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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: Knowledge-Based Acquisition Approach Key to Addressing Program Challenges (open access)

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: Knowledge-Based Acquisition Approach Key to Addressing Program Challenges

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is being designed to explore the origins and nature of the universe. It should allow scientists to look deeper into space--and thus farther back in time--than ever before. The program, however, has experienced cost growth of more than $1 billion and its schedule has slipped nearly 2 years. NASA recently restructured the program and now anticipates a launch no sooner than June 2013. Because of the cost and schedule problems, under the Comptroller General's authority, we reviewed the JWST program to determine the extent to which this procurement follows NASA acquisition policy and GAO best practices for ensuring that adequate product knowledge is used to make informed investment decisions"
Date: July 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Defense Acquisitions: Major Weapon Systems Continue to Experience Cost and Schedule Problems under DOD's Revised Policy (open access)

Defense Acquisitions: Major Weapon Systems Continue to Experience Cost and Schedule Problems under DOD's Revised Policy

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) is planning to invest $1.3 trillion between 2005 and 2009 in researching, developing, and procuring major weapon systems. How DOD manages this investment has been a matter of congressional concern for years. Numerous programs have been marked by cost overruns, schedule delays, and reduced performance. Over the past 3 decades, DOD's acquisition environment has undergone many changes aimed at curbing cost, schedule, and other problems. In order to determine if the policy DOD put in place is achieving its intended goals, we assessed the outcomes of major weapons development programs initiated under the revised policy. Additionally, we assessed whether the policy's knowledge-based, evolutionary principles are being effectively implemented, and whether effective controls and specific criteria are in place and being used to make sound investment decisions."
Date: April 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
DOD Personnel Clearances: Questions and Answers for the Record Following the Second in a Series of Hearings on Fixing the Security Clearance Process (open access)

DOD Personnel Clearances: Questions and Answers for the Record Following the Second in a Series of Hearings on Fixing the Security Clearance Process

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "On November 9, 2005, GAO testified before Congress at a hearing on "Access Delayed: Fixing the Security Clearance Process, Part II." This letter responds to three questions for the record posed by Congress."
Date: June 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Joint Strike Fighter: Management of the Technology Transfer Process (open access)

Joint Strike Fighter: Management of the Technology Transfer Process

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program is the Department of Defense's (DOD) largest international cooperative effort to develop and produce a major weapon system. Due to the breadth of international participation, the number of export authorizations needed to share information with partner governments, solicit bids from suppliers, and execute contracts is expected to far exceed past transfers of advanced military technology. In July 2003, GAO reported that managing these transfers and partner expectations while avoiding delays has been a key challenge and recommended that industrial planning tools be developed and used to anticipate time frames for national disclosure and technology transfer decisions. This report examines DOD's response to this recommendation and identifies the practices DOD is using to expedite license processing and avoid program delays."
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nuclear Power Plants: Efforts Made to Upgrade Security, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Design Basis Threat Process Should Be Improved (open access)

Nuclear Power Plants: Efforts Made to Upgrade Security, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Design Basis Threat Process Should Be Improved

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The nation's commercial nuclear power plants are potential targets for terrorists seeking to cause the release of radioactive material. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), an independent agency headed by five commissioners, is responsible for regulating and overseeing security at the plants. In April 2003, in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, NRC revised the design basis threat (DBT), which describes the threat that plants must be prepared to defend against in terms of the number of attackers and their training, weapons, and tactics. NRC has also restructured its program for testing security at the plants through force-on-force inspections, which consist of mock terrorist attacks. GAO was asked to review (1) the process NRC used to revise the DBT for nuclear power plants, (2) the actions nuclear power plants have taken to enhance security in response to the revised DBT, and (3) NRC's progress in strengthening the conduct of force-on-force inspections at the plants."
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Combating Nuclear Smuggling: Corruption, Maintenance, and Coordination Problems Challenge U.S. Efforts to Provide Radiation Detection Equipment to Other Countries (open access)

