DOCSLIB.ORG

CFCS Newsletter Oct 2010

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

(BUSSLINE is the term for the complex multi- functional circuitry on a computer mother- Your technology helper for over 30 years. board, a PC’s heart.) Vol. 110 No. 9 Newsletter of the Central Florida Computer Society, Inc. [Non-Profit, 501(c)3] October, 2010 At- UPCOMING TECH/COMPUTER EVENTS NOT TO BE MISSED! October 17 ENJOY the CITY - ORLANDO Michael McAlpin will be our speaker for the The NEW 2011 Coupon Books are in! Good pre-Halloween meeting. He will review the crea- through Dec. 2011 (Your 2010 Books are still good tion, development and explosive growth in wire- through December 2010!) They still cost just $20! less telephone systems including the major archi- HUNDREDS Of $$$$$ In Savings!! tectures, services, software environments and mar- Get one free Oil Change at Firestone, Value = $20 keting "ecosystems" available nationally and inter- ++!! And, 2 $10 off on your next two changes. nationally. Value = $20. See any CFCS Board of Directors member or SIG Leader to purchase one. They'll also He will also discuss the future of the wireless soon be available in some computer stores; more on telephone as a general computing and networking that later. More details on page 20. platform. Mr. McAlpin has, for nearly 30 years, successfully led engineering and management teams. He led a team of 75 to build a corporate November 21 network with over 250,000 terminal connections Mark Shulman will present BUILDING A on a packet backbone, which generated over $1 SOFTWARE SWISS ARMY KNIFE . Every com- Billion in annual charge-back revenue. Mr. McAl- puter geek should have the software equivalent of a pin managed and delivered projects for multi- Swiss Army Knife. Learn how to turn an ordinary protocol support, voice, satellite packet network, flash drive and a couple of CDs into the software inter-airlines data networks, computer telephony equivalent of Batman's utility belt. You'll find out (Continued on page 2) integration, protocol development, integration and certification. Mr. McAlpin developed the commu- nications simulators for all on orbit data from the Inside this issue: Space Shuttle Training facility at Mission Control, Houston. He started his career with the National Page Security Agency teaching secure digital telephony. 4 …………………. …………..The Deals Guy 10 …………………………….. Space Corner Mr. McAlpin currently works as a consulting 13 …………………….Hackproof your Account software engineer and is building software for An- 15 ......………….….…….……………..Audacity droid devices. For fun he is a part-time professor 22 …………………….……………....Helpline teaching all phases of undergraduate software en- 23 ……………...…………..Calendar of Events gineering. 24 ……...…. Map to General Monthly Meeting Unless otherwise noted, all article continuations are to the page immediately following where you are reading. PAGE 2 CFCS BUSSLINE NEWSLETTER October, 2010 drive is adequately protected and can recover from about portable apps, boot CDs, and self-contained any unforeseen events, such as hard drive failures, bootable utilities, and learn how they can save viruses or unstable software downloads. By having your bacon when the chips are down. & implementing a well thought-out Backup and Re- December 4 covery Plan, you can put your system together again On Sat. Dec. 4th at 1:00 PM, Mark Schulman will fairly quickly, instead of days or weeks. This is an be presenting a "Build Your Own Computer" important topic that every PC User should implement seminar, where users will be actually building their on their computer. Gene will demonstrate Acronis own computers. A complete technical guide writ- True Image Home, one of the most popular computer ten by computer science students at UCF for par- backup and recovery programs on the market today. ticipants to take home will be supplied. See our The last part of his presentation will focus on website at CFCS.org for further info. the best way to Organize Your Hard Drive. Acronis The cost will be $10 for members and $50 just released a new version of their partitioning prod for non-members, which will include a member- uct, Disk Director 11 Home with support for the Win ship in the CFCS. The above fee covers instruction dows7 OS. With large terabyte hard drives today, and guidance only. The cost of components is ex they need to be set up & organized to take advantage tra, ranging from $349 and up, including the Win- of the additional space. This can be done very eas- dows 7 operating system, depending on how pow- ily. A special "partitioning utility" is needed to make erful you want your machine to be. CFCS has ar- this organization process easy and simple to ranged special pricing from Smart Guys com- do. Gene will demonstrate the most recent release of puters. Once you have registered at our website, Acronis Disk Director