Women in the U.S. Military: Growing Share, Distinctive Profile

The women who serve in today's military differ from the men who serve in a number of ways. Compared with their male counterparts, a greater share of military women are black and a smaller share are married. Also, women veterans of the post-9/11 era are less likely than men to have served in combat and more likely to be critical of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In other ways, however, military women are not different from military men: they are just as likely to be officers; they joined the armed services for similar reasons; and post-9/11 veterans of both sexes have experienced a similar mix of struggles and rewards upon returning to civilian life. Since 1973, when the United States military ended conscription and established an all-volunteer force, the number of women serving on active duty has risen dramatically. The share of women among the enlisted ranks has increased seven-fold, from 2% to 14%, and the share among commissioned officers has quadrupled, from 4% to 16%.Department of Defense policy prohibits the assignment of women to any "unit below brigade level whose primary mission is direct ground combat." While this policy excludes women from being assigned to infantry, special operations commandos and some other roles, female members of the armed forces may still find themselves in situations that require combat action, such as defending their units if they come under attack.2This report explores the changing role of women in the military using several data sources. Two Department of Defense publications -- Population Representation in the Military Forces, FY2010 and Demographics 2010: Profile of the Military Community -- provide the overall trends in military participation by gender, as well as demographic and occupational profiles of male and female military personnel. The report also draws on data from two surveys of military veterans: a Pew Research Center survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,853 veterans conducted July 28-Sept. 4, 2011, and the July 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS) Veterans Supplement (n=9,739 veterans)

Muscle Synergies Facilitate Computational Prediction of Subject-Specific Walking Motions.

Researchers have explored a variety of neurorehabilitation approaches to restore normal walking function following a stroke. However, there is currently no objective means for prescribing and implementing treatments that are likely to maximize recovery of walking function for any particular patient. As a first step toward optimizing neurorehabilitation effectiveness, this study develops and evaluates a patient-specific synergy-controlled neuromusculoskeletal simulation framework that can predict walking motions for an individual post-stroke. The main question we addressed was whether driving a subject-specific neuromusculoskeletal model with muscle synergy controls (5 per leg) facilitates generation of accurate walking predictions compared to a model driven by muscle activation controls (35 per leg) or joint torque controls (5 per leg). To explore this question, we developed a subject-specific neuromusculoskeletal model of a single high-functioning hemiparetic subject using instrumented treadmill walking data collected at the subject's self-selected speed of 0.5 m/s. The model included subject-specific representations of lower-body kinematic structure, foot-ground contact behavior, electromyography-driven muscle force generation, and neural control limitations and remaining capabilities. Using direct collocation optimal control and the subject-specific model, we evaluated the ability of the three control approaches to predict the subject's walking kinematics and kinetics at two speeds (0.5 and 0.8 m/s) for which experimental data were available from the subject. We also evaluated whether synergy controls could predict a physically realistic gait period at one speed (1.1 m/s) for which no experimental data were available. All three control approaches predicted the subject's walking kinematics and kinetics (including ground reaction forces) well for the model calibration speed of 0.5 m/s. However, only activation and synergy controls could predict the subject's walking kinematics and kinetics well for the faster non-calibration speed of 0.8 m/s, with synergy controls predicting the new gait period the most accurately. When used to predict how the subject would walk at 1.1 m/s, synergy controls predicted a gait period close to that estimated from the linear relationship between gait speed and stride length. These findings suggest that our neuromusculoskeletal simulation framework may be able to bridge the gap between patient-specific muscle synergy information and resulting functional capabilities and limitations

HgZnTe-based detectors for LWIR NASA applications

The initial goal was to grow and characterize HgZnTe and determine if it indeed had the advantageous properties that were predicted. Researchers grew both bulk and liquid phase epitaxial HgZnTe. It was determined that HgZnTe had the following properties: (1) microhardness at least 50 percent greater than HgCdTe of equivalent bandgap; (2) Hg annealing rates of at least 2 to 4 times longer than HgCdTe; and (3) higher Hg vacancy formation energies. This early work did not focus on one specific composition (x-value) of HgZnTe since NASA was interested in HgZnTe's potential for a variety of applications. Since the beginning of 1989, researchers have been concentrating, however, on the liquid phase growth of very long wavelength infrared (VLWIR) HgZnTe (cutoff approx. equals 17 microns at 65K) to address the requirements of the Earth Observing System (EOS). Since there are no device models to predict the advantages in reliability one can gain with increased microhardness, surface stability, etc., one must fabricate HgZnTe detectors and assess their relative bake stability (accelerated life test behavior) compared with HgCdTe devices fabricated in the same manner. Researchers chose to fabricate HIT detectors as a development vehicle for this program because high performance in the VLWIR has been demonstrated with HgCdTe HIT detectors and the HgCdTe HIT process should be applicable to HgZnTe. HIT detectors have a significant advantage for satellite applications since these devices dissipate much less power than conventional photoconductors to achieve the same responsivity

Turbopump thermodynamic cooling

System for cooling turbopumps used in cryogenic fluid storage facilities is described. Technique uses thermodynamic propellant vent to intercept pump heat at desired conditions. Cooling system uses hydrogen from outside source or residual hydrogen from cryogenic storage tank

Vancouver Community Land Trust Foundation: Examining a model for long-term housing afordability

