The retention of sailors is paramount to the viability of the United States Navy. While numerous aspects, including pay, benefits, family issues, etc., factor into the decision of each sailor to leave the Navy, job satisfaction is one of the most important. This study examines the extent job satisfaction played in sailors' decisions to leave after their initial enlistment. The Navy's own survey instrument was utilized to gather the data from sailors who were separating from the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy (CV-67) at the end of their first enlistment contract. The survey questions were broken down into three general areas: Job Satisfaction, Pay and Benefits, and Quality of Life, to measure the level of satisfaction within each of these areas. The relationship between gender, martial status and ethnic group were key components in analyzing each of the key areas. The results of these findings are reviewed and discussed.

With the economic reform and liberalization that accompany the increasing demand in energy, China has surpassed Japan, becoming the second largest energy consuming nation all over the world. Energy from the Middle East and Africa should be delivered through the ocean route from Indian Ocean to the Strait of Malacca. China imported 203.8 million tons of oil in 2009, for an increase of 14.8%, having surpassed Japan and leaving the United States as the second largest oil consuming nation. For oil delivery and energy supply safety, China has much room for improvement in the capability of safeguarding long-distance delivery; a sophisticated cross-ocean navy has not yet been established. On one hand, China has built strongholds along the oil delivery route connecting the Middle East to China, which is the so-called ¡§string of pearls¡¨ strategy. The nations with diplomatic relations with China along the route, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Cambodia have cooperated with China to give it the right to build ports or to use their important ports to improve oil delivery safety. Developing a command of the sea has remained the ambition of China¡¦s navy in recent years. The substantial measures to gain control of the seas require a naval fleet equipped with long-term offshore combat capability. If conflicts occur in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean, China¡¦s surface vessels probably can not handle them since they lack air superiority. Therefore, China proactively builds its cross-ocean naval fleet, including ushering in large surface vessels and submarines imported from Russia, or self-developed. China has also recently stated that the development of a functional aircraft carrier is part of the future direction for its cross-ocean naval force.

Aircraft Carriers are naval vessels that allow for landing and take-off of military aircraft. Typically, Aircraft Carriers are active for 50 to 60 years then need to be retired or decommissioned. The ship is either torn apart for resources, sunk to the bottom of the ocean to serve as an artificial reef, or tied up to a dock indefinitely to serve as a sterile museum. The purpose of this research is to explore a fourth option that allows the public to appreciate the steel beasts in a manner that is respective and full of awe. / Master of Architecture

No description available.

The main objective of this thesis is to introduce the reader to the problematics of air-launch and to a custom design solution applying this concept. The specifics of this method of bringing a payload into orbit are described and explained. Overview of projects which use aircraft to launch spacecraft is included. Determination of primary parameters of a launch vehicle designed to carry a payload of a specified mass is conducted. The required flight performance has been estimated, a computational model has been developed in software MATLAB, and a multidisciplinary optimization of the design parameters has been performed using a genetic algorithm optimization method. Parameters of the designed air-launched rocket are compared with those of a ground-launched rocket. According to the specific criteria, the Airbus A310-300 aircraft was selected as the most suitable transport aircraft to be used for launching the designed launch vehicle. The last part of the thesis is devoted to the proposal of necessary modifications and estimation of the flight performance.