Integration between art and science in architectural design

The paper deals with a problem that has been crucial in teaching and practising architectural design since the XVIII century, when the separation between the Academies and the Polytechnics denied the integration between art and science in architectural design. The question becomes more crucial today with the demands arising from the energy saving, environmental awareness and sustainability achievements. An analysis is proposed for focusing the reasons of such a separation and some interventions are suggested in order to improve the efficiency of a design process that composes architectures by means of architectures.     

一种火车接近无线报警系统的设计

设计了一种由单片机控制的无线发射与接收的非接触式的火车接近报警系统。并介绍了发射与接收部分的硬件电路和软件设计方法。测试结果表明,该系统可靠性高,误报率低,反应及时,易于安装,适于流动性作业场合,可大大降低交通事故的发生,确保铁路的运输的安全性。     

Psychologists' Attitudes and Therapeutic Approaches Toward Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Issues Continue To Improve: An Update.

Psychologists' attitudes and approaches toward the gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) lifestyle continue to change, on the basis of results from 437 responding members of the American Psychological Association. Psychologists are more likely to view an active GLB lifestyle-identity as acceptable and non-pathological, more likely to support and provide gay-affirmative therapy, and much less likely to support changing sexual orientation through psychotherapy. Female psychologists are significantly more likely to view a GLB lifestyle as accepting and to provide gay-affirmative therapy to GLB clients compared with their male counterparts. Finally, training opportunities for psychologists involving GLB issues appear to be increasing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

混凝土大坝结构修复加固新技术——分析与应用

我国的水库数量居世界首位,目前相当多的水库大坝需要除险加固。本文通过对目前我国大坝病害现状和常用加固技术的比较分析,指出SRAP工艺在大坝加固中应用的合理性、实用性以及技术的优越性(修复裂缝、材料无毒性等优点),给出了SRAP工艺在大坝加固中的施工措施及其对维修加固的预期效果。研究结果表明,SRAP工艺结合工程加固数值模拟能指导大坝维修加固,提供的工程措施能够有效防止裂缝和满足维修加固的目标需要。     

A Non-Parametric Approach to Pricing and Hedging Derivative Securities: With an Application to LIFFE Data

It is important for financial institutions to develop methods to predicttheir exposure and keep their risk under control. Portfolio managers caninsure themselves against the value (of a diversified stock portfolio)dropping below a certain level, by holding in conjunction with the stockportfolio, an index option derivative security. The work reported in thispaper is concerned with the study of non-parametric methods for estimatingthe pricing formula of option derivative securities. Two non-parametricapproaches, the projection pursuit method (PPR) and the local polynomialapproach (LOESS), are studied and compared to a benchmark parametricBlack–Scholes (B–S) approach. The practical relevance of theseapproaches is tested, when applied topricing and hedging of real-world LIFFE FTSE 100 index options from April 1997to November 1997. We compare the two methods by means of constructing ariskless portfolio of stocks, bonds and option derivatives securities. Theportfolio is then delta-hedged on a daily basis using a dynamic tradingstrategy in stocks and bonds during the lifetime of the option instrument.The tests carried out show that both methods generate similar responses,although each method can outperform the others depending on marketconditions, such as, time to maturity of the option instrument.     

Reliability improvement via taguchi's robust design

Taguchi's robust design strategy, whose aim is to make processes and products insensitive to factors which are hard or impossible to control (termed noise factors), is an important paradigm for improving products and processes. We present an overview of the strategy and tactics for robust design and demonstrate its usefulness for reliability improvement. Two important components of robust design are a criterion for assessing the effect of the noise factors and experimentation according to specialized experimental plans. Recent criticism of Taguchi's criterion and his analysis of its estimates has led to an alternative approach of modelling the response directly. We give additional reasons for using this response-model approach in the context of reliability improvement. Using the model for the response, appropriate criteria for assessing the effect of the noise factors can then be evaluated. We consider an actual experiment and reanalyse its data to illustrate these ideas and method.     

