Direct gravure printing of indium tin oxide nanoparticle patterns on polymer foils

A direct gravure printing process for UV-curable indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticle patterns on polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate foils is presented for use as transparent electrodes. Both large-area coatings and patterns of ITO with thicknesses from 0.2 to > 1 μm and feature sizes on the order of 100 μm were realized with a sheet resistance down to 400 Ω_□ and a transmission > 85% in the visible. In order to reach the lowest sheet resistance, a post-treatment under inert or reducing conditions at temperatures of 130 to 180 °C was used. Special requirements regarding the gravure printing of electronic material from nanoparticles and potential applications are discussed.     

Looking inside and out: The impact of employee and community demographic composition on organizational diversity climate.

An organization's diversity climate refers to employees' shared perceptions of the policies and practices that communicate the extent to which fostering diversity and eliminating discrimination is a priority in the organization. The authors propose a salient element of the organizational context, the racial composition of the community where the organization is located, serves an important signaling function that shapes the formation of climate perceptions. In a study of 142 retail bank units in the United States, evidence is found for a relationship between the racial composition of an organization's workforce and diversity climate that is moderated by the racial composition of the community where the organization is located. The results suggest that when few racial minorities live in the community in which an organization is embedded, workforce diversity has an impact on employees' diversity climate perceptions. As racial minority popular share increases, workforce diversity tends to lose this signaling value. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-performance deep-ultraviolet optics for free-electron lasers

Working with wavelengths shorter than the deep ultraviolet involves the development of dedicated optics for free-electron lasers with devoted coating techniques and characterizations. High-performance deep-ultraviolet optics are specially developed to create low-loss, high-reflectivity dielectric mirrors with long lifetimes in harsh synchrotron radiation environments. In February 2001, lasing at 189.7 nm, the shortest wavelength obtained so far with free-electron-laser oscillators, was obtained at the European Free-electron-laser project at ELETTRA Synchrotron Light Laboratory, Trieste, Italy. In July 2001, 330-mW extracted power at 250 nm was measured with optimized transmission mirrors. Research and development of coatings correlated to lasing performance are reported.     

Designing in young organisations: engineering change propagation in a university design project

Engineering change (EC) is an important phenomenon in the design of products and systems, accounting for nearly one-third of the work effort; however, the literature has been focused on mature firms, and few studies have documented the impact of EC beyond them. Hence, we use a case study approach to study EC and its propagation in the context of a university design project as an example of young organisations, and compare it with the existing work done on mature firms. It was found that 33% of the changes that occurred in the case study were planned, and change propagation accounted for 20% of all changes. The propagation of changes was usually one step (67%), and it was concentrated in one independent network (54%). The results were subsequently compared with EC studies done in mature firms, being revealed that EC behaves differently in the context of a university design project; hence, existing change management tools developed to suit mature firms may not be directly suitable for supporting university design projects. The findings from this work can be used as a platform to better understand how EC propagates when designing in young organisations and shape the development of appropriate change management tools.     

The role of graphical and text based argumentation tools in hypermedia learning

In this study, the effects of visualization tools on argumentation skills, knowledge acquisition, and motivation during learning with a hypermedia learning environment were examined. Participants in this experiment had to complete an argumentation task on environmental issues by using a hypermedia learning environment as resource. In one condition, participants were provided with a graphical mind mapping tool in order to complete an argumentation task. In a second condition, a two-columned text editor has been given. A control group received no argumentation task and no corresponding support device. Results suggest that a graphical argumentation support device can enhance learners’ motivation, but has no influence on knowledge acquisition or quality of arguments, whereas both argumentation support devices led to superior results compared to the control group. Overall, results reveal that the assignment of an argumentation task to hypermedia learning environments was an effective instructional strategy that led to enhanced knowledge acquisition compared to learning without an argumentation task.     

Comparison of airborne lidar,aerial photography,and field surveys to model the habitat suitability of a cryptic forest species – the hazel grouse