Combating Nuclear Smuggling: Corruption, Maintenance, and Coordination Problems Challenge U.S. Efforts to Provide Radiation Detection Equipment to Other Countries

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, between 1993 and 2004, there were 662 confirmed cases of illicit trafficking in nuclear and radiological materials. Three U.S. agencies, the Departments of Energy (DOE), Defense (DOD), and State (State), have programs that provide radiation detection equipment and training to border security personnel in other countries. GAO examined the (1) progress U.S. programs have made in providing radiation detection equipment to foreign governments, including the current and expected costs of these programs; (2) challenges U.S. programs face in this effort; and (3) steps being taken to coordinate U.S. efforts to combat nuclear smuggling in other countries."
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally Chartered Corporation: Financial Statement Audit Report for the American Council of Learned Societies for Fiscal Years 2003 and 2002 (open access)

Federally Chartered Corporation: Financial Statement Audit Report for the American Council of Learned Societies for Fiscal Years 2003 and 2002

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the American Council of Learned Societies for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, and 2002. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles."
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally Chartered Corporation: Financial Statement Audit Report for the Aviation Hall of Fame for Fiscal Years 2003 and 2002 (open access)

Federally Chartered Corporation: Financial Statement Audit Report for the Aviation Hall of Fame for Fiscal Years 2003 and 2002

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Aviation Hall of Fame, for fiscal years 2003 and 2002. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinion that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles."
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Veterans Affairs: Leadership Needed to Address Information Security Weaknesses and Privacy Issues (open access)

Veterans Affairs: Leadership Needed to Address Information Security Weaknesses and Privacy Issues

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The recent information security breach at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in which personal data on millions of veterans were compromised, has highlighted the importance of the department's security weaknesses, as well as the ability of federal agencies to protect personal information. Robust federal security programs are critically important to properly protect this information and the privacy of individuals. GAO was asked to testify on VA's information security program, ways that agencies can prevent improper disclosures of personal information, and issues concerning notifications of privacy breaches. In preparing this testimony, GAO drew on its previous reports and testimonies, as well as on expert opinion provided in congressional testimony and other sources."
Date: June 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Indians' Additional Compensation Claims: Calculations for the Crow Creek Sioux and Lower Brule Sioux Tribes Differ from Approach Used in Prior GAO Reports (open access)

Indians' Additional Compensation Claims: Calculations for the Crow Creek Sioux and Lower Brule Sioux Tribes Differ from Approach Used in Prior GAO Reports

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "From 1946 to 1966, the government constructed the Fort Randall and Big Bend Dams as flood control projects on the Missouri River in South Dakota. The reservoirs created behind the dams flooded about 38,000 acres of the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Indian reservations. The tribes received compensation when the dams were built and additional compensation in the 1990s. The tribes are seeking a third round of compensation on the basis of a consultant's analysis. The Congress provided additional compensation to other tribes after two prior GAO reports in 1991 and 1998 (GAO/RCED-91-77 and GAO/RCED-98-77). For those reports, GAO proposed that one recommended approach to providing additional compensation would be to calculate the difference between the tribe's final asking price and the amount that was appropriated by the Congress and then adjust that difference using the inflation rate and an interest rate to reflect a range of current values. This testimony is based on GAO's report, Indian Issues: Analysis of the Crow Creek Sioux and Lower Brule Sioux Tribes' Additional Compensation Claims (GAO-06-517, May 19, 2006). Specifically, this testimony notes that the tribes' consultant did not follow the …
Date: June 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Telecommunications: Options for and Barriers to Spectrum Reform (open access)

Telecommunications: Options for and Barriers to Spectrum Reform

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The radio-frequency spectrum is used to provide an array of wireless communications services that are critical to the U.S. economy and various government missions, such as national security. With demand for spectrum exploding, and most useable spectrum allocated to existing users, there is growing concern that the current spectrum management framework might not be able to respond adequately to future demands. This testimony, which is based on previous GAO reports, provides information on (1) the extent to which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted market-based mechanisms for commercial use, (2) the extent to which market-based mechanisms have been adopted for federal government users of spectrum, (3) options for improving spectrum management, and (4) potential barriers to spectrum reform."
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aviation Security: Management Challenges Remain for the Transportation Security Administration's Secure Flight Program (open access)

