Cities and energy:urban morphology and residential heat-energy demand

Our aim is better understanding of the theoretical heat-energy demand of different types of urban form at a scale of 500 m × 500 m. The empirical basis of this study includes samples of dominant residential building typologies identified for Paris, London, Berlin, and Istanbul. In addition, archetypal idealised samples were created for each type through an analysis of their built form parameters and the removal of unwanted ‘invasive’ morphologies. The digital elevation models of these real and idealised samples were run through a simulation that modelled solar gains and building surface energy losses to estimate heat-energy demand. In addition to investigating the effect of macroscale morphological parameters, microscale design parameters, such as U-values and glazing ratios, as well as climatic effects were analysed. The theoretical results of this study suggest that urban-morphology-induced heat-energy efficiency is significant and can lead to a difference in heat-energy demand of up to a factor of six. Compact and tall building types were found to have the greatest heat-energy efficiency at the neighbourhood scale while detached housing was found to have the lowest

A graph-based mathematical morphology reader

This survey paper aims at providing a "literary" anthology of mathematical morphology on graphs. It describes in the English language many ideas stemming from a large number of different papers, hence providing a unified view of an active and diverse field of research

Toward a social psychophysics of face communication

As a highly social species, humans are equipped with a powerful tool for social communication—the face, which can elicit multiple social perceptions in others due to the rich and complex variations of its movements, morphology, and complexion. Consequently, identifying precisely what face information elicits different social perceptions is a complex empirical challenge that has largely remained beyond the reach of traditional research methods. More recently, the emerging field of social psychophysics has developed new methods designed to address this challenge. Here, we introduce and review the foundational methodological developments of social psychophysics, present recent work that has advanced our understanding of the face as a tool for social communication, and discuss the main challenges that lie ahead

Mapping, sensing and visualising the digital co-presence in the public arena

This paper reports on work carried out within the Cityware project using mobile technologies to map, visualise and project the digital co-presence in the city. This paper focuses on two pilot studies exploring the Bluetooth landscape in the city of Bath. Here we apply adapted and ‘digitally augmented’ methods for spatial observation and analysis based on established methods used extensively in the space syntax approach to urban design. We map the physical and digital flows at a macro level and observe static space use at the micro level. In addition we look at social and mobile behaviour from an individual’s point of view. We apply a method based on intervention through ‘Sensing and projecting’ Bluetooth names and digital identity in the public arena. We present early findings in terms of patterns of Bluetooth flow and presence, and outline initial observations about how people’s reaction towards the projection of their Bluetooth names practices in public. In particular we note the importance of constructing socially meaningful relations between people mediated by these technologies. We discuss initial results and outline issues raised in detail before finally describing ongoing work

Galaxy Zoo Morphology and Photometric Redshifts in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

It has recently been demonstrated that one can accurately derive galaxy morphology from particular primary and secondary isophotal shape estimates in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey imaging catalog. This was accomplished by applying Machine Learning techniques to the Galaxy Zoo morphology catalog. Using the broad bandpass photometry of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey in combination with with precise knowledge of galaxy morphology should help in estimating more accurate photometric redshifts for galaxies. Using the Galaxy Zoo separation for spirals and ellipticals in combination with Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometry we attempt to calculate photometric redshifts. In the best case we find that the root mean square error for Luminous Red Galaxies classified as ellipticals is as low as 0.0118. Given these promising results we believe better photometric redshift estimates for all galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey ($\sim$350 million) will be feasible if researchers can also leverage their derived morphologies via Machine Learning. These initial results look to be promising for those interested in estimating Weak-Lensing, Baryonic Acoustic Oscillation, and other fields dependent upon accurate photometric redshifts.Comment: Submitted to ApJL, 4 pages, 3 figure

Morphological Classification of Galaxies by Shapelet Decomposition in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey II: Multiwavelength Classification

We describe the application of the `shapelet' linear decomposition of galaxy images to multi-wavelength morphological classification using the $u,g,r,i,$ and $z$-band images of 1519 galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We utilize elliptical shapelets to remove to first-order the effect of inclination on morphology. After decomposing the galaxies we perform a principal component analysis on the shapelet coefficients to reduce the dimensionality of the spectral morphological parameter space. We give a description of each of the first ten principal component's contribution to a galaxy's spectral morphology. We find that galaxies of different broad Hubble type separate cleanly in the principal component space. We apply a mixture of Gaussians model to the 2-dimensional space spanned by the first two principal components and use the results as a basis for classification. Using the mixture model, we separate galaxies into three classes and give a description of each class's physical and morphological properties. We find that the two dominant mixture model classes correspond to early and late type galaxies, respectively. The third class has, on average, a blue, extended core surrounded by a faint red halo, and typically exhibits some asymmetry. We compare our method to a simple cut on $u-r$ color and find the shapelet method to be superior in separating galaxies. Furthermore, we find evidence that the $u-r=2.22$ decision boundary may not be optimal for separation between early and late type galaxies, and suggest that the optimal cut may be $u-r \sim 2.4$.Comment: 42 pages, 18 figs, revised version in press at AJ. Some modification to the technique, more discussion, addition/deletion/modification of several figures, color figures have been added. A high resolution version may be obtained at http://bllac.as.arizona.edu/~bkelly/shapelets/shapelets_ugriz.ps.g

Tempo and mode of performance evolution across multiple independent origins of adhesive toe pads in lizards

Understanding macroevolutionary dynamics of trait evolution is an important endeavor in evolutionary biology. Ecological opportunity can liberate a trait as it diversifies through trait space, while genetic and selective constraints can limit diversification. While many studies have examined the dynamics of morphological traits, diverse morphological traits may yield the same or similar performance and as performance is often more proximately the target of selection, examining only morphology may give an incomplete understanding of evolutionary dynamics. Here, we ask whether convergent evolution of pad‐bearing lizards has followed similar evolutionary dynamics, or whether independent origins are accompanied by unique constraints and selective pressures over macroevolutionary time. We hypothesized that geckos and anoles each have unique evolutionary tempos and modes. Using performance data from 59 species, we modified Brownian motion (BM) and Ornstein–Uhlenbeck (OU) models to account for repeated origins estimated using Bayesian ancestral state reconstructions. We discovered that adhesive performance in geckos evolved in a fashion consistent with Brownian motion with a trend, whereas anoles evolved in bounded performance space consistent with more constrained evolution (an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model). Our results suggest that convergent phenotypes can have quite distinctive evolutionary patterns, likely as a result of idiosyncratic constraints or ecological opportunities