Can the revolution be optimised? Oh yes it can! But,maybe not. Report on the one day symposium on “Varieties of Enactivism”

The “Varieties of Enactivism: A Conceptual Geography” 4th April 2014, was a one day symposium which took place at Goldsmith University, London. The symposium had the explicit aim of clarifying the status of enactive cognitive science both as a unified paradigm for cognitive science and in relation to the broader embodied cognition framework. In what follows I offer a brief summery of the various talks followed by some thoughts on the current state of play within enactivism.     

Morphology formation in polypropylene impact copolymers under static melt conditions: A simulation study

In this article, the equilibrium morphology of a typical polypropylene (PP) impact copolymer (ICP) system is investigated by numerical self-consistent field simulations. The ICP was fractionated using temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) to obtain the data necessary to define the simulation parameters. The results demonstrated the formation of a stratified droplet structure, in which ethylene content decreases from the center of the droplet toward the PP interface. This structure is shown to be in accordance with observations from transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The components are confined to a narrow layer whose position is primarily determined by its ethylene content. Leakage into a neighboring layer occurs to a degree that is determined by the component molecular weight and the difference in ethylene content between the layers. Simulations for a range of droplet sizes enable calculation of the interfacial tension. A typical drawback of TREF involves the inability to fractionate the amorphous part, leading to a large difference in ethylene content between the matrix and its neighboring layers. Although this effect is shown not to have a significant influence on the stratified structure, it is shown to have a significant influence on the derived interfacial tension. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Microstructure and sliding wear behavior of pseudo-alloy PS45/CuAl8 composite coating sprayed by HVAA technique

A pseudo-alloy PS45/CuAl8 composite coating was sprayed on steel substrate by high-velocity activated arc spraying (HVAA) process. Its sliding wear behavior at room temperature was evaluated by M-2000 wear tester. For comparison, a single CuAl8 coating was also prepared and tested under the same conditions. It is found that the pseudo-alloy composite coating consists of α-Cu and γ-Ni metallic matrix phases together with homogenously distributed minor Al 2 O 3 , Cr 2 O 3 oxide phases. Moreover, pseudo-alloy coating possesses much better sliding wear resistance than CuAl8 coating due to the enhanced hardness and microstructural homogenization. Fatigue wear and abrasive wear are responsible for the wear-down mechanism of the pseudo-alloy coating.     

Theory-based metrological traceability in education: A reading measurement network

Huge resources are invested in metrology and standards in the natural sciences, engineering, and across a wide range of commercial technologies. Significant positive returns of human, social, environmental, and economic value on these investments have been sustained for decades. Proven methods for calibrating test and survey instruments in linear units are readily available, as are data- and theory-based methods for equating those instruments to a shared unit. Using these methods, metrological traceability is obtained in a variety of commercially available elementary and secondary English and Spanish language reading education programs in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Given established historical patterns, widespread routine reproduction of predicted text-based and instructional effects expressed in a common language and shared frame of reference may lead to significant developments in theory and practice. Opportunities for systematic implementations of teacher-driven lean thinking and continuous quality improvement methods may be of particular interest and value.     

Identification and characterization of information-networks in long-tail data collections

Scientists' ability to synthesize and reuse long-tail scientific data lags far behind their ability to collect and produce these data. Many Earth Science Cyberinfrastructures enable sharing and publishing their data over the web using metadata standards. While profiling data attributes advances the Linked Data approach, it has become clear that building information-networks among distributed data silos is essential to increase their integration and reusability. In this research, we developed a Long-Tail Information-Network (LTIN) model, which uses a metadata-driven approach to build semantic information-networks among datasets published over the web and aggregate them around environmental events. The model identifies and characterizes the spatial and temporal contextual association links and dependencies among datasets. This paper presents the design and application of the LTIN model, and an evaluation of its performance. The model capabilities were demonstrated by inferring the information-network of a stream discharge located at the downstream end of the Illinois River.     

Student perception and usage of an automated programming assessment tool

Automated assessment systems are gaining popularity within computer programming courses. In this paper we perform an empirical evaluation of Mooshak, an online judge that verifies program correctness, in order to determine its usefulness in classroom settings. In particular, we provide a detailed study on how students use the tool, analyze their opinions and critiques about it, and measure other features like its capability to reduce dropout rates. The experience was carried out within a course on algorithm design and analysis where we collected information through several questionnaires and data generated by the tool during the course. Among the main findings we highlight: (1) the usage of the tool was adequate in relation to students’ own testing; (2) its feedback needs to be richer in order to improve its acceptance among students; and (3) there was no statistical evidence to claim Mooshak reduced the dropout rate.     

Ecological patterns of fish distribution in the Slave River Delta region,Northwest Territories,Canada, as relayed by traditional knowledge and Western science

Indigenous community members along the Slave River in Canada have voiced their concerns for the health of ecosystems under pressure from resource extraction, hydroelectric development and global climate change. We present a test case of traditional knowledge and scientific results about the spawning and migration patterns of fish in the Slave River and Delta. This dual knowledge system approach elucidates the broader connectivity of local study regions and can improve monitoring programmes by extending beyond the usual context/confines of the present or recent past, increasing the spatial and temporal range of system information.     

Applied data science in patient-centric healthcare: Adaptive analytic systems for empowering physicians and patients

We define the emerging research field of applied data science as the knowledge discovery process in which analytic systems are designed and evaluated to improve the daily practices of domain experts. We investigate adaptive analytic systems as a novel research perspective of the three intertwining aspects within the knowledge discovery process in healthcare: domain and data understanding for physician- and patient-centric healthcare, data preprocessing and modelling using natural language processing and (big) data analytic techniques, and model evaluation and knowledge deployment through information infrastructures. We align these knowledge discovery aspects with the design science research steps of problem investigation, treatment design, and treatment validation, respectively. We note that the adaptive component in healthcare system prototypes may translate to data-driven personalisation aspects including personalised medicine. We explore how applied data science for patient-centric healthcare can thus empower physicians and patients to more effectively and efficiently improve healthcare. We propose meta-algorithmic modelling as a solution-oriented design science research framework in alignment with the knowledge discovery process to address the three key dilemmas in the emerging “post-algorithmic era” of data science: depth versus breadth, selection versus configuration, and accuracy versus transparency.     

A web-based,interactive visualization tool for social environmental survey data

Understanding human motivations and actions related to environmental problems is central to modeling complex, human-natural systems. However, social science survey data on environmental issues are often presented in relatively static reports and figures and are not easily accessible for participatory deliberation. Federal data sharing mandates motivate innovative data visualization and sharing mechanisms. We developed an open-source, web-based Survey Data Viewer as a visual interface to explore quantitative social science survey data. We used the Python Django web framework and the D3.js visualization library to create and deploy the tool. The Viewer was implemented using a water-related survey administered to a large, random sample of Utah adults in public venues. The Viewer allows users to visualize question responses based on demographic variables with percentages and mean response levels. We developed a standardized template for encoding survey data and metadata that permits the generalization of the tool to other similar surveys.     

大学科技英语写作教学现状调查与分析

写作可以促进全面的语言技能的发展,这是国内外许多专家学者达成的共识.本文通过对沈阳工学院450名一年级本科生的调查和分析得出了许多有益的数据.文章在调查分析的基础上,对大学科技英语写作教学提出了一些改进建议.