our mortgage institutions. The past and present housing programs and efforts were reviewed. New solutions were also proposed. Keywords; Housing, Materials, Population, Programs, Urbanization

Analysis of Flood Risk Management in Nigerian Urban Environment

Some of the major effects of global climate change are rise in sea level and increased frequency of extreme events. Urban settlements in Nigeria are likely to be seriously affected by flooding as a result of this change. Urbanization processes in Nigeria increase pressure on land use conversion augmenting for population increase. The study observed that climate change frequently take place in flood prone areas such as flood plains and seacoasts. Floods expose the urban population and infrastructure to risk due to the excessive runoff which must be directed to rivers, streams, canals and storm water drainage systems. While a reliable urban infrastructure is vital for human needs, current urbanization trends in Nigeria are defining negative regards to flood vulnerability. Of particular concern is the fact the most impoverished segment of the population who are most likely to settle in flood hazard prone areas are the least able to adopt measures for adaptation in the event of flood disaster. Addressing these problems require effective environmental management agenda. Major causes of flood in Nigeria were identified to include uncontrolled expansion of impermeable surfaces due to physical development and expansion, swamp reclamation for construction purposes, lack of adequate storm water drainage systems, lack of maintenance of existing drainage systems and weak institutional capacity of urban administration and environmental management in Nigeria. Keywords: Climate change, environmental management, flood vulnerability, water runoff, urbanization process.

What Film Is Good For: On the Value of Spectatorship, edited by Julian Hanich and Martin P. Rossouw

Roger Ebert famously referred to movies as “machines that generate empathy”, arguing that cinema had the power to transport viewers into the lived realities and emotional experiences of people all across the world who are “sharing this journey with us”. This is not an uncommon way of tackling the question of what film is good for. Yes, it offers up popcorn-chomping entertainment, high-octane action, heart-rending romance, and spine-tingling fear, but seeing movies as conduits for empathy implies something deeper than mere entertainment—in theory at least