Aviation Security: Management Challenges Remain for the Transportation Security Administration's Secure Flight Program

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "After the events of September 11, 2001, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) assumed the function of passenger prescreening--or the matching of passenger information against terrorist watch lists to identify persons who should undergo additional security scrutiny--for domestic flights, which is currently performed by the air carriers. To do so, TSA has been developing Secure Flight. This testimony covers TSA's progress and challenges in (1) developing, managing, and overseeing Secure Flight; (2) coordinating with key stakeholders critical to program operations; (3) addressing key factors that will impact system effectiveness; and (4) minimizing impacts on passenger privacy and protecting passenger rights."
Date: June 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Financial Management: Thousands of GSA Contractors Abuse the Federal Tax System (open access)

Financial Management: Thousands of GSA Contractors Abuse the Federal Tax System

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In February 2004 and again in June 2005, GAO testified that some Department of Defense (DOD) and civilian agency federal contractors abused the federal tax system with little consequence. Previous problems we identified with contractors with unpaid taxes have led to concerns over whether any interagency contractors, such as those on the General Services Administration's (GSA) federal supply schedule, failed to pay their taxes. GSA, through its federal supply schedule and other interagency contracts, arranges for federal agencies to purchase billions of dollars of goods and services directly from private vendors. GAO was asked to determine if GSA contractors, including both contractors that were paid by GSA and GSA interagency contractors, have unpaid federal taxes, and if so, to (1) determine the magnitude of tax debts owed by GSA contractors; (2) identify examples of GSA contractors that have tax debts and are also engaged in potentially abusive, fraudulent, or criminal activities; and (3) determine whether GSA screens contractors for tax debts and criminal activities prior to awarding contracts and at the exercise of any government contract options."
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Commercial Aviation: Programs and Options for the Federal Approach to Providing and Improving Air Service to Small Communities (open access)

Commercial Aviation: Programs and Options for the Federal Approach to Providing and Improving Air Service to Small Communities

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Over the last decade, significant changes have occurred in the airline industry. Network carriers are facing challenging financial conditions and low-cost carriers are attracting passengers away from some small community airports. These changes, and others, have challenged the ability of small communities to attract adequate commercial air service. In response to these challenges, Congress has established two key funding programs--the Essential Air Service (EAS) and the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP)--to help small communities retain or attract air service. However, the sustainability of such funding could be affected by the federal government's fiscal imbalance. In addition, GAO reports have raised questions about how these programs support commercial air service to small communities. Given this environment, this testimony discusses (1) the development and impact of EAS, (2) the status of SCASDP and (3) options for reforming EAS and evaluating SCASDP. The testimony is based on previous GAO research and interviews related to these programs, along with program updates."
Date: September 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Managing Sensitive Information: DOE and DOD Could Improve Their Policies and Oversight (open access)

Managing Sensitive Information: DOE and DOD Could Improve Their Policies and Oversight

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In the interest of national security and personal privacy and for other reasons, federal agencies place dissemination restrictions on information that is unclassified yet still sensitive. The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have both issued policy guidance on how and when to protect sensitive information. DOE marks documents with this information as Official Use Only (OUO) while DOD uses the designation For Official Use Only (FOUO). GAO was asked to (1) identify and assess the policies, procedures, and criteria DOE and DOD employ to manage OUO and FOUO information; and (2) determine the extent to which DOE's and DOD's training and oversight programs assure that information is identified, marked, and protected according to established criteria."
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Federally Chartered Corporation: Financial Statement Audit Report for the Big Brothers-Big Sisters of America for Fiscal Year 2003 (open access)

