A critical component needed to maintain National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) mission will be Johnson Space Center’s (JSC) ability to build off previous space program’s lessons learned by utilizing knowledge management (KM) activities and practices. Currently, at the local level of NASA JSC, employees lack cultural enablers that can stimulate behaviors that promote knowledge management practices that within the organization. Through surveys conducted with current NASA civil servant employees, this thesis investigates current involvement and attitudes in knowledge management activities/programs and practices of NASA JSC employees at the local level. By understanding the local employee’s involvement and attitudes of knowledge management, recommendations can be made on how to create a culture change that stimulates behaviors that promote knowledge management within the local level’s of NASA JSC. / text

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Within the healthcare system, nurses, are involved in many critical steps of the patient care process such as surgery triaging, post-procedure recovery monitoring and handoff release to a caregiver. A significant portion of their time is spent on the hospital floors where patients recover from their medical procedures. In today’s healthcare environments, multiple devices – typically monitors, ventilators, and infusion pumps – are used during said patient recovery process. Health equipment manufacturers often add alarms to medical devices, which serve a variety of purposes, ranging from simple notifications to warnings and alerts about potential hazards that require rapid action. In typical hospital units, several types of medical devices that monitor a variety of parameters based on patient and nurses/assistants needs. Many devices have similar alarm tones, regardless of risk levels. A typical nurse will attend to multiple patients, and the number of alarms that require attention place tremendous demands on nurses’ cognition, which causes enormous alarm fatigue. Alarm fatigue is not a new phenomenon and is very common in other industries, such as chemical processing, and nuclear power. The additional stress and burden of false alarms and non-actionable alarms is also troublesome. Many for-profit companies have developed commercial alarm management tools and aids to combat these problems and the rapid adoption of smart phones and tablets in healthcare has made alarm management more mobile and visual. However, even after these advances, the number of deaths and adverse events are still at an unacceptable level. The purpose of this study to establish that the current training methods used by various hospitals are inadequate and to explore the effects of rigorous one-on-one training and metacognitive intervention in managing alarm related adverse events. This study also identifies deficiencies in the current training methods and assesses the impact of individualizing alarm threshold settings on alarm workload, response and error rates.

The concept of decline has variously been applied to businesses, organizations, groups, and government (Levine 1978; Lorange and Nelson 1987; Whetten 1980). The term decline has also been used to describe various government agencies such as NASA. It is the theory put forth presently that decline in its traditional form in the literature does not apply to government agencies. Decline has been previously characterized as a time of decreasing or restricted resources, conflict, a decrease in innovativeness, a decrease in organizational size, a decrease in income or profits, and an organization's inability to adapt (Cameron, Whetten, and Kim; Weitzel and Jonsson). These characteristics, however, are not applicable to individual government agencies; an agency's tasks, form, and functions are usually set and defined through legislation, its budget is tied to the budget of the rest of the US government, and policy is usually generated at the top. Because of these pitfalls, I propose a new model of operations at the government level: the government agency decline model. This model posits that an agency's operations are in constant flux depending on the nature of the US economy at any given time and a number of other variables. Pursuant to this, I propose that there is a strong relationship between budget, agency performance, and power; more money in an agency's accounts contributes to bettering their performance, better performance leads to more power, which can lead to an increased budget. Therefore this cycle can begin and be interrupted at the money stage depending on the state of the American economy. Findings show that there are relationships between economy, budgets, performance, and power leading to an enhanced explanation of NASA's yearly budget. Recommendations for further research include examining a wider array of government agencies and developing better ways to measure power.