Home at the presentation. The you will be given instructions to get combination of one or both of these excellent hard your components. drive utilities would give you the power to Protect You might find one cheaper, but it won't be as Your Hard Drive from system failure and Organize good, and you won't have the pride of building it Your Hard Drive for better safety of your data files. yourself. Gene has been a presenter in the user group community for over 28 years. For many years he managed IBM's user group support organization and December 19 has been called the Father of PC User Groups. Now Sean Kane. New things from Apple . Sean is retired, Gene started his own company called User a Mac Administrator and leads the CFCS/FLMUG Group Relations ( www.ugr.com ), providing support iOS SIG. He will be presenting information about to the user group community for the software compa- the many products from Apple. He will show some nies he represents. He is an informative and easy to of the many features of Mac computers, as well as understand presenter. Don't miss this important pres- the iPod, Apple TV, iPhone, & the iPad. Many of entation. our members are multiple computer owners and may be thinking about adding a Mac to their home or business. This will be a good meeting to find All events through December are held at 2 pm in out what the advantages will be. You will also see the Jackson Hewitt office on Lee Rd. and Turner Rd. that the Mac is capable of running both Mac and See map on pg. 24 of the online edition at cfcs.org. Windows operating systems. Jan. Feb. and Mar. presentations will be at the Uni- versity Club of Winter Park. For details and maps, consult our website at cfcs.org . January 16 Gene Barlow presents The Best Backup Also, earlier on the same day of each talk, Plan to protect your System from Failure & the Windows SIG* m eeting is held. (*Special Organizing Your Hard Drive Interest Group) The WinSIG always meets at 12:30 Gene and Linda Barlow represent Acronis pm, just before the CFCS General Meeting. If you use Software to the user group community. Acronis or plan to use Windows, these discussions, demonstra- True Image Home is their backup and recovery tions, and Q&A sessions will be of immense value to product. This product provides the maximum you. Geared to intermediate level Windows users. flexibility to ensure that your computer’s hard October, 2010 CFCS BUSSLINE NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 Tips, tricks, and information on all versions of Win- ence @ Sea. For more information see FACUG.org dows are discussed. An e-newsletter is sent periodi- 2011 FACUG Technology Conference Mex- cally with meeting information and links discussed at ico Cruise January 27th through January 31st - the meeting. You need not attend both meetings, but 2011 Rates go up Oct. 22!!! many members do. Non members always welcome. There is no better bargain vacation than a Sign up for the free e-newsletter at cfcs.org . cruise, add to it a fully fledged Computer and Tech- nology Conference and it becomes an outstanding January 29 (Note: This event does not event. Be part of the FACUG's second Confer- take place in Orlando.) ence@Sea. Be with us for this will be another out- You are invited to attend the 5th annual North- standing Sail - Abration . Rates go up Oct. 22!!! west Florida Computer Tech Conference (2011) on Saturday, January 29, 2011, at Northwest Florida Special Interest Groups (SIGs) State College, Niceville. Florida. The co-sponsors are: The iSIG meets every third Monday at 7:00 · The PRIME TIME Northwest Florida State pm at Denny's on Lee Rd & I-4. The iSIG meetings College http://www.nwfsc.edu/ContEd/ cover the products that use the iPhoneOS, which in PRIMETime.cfm cludes the iPhone, iPad, and iPod. This is a com- bined effort of the Central Florida Computer Soci- · Northwest Florida Association of Computer ety http://www.cfcs.org and the Florida Macintosh User Groups (NWFACUG) http://NWFACUG.org Users Group http://www.flmug.com . Other groups are invited to participate. Attendees are consumers, · Association of Personal Computer User Groups developers, consultants, and publishers. The SIG leader is Sean Kane, Certified Apple Technical Co- (APCUG.) http://www.APCUG.org ordinator, longtime Mac and iPhone user, and a Our organizations come together once a Good technologist and consultant to Walt Disney Feature through Animation Florida. year to present you with the best computer Dec. Please note that the iSIG meets at the training in Northwest Florida. We will host 2011 the annual APCUG Meeting in conjunction Denny's on Lee Rd. The Tech-SIG and the Board with Computer Tech 2011. We had 394 computer of Directors meetings continue to meet at Denny's enthusiasts attend Computer Tech 2010 and expect to on 436 & Oxford Rd in Casselberry.
Recommended publications
  • Space Security Index

