Designing mobile technologies to support co-present collaboration

Mobile technologies offer new opportunities for childrens educational activities in that they can be used across different locations and times. Naturally, some instances of mobile technology use will necessitate, or be enhanced by, the sharing of information. Social interaction is important for sharing ideas, constructing and shaping understanding and fundamental for educational development. However the physical size of mobile technologies presents interesting challenges when designing for collaborative activities. When designing mobile technologies the importance of collaborative tasks has often been overlooked. The replacement of low-tech artefacts with digital devices, for supporting multiple users, can inhibit the shareability of information. We present three projects where mobile technologies have been used as part of a larger mixed reality experience. Novel technologies were used to support childrens collaborative activities in storytelling, an adventure game and during an outdoor field trip. Interaction with mobile devices within each project is reviewed and the authors highlight important considerations for their design and use across multiple contexts.     

Optimal eigenanalysis for the treatment of aerosols in the retrieval of atmospheric composition from transmission measurements

The separation of the individual contributions of aerosol and gases to the total attenuation of radiation through the atmosphere has been the subject of much scientific investigation since remote sensing experiments first began. We describe a new scheme to account for the spectral variation of the aerosol extinction in the inversion of transmission data from occultation measurements. Because the spectral variation of the aerosol extinction is generally unknown,the inversion problem is underdetermined and cannot be solved without a reduction in the number of unknowns in the set of equations used to describe the attenuation at each wavelength. This reduction can be accomplished by a variety of methods, including use of a priori information, the parameterization of the aerosol spectral attenuation, and the specification of the form of the aerosol size distribution. We have developed and implemented a parameterization scheme based on existing empirical and modeled information about the microphysical properties of aerosols. This scheme employs the eigenvectors from an extensive set of simulations to parameterize the aerosol extinction coefficient for incorporation into the inversion algorithm. We examine the accuracy of our method using data sets containing over 24,000 extinction spectra and compare it with that of another scheme that is currently implemented in the Polar Ozone and Aerosol Measurement (POAM) satellite experiment. In simulations using 80 wavelengths in the UV-visible-near-IR spectral range of the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE) instrument, we show that, for our optimal parameterization, errors below 1% are observed in 80% of cases, whereas only approximately 20% of all cases are as accurate as this in a quadratic parameterization employing the logarithm of the wavelength.     

Samarium and manganese-doped lead titanate ceramic fiber/epoxy 1-3 composite for high-frequency transducer application

Samarium- (Sm) and manganese- (Mn) doped lead titanate ceramic fibers with a diameter of 35 /spl mu/m were prepared using a sol-gel method. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows that the fibers have a pure perovskite structure. The 1-3 composite disks with a thickness of 31-41 /spl mu/m and with ceramic volume fraction of /spl sim/0.68 have been prepared using the samarium and manganese doped lead titanate (PSmT) fibers. The resonance characteristics of the poled composite disks were measured. A focused transducer was fabricated using a concave 1-3 composite disk with nonuniform thickness in order to enhance its bandwidth. The insertion loss (IL), pulse-echo response and frequency spectrum of the composite transducer were measured. The center frequency of the transducer was /spl sim/31 MHz with a -3 dB bandwidth of /spl sim/123% and a low IL of 29.3 dB.     

Solid-solid contacts due to surface roughness and their effects on suspension behaviour

Solid-solid contacts due to microscopic surface roughness in viscous fluids were examined by observing the translational and rotational behaviours of a suspended sphere falling past a lighter sphere or down an inclined surface. In both cases, a roll-slip behaviour was observed, with the gravitational forces balanced by not only hydrodynamic forces but also normal and tangential solid-solid contact forces. Moreover, the nominal separation between the surfaces due to microscopic surface roughness elements is not constant but instead varies due to multiple roughness scales. By inverting the system, so that the heavy sphere fell away from the lighter sphere or the plane, it was found that the average nominal separation increases with increasing angle of inclination of the plane or the surface of the lighter sphere from horizontal; the larger asperities lift the sphere up from the opposing surface and then gravity at large angles of inclination is too weak to pull the sphere back down to the opposing surface before another large asperity is encountered. The existence of microscopic surface roughness and solid-solid contacts is shown to modify the rheological properties of suspensions. For example, the presence of compressive, but not tensile, contact forces removes the reversibility of sphere-sphere interactions and breaks the symmetry of the particle trajectories. As a result, suspensions of rough spheres exhibit normal stress differences that are absent for smooth spheres. For the conditions studied, surface roughness reduces the effective viscosity of a suspension by limiting the lubrication resistance during near-contact motion, and it also modifies the suspension microstructure and hydrodynamic diffusivity.     

