Embracing Simulations and Problem-Based Learning to Effectively Pair Concepts of Aeronautics With Flight Safety Training

Cadets, in order to become pilots, apart from successfully passing their flight training program, need to also complete their academic education, where many technical subjects, such as aeronautics, exist. Cadets often face difficulties in comprehending certain concepts in the subject “aeronautics” as well as the applied link between aeronautics and flight safety. To this end, at the Hellenic Air Force Academy, an innovative educational tool is under development so as to facilitate students' understanding of the practical use of aeronautics and its impact on aircraft safety. An important aspect of the proposed educational tool is that it can be easily adopted into the pilots' flight training program and offer a complimentary training experience regarding mid-air crisis scenarios. The new educational tool is based on introducing in-class simulation and problem-based learning, thus combining theory and practice. The aim of this chapter is to describe the development of this educational tool and to demonstrate the way that it can be employed for academic and flight training purposes.

Reenacting the Pamphlet War in an Age of Turmoil

Published in 1790, Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France triggered a pamphlet war whose major players included Mary Wollstonecraft, Thomas Paine, and the artist James Gillray. The debate that ensued about the French Revolution, which Percy Shelley called “the master theme of the epoch in which we live,” was fundamentally a debate between past and present, between tradition and the needs of a living culture, and between the status quo and innovation. This essay describes an attempt by the author to reenact the Pamphlet War at the US Air Force Academy to help cadets negotiate these tensions at their institution and, in doing so, participate in the work of Romanticism. The essay also suggests ways Romanticists could harness the Pamphlet War to engage political and cultural debates in our own age of upheaval and turmoil. Finally, it offers the Pamphlet War as a vehicle for debating the state of the field and the work of the Romantic classroom itself.

Phylodynamics Of A Regional, Sars-Cov-2 Rapid Spreading Event In Colorado

ABSTRACTSince the initial reported discovery of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019, genomic surveillance has been an important tool to understand its transmission and evolution. Here, we describe a case study of genomic sequencing of Colorado SARS-CoV-2 samples collected August through November 2020 at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical campus in Aurora and the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. We obtained nearly complete sequences for 44 genomes, inferred ancestral sequences shared among these local samples, and used NextStrain variant and clade frequency monitoring in North America to place the Colorado sequences into their continental context. Furthermore, we describe genomic monitoring of a lineage that likely originated in the local Colorado Springs community and expanded rapidly over the course of two months in an outbreak within the well-controlled environment of the United States Air Force Academy. This variant contained a number of amino acid-altering mutations that may have contributed to its spread, but it appears to have been controlled using extensive contact tracing and strict quarantine protocols. The genome sequencing allowed validation of the transmission pathways inferred by the United States Air Force Academy and provides a window into the evolutionary process and transmission dynamics of a potentially dangerous but ultimately contained variant.SIGNIFICANCESARS-CoV-2 spreads and mutates, negatively impacting containment. In this study, we use long-read sequencing to generate 44 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from COVID-19 patients associated with a rapid-spreading event on the USAFA campus, as well as a neighboring community for reference. We reconstruct the genomic and evolutionary signatures of the rapid-spreading event, and pin-point novel, protein-altering mutations that may have impacted viral fitness. These insights into viral evolutionary dynamics, in the context of contact tracing and a rigorous containment program, help to inform response efforts in the future.

DEPENDENCE BETWEEN THE LEVEL OF PSYCHOMOTOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND THE ACQUISITION OF TECHNICAL MARTIAL ARTS PROPERTIES BY MILITARY STUDENTS

Numerous scientific studies report on the importance of improving the methodology of developing motor skills through martial arts, while identifying the links between these indices, which ensures an optimal level of motor training of subjects. In this paper are presented the results of the study on the existence of correlative links between the indices of motor skills development and the level of mastery of the technique of the martial arts elements. For this purpose, a test was carried out in which the military students (first year) of the "Henri Coandă" Air Force Academy from Brasov participated. The test results confirmed the existence of a reciprocal link, highlighting significant interdependencies between the indices obtained. The analysis of the correlation of the parameters of motor skills and the level of mastery of technical elements in martial arts allow us to mention that the intensity of links is significant at high and medium levels in most cases, which reflects the fact that the indices influence each other.

United States Air Force Academy Cadets' Unprompted Knowledge of Concussions and Bell-Ringers/Dings: Perceived Differences and Similarities