    Space Security Index

    SPACE SECURITY 2011 www.spacesecurity.org SPACE 2011SECURITY SPACESECURITY.ORG iii FOR PDF version use this Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publications Data Space Security 2011 ISBN : 978-1-895722-87-1 ISBN : 978-1-895722-87-1 © 2011 SPACESECURITY.ORG Edited by Cesar Jaramillo Design and layout: Creative Services, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Cover image: The International Space Station is featured in this photograph taken by an STS-130 crew member on space shuttle Endeavour after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation on 19 February 2010. Image credit: NASA. Printed in Canada Printer: Pandora Press, Kitchener, Ontario First published August 2011 Please direct inquires to: Cesar Jaramillo Project Ploughshares 57 Erb Street West Waterloo, Ontario N2L 6C2 Canada Telephone: 519-888-6541, ext. 708 Fax: 519-888-0018 Email: [email protected] Governance Group Gérard Brachet Institute de l’Air et de l’Espace Peter Hays Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies Dr. Ram Jakhu Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University William Marshall NASA – Ames Research Center Paul Meyer The Simons Foundation John Siebert Project Ploughshares Dana Smith Foreign A airs and International Trade Canada Ray Williamson Secure World Foundation Advisory Board Richard DalBello Intelsat General Corporation Theresa Hitchens United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research Dr. John Logsdon The George Washington University Dr. Lucy Stojak HEC Montréal Project Manager Cesar Jaramillo Project Ploughshares Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1 Acronyms PAGE 7 Introduction PAGE 10 Acknowledgements PAGE 11 Executive Summary PAGE 27 Chapter 1 – The Space Environment: this indicator examines the security and sustainability of the space environment with an emphasis on space debris, the potential threats posed by near-Earth objects, and the allocation of scarce space resources.
  • Orbitando Satélites Orbitando Satélites Este Es Un Manual De Nuestro Taller, Orbitando Satélites

    Orbitando Satélites Orbitando Satélites Este Es Un Manual De Nuestro Taller, Orbitando Satélites

    orbitando satélites orbitando satélites Este es un manual de nuestro taller, Orbitando satélites. En él queremos of“recer id”eas, recursos, técnicas e inspiración. Nuestro deseo es que sea utilizado también como guía para acercarnos a un procomún de cielo y ondas. Creemos que las tecnologías del espacio y del espectro electromagnético están impulsando una cultura limitada a intereses corporativos y de control, y en consecuencia, a un empobrecimiento de posibles matices y provocaciones en nuestras relaciones con los cielos y las frecuencias. Proponemos aquí algunas vías alternativas. A lo largo de cinco días, nos convertimos en una Agencia Espacial Autónoma Temporal . Este manual es una hoja d“e ruta de vuelo espacial y comunica”ciones no gubernamentales, no comerciales. Nuestro taller se articuló en tres bloques: Escucha y avistamiento aislamiento, se convierte en una poderosa metáfora. Nuestro de satélites, Poéticas de los satélites y Construcción de un satélite. trabajo con los satélites creó un imaginario de asociaciones y Al intentar escuchar y avistar satélites, encontramos nuevas formas apegos. A veces nos sentíamos abrumados, y otras teníamos que de utilizar los ya existentes, los que están ahí arriba ahora mismo obligarnos a despegarnos de las máquinas para reflexionar sobre en órbita. Por ejemplo, descubrimos que hacía falta paciencia los cambios que se estaban produciendo en nuestra forma de para localizar correctamente su ubicación y poder así apuntar pensar. El satélite en su órbita es materia y narrativa al mismo nuestras antenas para escucharlos cuando nos sobrevolaban. tiempo. Su existencia material, sus intenciones y su propiedad se Comprendimos que hay que superar varios niveles de dificultad pueden transformar a través de la narrativa.
  • Changes to the Database for May 1, 2021 Release This Version of the Database Includes Launches Through April 30, 2021

    Changes to the Database for May 1, 2021 Release This Version of the Database Includes Launches Through April 30, 2021

