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NASA NTRS1989

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 1, part 1:] Technical communications in aeronautics: Results of an exploratory study

A study was undertaken that explored several aspects of technical communications in aeronautics. The study, which utilized survey research in the form of a self-administered questionnaire, was sent to 2,000 randomly selected members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Six hundred and six usable questionnaires (30.3 percent) were received by the established cut off date. The study had five objectives. The first was to solicit the opinions of aeronautical engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine their use and production of technical communications; third, to seek their views on the content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine their use of libraries/technical information centers; and finally, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. The findings add considerable information to the knowledge of technical communications practices among aeronautical engineers and scientists and reinforce some of the conventional wisdom about technical communications and question other widely-held notions.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1989

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 1, part 2:] Technical communications in aeronautics: Results of an exploratory study

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1989

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 2:] Technical communications in aeronautics: Results of an exploratory study. An analysis of managers' and nonmanagers' responses

Data collected from an exploratory study concerned with the technical communications practices of aerospace engineers and scientists were analyzed to test the primary assumption that aerospace managers and nonmanagers have different technical communications practices. Five assumptions were established for the analysis. Aerospace managers and nonmanagers were found to have different technical communications practices for three of the five assumptions tested. Although aerospace managers and nonmanagers were found to have different technical communications practices, the evidence was neither conclusive nor compelling that the presumption of difference in practices could be attributed to the duties performed by aerospace managers and nonmanagers.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1989

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 3:] Technical communications in aeronautics: Results of an exploratory study. An analysis of profit managers' and nonprofit managers' responses

Data collected from an exploratory study concerned with the technical communications practices of aerospace engineers and scientists were analyzed to test the primary assumption that profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community have different technical communications practices. Five assumptions were established for the analysis. Profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community were found to have different technical communications practices for one of the five assumptions tested. It was, therefore, concluded that profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community do not have different technical communications practices.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1989

NASA/DOD Controls-Structures Interaction Technology 1989

The purpose of this conference was to report to industry, academia, and government agencies on the current status of controls-structures interaction technology. The agenda covered ground testing, integrated design, analysis, flight experiments, and concepts.

Newsom, Jerry R.↗

NASA NTRS1990

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 2:] External Information Sources and aerospace R&D: The use and importance of technical reports by US aerospace engineers and scientists

This paper formulates and studies two propositions. Proposition 1 states that information that is external to the aerospace organization tends to be used less than internal sources of information; the more geographically removed the information is from the organization, the less likely it is to be used. Proposition 2 states that of the various sociometric variables assumed to influence the use of an information channel or source, perceived accessibility exerts the greatest influence. Preliminary analysis based on surveys supports Proposition 1. This analysis does not support Proposition 2, however. Evidence here indicates that reliability and relevance influence the use of an information source more than the idea of perceived accessibility.

Blados, Walter R.↗

NASA NTRS1990

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 1:] The value of Scientific and Technical Information (STI), its relationship to Research and Development (R&D), and its use by US aerospace engineers and scientists

The relationship between scientific and technical information (STI), its use by aerospace engineers and scientists, and the aerospace R&D process is examined. Data are presented from studies of the role of STI in the performance and management of R&D activities and the behavior of engineers when using and seeking information. Consideration is given to the information sources used to solve technical problems, the production and use of technical communications, and the use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line data bases.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1990

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 4:] Technical communications in aerospace: An analysis of the practices reported by US and European aerospace engineers and scientists

Two pilot studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of U.S. and European aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: (1) solicit opinions regarding the importance of technical communications; (2) determine the use and production of technical communications; (3) seek views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; (4) determine use of libraries, information centers, and online database; (5) determine use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to randomly selected aerospace engineers and scientists, with a slightly modified version sent to European colleagues. Their responses to selected questions are presented in this paper.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 4: Summary report to phase 1 respondents

Phase 1 of a 4 part study was undertaken studying the use of scientific and technical information (STI) by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Specific attention was paid to institutional and socioeconomic variables and to the step-by-step process of information gathering used by the respondents. Data were collected by means of three self administered mail-back questionnaires. The approximately 34,000 members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) served as the study population. More than 65 percent of the randomly selected respondents returned the questionnaires in each of the three groups. Respondents relied more heavily upon informal sources of information than formal sources and turned to librarians and other technical information specialists only when they did not obtain results via informal means or their own formal searches.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 6: The relationship between the use of US government technical reports by US aerospace engineers and scientists and selected institutional and sociometric variables

The relationship between the use of U.S. government technical reports by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists and selected institutional and sociometric variables was investigated. The methodology used for this study was survey research. Data were collected by means of a self-administered mail questionnaire. The approximately 34,000 members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronauts (AIAA) served as the study population. The response rate for the survey was 70 percent. A dependent relationship was found to exist between the use of U.S. government technical reports and three of the institutional variables (academic preparation, years of professional aerospace work experience, and technical discipline). The use of U.S. government technical reports was found to be independent of all of the sociometric variables. The institutional variables best explain the use of U.S. government technical reports by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 5:] Summary report to phase 1 respondents including frequency distributions