Computational materials design: A perspective for atomistic approaches

Summary Present theoretical and computational approaches, combined with the impressive advances in computer hardware and software, open the possibility for materials design from first principles. This article presents a perspective on the relevant developments in computational chemistry, solid state physics and statistical mechanics and it assesses the merits and limitations of Hartree-Fock, density functional, semiempirical and force field approaches in terms of six criteria: capability, generality, accuracy, accessible system size, accessible time scales and computational efficiency. Functional materials for microelectronic, optical and magnetic applications currently present better opportunities for first-principles approaches than structural materials, where atomistic approaches, despite some encouraging results, are still far from capturing the full complexity of the dynamics involved in mechanical, thermal, diffusive and corrosive behavior.     

Bidding agents for online auctions with hidden bids

There is much active research into the design of automated bidding agents, particularly for environments that involve multiple decoupled auctions. These settings are complex partly because an agent’s strategy depends on information about other bidders’interests. When bidders’ valuation distributions are not known ex ante, machine learning techniques can be used to approximate them from historical data. It is a characteristic feature of auctions, however, that information about some bidders’valuations is systematically concealed. This occurs in the sense that some bidders may fail to bid at all because the asking price exceeds their valuations, and also in the sense that a high bidder may not be compelled to reveal her valuation. Ignoring these “hidden bids” can introduce bias into the estimation of valuation distributions. To overcome this problem, we propose an EM-based algorithm. We validate the algorithm experimentally using agents that react to their environments both decision-theoretically and game-theoretically, using both synthetic and real-world (eBay) datasets. We show that our approach estimates bidders’ valuation distributions and the distribution over the true number of bidders significantly more accurately than more straightforward density estimation techniques. Editors: Amy Greenwald and Michael Littman An earlier version of this work was presented at the Workshop on Game-Theoretic and Decision-Theoretic Agents (GTDT) 2005, Edinburgh, Scotland.     

Starting flow generated by the impulsive start of a floating wedge

The initial stage of the plane unsteady flow caused by the impulsive vertical motion of a wedge initially floating on an otherwise flat free surface is investigated with the help of a combination of numerical and asymptotic methods. The liquid is assumed ideal and incompressible and its flow potential. Compressible effects give a negligible contribution to the flow close to the entering body at the stage considered in the present paper. The vertical velocity of the body is constant after the impulsive start. The flow domain is divided into an outer region, where the first-order solution is given by the pressure-impulse theory, and inner regions close to the intersection points between the free surface and the moving body. The relative displacement of the body plays the role of a small parameter. The inner solution is matched with the outer one. The outer solution is given in quadratures but the inner solution, which is shown to be nonlinear and self-similar, can be found only numerically. With the aim of deriving the inner solution, the inner region is divided into three parts. In the far-field zone the solution is given in terms of its asymptotic behavior while, in the jet region, attached to the wedge, the flow is described by a second-order shallow-water approximation. In the intermediate region a boundary-element method is used, which is suitably coupled with the solutions in both the jet and the far-field regions through an iterative pseudo-time stepping procedure. The procedure is dependent on the deadrise angle of the wedge. If the angle is equal or smaller than π/4, eigensolutions appear in the far-field asymptotics and their amplitudes are recovered together with the solution. The approach is applied to different values of the wedge deadrise angle. The obtained results can be used to improve the prediction of the hydrodynamic loads acting on floating bodies, the velocity of which changes rapidly.     

An evaluation of two attitudinal approaches to delegation.

2 cases were worked through in a multiple role-playing procedure under a "limited delegation" condition (leader made decision and led discussion of it) and a "full delegation" condition (leader accepted group's decision). "In terms of solution quality, acceptance and satisfaction of superiors and subordinates, the full delegation procedure consistently yielded the more satisfactory results… . The results are interpreted to mean that attitudes of supervision toward the delegation process may be an important factor in the solution of certain management problems." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)