'Tacitus' project: identifying multi-sensory perceptions in creative 3D practice for the development of a haptic computing system for applied artists

This paper outlines the major motivating factors concerning a novel collaborative project between Edinburgh College of Art and Edinburgh Virtual Environment Centre. The Tacitus project will investigate the use of multi-modal virtual environments, specifically, the haptic (touch) modality, with regards to the creative processes employed by designers working within the field of applied arts. The salient areas of research are described, and the methods by which information regarding these areas will be obtained are considered. Initial investigations have revealed a strong need to mimic the traditional applied artists' workspaces, with co-location of visual and haptic cues a priority.     

Distribution, relative abundance, and prey demand by double-crested cormorants on Manitoulin Island lakes vs. Lake Huron Coast

An aerial distance sampling survey of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) was conducted in the northern region of Lake Huron (North Channel; four largest lakes of Manitoulin Island; South Shore of Manitoulin Is. facing the main body of the lake) to assess the relative distribution, abundance and prey demand by cormorants on inland lake vs. coastal habitat. On a per area basis, the density (approx. 1-2 cormorants ? km^− 2) and prey demand (approx. 1.2 kg ha^− 1) of cormorants in the four inland lakes matched that of the North Channel. The South Shore had approximately half the density and prey demand as the other two areas. Cormorants on the inland lakes of Manitoulin Island represented 13% early in the season and a high of 33% of the total population for this region of Lake Huron later in the summer. Estimating regional distributions of cormorants within the Great Lakes basin is important because mapped nest colonies and nest counts are not representative of the actual distribution of foraging cormorants during and after the nesting season. There are two general conclusions to emerge from this survey. First, aquatic productivity from both Great Lakes coast and inland lakes contributes to trends in population and distribution of cormorants in the northern region of Lake Huron and perhaps elsewhere. Second, inland aquatic ecosystems are important throughout a season for foraging cormorants from the Great Lakes and may become more important as Great Lake productivity trends downward.     

Thiamine concentrations in lake whitefish eggs from the upper Great Lakes are related to maternal diet

Thiamine deficiency is responsible for reproductive impairment in several species of salmonines in the Great lakes, and is thought to be caused by the consumption of prey containing thiaminase, a thiamine-degrading enzyme. Because thiaminase levels are extremely high in dreissenid mussels, fish that prey on them may be susceptible to thiamine deficiency. We determined thiamine concentrations in lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis eggs from the upper Laurentian Great Lakes to assess the potential for thiamine deficiency and to determine if thiamine concentrations in lake whitefish eggs were related to maternal diet. Mean thiamine concentrations in lake whitefish eggs were highest in Lake Huron, intermediate in Lake Superior, and lowest in Lake Michigan. Some fish had thiamine concentrations below putative thresholds for lethal and sublethal effects in salmonines, suggesting that some larval lake whitefish may currently be at risk of at least sublethal effects of low thiamine concentrations, although thiamine thresholds are unknown for lake whitefish. Egg thiamine concentrations in lake whitefish eggs were statistically significantly related to isotopic carbon signatures, suggesting that egg thiamine levels were related to maternal diet, but low egg thiamine concentrations did not appear to be associated with a diet of dreissenids. Egg thiamine concentrations were not statistically significantly related to multifunction oxidase induction, suggesting that lower egg thiamine concentrations in lake whitefish were not related to contaminant exposure.     

Movement of smallmouth bass within the Beaver Island Archipelago, northern Lake Michigan

Fish movement may vary across a wide array of aquatic ecosystems and may be related to the overall size of the system inhabited. We investigated movement of smallmouth bass in Lake Michigan because this information is lacking for larger systems. A total of 16 smallmouth bass were surgically implanted with ultrasonic transmitters within the Beaver Archipelago, northern Lake Michigan. During 2007-2008, a maximum of one location per individual was recorded daily during three specific tracking periods - pre-spawn, spawning, and post-spawn - to determine diurnal movement patterns. Movement was evaluated as site fidelity, minimum displacement rate, maximum excursion rate, and distance from shore. Smallmouth bass exhibited greater maximum excursion rates during the spawn period compared to pre-spawn. Movement rates did not differ between tracking periods; however, movement rates were greater during the spawn period in 2007 than 2008. Both sexes moved further offshore to deeper water during post-spawn, but females were located further offshore than males during this period. Annual site fidelity was more evident during post-spawn than during spawning for both sexes. Two smallmouth bass emigrated outside of the Archipelago, suggesting this population may be more “open” in terms of individuals moving throughout northern Lake Michigan than previously thought. These results indicate smallmouth bass may move greater distances in larger aquatic systems and therefore larger management units (in terms of total area) should be established in Lake Michigan to account for these greater excursion distances.     

Teaching mathematics: What teachers say,believe, and do

Abstract:

Developing an understanding of the influences that shape teacher practice is a complex endeavour. This review explores some of this complexity in relation to teachers’ theories, knowledge, and beliefs about the teaching of mathematics. Specifically, this review focuses on the relationships that exist between teachers’ espoused theories and their theories‐in‐use, the two components of teachers’ theories of action identified by Argyris and Schön (1974). Teachers’ espoused theories are composed of the knowledge and beliefs that teachers articulate when they describe their practices, whereas their theories‐in‐use are the assumptions about themselves, others, and the connections among action, consequence, and situation that govern their classroom practices. It is suggested that methods used to facilitate teacher development and reform initiatives in schools might be improved with the development of a clearer understanding of the relationships between what teachers say, what they believe, what they intend, and what they do. This review helps to further this understanding for the teaching of mathematics.     

