Designing collaborative,constructionist and contextual applications for handheld devices

This paper explores current applications for handheld devices and questions which of these make full use of the unique attributes of handheld devices in order to facilitate learning in a pedagogically sensible manner. In order to do so, the paper presents a functional framework which analyses handheld application in relation to their use as well as the pedagogical underpinning, if any, that informs their development. Our framework currently consists of seven distinct categories of application, which we term: administrative, referential, interactive, microworld, data collection, location aware and collaborative. We argue that three categories, namely data collection, location aware and collaborative, are particularly suited to learning with handheld devices when they are informed by collaborative, contextual and constructionist learning theories. Furthermore, we contend that applications of the type just outlined deserve further research since they are not attempting to replicate, or even augment, existing learning scenarios but rather they try to create new learning opportunities which would not be possible without (mobile) technology. Finally, the authors introduce a number of applications and learning scenarios that they have developed for handheld devices and explain their position within the framework.     

Wood processing variables and adhesive joint performance

In order to obtain a bonded wood product from the tree, wood must be subjected to a series of processes. These include, among others, vital processes like drying of the green wood and machining of the surfaces of the dried wood in preparation for bonding. However, when wood is machined with dull blades, thermal degradation of the wood frequently occurs. The effects of kiln drying and thermal degradation of wood on the performance of the adhesive joints subsequently formed from such wood were investigated. Tapered double cantilever beam (TDCB) test specimens obtained from hard maple and phenol–resorcinol–formaldehyde (PRF) adhesives were used in the investigations. The enhancement of fracture energy due to the reduction in the moisture content of wood, the improved performance of adhesive joints due to rejointing of wood surfaces before bonding, and the reduction of adhesive joint strength resulting from thermal degradation of wood are presented and discussed.     

Single amino acid substitutions can further increase the stability of a thermophilic L-lactate dehydrogenase

Lactate dehydrogenases are of considerable interest as stereospecificcatalysts in the chemical preparation of enantiomerically pure-hydroxyacid synthons. For such applications in synthetic organicchemistry it would be desirable to have enzymes which tolerateelevated temperatures for prolonged reaction times, to increaseproductivity and to extend then applicability to poor substrates.Here, two examples are reported of significant thermostabilizations,induced by sitedirected mutagenesis, of an already thermostableprotein, the L-lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27 [EC] , 35 kDa permonomer subunit) from Bacillus stearothermophilus. Thermal inactivationof this enzyme is accompanied by irreversible unfolding of thenative protein structure. The replacement of Argl71 by Tyr stabilizesthe enzyme against thermal inactivation and unfolding. Thisstabilizing effect appears to be based on improved interactionsbetween the subunits in the core of the active dimeric or tetramericforms of the enzyme. The thermal stability of L-lactate dehydrogenasevariants with an active site Arg residue, either in the 171(wild-type) or in the 102 position, is further increased bysulfate ions. The two stabilizing effects are additive, as foundfor the Argl71Tyr/ Gln1O2Arg double mutant, for which the stabilityof the protein in 100 mM sulfate solution reaches that of L-lactatedehydrogenases from extreme thermophiles. All mutant proteinsretain significant catalytic activity, both in the presenceand absence of stnhilfoing salts, and are viable catalysts inpreparative scale reactions.     

An intrinsic behavior-based model for interactive structural design

This paper introduces a generic model for interactive design of constructed facilities. The proposed methodology synthesizes structural problem parameters and conditions in terms of load environment, structural properties, and function of the structure into a hierarchy of possible failure modes. Design evaluations are made in terms of this behavior hierarchy. The user has a high degree of control over the design process and may move at will to any of the design tasks. The model provides a direct link between the system user and the design evaluations during the evaluation/design process.     

Clustering semantically heterogeneous distributed aggregate databases

Databases developed independently in a common open distributed environment may be heterogeneous with respect to both data schema and the embedded semantics. Managing schema and semantic heterogeneities brings considerable challenges to learning from distributed data and to support applications involving cooperation between different organisations. In this paper, we are concerned mainly with heterogeneous databases that hold aggregates on a set of attributes, which are often the result of materialised views of native large-scale distributed databases. A model-based clustering algorithm is proposed to construct a mixture model where each component corresponds to a cluster which is used to capture the contextual heterogeneity among databases from different populations. Schema heterogeneity, which can be recast as incomplete information, is handled within the clustering process using Expectation-Maximisation estimation and integration is carried out within a clustering iteration. Our proposed algorithm resolves the schema heterogeneity as part of the clustering process, thus avoiding transformation of the data into a unified schema. Results of algorithm evaluation on classification, scalability and reliability, using both real and synthetic data, demonstrate that our algorithm can achieve good performance by incorporating all of the information from available heterogeneous data. Our clustering approach has great potential for scalable knowledge discovery from semantically heterogeneous databases and for applications in an open distributed environment, such as the Semantic Web.     

