FIJICLIM description and users guide

The FIJICLIM prototype is based on PACCLIM which was developed by the International Global Change Institute (IGCI) as part of the Pacific Islands Climate Change Assistance Programme (PICCAP) executed by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). Both FIJICLIM and PACCLIM build directly on a comparable model development for New Zealand, known as the CLIMPACTS system (Kenny et al., 1995, 1999; Warrick et al., 1996, 1999). The development of CLIMPACTS has been funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology since 1993. Its core components, which include a graphic user interface (GUI), a customised geographic information system (GIS), and data compression routines, have provided the basis for the development of FIJICLIM. The development of FIJICLIM is complementary to similar developments that have evolved from CLIMPACTS, for Bangladesh (BDCLIM), Australia (OZCLIM), and for training in climate change V&A assessment (VANDACLIM)

Artificial in its own right

Artificial Cells, , Artificial Ecologies, Artificial Intelligence, Bio-Inspired Hardware Systems, Computational Autopoiesis, Computational Biology, Computational Embryology, Computational Evolution, Morphogenesis, Cyborgization, Digital Evolution, Evolvable Hardware, Cyborgs, Mathematical Biology, Nanotechnology, Posthuman, Transhuman

Gravitational lens modelling in a citizen science context

We develop a method to enable collaborative modelling of gravitational lenses and lens candidates, that could be used by non-professional lens enthusiasts. It uses an existing free-form modelling program (glass), but enables the input to this code to be provided in a novel way, via a user-generated diagram that is essentially a sketch of an arrival-time surface. We report on an implementation of this method, SpaghettiLens, which has been tested in a modelling challenge using 29 simulated lenses drawn from a larger set created for the Space Warps citizen science strong lens search. We find that volunteers from this online community asserted the image parities and time ordering consistently in some lenses, but made errors in other lenses depending on the image morphology. While errors in image parity and time ordering lead to large errors in the mass distribution, the enclosed mass was found to be more robust: the model-derived Einstein radii found by the volunteers were consistent with those produced by one of the professional team, suggesting that given the appropriate tools, gravitational lens modelling is a data analysis activity that can be crowd-sourced to good effect. Ideas for improvement are discussed; these include (a) overcoming the tendency of the models to be shallower than the correct answer in test cases, leading to systematic overestimation of the Einstein radius by 10 per cent at present, and (b) detailed modelling of arc

Enaction and Visual Arts : Towards Dynamic Instrumental Visual Arts

International audienceThis paper is a theoretical paper that presents how the concept of Enaction, centerd on action and interaction paradigm, coupled with the new properties of the contemporary computer tools is able to provoke deep changes in arts. It examines how this concept accompanies the historical trends in Musical, Visual and Choreographic Arts. It enumerates the new correlated fundamental questions, scientific as well as artistic, the author identifies. After that, it focuses on Dynamic Visual Arts, trying to elicit the revolution brought by these deep conceptual and technological changes. It assumes that the contemporary conditions shift the art of visual motion from a ''Kinema'' to a ''Dyname'', allowing artists ''to play images'' as ''to play violin'', and that this shift could not appear before our era. It illustrates these new historical possibilities by some examples developed by the scientific and artistic works of the author and her co- workers. In conclusion, it assumes that this shift could open the door to a new genuine connection between arts that believed to cooperate but that remained separated during ages: music, dance and animation. This possible new ALLIANCE could lead the society to consider a new type of arts, we want to call ''Dynamic Instrumental Arts'', which will be really multisensorial: simultaneously Musical, Gestural and Visual

Developing serious games for cultural heritage: a state-of-the-art review

Although the widespread use of gaming for leisure purposes has been well documented, the use of games to support cultural heritage purposes, such as historical teaching and learning, or for enhancing museum visits, has been less well considered. The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result, the field of serious heritage games concerns itself with recent advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. In this report, we will focus on the state-of-the-art with respect to the theories, methods and technologies used in serious heritage games. We provide an overview of existing literature of relevance to the domain, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the described methods and point out unsolved problems and challenges. In addition, several case studies illustrating the application of methods and technologies used in cultural heritage are presented