This case study was produced by SCARP Masters Candidate Kristin Patten, under the guidance of a Steering Committee composed of the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC, the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, the School of Community and Regional Planning, the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal and the BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA). The author wishes to thank the following for their time, insights and assistance: Bonnie Rice, Darren Kitchen, David Lach, Garth Davis, Genevieve Bucher, Jill Atkey, Kira Gerwing, Mike Lewis, Penny Gurstein, Susana Cogan, and Thom Armstrong. Thanks to Don McNair of McNair Editing for his help on one of the tables.This case study examines the Vancouver Community Land Trust Foundation (Land Trust), a project being implemented in Vancouver, BC by a consortium of non-profit organizations, social finance1 institutions and the municipal government. The case study was created in order to describe and examine the Land Trust as a potential model for providing long-term affordable housing without senior government funding or ongoing operating subsidies. Metro Vancouver is experiencing a crisis in housing affordability and there is a need for innovative solutions to the crisis. It is hoped that this case study will be useful for governments, non-profit organizations, social finance institutions and other actors that may be interested in replicating the model in Metro Vancouver and beyond. The Mayor’s Taskforce on Affordable Housing, and a resulting Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEOI) put forward by the City of Vancouver in August 2012 provided the catalyst for the consortium of non-profit, social finance and professional organizations to come together under the umbrella of the Land Trust. However, in the years prior to the Taskforce, these same actors had all been looking at the big picture of affordable housing in the region, and putting in place the structures that enabled them to quickly come together with the innovative Land Trust model when the RFEOI was issued. The overall initiative can be seen as the result of strategic actions by and between various actors converging in the emergence of a strategic social-public2 partnership – a collaboration between the municipality and social actors for the long-term delivery of affordable housing. The Land Trust project provides 358 units of non-market rental housing on four sites. The City of Vancouver is leasing the land at the four sites through 99-year leases at a nominal rate. The Land Trust, a non-profit organization established by the Co-op Housing Federation of BC, is the lead proponent in the project. Non-profit and co-operative organizations will operate units for a diverse range of tenants, including low-income families and individuals with mental health and / or addictions. A key feature of the project is a ‘portfolio approach’ that is enabling efficiencies in developing and operating the site, as well as enabling cross-subsidization from higher rent units to lower end of market units across the portfolio. Units will rent at varying levels of affordability ranging from units for those living on incomeassistance to units renting at close to market rates. Overall units will rent at an aggregated maximum of 76% of market; within this aggregate, rents will range from 23% of market rents to 90% of market. The core commitment of the Land Trust to providing affordable housing, and agreements with the City on affordability requirements ensures long-term affordability. Construction is due to start on the first two projects in the spring of 2015, with completion and occupancy in 2017–1018. No one piece of the financing structure unlocks affordability; rather, it is the collective impact of all the different kinds of investment, combined with the cross-subsidies built into the business model that make it work. In particular, the City of Vancouver’s investment through the discounted land-lease along with the strong participation of social finance institutions stand out as critical features of the project’s funding. As well, the agreement between the City and the Land Trust anticipates operating surpluses that will be used for future expansion of affordable housing. Surpluses will be split between the Land Trust and the City of Vancouver. In addition to reinvestment in new affordable housing units, surpluses can also be used to deepen affordability for low and moderateincome people living in the existing Land Trust units. The potential for replication of the Land Trust model is unfolding in the context of the transfer of provincial land assets to social housing organizations starting in 2014 as well as the end of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s operating agreements and their related mortgages. The Land Trust may provide a model for non-profits, co-ops, municipalities and other actors to leverage under-developed land that is already owned by the community or municipalities for affordable housing without ongoing government subsidies. The case study identified significant strengths in the model as well as some initial lessons learned. In particular, replication of the model will require commitment and leadership from government and social finance institutions collaborating in social-public partnerships with non-profit and co-operative housing organizations. In the unfolding provincial context, there is a particular opportunity for non-profit and cooperative associations to redevelop their own properties. Considerable sophistication and capacity is required to manage their own development; there is a gap in experience and equity and some may not be willing to assume the risks of redevelopment. In considering the Land Trust as a potential model for redevelopment, challenges that have emerged to date, such as tensions around decision-making and the reality of the time involved in, will have to be considered. Finally, the Land Trust is in early days of implementation; a Development Agreement has been signed but construction had not yet begun at the time of publication of this case study. As such, the analysis contained in this case study must be read with the caution that this is a promising but not yet proven model.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Canadian Centre for Community Renewal (CCCR) ; School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia (SCARP) ; BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA) ; Co-operative Housing Federation of British Columbia (CHF-BC

A Review of Spartina Management in Washington State, US

Management of non-native Spartina plants including Spartina alterniflora Lois., Spartina anglica C. Hubb and Spartina patens (Ait.) Muhl. in Washington State, U.S. evolved during the 1990s from small-scale field trials to a large-scale integrated pest management program. The development and implementation of the program were significantly hindered by stakeholder conflict, particularly regarding the use of herbicide in estuarine environments. In 1995, Washington State Department of Agriculture was appointed to manage these invasive species. Agency coordination and strategy reviews were undertaken. A wide range of control techniques, including physical removal, mowing and herbicide, were established, with all techniques demonstrating considerable limitations. The combination of mowing and herbicide provided the greatest efficacy but was expensive. Development of biological control options is in progress but will take years to prove effectiveness for Spartina management. Program progress based on existing mapping and efficacy data is difficult to gauge. This program demonstrates that Spartina plants are difficult and expensive to eradicate. Between 1995 and 2000, infestations increased in area by 250%, affecting more than 8,093 ha of intertidal land. During this period, approximately 15% of the infestation was treated annually. Although the program has evolved considerably, substantially increasing knowledge on the management of Spartina, infestations in Washington State continue to present a range of management challenges, including the development of a standardized and integrated mapping procedures, cost-effective control techniques and improvements to stakeholder management