Phase 1 of a four part study was undertaken to investigate the use of scientific and technical information (STI) by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Specific attention was paid to institutional and sociometric variables and to the step-by-step process of information gathering used by the respondents. Data were collected by means of three self-administered mail-back questionnaires. The approximately 34,000 members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics served as the study population. More than 65 percent of the randomly selected respondants returned the questionnaires in each of the three groups. Respondants relied more heavily on informal sources of information than formal sources and turned to librarians and other technical information specialists only when they did not obtain results via informal means or their own formal searches. The report includes frequency distributions for the questions.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 8: Summary report to phase 3 faculty and student respondents

Phase 3 of a four part study was undertaken to investigate the use of scientific and technical information (STI) in the academic aerospace community. Three questionnaires that were sent to three groups (i.e., faculty, librarians, and students) in the academic aerospace community were used. Specific attention was paid to the types of STI used and the methods in which academic users acquired STI. The focus is on the responses of two of the three groups: faculty in aerospace departments and students enrolled in the USRA-funded capstone design courses. Respondents in both groups relied heavily upon informal sources of information, although students were less inclined to regard their personal collections of STI as important. Both groups relied upon most formal sources of STI about the same, but students reported more difficulty in using the formal resources.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 9: Summary report to phase 3 faculty and student respondents including frequency distributions

This project is designed to explore the diffusion of scientific and technical information (STI) throughout the aerospace industry. The increased international competition and cooperation in the industry promises to significantly affect the STI standards of U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Therefore, it is important to understand the aerospace knowledge diffusion process itself and its implications at the individual, organizational, national, and international levels. Examined here is the role of STI in the academic aerospace community.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1991

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 10: Summary report to phase 3 academic library respondents including frequency distributions

Phase 3 of a 4 part study was undertaken to study the use of scientific and technical information (STI) in the academic aerospace community. Phase 3 of this project used three questionnaires that were sent to three groups (i.e., faculty, librarians, and students) in the academic aerospace community. Specific attention was paid to the types of STI used and the methods in which academic users acquire STI. The responses of the academic libraries are focussed on herein. Demographic information on academic aerospace libraries is provided. Data regarding NASA interaction with academic aerospace libraries is also included, as is the survey instrument.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1992

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 11: Chronology of selected literature, reports, policy instruments, and significant events affecting Federal Scientific and Technical Information (STI) in the United States

The chronology is a comprehensive bibliography. It contains 512 entries covering a variety of selected literature, reports, policy instruments, and significant events affecting Federal Scientific and Technical Information (STI) from 1945 to 1990. It includes some publications and events of historic interest which relate to the evaluation of aerospace and aerospace knowledge diffusion. Each entry has been given an item number and items are arranged by columns. To provide an overview of Federal STI developments, the entries are generally arranged by date of publication and event.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗

NASA NTRS1992

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 12: An initial investigation into the production and use of Scientific and Technical Information (STI) at five NASA centers: Results of a telephone survey

A study was conducted to provide NASA management with an 'initial' look at the production and use of scientific and technical information (STI) at five NASA centers (Ames, Goddard, Langley, Lewis, and Marshall). The 550 respondents who were interviewed by telephone held favorable views regarding the NASA STI system. About 65 percent of the respondents stated that it is either very or somewhat important for them to publish their work through the NASA STI system. About 10 percent of those respondents encountered problems using the NASA STI system services for publication. The most frequently reported problem was 'the process is too time consuming' (8.6 percent). Overall, those respondents using the NASA STI system to publish their work rated the system as excellent (24.6 percent) or good (37.6 percent). About 79 percent of the respondents stated that it is either very or somewhat important for them to use the NASA STI system to access information. The most frequently reported problems were 'the time and effort it takes to locate and obtain information through the system' (14.4 percent). Overall, about 83 percent of the respondents stated that the NASA STI system is important to performing their work. Overall, about 73 percent of the respondents stated that the NASA STI system meets their information needs.

Glassman, Nanci A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 3: The impact of a sponsor letter on mail survey response rates

We describe the impact of two interventions in the design of mail surveys. The interventions were devised to increase response rates and to clarify sample eligibility. To test their effectiveness, the interventions occurred at different points in each of three surveys. One intervention was a letter from the research sponsor (NASA) supporting the research. The other intervention was the inclusion of a postcard that could be used by the respondent to indicate that the questionnaire was not appropriate for him/her. The sample was drawn from the membership of a professional aerospace research society, the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Scientists and engineers are difficult to survey for two reasons. First, there are significant problems with the definition of scientists and engineers. Second, typically there are low response rates in surveys of this group. These two problems were found in the NASA surveys. The results indicate that the sponsor letter improved response rates under certain conditions described here. The postcards assisted in identifying non-eligible persons, particularly when the postcards accompanied a pre-survey letter. The implications for survey costs are discussed.

Kennedy, John M.↗

NASA NTRS1990

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 8: The role of the information intermediary in the diffusion of aerospace knowledge

The United States aerospace industry is experiencing profound changes created by a combination of domestic actions and circumstances such as airline deregulation. Other changes result from external trends such as emerging foreign competition. These circumstances intensify the need to understand the production, transfer, and utilization of knowledge as a precursor to the rapid diffusion of technology. Presented here is a conceptual framework for understanding the diffusion of technology. A conceptual framework is given for understanding the diffusion of aerospace knowledge. The framework focuses on the information channels and members of the social system associated with the aerospace knowledge diffusion process, placing particular emphasis on aerospace librarians as information intermediaries.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