Federally Chartered Corporation: Financial Statement Audit Report for the Big Brothers-Big Sisters of America for Fiscal Year 2003

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO reviewed the audit reports covering the financial statements of the Big Brothers-Big Sisters of America for the Fiscal Year ended March 31, 2003. GAO found no reportable instances of noncompliance. The audit reports included the auditors' opinions that the financial statements of the corporation were presented fairly in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles."
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Best Practices: Stronger Practices Needed to Improve DOD Technology Transition Processes (open access)

Best Practices: Stronger Practices Needed to Improve DOD Technology Transition Processes

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Defense (DOD) relies on its science and technology community to develop innovative technologies for weapon systems, spending $13 billion on basic, applied, and advanced technology research. Several GAO reports have addressed problems in transitioning technologies to the acquisition community. This report, which was prepared under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations, compares DOD's technology transition processes with commercial best practices. Specifically, GAO identifies technology transition techniques used by leading companies and assesses the extent to which DOD uses the techniques"
Date: September 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Space Acquisitions: DOD Needs a Departmentwide Strategy for Pursuing Low-Cost, Responsive Tactical Space Capabilities (open access)

Space Acquisitions: DOD Needs a Departmentwide Strategy for Pursuing Low-Cost, Responsive Tactical Space Capabilities

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For more than two decades, the Department of Defense (DOD) has invested heavily in space assets to provide the warfighter with mission-critical information. Despite these investments, DOD commanders have reported shortfalls in space capabilities. To provide tactical capabilities to the warfighter sooner, DOD recently began developing TacSats--a series of small satellites intended to be built within a limited time frame and budget--and pursuing options for small, low-cost vehicles for launching small satellites. GAO was asked to (1) examine the outcomes to date of DOD's TacSat and small, low-cost launch vehicle efforts, (2) identify the challenges in pursuing these efforts, and (3) determine whether experiences with these efforts could inform DOD's major space system acquisitions."
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Homeland Security: Agriculture Specialists' Views of Their Work Experiences After Transfer to DHS (open access)

Homeland Security: Agriculture Specialists' Views of Their Work Experiences After Transfer to DHS

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Homeland Security Act of 2002 transferred responsibility for certain port inspections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to the newly created Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Specifically, the act transferred the responsibility for inspecting passengers, baggage, cargo, and mail entering the country in airplanes, ships, trucks, and railcars for prohibited agricultural materials that may serve as carriers of foreign pests and diseases. USDA estimates that these biological invaders cost the American economy tens of billions of dollars annually in lower crop values, eradication programs, and emergency payments to farmers. Beginning in March 2003, more than 1,800 agriculture specialists who had formerly reported to USDA became CBP employees, as CBP incorporated the protection of U.S. agriculture into its primary antiterrorism mission. In addition to protecting U.S. agriculture, CBP's mission is to detect and prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States, interdict illegal drugs and other contraband, and apprehend individuals who are attempting to enter the United States illegally. Responding to congressional concerns that the transfer of agricultural inspections to CBP could shift …
Date: November 14, 2006
Creator: United States. Government Accountability Office.
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library
Focus Group Report: University of North Texas - Denton - August 2005 (open access)

Focus Group Report: University of North Texas - Denton - August 2005

This report discusses a focus group that was part of the Web-at-Risk project. The report includes the following three sections: (a) the methodology used to conduct the focus groups and analyze the data, (b) the detailed results of the analysis organized into phases of the collection development process, and (c) a discussion of the key findings.
Date: February 14, 2006
Creator: Murray, Kathleen R. & Hsieh, Inga K.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Remaining Sites Verification Package for the 116-F-16, PNL Outfall and the 100-F-43, PNL Outfall Spillway, Waste Site Reclassification Form 2006-046 (open access)

Remaining Sites Verification Package for the 116-F-16, PNL Outfall and the 100-F-43, PNL Outfall Spillway, Waste Site Reclassification Form 2006-046