Light detection and ranging (lidar) is a useful tool for measuring three-dimensional habitat structure; hence, its use in habitat suitability models has been explored, both as a single resource and in combination with other remote-sensing techniques. Here, we evaluated the suitability of airborne lidar data in comparison with aerial photographs and field surveys for modelling the distribution of an endangered and cryptic forest species, the hazel grouse (Bonasa bonasia). The study was conducted in the Bavarian Forest National Park of southeast Germany. Subsequently, a prediction map for conservation planning was generated for a large area, which encompassed the National Park. We examined the utility of lidar data for generating a hazel grouse distribution model by using machine learning (boosted regression trees), and then compared the results to variables derived from field surveys and aerial photographs, both separately and in combination. The cross-validated discrimination ability of the model was slightly higher when using lidar data (area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC), 0.79) compared to models using aerial photographs (AUC, 0.75) or field survey data (AUC, 0.78). The predictive performance consistently increased when combining the predictors from different sources, with an AUC of 0.86 being produced in the model combining all three data sources. The three data sources complemented one another, with each data source probably having an advantage at deriving one of three key aspects of the hazel grouse habitat, namely, vertically well-structured forest stands, horizontally mixed successional vegetation stages, and certain deciduous trees as food resources such as mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia). In addition, the diverse lidar metrics might be applied to simultaneously characterize vertically and horizontally well-structured forest stands. We conclude that public available airborne lidar data are a viable source for creating habitat suitability maps for large areas and may have increased utility for detecting forest characteristics and valuable wildlife habitats.     

Cognitive load in hypermedia reading comprehension: Influence of text type and linearity

In this paper the assumption of cognitive overhead in hypermedia learning is specified by cognitive load theory. This analysis is based on different types of cognitive load, the dimension of linearity/non-linearity as well as text characteristics. We propose a model stating that extraneous cognitive load in hypermedia learning is basically determined by the interaction of text presentation format (linear/non-linear) with text type (text with and without narrative structures). This assumption was tested by means of a 2 × 2 experimental design. Sixty participants completed a computer-based learning program that contained a narrative text or an encyclopaedia text in either linear or non-linear presentation format. Results confirm the suggested interaction hypothesis postulating that non-linear information presentation of narrative text structure increases cognitive load and decreases knowledge acquisition. However, for encyclopaedia text participants’ knowledge acquisition was not affected by linear or non-linear presentation format. Furthermore, results suggest a cross-validation of cognitive load measures and propositional analysis.     

A cognitive semantics for the association construct

The unified modelling language (UML), besides its traditional use in describing software artifacts, is increasingly being used for conceptual modelling, the activity of describing an application domain. For models to be clear and unambiguous, every construct of the modelling language must have well-defined semantics, which is its mapping to elements of the semantic domain. When used for conceptual modelling, the semantic domain of UML is the application domain, as perceived by the modeller. Modellers perceive and structure their perceptions using cognitive concepts. This paper proposes a mapping of the UML association construct to those concepts. Implications for the use of the association construct for conceptual modelling are derived, a UML profile for conceptual modelling is presented, along with the results of a case study using the semantics and profile.

Tiled++: An Enhanced Tiled Hi-Res Display Wall

In recent years, high-resolution displays have become increasingly important to decision makers and scientists because large screens combined with a high pixel count facilitate content rich, simultaneous display of computer-generated imagery and high-definition video data from multiple sources. Tiled displays are attractive due to their extended screen real estate, scalability, and low cost. LCD panels are usually preferred over projectors because of their superior resolution. One of the drawbacks of LCD-based tiled displays is the fact that users sometimes get distracted by the screens' bezels, which cause discontinuities in rendered images, animations, or videos. Most conventional solutions either ignore the bezels and display all pixels, causing objects to become distorted, or eliminate the pixels that would normally fall under the bezels, causing pixels to be missing in the display of static images. In animations, the missing pixels will eventually reappear when the object moves, providing an experience that is similar to looking through a French window. In this paper, we present a new scalable approach that leads neither to discontinuities nor to significant loss of information. By projecting onto the bezels, we demonstrate that a combination of LCD-based tiled displays and projection significantly reduces the bezel problem. Our technique eliminates ambiguities that commonly occur on tiled displays in the fields of information visualization, visual data analysis, human-computer interaction, and scientific data display. It improves the usability of multimonitor systems by virtually eliminating the bezels. We describe a setup and provide results from an evaluation experiment conducted on a 3 times 3 and on a 10 times 5 tiled display wall.     

Contextual cropping and scaling of TV productions

In this paper, an application is presented which automatically adapts SDTV (Standard Definition Television) sports productions to smaller displays through intelligent cropping and scaling. It crops regions of interest of sports productions based on a smart combination of production metadata and systematic video analysis methods. This approach allows a context-based composition of cropped images. It provides a differentiation between the original SD version of the production and the processed one adapted to the requirements for mobile TV. The system has been comprehensively evaluated by comparing the outcome of the proposed method with manually and statically cropped versions, as well as with non-cropped versions. Envisaged is the integration of the tool in post-production and live workflows.