Exploring Virtual Librarianship: Second Life Library 2.0

ABSTRACT

In April 2006, Alliance Library System and Online Programming for All Libraries partnered to start the Second Life Library 2.0 in the online world Second Life and in August 2006 purchased an island on the Teen grid of Teen Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world, a descendant of multiplayer online games. Educational institutions have recently been drawn into Second Life's robust economy and vibrant cultural life. The Second Life Library 2.0 works with librarians from around the world and with other educational partners such as TechSoup, WorldBridges, and the New Media Consortium. Second Life Library 2.0 provides “traditional” library services such as ready reference, book discussions, and search assistance, but, at heart, it explores what it means to be a virtual library in a virtual world.     

一种SaaS模式防空作战仿真想定编辑系统实现

针对目前仿真想定编辑系统在通用性、灵活性以及更新升级等方面存在的问题,设计了一种SaaS(Software-as-a-service)模式的防空作战仿真想定编辑系统。通过为防空武器建立统一的数据模型(数据类集)实现数据处理的独立性;通过设计与具体武器独立的想定编辑相关的业务逻辑模块,实现业务逻辑的相对独立性;利用MapXtreme Java智能多线程机制解决多用户的并发编辑问题。另外,将系统部署在云计算基础设施平台上,解决了传统C/S模式系统与平台相关联、更新升级困难等缺点,也提升了系统的使用灵活性和用户体验。最后通过实例验证了系统的科学性和有效性。     

黑河水库引水洞上部滑坡的稳定性数值模拟分析

以黑河引水洞上部滑坡为例,采用二维离散元软件对滑坡的变形过程进行了数值模拟,分别从应力、应变、塑性区分布等方面分析滑坡的变形特征,并对坡面一点的速率、位移情况进行监测,模拟结果与实际观测结果大体上是吻合的,离散元数值模拟在一定程度上反映了坡体变形破坏的总体趋势.     

“信息论与编码”双语教学课程建设与实践

近年来,随着信息技术的飞速发展和对外交流的日益频繁,我校和中国其他高校一样在双语教学方面做了一系列的探索与实践。文章就我校开展的《信息论与编码》双语教学课程的特点,提出了在本科教学中的双语教学课程建设与教学改革方案并在教学中取得了良好的效果,具有一定的借鉴意义。     

植物标本数据库系统发展研究

研究目前常见的单机版系统、C/S模式、B/S模式、分布式网络数据库系统和地理信息系统,并对其优缺点进行了分析,对未来发展趋势进行了展望.     

Inferring the capacity of the vector Poisson channel with a Bernoulli model

The capacity defines the ultimate fidelity limits of information transmission by any system. We derive the capacity of parallel Poisson process channels to judge the relative effectiveness of neural population structures. Because the Poisson process is equivalent to a Bernoulli process having small event probabilities, we infer the capacity of multi-channel Poisson models from their Bernoulli surrogates. For neural populations wherein each neuron has individual innervation, inter-neuron dependencies increase capacity, the opposite behavior of populations that share a single input. We use Shannon's rate-distortion theory to show that for Gaussian stimuli, the mean-squared error of the decoded stimulus decreases exponentially in both the population size and the maximal discharge rate. Detailed analysis shows that population coding is essential for accurate stimulus reconstruction. By modeling multi-neuron recordings as a sum of a neural population, we show that the resulting capacity is much less than the population's, reducing it to a level that can be less than provided with two separated neural responses. This result suggests that attempting neural control without spike sorting greatly reduces the achievable fidelity. In contrast, single-electrode neural stimulation does not incur any capacity deficit in comparison to stimulating individual neurons.     

The effect of flaming on computer-mediated negotiations

There is an increasing use of computer media for negotiations. However, the use of computer-mediated channels increases the hostile expressions of emotion, termed flaming. Although researchers agree that flaming has important effects on negotiation, predictions concerning these effects are inconsistent, suggesting a need for further investigation. We address this need by extending current flaming and negotiation research in two ways. First, we identify two different types of flaming: that which is motivated by perceptions concerning the negotiating opponent (e.g., he/she is unfair) and that which is motivated by perceptions concerning the negotiating context (e.g., the communication channel is too slow). Second, we differentiate between the effects of flaming on the concession behaviors of the flame sender and the flame recipient, and the effects of these behaviors on negotiated agreement. Via a laboratory study, we demonstrate that flames directed at the negotiation opponent slightly decrease the likelihood of reaching an agreement, and when an agreement is reached, it result in outcomes significantly favoring the flame recipient rather than the flame sender. In contrast, flames directed at the negotiation context significantly increase the likelihood of agreement, although outcomes still favor the flame recipient over the flame sender. These results suggest that flame senders are generally worse off than flame recipients, which provides an important basis for the strategic use of flaming in negotiations.     

Survey of modular ontology techniques and their applications in the biomedical domain

In the past several years, various ontologies and terminologies such as the Gene Ontology have been developed to enable interoperability across multiple diverse medical information systems. They provide a standard way of representing terms and concepts thereby supporting easy transmission and interpretation of data for various applications. However, with their growing utilization, not only has the number of available ontologies increased considerably, but they are also becoming larger and more complex to manage. Toward this end, a growing body of work is emerging in the area of modular ontologies where the emphasis is on either extracting and managing "modules" of an ontology relevant to a particular application scenario (ontology decomposition) or developing them independently and integrating into a larger ontology (ontology composition). In this paper, we investigate state-of-the-art approaches in modular ontologies focusing on techniques that are based on rigorous logical formalisms as well as well-studied graph theories. We analyze and compare how such approaches can be leveraged in developing tools and applications in the biomedical domain. We conclude by highlighting some of the limitations of the modular ontology formalisms and put forward additional requirements to steer their future development.     

Distribution-Driven Visualization of Volume Data

Feature detection and display are the essential goals of the visualization process. Most visualization software achieves these goals by mapping properties of sampled intensity values and their derivatives to color and opacity. In this work, we propose to explicitly study the local frequency distribution of intensity values in broader neighborhoods centered around each voxel. We have found frequency distributions to contain meaningful and quantitative information that is relevant for many kinds of feature queries. Our approach allows users to enter predicate-based hypotheses about relational patterns in local distributions and render visualizations that show how neighborhoods match the predicates. Distributions are a familiar concept to nonexpert users, and we have built a simple graphical user interface for forming and testing queries interactively. The query framework readily applies to arbitrary spatial data sets and supports queries on time variant and multifield data. Users can directly query for classes of features previously inaccessible in general feature detection tools. Using several well-known data sets, we show new quantitative features that enhance our understanding of familiar visualization results.     

A Y-channel design for improving zeta potential and surface conductivity measurements using the current monitoring method

This study presents a new Y-channel design for measuring the zeta potential and surface conductance of a solid-liquid pairing using the current monitoring technique. The new design improves the throughput and reliability of the testing apparatus since the displacement between two solutions can be repeated many times without interfering with the experiments. It also increases the accuracy of the measurement by producing sharper start and end transitions for the current–time plot of the solution displacement process. In this design, efforts have been made to minimize the effects of electrolysis, Joule heating and undesired pressure driven flow on the measurements. An improvement on the current–time slope analysis is also presented. The Y-channel design was validated by comparing zeta potential measurements to published results. The zeta potential of several biological buffers relevant to the microfluidic community in plasma treated PDMS/PDMS and PDMS/Glass microchannels are presented. Preliminary studies of surface conductivity measurements using the Y-channel design were also conducted and are briefly discussed.