    Changes to the Database for May 1, 2021 Release This version of the Database includes launches through April 30, 2021. There are currently 4,084 active satellites in the database. The changes to this version of the database include: • The addition of 836 satellites • The deletion of 124 satellites • The addition of and corrections to some satellite data Satellites Deleted from Database for May 1, 2021 Release Quetzal-1 – 1998-057RK ChubuSat 1 – 2014-070C Lacrosse/Onyx 3 (USA 133) – 1997-064A TSUBAME – 2014-070E Diwata-1 – 1998-067HT GRIFEX – 2015-003D HaloSat – 1998-067NX Tianwang 1C – 2015-051B UiTMSAT-1 – 1998-067PD Fox-1A – 2015-058D Maya-1 -- 1998-067PE ChubuSat 2 – 2016-012B Tanyusha No. 3 – 1998-067PJ ChubuSat 3 – 2016-012C Tanyusha No. 4 – 1998-067PK AIST-2D – 2016-026B Catsat-2 -- 1998-067PV ÑuSat-1 – 2016-033B Delphini – 1998-067PW ÑuSat-2 – 2016-033C Catsat-1 – 1998-067PZ Dove 2p-6 – 2016-040H IOD-1 GEMS – 1998-067QK Dove 2p-10 – 2016-040P SWIATOWID – 1998-067QM Dove 2p-12 – 2016-040R NARSSCUBE-1 – 1998-067QX Beesat-4 – 2016-040W TechEdSat-10 – 1998-067RQ Dove 3p-51 – 2017-008E Radsat-U – 1998-067RF Dove 3p-79 – 2017-008AN ABS-7 – 1999-046A Dove 3p-86 – 2017-008AP Nimiq-2 – 2002-062A Dove 3p-35 – 2017-008AT DirecTV-7S – 2004-016A Dove 3p-68 – 2017-008BH Apstar-6 – 2005-012A Dove 3p-14 – 2017-008BS Sinah-1 – 2005-043D Dove 3p-20 – 2017-008C MTSAT-2 – 2006-004A Dove 3p-77 – 2017-008CF INSAT-4CR – 2007-037A Dove 3p-47 – 2017-008CN Yubileiny – 2008-025A Dove 3p-81 – 2017-008CZ AIST-2 – 2013-015D Dove 3p-87 – 2017-008DA Yaogan-18

  • Changes to the June 19, 2006 Release of the UCS Satellite Database This Version of the Database Includes Launches Through June 15, 2006

    For the 7-1-16 release: This version of the Database includes launches through June 30, 2016. There are currently 1419 active satellites in the database. The changes to this version of the database include: The addition of 75 satellites The deletion of 37 satellites The addition of and corrections to some satellite data. Satellites removed Akebono – 1989-016A Navstar GPS II-10 (USA 66) – 1990-103A Navstar GPS II-23 (USA 96) – 1993-068A Superbird-C – 1997-036A Intelsat-7 – 1998-052A Dove 1d-2 – 1998-067FV Dove 1e-1 – 1998-067GF Dove 1e-2 – 1998-067GE Dove 1e-3 – 1998-067GH Dove 1e-4 – 1998-067GG Dove 1e-5 – 1998-067GL Dove 1e-8 – 1998-067GK Dove 1e-9 – 1998-067GN SERPENS – 1998-067GX AAUSat-5 – 1998-067GZ Dove 2b-8 – 1998-067HJ Eutelsat 115 West A – 1998-070A Ørsted – 1999-008B Keyhole 3 (USA 144) – 1999-028A Galaxy-27 – 1999-052A XM-1 – 2001-018A Keyhole 4 (USA 161) -- 2001-044A Yaogan-2 – 2007-019A Yaogan-3 – 2007-055A Can-X2 – 2008-021H STUDSat – 2010-035B Tian-Xun-1 – 2011-066A Yubileiny-2/RS-40 – 2012-041C Can-X3a -- 2013-009G ORSES – 2013-064G $50Sat – 2013-066W DMSP-19 – 2014-015A Can-X4 -- 2014-034C Can-X5 -- 2014-034D Angels (USA 255) – 2014-043C USS Langley – 2015-025B BRICSat-P – 2015-025E Satellites Added Belintersat-1 – 2016-001A Jason-3 – 2016-002A IRNSS-1E – 2016-003A Intelsat-29E – 2016-004A Eutelsat-9B – 2016-005A Beidou 3M-3S – 2016-006A Navstar GPS IIF-12 (USA 266) – 2016-007A Glonass 751 (Cosmos 2514) – 2016-008A Topaz-4 (USA 267) – 2016-010A Sentinel-3A – 2016-011A ChubuSat-2 – 2016-012B ChubuSat-3 – 2016-012C Horyu-4
  • Space Security 2011