Development and Deployment of an Intelligent Kite Aerial Photography Platform (iKAPP) for Site Surveying and Image Acquisition

Aerial photographs and images are used by a variety of industries, including farming, landscaping, surveying, and agriculture, as well as academic researchers including archaeologists and geologists. Aerial imagery can provide a valuable resource for analyzing sites of interest and gaining information about the structure, layout, and composition of large areas of land that would be unavailable otherwise. Current methods of acquiring aerial images rely on techniques such as satellite imagery, manned aircraft, or more recently unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and micro‐UAV technologies. These solutions, while accurate and reliable, have several drawbacks. Using satellite imagery or UAVs can prove to be very expensive, costing tens of thousands for images. They can also prove to be time‐consuming and in some cases have constraints on use, such as no‐fly zones. In this paper, we present an alternative low‐cost, versatile solution to these methods, an intelligent kite aerial photography platform (iKAPP), for the purpose of acquiring aerial images and monitoring sites of interest. We show how this system provides flexibility in application, and we detail the system's design, mechanical operation, and initial flight experiments for a low‐cost, lightweight, intelligent platform capable of acquiring high‐resolution images. Finally, we demonstrate the system by acquiring images of a local site, showing how the system functions and the quality of images it can capture. The application of the system and its capabilities in terms of capture rates, image quality, and limitations are also presented. The system offers several improvements over traditional KAP systems, including onboard “intelligent” processing and communications. The intelligent aspect of this system stems from the use of self‐image stabilization of the camera, the advantage being that one is able to configure the system to capture large areas of a site automatically, and one can see the site acquisition in real time, all of which are not possible with previous methods of AP. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Oscillating bubbles in teardrop cavities for microflow control

Microstreaming generated from oscillating microbubbles has great potential in microfluidic applications for localized flow control. In this study, we explore the use of teardrop-shaped cavities for trapping microbubbles. Upon acoustic actuation, these microbubbles confined in teardrop cavities can be utilized to generate a directional microstreaming flow. We further show that by altering the acoustic excitation frequency, a flow-switch for altering flow direction in microfluidic environments can be achieved using two oppositely arranged teardrop cavities with different sizes. In the end, we show that an array of such bubble-filled teardrop cavities can act as a fixated microfluidic transport system allowing for on-chip particle manipulation in complex flow patterns. This inexpensive method to create flows to switch and transport elements based on teardrop cavities can be widely employed for microfluidic applications such as drug delivery systems.     

A reservoir serves as refuge for adults of the endangered Macquarie perch

Home‐range estimates are an important input to species recovery plans. Our aim was to estimate the home‐range size of the endangered Macquarie Perch in the lower Cotter River catchment, Australia. In total, fourteen home‐range estimates were calculated from intensive radio‐tracking of adult individuals over a minimum of five diel periods in either autumn (n = 5) or spring (n = 9). Home‐range (95% Kernel) and core area (50% Kernel) were calculated by Kernel estimation and corrected for overlap with land. Seasonal estimates of home‐range and core area were not asymptotic in relation to cumulative number of radio‐fixes in four of fourteen cases. The mean within‐season home‐range of adult Macquarie perch was 5.5 ha ranging from 0.2 to 18.4 ha, based on 10 cumulative estimates that were asymptotic in relation to radio‐tracking effort. All five individuals radio‐tracked in autumn occupied a single core area, whereas in spring, six individuals occupied a single core area and three individuals each occupied three core areas. Despite individuals moving on a scale almost comparable to Cotter Reservoir (48.5 ha), only a single radio‐tagged individual was found to leave the reservoir and enter the river. Regional fisheries managers are generally aware of the requirement for Macquarie perch to access flowing water for spawning in south‐eastern Australia; however, in the Cotter River catchment, the protection of habitat for this species within Cotter Reservoir is also paramount. Our study highlights the importance of reservoirs for conserving a threatened aquatic species.     

Autonomy for Mars Rovers: Past, Present, and Future

The vehicles used to explore the Martian surface require a high degree of autonomy to navigate challenging and unknown terrain, investigate targets, and detect scientific events. Increased autonomy will be critical to the success of future missions.     

Development of an operational fitness test for the Royal Air Force

Since 2002, the Royal Air Force (RAF) has been working towards developing role-related physical tests for use as an operational fitness test (OFT). The purpose of this study was to establish reliability of the OFT (comprising four tests), investigate gym-based tests as predictors of performance and establish performance standards. Fifty-eight RAF personnel performed the OFT on three occasions. A separate cohort carried out fitness and anthropometric tests before performing the OFT, by way of establishing performance predictors. Documented evidence and views of an expert panel were used to determine OFT standards. Reliability ranged from moderate to good for three tests, with one test (Dig) showing poor reliability. The 95% limits of agreement for the prediction models ranged from good to poor (6.7-34.2%). The prediction models were not sufficiently accurate to estimate confidently OFT performance, but could be used as a guide to quantify likely outcome and training needs.