This research study explored the theoretical underpinnings of implementing government reform in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), specifically focusing on a management philosophy called Faster, Better, Cheaper (FBC). It is situated within the broader context of Government reform efforts that attempt to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of government organizations in their delivery of products and services to the public. This study employed the Grounded Theory qualitative research methodology that concentrates on a central phenomenon and generates a theory from a category or construct-oriented approach. The objective is to generate a substantive-level theory that describes the practice of FBC within NASA and is grounded in the data collected from the organization. The following research questions guided this study: 1.What is the meaning of Faster, Better, Cheaper for Public Professionals in the NASA organizational environment? 2.What are the interrelationships between concepts of faster, better, and cheaper? 3.How does the technical and cultural structure of NASA influence the implementation of Faster, Better, Cheaper? 4.What are the required workforce capabilities to perform Faster, Better, Cheaper in NASA? The theoretical sample for this study consisted of interviews scheduled with NASA personnel involved in Faster, Better, Cheaper projects. NASA documents and reports were analyzed to saturate the initial 29 provisional categories. A representation of the phenomenon of FBC was developed following the data analysis, including causal conditions, strategies, environmental conditions and context, and consequences. Several findings addressed the meaning of FBC, the interrelationships between the concepts, the impact of organizational infrastructure, and required workforce capabilities. Topics for future research are the nature of risk in public organizations, tools for aligning and measuring public policy alignment and implementation, leadership of public sector teams, and generalizing the findings to other organizations. / Ph. D.

Master of Science / Department of Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering / Dale Schinstock / This thesis describes the design, development, and initial testing of the Mobile Reduced Gravity Simulator (MoRGS). MoRGS is a hoist with active force control, to be used in terrestrial environments with human test subjects for the simulation of partial gravity or zero gravity environments. It is to be used with the subject performing activities while being harnessed to the hoist. The following work here describes the mechanical design, structural and dynamic analyses, simulations used to aid in the control design and component selection, the development of unique control algorithms tailored to the objectives and uncommon dynamics of MoRGS, and initial testing performed without the use of human subjects. Major components of the MoRGS system include: AC servo motor, gearbox, custom-designed drum, pneumatic muscle, load cell, and a microprocessor. The system is designed to track the motion of the test subject over several meters of vertical travel at speeds of up to 2 Gs of acceleration. This allows for high performance during subject’s physical tests, including running on a treadmill and a climbing ladder. It is capable of offloading 50 lb. to 600 lb. and the level of desired reduced gravity is programmable. Results from testing of the system demonstrate that MoRGS system achieves its goals. It performs well, and the sensitivity of the force controller enables it to compensate for the most minute human motion disturbance.

The cosmic “Dark Ages” is the cosmic era between the epochs of recombination of cosmic microwave background and the formation of the first stars. The only signal from this epoch is from neutral hydrogen, which could represent one of the richest data sets in cosmology. In order to extract this data, NASA/JPL has proposed a rover mission to the farside of the moon to deploy several radio arrays. Here the arrays would gather data undisturbed by human interference. This thesis examines the possibility of using photovoltaic and electric batteries as an energy solution for a rover on the moon. The requirement for such a system to survive on the moon is discussed in a literature study. A proof of concept simulation using a Simulink model has also been done. The thesis concludes that a rover can deploy the radio array using solar energy. It would be able to hibernate through the night using radioisotope heating. It would need to wait for its batteries to charge before each night. / I kosmologi kallas epoken mellan “rekombinationen till väte” och bildandet av de första stjärnorna för “den mörka tidsåldern”. Från denna tid finns endast spår i form av strålning från neutralt väte. Denna strålning kan enligt astronomer vara en viktigare källa till data om universums uppkomst än den kosmiska mikrovågsstrålningen. Därför arbetar NASA/JPL med att hitta metoder att observera denna rika källa till data. Den mest använda metoden är att använda lågfrekventa radioteleskop för att observera strålning med våglängder mellan 3-30 m och frekvenser mellan 10-100 Mhz. Ett stort problem med så kort strålning är den lätt störs ut av mänsklig påverkan och andra radiokällor, tillexempel solen. Ett sätt att undvika antropogen störning är att bygga ett radioteleskop på månens baksida. Eftersom månen är i en låst bana runt jorden vänder den alltid samma sida bort från planeten. Därför är platsen alltid i radioskugga från jorden ochstörs inte av mänsklighetens radiotrafik. JPL har lång erfarenhet av användandet av robotfarkoster för att utforska himlakroppar. År 2030 vill de sända en så kallad rover för att upprätta en grupp radioteleskop på månen med syftet att införskaffa data om “den mörka tidsåldern.” Högskolan i Halmstad erbjuder sedan 2013 studenter möjligheten att skriva sitt examensarbete i samarbete med NASA/JPL om konstruktionen av denna rover. Detta arbete har ämnat finna en lösning på rovens energiförsörjning genom att använda solceller och batterier. Slutsatsen har varit att det är möjligt att driva en rover på månen med solceller samt batterier. Ett krav är att rovern värms med radioisotoperunder natten för att minska energianvändningen.