The mysterious case of the missing paradigm: a review of critical information systems research 1991–2001

Abstract.  In this journal, Chen and Hirschheim have provided a historical analysis of positivist and interpretivist research paradigms and methodologies in the 10 years following the much cited work of Orlikowski and Baroudi. In this paper, we investigate the mysterious case of the missing paradigm – that of the critical approach to information systems (IS) research. We take Chen and Hirschheim's survey as our starting point and aim to fill the gap left by the absence of the critical paradigm in their analysis and make some criticisms of their method. Recent years have seen the growth of IS research that consciously adopts a critical perspective. This paper charts the development of critical IS research over the period of 1991–2001, adding some comments on more recent developments. We conclude by critically reflecting on the current development of critical research in the field of IS.     

Iterative voting for inference of structural saliency and characterization of subcellular events.

Saliency is an important perceptual cue that occurs at different levels of resolution. Important attributes of saliency are symmetry, continuity, and closure. Detection of these attributes is often hindered by noise, variation in scale, and incomplete information. This paper introduces the iterative voting method, which uses oriented kernels for inferring saliency as it relates to symmetry. A unique aspect of the technique is the kernel topography, which is refined and reoriented iteratively. The technique can cluster and group nonconvex perceptual circular symmetries along the radial line of an object's shape. It has an excellent noise immunity and is shown to be tolerant to perturbation in scale. The application of this technique to images obtained through various modes of microscopy is demonstrated. Furthermore, as a case example, the method has been applied to quantify kinetics of nuclear foci formation that are formed by phosphorylation of histone gammaH2AX following ionizing radiation. Iterative voting has been implemented in both 2-D and 3-D for multi image analysis.     

Supporting the consumption and co-authoring of locative media experiences for a rural village community: design and field trial evaluation of the SHARC2.0 framework

Locative Media Experiences (LMEs) have significant potential in enabling visitors to engage with the places that they visit through an appreciation of local history. For example, a visitor to Berlin that is exploring remnants of the Berlin Wall may be encouraged to appreciate (or in part experience) the falling of the Berlin wall by consuming multimedia directly related to her current location such as listening to audio recordings of the assembled crowds on 10th November 1989. However, despite the growing popularity of enabling technologies (such as GPS-equipped smart phones and tablets), the availability of tools that support the authoring of LMEs is limited. In addition, mobile apps that support the consumption of LMEs typically adopt an approach that precludes users from being able to respond with their own multimedia contributions. In this article we describe the design and evaluation of the SHARC2.0 framework that has been developed as part of our long-term and participatory engagement with the rural village of Wray in the north of England. Wray has very limited cellular data coverage which has placed a requirement on the framework and associated tools to operate without reliance on network connectivity. A field study is presented which featured a LME relating to Wray’s local history and which contained multimedia content contributed by members of the community including historic photos (taken from an existing ‘Digital Noticeboard’ system), audio-clips (from a local historian and village residents) and video (contributed during a design workshop). The novelty of our approach relates to the ability of multiple authors to contribute to a LME in-situ, and the utilisation of personal cloud storage for storing the contents associated with a multi-authored LME.

     

一种能提高DRC友好性和CMP形貌的冗余金属填充方法

化学机械研磨(CMP)被广泛用于铜镶嵌工艺,研磨后铜的厚度和表面形貌对65纳米以下的工艺显得越来越重要,厚度和形貌的变动会对芯片良率和性能造成恶劣影响,所以必须在设计时就进行慎重的考虑。众所周知,插入冗余金属是提升CMP形貌的一个好方法,通常基于规则的方法广泛用于65纳米及以上工艺中,但是该技术在比较先进制程中显示不出其优越性。本文阐述了一种基于模型的冗余金属填充方法,它是根据设计版图中的周围环境用计算机算法来填充。这一方法的优点有以下几方面:在设计规则检查(DRC)中更少的违规数量,更密集的图形密度分布和更少的填充图案数量,更小的密度和周长梯度。在使用40纳米工艺的晶圆上,基于模型方法得到的表面平坦度与基于规则的填充方法相当,但是比公开的其它填充方法要好。     

Effects of Milling Liquid on the Reaction-Bonded Aluminum Oxide Process

The reaction-bonded aluminum oxide process begins with aluminum, Al₂O₃, and usually ZrO₂ powders that have been attrition-milled in an organic liquid. The attrition-milled powder is then compacted and heat-treated in air to produce polycrystalline, Al₂O₃-based ceramics. Safety considerations have made it desirable for the milling liquid to be changed from acetone to a less-flammable solvent. In this paper, mineral spirits, ethanol, and mineral spirits that contains 2 wt% stearic acid are presented as viable alternatives to acetone. The effects of changing the milling liquid on the reaction process and the properties of the final fired ceramic are investigated.