The 100-F-43 waste site is the portion of the former discharge spillway for the PNL Outfall formerly existing above the ordinary high water mark of the Columbia River. The spillway consisted of a concrete flume used to discharge waste effluents from the 100-F Experimental Animal Farm. The results of verification sampling show that residual contaminant concentrations do not preclude any future uses and allow for unrestricted use of shallow zone soils. The results also demonstrate that residual contaminant concentrations are protective of groundwater and the Columbia River.
Date: September 14, 2006
Creator: Dittmer, L. M.
Object Type: Report
System: The UNT Digital Library
Production of Gratings for High-Energy Petawatt-Class Lasers (open access)

Production of Gratings for High-Energy Petawatt-Class Lasers

At the time of this writing, we have manufactured and delivered more than 25 multilayer dielectric diffraction gratings from 470-800 mm in long aperture for pulse compression on Petawatt-class,1-micron laser systems being built at government and university facilities in the U.S and elsewhere. We present statistics of diffraction efficiency and its spatial uniformity, diffracted wavefront, and laser damage results on witness gratings. We also discuss yield, failure modes, and manufacturing improvements necessary to improve upon the current state of the art.
Date: June 14, 2006
Creator: Nguyen, H. T.; Carlson, T. C.; Hoaglan, C. R.; Nissen, J. D.; Aasen, M. D.; Peterson, J. E. et al.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Coupled Model for Natural Convection and Condensation in HeatedSubsurface Enclosures Embedded in Fractured Rock (open access)

A Coupled Model for Natural Convection and Condensation in HeatedSubsurface Enclosures Embedded in Fractured Rock

In heated tunnels such as those designated for emplacementof radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, axial temperature gradients maycause natural convection processes that can significantly influence themoisture conditions in the tunnels and in the surrounding fractured rock.Large-scale convection cells would provide an effective mechanism foraxial vapor transport, driving moisture out of the formation away fromthe heated tunnel section into cool end sections (where no waste isemplaced). To study such processes, we have developed and applied anenhanced version of TOUGH2 (Pruess et al., 1999) adding a new module thatsolves for natural convection in open cavities. The new TOUGH2 simulatorsimultaneously handles (1) the flow and energy transport processes in thefractured rock; (2) the flow and energy transport processes in thecavity; and (3) the heat and mass exchange at the rock-cavity interface.The new module is applied to simulate the future thermal-hydrological(TH) conditions within and near a representative waste emplacement tunnelat Yucca Mountain. Particular focus is on the potential for condensationalong the emplacement section, a possible result of heat outputdifferences between individual waste packages.
Date: April 14, 2006
Creator: Halecky, N.; Birkholzer, J. T.; Webb, S. W.; Peterson, P. F. & Bodvarsson, G. S.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Germanium: From Its Discovery to SiGe Devices (open access)

Germanium: From Its Discovery to SiGe Devices

Germanium, element No.32, was discovered in 1886 by Clemens Winkler. Its first broad application was in the form of point contact Schottky diodes for radar reception during WWII. The addition of a closely spaced second contact led to the first all-solid-state electronic amplifier device, the transistor. The relatively low bandgap, the lack of a stable oxide and large surface state densities relegated germanium to the number 2 position behind silicon. The discovery of the lithium drift process, which made possible the formation of p-i-n diodes with fully depletable i-regions several centimeters thick, led germanium to new prominence as the premier gamma-ray detector. The development of ultra-pure germanium yielded highly stable detectors which have remained unsurpassed in their performance. New acceptors and donors were discovered and the electrically active role of hydrogen was clearly established several years before similar findings in silicon. Lightly doped germanium has found applications as far infrared detectors and heavily Neutron Transmutation Doped (NTD) germanium is used in thermistor devices operating at a few milliKelvin. Recently germanium has been rediscovered by the silicon device community because of its superior electron and hole mobility and its ability to induce strains when alloyed with silicon. Germanium is again a …
Date: June 14, 2006
Creator: Haller, E.E.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library