Cinemetrics: Embodying architectural representation in the digital age

How can architecture emerge from the prison of its current forms of representation? Grahame Shane1 1 D.G. Shane, “Balkanization and the Postmodern City,” in Peter Lang (ed.), Mortal City, New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1995, pp. 55-69. interprets the concluding diagram of Robin Evans' Projective Cast: Architecture and its Three Geometries2 2 Robin Evans, The Projective Cast: Architecture and Its Three Geometries, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995. as a critique of postmodern architecture's self-reflection and lack of engagement with the world. Shane argues that Evan's diagram depicts architectural representation as a self-reinforcing, closed, conceptual triangle of mirrored reflections between the human observer, the scopic regime of perspective, orthographic architectural drawing conventions, and designed objects. Shane draws his interpretation from Evans's early work on Victorian prison architecture as well as one of Evan's last public lectures. Shane characterized Evans' critical view of postmodern architectural practice and representation as a “self-correcting means of stabilization and pacification of the physical, built environment.”3 3 Shane, “Balkanization and the Postmodern City,” p. 68 This essay develops a theory of Cinemetrics that demonstrates how contemporary architectural production, with the aid of digital tools, has the capacity to break this closed system with open-ended, embodied cybernetic feed-back loops within a wider public culture engaged in the making and imagining of architecture.4 4 Brian McGrath and Jean Gardner, Cinemetrics: Architectural Drawing Today, London: Wiley-Academy, 2007. This essay argues that this break can only be accomplished by embodying architectural representation through a careful engagement with Gilles Deleuze's philosophy of movement and time images derived from cinema,5 5 Gilles Deleuze, Cinema 1: the movement image, Hugh Tomlinson and Habberjam (trans.), Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, 1986; Cinema 2: the time-image, Hugh Tomlinson and Robert Galeta (trans.), Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, 1989. Henri Bergson's theories of memory, attention and duration,6 6 Henri Bergson, Creative Evolution, Arthur Mitchell (trans.), Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991; Henri Bergson, Matter and Memory, M.N. Paul and W.S. Palmer (trans.), New York: Zone Books, 1991. and from Charles Sanders Peirce's pragmatic semiosis.7 7 Charles Sanders Peirce, The Essential Peirce: Selected Philosophical Writings, Vol. 2 (1893-1913), Peirce Edition Project, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1998.      

Influence of polyimide precursor synthesis route and ortho-position functional group on thermally rearranged (TR) polymer properties: Conversion and free volume

Thermal rearrangement of polyimides with ortho-position groups to polybenzoxazoles and related structures has been of recent interest for producing gas separation membranes. This study explores the influence of synthesis route and ortho-position functional group on the thermal rearrangement process and the fractional free volume of thermally rearranged (TR) polymers produced from polyimides derived from 3,3′-dihydroxy-4,4′-diamino-biphenyl and 2,2′-bis-(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride (HAB–6FDA). Acetate, propanoate, and pivalate ortho-position functional groups were considered. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to study thermal rearrangement at temperatures between 350 and 450 °C, and evolved gases from TGA were analyzed via mass spectrometry to characterize the byproducts of thermal rearrangement and thermal degradation. CO₂ was the major byproduct of thermal rearrangement for all samples, and its evolution began well before the onset of thermal degradation. When non-hydroxyl ortho-position groups were present in the polymers, several byproducts other than CO₂ were also observed due to the loss of these ortho-position groups before thermal rearrangement. Free volume generally increased with increasing extent of thermal rearrangement, but precise values of free volume could not be accurately determined for polymers with propanoate and pivalate ortho-position functional groups due to uncertainties in the chemical structure of partially converted materials. For polymers with acetate and hydroxyl ortho-position groups, free volume could be determined within the uncertainty of density measurements. Thermal rearrangement behavior and free volume results for acetate containing polymers synthesized via different routes were very similar. Based on these results, the chemical structure of the ortho-position functional group has a larger impact on TR polymer properties than the polyimide precursor synthesis route.     

Influence of melt stability on the crystallization of bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene-oxydiphthalic anhydride based polyimides

Novel high performance semicrystalline polyimides, based on controlled molecular weight phthalic anhydride (PA) endcapped 1,4-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene (TPEQ diamine) and oxydiphthalic dianhydride (ODPA), were synthesized. They exhibited excellent thermal stability in nitrogen and air atmospheres as determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The glass transition temperatures (T_g) for these polymers ranged from 225°C for the 10,000 M_n (10K) polymer, to 238°C for the 30,000 (30K) M_n material. The observed melting temperatures for all the polymers were ∼420°C. The crystallization behavior of these polymers showed a strong molecular weight dependence, as illustrated by the observation that the 10K and 12.5K polymers crystallized with relative ease, whereas the 15K, 20K, and 30K polymers showed little or no ability to undergo thermal recrystallization. The thermal stability of these polymers above T_m was investigated by studying the effect of time and temperature in the melt on the cold crystallization and melting of these polymers. Increased time and temperature in the melt resulted in lower crystallinity because of melt state degradation, such as crosslinking and branching, as evidenced by an increase in melt viscosity, which was more prominent for the higher molecular weight polymers.     