    Space Security 2011

    SPACE SECURITY 2011 www.spacesecurity.org SPACE 2011SECURITY SPACESECURITY.ORG iii FOR PDF version use this Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publications Data Space Security 2011 ISBN : 978-1-895722-87-1 ISBN : 978-1-895722-87-1 © 2011 SPACESECURITY.ORG Edited by Cesar Jaramillo Design and layout: Creative Services, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Cover image: The International Space Station is featured in this photograph taken by an STS-130 crew member on space shuttle Endeavour after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation on 19 February 2010. Image credit: NASA. Printed in Canada Printer: Pandora Press, Kitchener, Ontario First published August 2011 Please direct inquires to: Cesar Jaramillo Project Ploughshares 57 Erb Street West Waterloo, Ontario N2L 6C2 Canada Telephone: 519-888-6541, ext. 708 Fax: 519-888-0018 Email: [email protected] Governance Group Gérard Brachet Institute de l’Air et de l’Espace Peter Hays Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies Dr. Ram Jakhu Institute of Air and Space Law, McGill University William Marshall NASA – Ames Research Center Paul Meyer The Simons Foundation John Siebert Project Ploughshares Dana Smith Foreign A airs and International Trade Canada Ray Williamson Secure World Foundation Advisory Board Richard DalBello Intelsat General Corporation Theresa Hitchens United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research Dr. John Logsdon The George Washington University Dr. Lucy Stojak HEC Montréal Project Manager Cesar Jaramillo Project Ploughshares Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1 Acronyms PAGE 7 Introduction PAGE 10 Acknowledgements PAGE 11 Executive Summary PAGE 27 Chapter 1 – The Space Environment: this indicator examines the security and sustainability of the space environment with an emphasis on space debris, the potential threats posed by near-Earth objects, and the allocation of scarce space resources.
  • ODQN 15-1, January 2011

    ODQN 15-1, January 2011

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration Orbital Debris Quarterly News Volume 15, Issue 1 January 2011 International Space Station Avoids Inside... Debris from Old NASA Satellite New Satellite Fragmentations Add Once again in October 2010, ton spacecraft was in an orbit of Satellite Number 37195, was to Debris Population 2 the International Space Station 335 km by 415 km with an ejected with some force, resulting (ISS) was forced to maneuver inclination of 57.0 degrees, in an initial orbit of 375 km by Disposal of Globalstar to avoid a potential collision when the U.S. Space Surveillance 425 km, which was actually higher Satellites in 2010 3 with large orbital debris. Such Network (SSN) discovered than the orbit of UARS. With its maneuvers now occur about once that a fragment had separated much greater area-to-mass ratio, Canadian Space per year. This time the threatening from the vehicle. This was not the fragment began falling back Agency Becomes object was a piece of debris which unprecedented since four other to Earth much more rapidly than Newest Member of had come off a 19-year-old NASA pieces of debris had separated UARS itself, finally reentering IADC 4 scientific spacecraft only one previously in November 2007 the atmosphere on 4 November, NRC Review of the month earlier. (Orbital Debris Quar terly after an orbital lifetime of only NASA MMOD Since its decommissioning News, January 2008, p. 1). 6 weeks. For comparison, UARS Programs 4 in late 2005, NASA’s Upper The reasons for these releases is not expected to reenter until the Atmosphere Research Satellite remain unknown.
  • Semi-Annual Launch Report First Half of 2011

