Power law behavior for the zigzag transition in a Yukawa cluster

We provide direct experimental evidence that the one-dimensional (1D) to two-dimensional (2D) zigzag transition in a Yukawa cluster exhibits power law behavior. Configurations of a six-particle dusty (complex) plasma confined in a biharmonic potential well are characterized as the well anisotropy is reduced. When the anisotropy is large the particles are in a 1D straight line configuration. As the anisotropy is decreased the cluster undergoes a zigzag transition to a 2D configuration. The measured dependence of cluster width on anisotropy is well described by a power law. A second transition from the zigzag to an elliptical configuration is also observed. The results are in very good agreement with a model for particles interacting through a Yukawa potential.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 19 references, submitted to Physical Review

Intimate Partner Violence: Providing Resources to Patients and Facilitating Understanding

Intimate Partner Violence is defined as physical violence, emotional violence, sexual violence, psychological aggression and stalking against a current or former partner. High volume primary care offices like UVMHN Berlin Family Medicine address primarily medical concerns of patients. While this includes mental health, IPV is infrequently a part of doctor-patient interactions. This project assesses available data on IPV nationally and in Vermont. It aims to understand how IPV is currently addressed, recommendations regarding addressing it and provides resources to patients.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1192/thumbnail.jp

Design for 'quality of use' : emotion and physical interface design

With recent technological developments in motion capture there is an opportunity to redefine the physical interactions we have with products, considering human needs in movement at the forefront rather than subservient to the machine. This paper reports on the exploration of emotional reaction to gestural interface design using Laban’s Movement Analysis from the field of dance and drama. After outlining the current status of Gesture Controlled User Interfaces and why the use of Laban is appropriate to help understand the effects of movement, the results of a workshop on new interface design are presented. Teams were asked to re-imagine a number of product experiences that utilised appropriate Laban effort actions and to prototype and present these to the group. Several categories of devices, including direct manipulation, remote control and gesture recognition were identified. In aligning appropriate movements to device functionality, utilising culture and analogy and where necessary increasing complexity, the interfaces embody a number of concepts relating to gestural interface concepts

Physical interaction mappings : utilizing cognitive load theory in order to enhance physical product interaction

Learning to physically operate traditional products can be viewed as a learning process akin to any other. As such, many of today's products, such as cars, boats, and planes, which have traditional controls that predate modern user-centered design techniques may be imposing irrelevant or unrelated cognitive loads on their operators. The availability of working memory has long been identified as a critical aspect of an instructional design. Many conventional instructional procedures impose irrelevant or unrelated cognitive loads on the learner due to the fact that they were created without contemplation, or understanding, of cognitive work load. The goal of the research was to investigate the fundamental relationships between physical inputs, resulting actions, and learnability. The results showed that individuals can quickly adapt to input/output reversals across dimensions, however, individuals struggle to cope with the input/output when the dimensions are rotated due to the resulting increase in cognitive load

Questioning conventions : are product conventions trading off the usability of products for short term user satisfaction

Mapping conventions are a key aspect of user centered design as they present users with familiar interactions in unfamiliar products. Conventions evolve over time and are slow to be adopted, requiring a high percentage of acceptance within a society, ensuring that conventions exhibit a sufficient level of usability. However this paper argues that while usability is a necessary condition for good interactions it is not a sufficient one. Therefore user centered design which accents individuals bias towards conventions my in fact be hindering the innovation of product interactions. This paper argues that a cognitive approach should be adopted in order understand and reassess product interactions. An experiment was carried out that demonstrates the influence that simple mappings can have on cognitive load. The results showed that basic mappings of the types that are found throughout product conventions can have a substantial impact on mental load and subsequently product interaction

Ptolemy: An instrument aboard the Rosetta lander Philae, to unlock the secrets of the solar system

Ptolemy is a miniature chemical analysis suite currently on board the ESA Rosetta comet lander Philae. This poster describes the operation of the instrument, and presents data generated thus far during a comprehensive ground testing programme

Humour processes for creative engineering design

Humour has long been associated with creativity, however the link has rarely been applied to engineering design. This paper highlights analogies between humour creation and engineering design, and discusses opportunities to develop new processes and methods that could reinvigorate engineering concept design. Idea generation methods have been explored within the realms of improvised comedy and the visual medium of comic strips. The structures and principles of these creative humour processes present opportunities to view complex engineering problems from new and surprising perspectives