Microbeam RBS on flat panel displays

We have demonstrated the utility of microbeam-Rutherford BackScattering (μ-RBS) in spatially resolved studies of operational plasma effects on the interior surfaces of plasma flat panel displays manufactured by Photonics Imaging. The experiments were performed at the Sandia Nuclear microprobe using a 2.8 MeV He beam with an average beam spot size of less than 8 μm. The interior surface of the top panes of the flat panels is composed of approximately 800 nm of MgO on top of a 2000 nm thick PbO layer. μ-RBS of sample panels operated under varying conditions measured changes in the surface MgO film thickness due to plasma erosion and redeposition as accurately as ± 1.5 nm. The high accuracy in the MgO thickness measurement was achieved by inferring the MgO thickness from the shift of the Pb front edge in the RBS spectrum. An estimate for the thickness accuracy as a function of the acquired statistics is presented. The surface of the flat panels' bottom panes is also comprised of MgO on top of PbO. However, troughs 100 μm wide by 10 μm deep were partially filled with phosphor and cover the entire width of the surface. This leaves only 100 μm long sections of MgO within the trough exposed. Using μ-RBS, we were able to analyze the surface composition of these regions.     

Exploring the biomechanics of walking and crowd “flow”

Crowd movement simulation models are generally based on aggregated speed and flow data collected more than 50 years ago. There appears to be no validated modelling capability to include the impact of recent and future changes in population demographics, resulting from an ageing population and increasing obesity rates. New analytical approaches and data gathering are required to successfully model crowd movement and safety for current and future generations. This study carried out (a) a review of the primary components of crowd movement, demographics and analytical techniques, (b) prototype experiments to investigate age-related aspects of space and potential points of contact and (c) a new predictive model for crowd flow analysis based on pedestrian biomechanics and anthropometric data. The model uses the physical space taken up by the biomechanical walking process and the spatial buffer between points of potential contact with other pedestrians to predict the speed of movement at different levels of congestion. The new analytical model was used to predict single file speeds (for people with different demographics in congested space), which compared well with published experimental data. The next steps for model development for wider “flows” and additional experiments to provide data sets for wider demographics are also proposed.     

Ultrathin Dual‐Scale Nano‐ and Microporous Membranes for Vascular Transmigration Models

Selective cellular transmigration across the microvascular endothelium regulates innate and adaptive immune responses, stem cell localization, and cancer cell metastasis. Integration of traditional microporous membranes into microfluidic vascular models permits the rapid assay of transmigration events but suffers from poor reproduction of the cell permeable basement membrane. Current microporous membranes in these systems have large nonporous regions between micropores that inhibit cell communication and nutrient exchange on the basolateral surface reducing their physiological relevance. Here, the use of 100 nm thick continuously nanoporous silicon nitride membranes as a base substrate for lithographic fabrication of 3 µm pores is presented, resulting in a highly porous (≈30%), dual‐scale nano‐ and microporous membrane for use in an improved vascular transmigration model. Ultrathin membranes are patterned using a precision laser writer for cost‐effective, rapid micropore design iterations. The optically transparent dual‐scale membranes enable complete observation of leukocyte egress across a variety of pore densities. A maximal density of ≈14 micropores per cell is discovered beyond which cell–substrate interactions are compromised giving rise to endothelial cell losses under flow. Addition of a subluminal extracellular matrix rescues cell adhesion, allowing for the creation of shear‐primed endothelial barrier models on nearly 30% continuously porous substrates.     

Prescribing and primary care psychology: Complementary paths for professional psychology.

Two paths have been suggested for the future evolution of professional psychology. Prescribing psychology has already been legally authorized in two states, the military, and the Indian Health Service. Primary care psychology does not require legal recognition and has been slowly growing as a career option for psychologists across the nation. Both paths have their obstacles and limitations, but both are also associated with great potential. This article provides a brief summary of the strengths and weaknesses of each path and suggests an integrated perspective for planning the future of the profession. Each is seen as complementary to the other and providing a basis for pursuing the other. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)