A New Approach to Two-View Motion Segmentation Using Global Dimension Minimization

We present a new approach to rigid-body motion segmentation from two views. We use a previously developed nonlinear embedding of two-view point correspondences into a 9-dimensional space and identify the different motions by segmenting lower-dimensional subspaces. In order to overcome nonuniform distributions along the subspaces, whose dimensions are unknown, we suggest the novel concept of global dimension and its minimization for clustering subspaces with some theoretical motivation. We propose a fast projected gradient algorithm for minimizing global dimension and thus segmenting motions from 2-views. We develop an outlier detection framework around the proposed method, and we present state-of-the-art results on outlier-free and outlier-corrupted two-view data for segmenting motion.     

Effect of water absorption,freezing and thawing,and photo‐aging on flexural properties of extruded HDPE/rice husk composites

Durability of lingo‐cellulosic fiber composites under environmental conditions such as moisture, freezing and thawing, and UV exposure needs to be determined prior to the use of these composite materials in outdoor applications. Dimensional stability and changes in the flexural strength and stiffness of extruded rice husk filled high‐density polyethylene composites with and without processing additives such as compatibilizers and processing aid were examined after exposing the composites to water, conditions of freeze–thaw cycles, and UV light. Water absorption results indicated a decrease in the rate of penetration of water in the composites in the presence of compatibilizers. The reduction in strength and stiffness after water absorption was lower for composites with compatibilizers than for the composites without any additives. Freezing and thawing experiments also showed the dimensional changes and degradation of strength and stiffness were less in composites with compatibilizers. Presence of processing aid in the composite showed a similar or enhanced water absorption and loss of mechanical properties, compared with those of the composite without processing additives. Although the composites showed a discoloration of the surface after the UV exposure time (745 h) studied, it was found that within this period of UV exposure the flexural strength and stiffness of the composites did not show significant change. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 3619–3625, 2006     

Moisture absorption into ultrathin hydrophilic polymer films on different substrate surfaces

Moisture absorption into ultrathin poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) films with varying thickness was examined using X-ray reflectivity (XR) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements. Two different surfaces were used for the substrate: a hydrophilic silicon oxide (SiO_x) and a hydrophobic hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) treated silicon oxide surface. The total equilibrium moisture absorption (solubility) was insensitive to the surface treatment in the thickest films (≈150 nm). However, strong reductions in the equilibrium uptake with decreasing PVP film thickness were observed on the HMDS surfaces, while the SiO_x surface exhibited thickness independent equilibrium absorption. The decreased absorption with decreasing film thickness is attributed a depletion layer of water near the polymer/HMDS interface, arising from hydrophobic interactions between the surface and water. The diffusivity of water decreased when the film thickness was less than 60 nm, independent of the surface treatment. Changes in the properties of ultrathin polymer films occur even in plasticized films containing nearly 50% water.     

πSynthesis and evaluation of a series of α-hydroxy ethers derived from isopropyl oleate

Several fatty derivatives with bulky moieties were prepared by treatment of epoxidized isopropyl oleate with a number of alcohols in the presence of sulfuric acid catalyst to provide a series of α-hydroxy ethers in good yield. The materials were analyzed for cold flow performance through cloud point and pour point determinations. The most promising α-hydroxy ether produced in this study, with respect to both low temperature behavior and economic criteria, was isopropyl 9(10)-(2-ethylhexoxy) 10(9)-hydroxystearate, which has a cloud point of −23°C and pour point of −24°C.     

Determination of residual organic matter in extracted oil sands using a low temperature ashing method

The application of a low temperature ashing method for estimating total residual organic matter (toluene insolubles) in oil sands is described. A linear correlation exists between organic carbon content and loss on ignition at 400 ± 10 °C of solvent extracted oil sands. The ratio between total organic carbon and the weight loss on ignition (CT/LOl) owing to the removal of residual organic matter is much lower than that obtained for toluene soluble bitumen fractions, indicating very different chemical composition for the residual organic matter. The measured carbon content of the residual organic matter in oil sands suggests that this material could be a mixture of various fractions contained in resins, asphaltenes, asphaltic acids and humic acids.