Submitted by Irene Nascimento (irene.kessia@ufpe.br) on 2017-04-18T17:33:57Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Trabalho de ergonomia de Jorge Olimpio.pdf: 4326782 bytes, checksum: 0c6d6d06293f6fc18996947966b4097c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-18T17:33:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Trabalho de ergonomia de Jorge Olimpio.pdf: 4326782 bytes, checksum: 0c6d6d06293f6fc18996947966b4097c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-14 / O presente trabalho teve como objetivo principal gerar, à luz da ergonomia, proposições de melhorias que podem minimizar o impacto dos fatores que mais interferem na carga de trabalho dos servidores que desempenham a função de pregoeiro, sendo sete da Divisão de Licitações – Dlic da PROGEST e quatro da Unidade de Licitação – UL do Setor de Administração da Divisão Administrativa Financeira – DAF do HC da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco - UFPE. Os dados foram coletados de forma participativa, através de entrevistas, e quatro questionários: avaliação do nível de impacto dos itens de demanda Ergonômica no trabalho; avaliação do grau de dificuldade na realização das tarefas; avaliação das exigências das tarefas; avaliação subjetiva da carga de trabalho através do NASA - Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) adaptado. O primeiro questionário permitiu identificar os fatores que mais impactam no desempenho do trabalho e realizar um diagnóstico dos constrangimentos dos itens de demanda ergonômica no trabalho para a consecução das tarefas. Os resultados do segundo e terceiro questionário que variaram em função da tarefa, apontaram alto grau de dificuldade nas sete tarefas analisadas, bem como exigências com alta demanda mental e performance. Concluiu-se que as cargas de trabalho são elevadas nos dois grupos pesquisados, sendo a demanda mental observada nos pregoeiros da Dlic, caracterizada como sobrecarga informacional ou cognitiva, a de maior intensidade, enquanto para os pregoeiros da UL/HC a maior intensidade foi o nível de frustação, considerando os fatores que inibem a realização do trabalho, entre eles, a insegurança e a falta de estímulo. Proposições de melhorias para reduzir o impacto dos fatores que mais interferem na carga de trabalho e direcionamentos para estudos futuros são fornecidos. / This study aimed to generate, in the light of ergonomics, proposals for improvements that can minimize the impact of the factors that influence the workload of servers that perform the auctioneer function, seven of the Procurement Division - Dlic of PROGEST and four Bidding Unit - UL Administrative Division Financial Management Sector - DAF HC Federal University of Pernambuco - UFPE. Data were collected in a participatory manner, through interviews and four questionnaires: evaluation of the impact level of ergonomic demand items at work; assessment of the degree of difficulty in performing the tasks; assessment of the requirements of the tasks; subjective assessment of workload by NASA - Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) adapted. The first questionnaire allowed us to identify the factors that impact on work performance and conduct a diagnosis of the constraints of ergonomic demand items in the work to achieve the task. The results of the second and third questionnaire that varied according to the task, showed a high degree of difficulty in the seven analyzed tasks and requirements with high mental demands and performance. It was concluded that the workloads are high in both groups surveyed, with the mental demand observed in the auctioneer of Dlic characterized as informational or cognitive overload, higher intensity, while for criers UL / HC the highest intensity was level of frustration, considering the factors that inhibit the realization of the work, including, insecurity and lack of stimulation. Propositions improvements to reduce the impact of the factors that interfere with the work load and nd guidelines for future studies are provided.