    Semi-Annual Launch Report First Half of 2011

    Semi-Annual Launch Report First Half of 2011 Reviewing Launch results from the 4th Quarter 2010 and 1st Quarter 2011 and Forecasting Projected Launches for 2nd and 3rd Quarters 2011 HQ-111370.INDD Semi-Annual Launch Report: First Half of 2011 About the Office of Commercial Space Transportation The Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) licenses and regulates U.S. commercial space launch and reentry activity, as well as the operation of non-federal launch and reentry sites, as authorized by Executive Order 12465 and Title 51 United States Code, Subtitle V, Chapter 509 (formerly the Commercial Space Launch Act). FAA/AST’s mission is to ensure public health and safety and the safety of property while protecting the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States during commercial launch and reentry operations. In addition, FAA/AST is directed to encourage, facilitate, and promote commercial space launches and reentries. Additional information concerning commercial space transportation can be found on FAA/AST’s web site at http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/. Cover photo courtesy of Chris Thompson/SpaceX, Copyright © 2010. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 on December 8, 2010, carrying the COTS “C1” capsule to orbit. SpaceX and Falcon 9 logos removed to conform with FAA publication requirements. NOTICE Use of trade names or names of manufacturers in this document does not constitute an official endorsement of such products or manufacturers, either expressed or implied, by the Federal Aviation Administration. • i • Federal Aviation Administration / Commercial Space Transportation Table of Contents Introduction .
  • Commercial Space Transportation: 2010 Year in Review

    Commercial Space Transportation: 2010 Year in Review

    Commercial Space Transportation: 2010 Year In Review January 2011 HQ-111313.INDD 2010 Year in Review About the Office of Commercial Space Transportation The Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA/AST) licenses and regulates U.S. commercial space launch and reentry activity, as well as the operation of non-federal launch and reentry sites, as authorized by Executive Order 12465 and Title 49 United States Code, Subtitle IX, Chapter 701 (formerly the Commercial Space Launch Act). FAA/AST’s mission is to ensure public health and safety and the safety of property while protecting the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States during commercial launch and reentry operations. In addition, FAA/AST is directed to encourage, facilitate, and promote commercial space launches and reentries. Additional information concerning commercial space transportation can be found on FAA/AST’s web site at http://www.faa.gov/go/ast. Cover: Art by John Sloan (2011) NOTICE Use of trade names or names of manufacturers in this document does not constitute an official endorsement of such products or manufacturers, either expressed or implied, by the Federal Aviation Administration. • i • Federal Aviation Administration / Commercial Space Transportation CONTENTS Introduction . 1 Executive Summary . 2 2010 Launch Activity . .3 WORLDWIDE ORBITAL LAUNCH ACTIVITY . 3 Worldwide Launch Revenues . 5 Worldwide Orbital Payload Summary . 5 Commercial Launches . 6 Non-Commercial Launches . 7 U .S . AND FAA-LICENSED ORBITAL LAUNCH ACTIVITY . 8 FAA-Licensed Orbital Launch Summary . 8 U .S . and FAA-Licensed Orbital Launch Activity in Detail . 9 FAA Reentry License Summary . 11 FAA Suborbital Flight Summary .
  • Copyright by Nadege Pie 2008

    Copyright by Nadege Pie 2008

    Copyright by Nadege Pie 2008 The Dissertation Committee for Nadege Pie certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Mission Design Concepts for Repeat Groundtrack Orbits and Application to the ICESat Mission Committee: _________________________________ Bob E. Schutz, Supervisor _________________________________ Srinivas V. Bettadpur _________________________________ George H. Born _________________________________ Wallace T. Fowler _________________________________ David G. Hull Mission Design Concepts for Repeat Groundtrack Orbits and Application to the ICESat Mission by Nadege Pie, Diplôme d’Ingénieur, M.S. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December 2008 A ma Maman, pour ses sacrifices, sa patience, sa confiance et son amour … Acknowlegements I want to thank Dr. Bob E. Schutz for taking me under his wing exactly six years ago when I stepped into his office in search of an advisor. I have learned so much under his supervision, as a scientist but also as a person, that I know these six years will always stand out as a corner stone in my professional and personal life. I also want to express my deep gratitude to all my committee members for their support and encouragements. I knew I could always count on them when I needed their help, even when I lacked the discernment to ask for it. I also want to thank Charles Webb, Dr. Giacaglia, Dr. Lara and Dr. Klokočník for the invaluable discussions we had. And above all I want to thank my mother Monique, my family, my friends and all those who gave me love and the courage not to give up.