Context: After a potential concussion mechanism, a cadet is unlikely to have a list of concussion signs and symptoms at their disposal. As such, unprompted concussion knowledge may be an essential factor in personal recognition. Objective: The primary purpose of an overall study was to explore determinants that contributed to United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) cadets to disclose a concussion. This manuscript focuses on one of the eight overall themes discovered of unprompted concussion knowledge. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: Military academy. Patients or Other Participants: USAFA cadets (males=23, females=11, age=19.91±1.14 years). Main Outcome Measure(s): We conducted 34 semi-structured interviews. The transcribed text was analyzed in a five-cycle process. From this process eight overall themes were discovered including unprompted concussion knowledge. Subthemes were also discovered of concussion definition, concussion symptoms, bell-ringer/ding definition, bell-ringer/ding symptoms, and concussion vs. bell-ringer/ding. Results: Many participants were able to largely accurately describe a concussion. The most commonly listed concussion signs and symptoms were dizziness (n=22/34, 64.7%), “can't remember”/“memory loss”/“forgetful” (n=19/34, 55.9%), and headache (n=16/34, 47.1%). USAFA cadet participants identified the most common bell-ringer/ding signs and symptoms as dizziness (n=2/34, 5.9%) and headache (n=2/34, 5.9%). Lastly, cadets described how a bell-ringer/ding differs from a concussion, often describing that concussions are more severe than bell-ringers/dings. Conclusions: Overall, USAFA cadet participants listed common concussion signs and symptoms. However, cadet participants perceived differences between concussion and bell-ringer/ding. While decreasing use of colloquial terms for concussion is recommended, using these terms when examining concussion history may be useful. Concussion educational interventions should continue to focus on describing concussion signs and symptoms using cadets' own words to describe the injury such as “forgetful”, but also differentiating between what may and may not be a concussion, and encourage individuals to seek the care of health care providers to discern concussion symptoms.

The Role of Social Support in Concussion Disclosure in United States Air Force Academy Cadets: A Mixed Methods Approach

ABSTRACT Introduction United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) cadets are at risk for sustaining concussions; however, several factors inhibit disclosure. We aimed to better understand the role of social support in concussion disclosure. Methods and Materials We used a mixed methods approach with an electronic survey and interviews. The survey used a 9-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree and 9 = strongly agree) to assess concussion disclosure. Survey items asked cadets whom they felt most comfortable disclosing a concussion or bell-ringer/ding to, how quickly they would seek medical attention for a suspected concussion or bell-ringer/ding, whether cadets would be generally supportive/unsupportive of another cadet disclosing a concussion to medical staff, and whether other cadets important to them would be generally supportive/unsupportive if they reported a concussion to medical staff. Two multivariate linear regressions, one for concussion and one for bell-ringers/dings, were calculated to determine whether cadet choice of the person they felt most comfortable disclosing a concussion or bell-ringer/ding to predicted whether they would immediately seek medical attention for either condition. Choice of person included Air Officer Commanding (AOC)/Academy Military Trainer (AMT), upper classmen, cadet who had recovered from a concussion, cadet, closest friend, teammate, and squadmate. Descriptive analyses assessed whether cadets felt supported or unsupported by other cadets and by those who were important to them concerning concussion reporting. Thirty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted with cadets to explore their views on concussion disclosure. Results Increased comfort with disclosing a suspected concussion to an AOC/AMT had higher agreement seeking medical attention (β = 0.28, P < .001). For every 1-point increase in being comfortable disclosing a potential bell-ringer/ding to an AOC/AMT (β = 0.272, P < .001), squadmate (β = 0.241, P = .002), and teammate (β = −0.182, P = .035), agreement for seeking medical attention immediately increased 0.27, increased 0.24, and decreased 0.18, respectively. Interviews indicated cadets would often speak to a peer before seeking medical attention. Conclusions Our results suggested that cadets felt comfortable reporting a suspected concussion or bell-ringer/ding to various peers and that those peers would be supportive of that choice, indicating social support. Future interventions should include educating cadets that peers may come to them, especially if they are AOCs/AMTs or squadmates.

Quantifying the Outfield Shift Using K-Means Clustering

Sports teams constantly search for a competitive advantage (e.g. bidding for free agents or scouting nontraditional markets). As popularized by Moneyball, we focus on advanced analytics in baseball. These sabermetrics are employed to provide objective information to management and coaches to support player management and in-game strategy decisions. Though widely used at the professional level, analytics use in college baseball is limited. Air Force Academy Baseball has been one win short of qualifying for the Mountain West tournament three straight years, resulting in the loss of potential income from media payouts and exposure for future recruiting efforts. Using a K-means clustering method for defensive shifting, we calculate an overall catch probability increase of 7.4% with a shifted outfield in a one-game case study. Based on our analysis, we provide evidence that Air Force Baseball can benefit from an outfield defensive shifting scheme that drives a competitive advantage and additional wins.

An Optimization Approach to the Make-Up Final Exam Scheduling Problem with Unique Constraints

Final exam scheduling is typically a simple task. Exam scheduling at the United States Air Force Academy, however, is unique in that it must abide by a number of institutional constraints. Some include: ensuring all 4,000 cadets complete their exams within one week, assigning a longer time block for final exams than regular class meetings, and limiting the number of exam periods per day. The Dean of Faculty Registrar’s office must also accommodate cadet absences during the scheduled final exam week on short notice. Addressing these issues is currently a reactive process—cadet absences are identified, and then the Registrar creates adjusted schedules by hand. In this study, we create a data-cleaning VBA module for input data and use Xpress software to execute one of three versions of a scheduling optimization model. The model reduces the scheduling task time from several days to less than five minutes.

The Effects of Professor Gender on the Postgraduation Outcomes of Female Students

Although women earn approximately 50% of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) bachelor’s degrees, more than 70% of scientists and engineers are men. The authors explore a potential determinant of this STEM gender gap using newly collected data on the career trajectories of United States Air Force Academy students. Specifically, they examine the effects of being assigned female math and science professors on occupation choice and postgraduate education. The results indicate that, among high-ability female students, being assigned a female professor leads to substantial increases in the probability of working in a STEM occupation and the probability of receiving a STEM master’s degree.