Quantum Aspects of Resolving Discrete Charges in ‘Atomistic’ Device Simulations

In ‘atomistic’ device simulation the resolving of discrete charges onto a fine grained simulation mesh can lead to problems. The sharply resolved coulomb potential can cause simulation artefacts to appear in classical simulation environments using Boltzmann or Fermi-Dirac statistics. Various methods have been proposed in an effort to reduce or eliminate artefacts such as the trapping of mobile carriers in sharply resolved Coulomb wells, however they have met with limited success. In this paper we show an alternative approach for handling discrete charges in drift diffusion ‘atomistic’ simulations by properly introducing the related quantum mechanical effects using the Density Gradient formalism. This produces the desired effect of eliminating the trapping of mobile charge in heavily doped regions of the device.     

An evaluation of the development of IT in a college of nursing and midwifery

This paper presents the findings of a case study of the development of IT in a College of Nursing and Midwifery. Data were collected by means of postal questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, direct observations and documentary evidence. The findings suggest that the majority of staff used some form of IT on a regular basis, but only 50% of students used college-based IT facilities. The main use of IT was for administrative and productive purposes and there was little evidence of IT in teaching/learning methods. Training offered to staff was poorly attended and training offered to students did not meet what they perceived as their needs. Although most staff used IT there was still evidence of resistance and stress related to IT use. The use of IT in the study college was driven by tactical considerations rather than as a part of an explicit strategy.     

Coping with Uncertainty in Map Learning

In many applications in mobile robotics, it is important for a robot to explore its environment in order to construct a representation of space useful for guiding movement. We refer to such a representation as a map, and the process of constructing a map from a set of measurements as map learning. In this paper, we develop a framework for describing map-learning problems in which the measurements taken by the robot are subject to known errors. We investigate approaches to learning maps under such conditions based on Valiant's probably approximately correct learning model. We focus on the problem of coping with accumulated error in combining local measurements to make global inferences. In one approach, the effects of accumulated error are eliminated by the use of local sensing methods that never mislead but occasionally fail to produce an answer. In another approach, the effects of accumulated error are reduced to acceptable levels by repeated exploration of the area to be learned. We also suggest some insights into why certain existing techniques for map learning perform as well as they do. The learning problems explored in this paper are quite different from most of the classification and boolean-function learning problems appearing in the literature. The methods described, while specific to map learning, suggest directions to take in tackling other learning problems.     

Knowledge-directed Adaptation in Multi-level Agents

Most work on adaptive agents have a simple, single layerarchitecture. However, most agent architectures support three levels ofknowledge and control: a reflex level for reactive responses, a deliberatelevel for goal-driven behavior, and a reflective layer for deliberateplanning and problem decomposition. In this paper we explore agentsimplemented in Soar that behave and learn at the deliberate and reflectivelevels. These levels enhance not only behavior, but also adaptation. Theagents use a combination of analytic and empirical learning, drawing from avariety of sources of knowledge to adapt to their environment. We hypothesize that complete, adaptive agents must be able to learn across all three levels.     

Teaching computer game design and construction

Computer gaming is a key component of the rapidly growing entertainment industry. While building computer games has typically been a commercial endeavor, we believe that designing and constructing a computer game is also a useful activity for educating students about geometric modeling and computer graphics. In particular, students are exposed to the practical issues surrounding topics such as geometric modeling, rendering, collision detection, character animation and graphical design. Moreover, building an advanced game provides students exposure to the real-world side of software engineering that they are typically shielded from in the standard computer class. In this paper, we describe our experiences with teaching a computer science class that focuses on designing and building the best game possible in the course of a semester. The paper breaks down a typical game into various components that are suited for individual student projects and discusses the use of modern graphical design tools such as Maya in building art for the game. We conclude with a rough timeline for developing a game during the course of a semester and review some of the lessons learned during the three years we have taught the class.     

Nonlinearity Measurements of High-Power Laser Detectors at NIST

We briefly explain the fundamentals of detector nonlinearity applicable to both electrical and optical nonlinearity measurements. We specifically discuss the attenuation method for optical nonlinearity measurement that the NIST system is based upon, and we review the possible sources of nonlinearity inherent to thermal detectors used with high-power lasers. We also describe, in detail, the NIST nonlinearity measurement system, in which detector responsivity can be measured at wavelengths of 1.06 µm and 10.6 µm, over a power range from 1 W to 1000 W. We present the data processing method used and show measurement results depicting both positive and negative nonlinear behavior. The expanded uncertainty of a typical NIST high-power laser detector calibration including nonlinearity characterization is about 1.3 %.     

Overt Anger in Response to Victimization: Attributional Style and Organizational Norms as Moderators.

Prior theory and research suggests a positive relation between perceived victimization and overt anger. The authors proposed and tested a theoretical extension of this link by investigating possible moderating effects of individual and contextual variables. A sample of 158 employees of a municipality was used to test hypotheses that the relationship between perceived victimization and overt anger is moderated by hostile attributional style and perceptions of organizational norms. The results showed that the relation between perceptions of direct victimization and overt anger was stronger when the employee had a more rather than less hostile attributional style and when the employee perceived the organizational norms as more rather than less oppositional. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Field Investigation of Soil Heave by a Large Diameter Chilled Gas Pipeline Experiment, Fairbanks, Alaska

A large scale 105-m-long, 0.9-m-diam chilled pipeline experiment was conducted to assess the response of a production pipeline that transits between unfrozen (seasonally frozen) and permafrost soils in discontinuous permafrost regions. Thermal and heave characteristics of the experiment for a three-year monitoring period are reported. In response to the chilled pipeline, the progressive cooling patterns within the permafrost and unfrozen soils were different, resulting in the development of a thermal boundary at the transition zone between the two thermally different soils. The absolute maximum movement of pipeline was 0.197 m near the thermal boundary, resulting in a differential heave of 0.148 m. Three distinct heave phases were identified within the unfrozen soil. Phase 1 of the first 200 days related to penetration and heave above the groundwater table and was characterized by heave rates between 0.211 and 0.237 mm/day. Phase 2 resulted in increased ice segregation due to interaction of the freez-ing front with the groundwater table. This phase lasted from approximately day200 to day 500 and corresponded to a heave rate from 0.206 to 0.313 mm/day. Phase 3 was characterized by a further decrease in the heave rate to about 0.081 mm/day and lasted from approximately day 500 to day 1,056.     

Electronic trading and the process of globalization in traditional futures exchanges: a temporal perspective

This paper develops a temporal perspective to examine information and communication technologies (ICT) adoption and processes of globalization. The foundations of our theoretical approach explicitly draw upon three intersecting planes of temporality implicit in structuration; namely reversibility, irreversibility and institutionalization. We further develop our theoretical perspective by extending the scope of structuration to incorporate temporal features of Adam's social theory on ‘global time’. We then use this temporal perspective to examine the emergence of electronic trading and the process of globalization across London and Chicago futures exchanges. Our analysis provides insights into the IT-enabled reconfiguration of these exchanges during processes of reproduction and change associated with globalization. We conclude with some key implications for e-trading strategy and consider changes in trader work life associated with the adoption of e-trading.