Les causes de l'affaiblissement du nasa yuwe étant multiples, les stratégies de revitalisation sont également variées. Le nid linguistique de Tóez Caloto est un exemple des nombreuses façons de revitaliser une langue. Ainsi qu'un exemple des facteurs qui influencent le transfert linguistique, résultant d'aspects personnels tels que les traumatismes liés à l'utilisation de la langue à la suite d'abus physiques et psychologiques, la discrimination linguistique, la migration, la nécessité d'intégrer le marché du travail et l'accès à l'éducation scolaire. Ensemble avec des facteurs communautaires, sociaux, économiques, environnementaux et politiques. En ce sens, l'enseignement et l'apprentissage du nasa yuwe dans l'espace éducatif du nid linguistique de Tóez Caloto visent non seulement à enseigner la langue, mais aussi, à travers elle, à transmettre la culture nasa. En plus d’autres éléments liés à l'identité qui se construit dans l'imbrication de la vision du monde, de l'histoire, de l'organisation sociale, de la politique et de la vie communautaire. Éléments considérés comme des inséparables dans ce processus, qui vise à laisser derrière eux les sentiments de honte et d'humiliation vécus par les générations précédentes, en créant une relation de bonheur, d'amour et de fierté dans la langue, qui conduira également à la récupération de la valeur des langues indigènes au sein des communautés et des sociétés nationales. / As the causes of the weakening of Nasa Yuwe are multiple, the strategies for revitalization are also varied. The linguistic nest of Tóez Caloto is an example of the many ways to revitalize a language. As well as an example of the factors that influence language transfer, resulting from personal aspects such as trauma related to language use because of physical and psychological abuse, language discrimination, migration, the need to integrate the labor market, and access to school education. Together with community, social, economic, environmental, and political factors. In this sense, the teaching and learning of Nasa Yuwe in the educational space of the linguistic nest of Tóez Caloto aims not only to teach the language, but also, through it, to transmit the Nasa culture. In addition to other elements related to the identity that is built in the interweaving of the world view, history, social organization, politics, and community life. Elements considered inseparable in this process, which aims to leave behind the feelings of shame and humiliation experienced by previous generations, creating a relationship of happiness, love, and pride in the language, which will also lead to the recovery of the value of indigenous languages within communities and national societies.

Launch vehicle development programs have experienced significant difficulties in achieving first flight. Optimism during the initiation of these complex programs, coupled with the innovative nature of the technologies they employ, has resulted in a long list of programs unable to remain within the national means. A recent example of this challenge is the Constellation program which was canceled in 2011 due to excessive cost overruns and schedule slippage. The budgetary constraints currently placed on NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) highlights the need for a greater emphasis on affordability. Where affordability is defined in this research as the ability to remain under the mandated funding curve for all points in a system's life cycle while simultaneously meeting schedule goals given that performance requirements are met. The proposed research aims to address the gap between current practices and an affordability-centric design approach by capturing manufacturing technology effects on the affordability of the baseline vehicle concept. Historically, cost overruns and schedule slippages escalate once production begins and are only truly realized at the first launch of a system. These trends, based upon systems which leveraged traditional materials and processes, suggest a shortcoming in the ability of current practices to assess manufacturing implications during the early design phases. The advent of advanced materials and the new process required to fabricate parts from them, further challenges these practices, and threaten to exacerbate the already excessive overruns experience once production begins. Manufacturing technologies, such as composite materials, automated fabrication processes, and the use of stiffener concepts, can no longer be considered independently. This observation leads to the conclusion that improvements in vehicle affordability can only be realized by bringing manufacturing information forward into the Conceptual Design phase. The goal of this research is to support the development of affordable launch vehicles by quantitatively capturing the effects of manufacturing technology selection during Conceptual Design. A manufacturing influenced design methodology is combined with established techniques of time-phasing and risk propagation to evaluate the expected affordability of a launch vehicle baseline concept. The method is benchmarked against expected performance and affordability trends established in literature. The experiments used to build this methodology provide interesting insight into the excess risk typically carried into Preliminary Design due to a lack of the temporal nature of cost. Fundamental implications include the notion that the most expensive candidate (i.e. the highest total cost) does not correspond to the candidate with the highest annual cost insurance. Furthermore, the assessment of risk — within the traditional total cost domain — by overlaying vertical constraints onto uncertainty distributions results in the inclusion of many unaffordable candidates. The final chapter of this thesis applies the method to a relevant launch vehicle, the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) of the SLS Block IB, which is currently in its Conceptual Design phase. This chapter compares two viable candidate manufacturing technologies based on affordability criteria established herein. The application of this methodology provides the decision maker with a significant amount of information previously unavailable and affords her additional degrees of freedom regarding appropriate Design, Development, Testing, Evaluation, and Production (DDTE&P) planning. This will ultimately enable the selection of an affordable vehicle baseline which will be robust to uncertainty in congress-appropriated funding and thus circumvent risks associated with government program cancellation.