The reality of living in passive solar homes: A user-experience study

This paper presents a study of a user-experience survey about living in passive solar homes. It was carried out at the Energy Park located in the western part of Milton Keynes. The survey focuses on the reality of living in passive solar homes as perceived or experienced by the occupant. It is hoped that the findings would come to bear on strategic passive solar design decisions that would address the improvement of the well-being of the occupant.. The survey is aimed at assessing user satisfaction with the overall performance of their homes as well as a study of some of the problems that are believed to be common in passive solar housing.Results from the survey seem to indicate that the majority of those who buy passive solar homes are motivated to do so by a desire for thermal comfort at low cost. The building aesthetics is the second most important factor, showing that passive solar home lovers are also conscious of the quality of the architectural design. The overall performance of passive solar homes in this study, with regard to thermal and visual comfort, seems to be generally satisfactory. Statistical analysis showed some significant association between some important environmental design parameters.     

Stochastic analysis of file-swarming systems

File swarming (or file sharing) is one of the most important applications in P2P networks. In this paper, we propose a stochastic framework to analyze a file-swarming system under realistic setting: constraints in upload/download capacity, collaboration among peers and incentive for chunk exchange. We first extend the results in the coupon system [L. Massoulie, M. Vojnovic, Coupon replication systems, in: Proc. ACM SIGMETRICS, Banff, Alberta, Canada, 2005] by providing a tighter performance bound. Then we generalize the coupon system by considering peers with limited upload and download capacity. We illustrate the last-piece problem and show the effectiveness of using forward error-correction (FEC) code and/or multiple requests to improve the performance. Lastly, we propose a framework to analyze an incentive-based file-swarming system. The stochastic framework we propose can serve as a basis for other researchers to analyze and design more advanced features of file-swarming systems.     

Advanced on-board processing for user oriented communication systems

The continuing improvement of RF components, particularly in the field of spot-beam antennas, combined with the steady progress in digital technology, leads us to consider the advantages of a satellite system able to provide full connectivity to ground stations operating at different data rates. For low data rates, two different access methods: continuous TDM and Multi-carrier TDMA, are compared for earth-stations operating at 2Mb/s. The two methods are compared from the point of view of efficiency and adaptability in a non-uniform load environment. Some control criteria are proposed for the Multi-carrier system. Both methods are particularly suited for small users.     

Groupwork and computers: task type and children's performance

Abstract In the majority of British primary schools, children use the computer in groups of two or three. This is partly due to the lack of resources, that is, most classrooms still only have one or two computers to share between around 30 children. Groupwork on computers is also justified for pedagogic reasons. Previous research comparing children working in groups or alone has revealed an advantage for children working in groups although the work undertaken has generally been problem solving tasks. This investigation examined the performance of pairs and individual 6-year old children on a drill and practice program using a pre-test, intervention, post-test design. In comparison to the problem solving evidence, individuals were found to have a significant advantage over pairs during the computer-based task.     

红外焦平面探测器的输入电路性能分析

在混合式红外焦平面阵列中，探测器和读出电路之间的耦合是通过输入电路完成的。本文论述了输入电路在焦平面传输中的作用，分析了焦平面输入电路的性能，讨论了焦平面输入电路对红外焦平面阵列探测器设计的影响。     

Performance comparison of some discrete service time systems

This paper analyzes and compares the slotted time operation and the non-slotted time operation of a singleserver system with deterministic service time. These two operations are commonly used to model discrete service time systems in computer or digital communications. But due to the similarity in their operations and performance, the two models may be mixed up with each other. This paper examines by means of queueing analysis the performance of a few classes of systems that differ in the service order of their customers. The means and variances of the queue lengths, waiting times and interdeparture times of FCFS systems using the slotted time operations are first obtained from their respective LST and generating function equations. These are then used for comparison with those in non-slotted time systems. The results show that although the slotted time operation in the FCFS systems can be approximated by the non-slotted time operations under heavy traffic condition, the performances under other regions and service disciplines (e.g., the LCFS and the priority systems) may deviate significantly. They must be properly adjusted if one wishes to use the simpler equations of the non-slotted time operations to approximate the slotted time operations. The comparison graphs provided in this paper supply adjustments guidelines for the careful designers.     

Electronic Kaleidoscopes for the Mind

The goal ofthis article is to present an informal introduction and tutorial on aestheticallypleasing kaleidoscopic images. The article is intended for the non-mathematical reader interested in computer art. Simple generating formulas and recipes are included.     

丝绸之路与中国早期玻璃艺术

我国在商、周之交,就开始了早期的中西交流,而张骞西行后又开辟了新的中外来往的交通路线。我国的玻璃业尽管没能发展为重要的手工业门类,但它始终在持续而缓慢的发展,更重要的是,正是由于玻璃业的非主流,在发展过程中凸显了外部因素的重要性。丝绸之路在中国古代玻璃艺术的发展过程中起到了重要作用。     

民国时期书刊封面设计的发展

民国时期[1]书刊封面中的汉字设计风格丰富多样,兼具了传达功能与艺术美感,具有鲜明的民族性与时代特征。如杉浦康平先生所说,"为了前进一步,回首过去。"[2]民国时期的书刊封面的设计,在中国书籍发展史及平面设计史上具有重要的历史地位,归纳与梳理这一时期的发展脉络,对于研究封面中的汉字设计有着重要意义。所以本文以时间为线索,归纳从1912年至1949年之间的民国书籍封面。