Abstract State Machines 1988-1998: Commented ASM Bibliography

An annotated bibliography of papers which deal with or use Abstract State Machines (ASMs), as of January 1998.Comment: Also maintained as a BibTeX file at http://www.eecs.umich.edu/gasm

Brides and widows: Iconic dress and identity in Howard Barker’s costumes

One of the strongest recurring motifs in the work of contemporary British playwright Howard Barker is women’s marital status: brides and widows abound in his work. Their status as such is often crucially configured, but also subverted through their costumes (in a Western cultural context). This paper considers the central role that brides and widows play in a variety of Barker’s dramatic texts and identifies some core working principles with regard to his use of costume. It explores the notion of the iconic garment (cf. Hannah 2014) and its influence on these characters’ identities. Drawing on aesthetic discourse, in particular that of the sublime, I analyse how Barker proposes a reconsideration of stable subject identity through these recognisable, yet ambiguous and unstable female figures.N/

Women playwrights in post-apartheid South Africa : Yael Farber, Lara Foot-Newton, and the call for Ubuntu

This chapter explores how these two contemporary South African female playwrights are using specific aesthetics to address legacies of apartheid violence in the post-apartheid context. It analyses Yael Farber's post TRC plays 'A Woman in Waiting' (1999), 'Amajuba' (2002), 'He left Quietly' (2003) and 'Molora' (2007); and Lara Foot-Newton's 'Tshepang: The Third testament' (2003), 'Karoo Moose' (2007) and 'Reach!' (2007)

Surface modification of icy satellites: Space weathering of the large moons of Uranus and alluvial fan formation on Saturn’s moon Titan

The surfaces of icy satellites are continually modified by space weathering and geologic processes. This dissertation explores the processes changing the surface compositions of the large moons of Uranus and mechanisms for development of possible alluvial fans on the Saturnian moon, Titan. On the Uranian satellites, I hypothesize that the origin and distribution of carbon dioxide ice results from charged particle bombardment, and that spectrally red material originated on retrograde irregular satellites. On Titan, I hypothesize that landforms identified as alluvial fans at low and mid latitudes were formed by sheetfloods, whereas possible alluvial fans at high latitudes were formed by debris flows. To test whether charged particle radiolysis drives carbon dioxide ice synthesis on the classical Uranian moons, I gathered new near-infrared (NIR) reflectance spectra over a range of satellite longitudes, and measured the areas of carbon dioxide ice bands in these data to constrain its distribution on their surfaces. I found that the abundance of carbon dioxide ice peaks on the trailing hemispheres of the moons closer to Uranus (Ariel and Umbriel), consistent with radiolytic production of carbon dioxide ice via magnetospherically-embedded charged particle bombardment. Using these same NIR spectra, I measured the spectral slopes and areas of water ice bands to constrain the distribution of red material on these moons. My water ice band area and spectral slope measurements indicate that red material is most abundant on the leading hemispheres of the outer moons, Titania and Oberon, consistent with delivery of red dust from the irregular moons. To test alluvial fan formation mechanisms on Titan, I measured the radar backscatter of possible alluvial fans located at different latitudes on Titan, and compared these backscatter measurements to alluvial fans formed by sheetfloods and debris flows on Earth. My results indicate that backscatter from possible fans at high latitudes on Titan is more consistent with sheetflood fans on Earth, and backscatter from low- and mid- latitude possible fans on Titan is more consistent with terrestrial debris flow fans. I explore the geomorphic and sedimentological implications of these results

The Youthful Appearance of the 2003 EL61 Collisional Family

We present new solar phase curve observations of the 2003 EL61 collisional family showing that all the members have light-scattering properties similar to the bright icy satellites and dwarf planets. Compared to other Kuiper Belt objects, the five family members we observe (2003 EL61, 2002 TX300, 2003 OP32, 2005 RR43, and 1995 SM55) have conspicuously neutral color (V-I = 0.6-0.8 mag) and flat phase curves at small phase angles (phase coefficients of 0.0 - 0.1 mag deg-1). Comparing the phase curves we observe for other icy Kuiper Belt objects to the phase curves of icy satellites, we find that the flat phase curves of the 2003 EL61 family are an indication they have high albedo surfaces coated with fresh ice in the last ~100 Myr. We examine possible resurfacing processes and find none that are plausible. To avoid the influence of cosmic radiation that darkens and reddens most icy surfaces on times scales > ~100 Myr, the family members must be unusually depleted in carbon, or else the collision that created the family occurred so recently that the parent body and fragments have not had time to darken. We also find a rotation period of 4.845 (+/- 0.003) h with amplitude 0.26 (+/- 0.04) mags for 2003 OP32.Comment: 12 pages, 3 tables, 4 figure

What does it mean to be a “materially attuned” practitioner?

This paper reports on research in progress that explores the potential role the materiality of things plays as a tool for the critical understanding of the human relationship with man-­‐made objects. The paper argues that many designers habitually engage with production and consumption of meanings more through the materiality of things than words and symbols. It proposes a hypothesis that materiality is a key to understanding the context, knowledge and information the man-­made objects may “embody”. Through the case study of an exhibition, the paper examines the ways in which this embodiment may be facilitated. Referring to Heidegger’s notion of "thingness", it further explores the origin of the mediating, and the “engaging capacity” of objects. The paper draws on the more established analysis of the origin and the experience of the work of art, in its examination of the role that materiality plays in the production and consumption of meaning and in facilitating the experience through objects. While exploring the potential advantage of an anthropological approach to design, the paper suggests that an attunement to materiality and an active reflection on their observations enable the designers to have better insights into the workings of the human-­object relationship

Token Based Authentication and Authorization with Zero-Knowledge Proofs for Enhancing Web API Security and Privacy

This design science study showcases an innovative artifact that utilizes Zero-Knowledge Proofs for API Authentication and Authorization. A comprehensive examination of existing literature and technology is conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this alternative approach. The study reveals that existing APIs are using slower techniques that don’t scale, can’t take advantage of newer hardware, and have been unable to adequately address current security issues. In contrast, the novel technique presented in this study performs better, is more resilient in privacy sensitive and security settings, and is easy to implement and deploy. Additionally, this study identifies potential avenues for further research that could help advance the field of Web API development in terms of security, privacy, and simplicity

AUV SLAM and experiments using a mechanical scanning forward-looking sonar

Navigation technology is one of the most important challenges in the applications of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) which navigate in the complex undersea environment. The ability of localizing a robot and accurately mapping its surroundings simultaneously, namely the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem, is a key prerequisite of truly autonomous robots. In this paper, a modified-FastSLAM algorithm is proposed and used in the navigation for our C-Ranger research platform, an open-frame AUV. A mechanical scanning imaging sonar is chosen as the active sensor for the AUV. The modified-FastSLAM implements the update relying on the on-board sensors of C-Ranger. On the other hand, the algorithm employs the data association which combines the single particle maximum likelihood method with modified negative evidence method, and uses the rank-based resampling to overcome the particle depletion problem. In order to verify the feasibility of the proposed methods, both simulation experiments and sea trials for C-Ranger are conducted. The experimental results show the modified-FastSLAM employed for the navigation of the C-Ranger AUV is much more effective and accurate compared with the traditional methods