Serious Games in Cultural Heritage

Although the widespread use of gaming for leisure purposes has been well documented, the use of games to support cultural heritage purposes, such as historical teaching and learning, or for enhancing museum visits, has been less well considered. The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result the field of serious heritage games concerns itself with recent advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. In this report, we will focus on the state-of-the-art with respect to the theories, methods and technologies used in serious heritage games. We provide an overview of existing literature of relevance to the domain, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the described methods and point out unsolved problems and challenges. In addition, several case studies illustrating the application of methods and technologies used in cultural heritage are presented

Investigation of focused ion beam induced damage in single crystal diamond tools

In this work, transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurements and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were carried out to characterise the focused ion beam (FIB) induced damage layer in a single crystal diamond tool under different FIB processing voltages. The results obtained from the experiments and the simulations are in good agreement. The results indicate that during FIB processing cutting tools made of natural single crystal diamond, the energetic Ga+ collision will create an impulse-dependent damage layer at the irradiated surface. For the tested beam voltages in a typical FIB system (from 8 kV to 30 kV), the thicknesses of the damaged layers formed on a diamond tool surface increased from 11.5 nm to 27.6 nm. The dynamic damage process of FIB irradiation and ion-solid interactions physics leading to processing defects in FIB milling were emulated by MD simulations. The research findings from this study provide the in-depth understanding of the wear of nanoscale multi-tip diamond tools considering the FIB irradiation induced doping and defects during the tool fabrication process

Quarterly literature review of the remote sensing of natural resources

The Technology Application Center reviewed abstracted literature sources, and selected document data and data gathering techniques which were performed or obtained remotely from space, aircraft or groundbased stations. All of the documentation was related to remote sensing sensors or the remote sensing of the natural resources. Sensors were primarily those operating within the 10 to the minus 8 power to 1 meter wavelength band. Included are NASA Tech Briefs, ARAC Industrial Applications Reports, U.S. Navy Technical Reports, U.S. Patent reports, and other technical articles and reports

Surface Modification of Synthetic and Natural Polymers using Deep Uv (172 Nm) Irradiation

The ability to modify the surfaces of polymers and impart desirable functionalities without affecting the bulk-mediated physical properties is vital for advanced materials development. Photochemical approaches to surface modification are particularly attractive as they minimize the need for use of hazardous materials used in conventional wet chemical technologies, and are relatively faster, efficient and convenient to use. In this research, we undertook a combined experimental and computational approach to understand the effect of deep UV irradiation on a broad range of polymeric materials, and develop a scalable and deployable surface modification strategy that could be extended to all. Four polyesters, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), polybutylene terephthalate(PBT) and polyethylene napthalate (PEN), Kapton polyimide, a polyolefin and cellulose were the polymers investigated. Technical grades of the material were used in order to understand the fundamental science as well as develop a scalable deployable technology. Surface analysis was done using the X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy(ATR-FTIR), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and contact angle measurements. The experiments were carried out using a high intensity 172 nm xenon microplasma lamp, and the effect of varying doses of UV irradiation, 0, 8, 16, and 32 J/cm2 on the polymer surfaces were characterized. The effect of using two different intensity levels was also compared. In case of the polyesters and polyimide, calculated UV/VIS absorption spectra using the ZINDO//B3LYP/321-G method or the AM1/ZINDO approach were used to give an indication of which orbitals were involved in transitions near 172 nm, a valuable tool for predicting future research and development. It was found that 172 nm excimer UV lamp was successful in creating active surface radicals in all the polymers investigated. The AFM results did not indicate any significant surface roughening at 16 J/cm2 total irradiation dose, which was also found to be the radiation level at which a reaction set point was reached in all the polymers. Vapor phase photo-assisted grafting of an alkane and alkene onto to the polyester surfaces indicated a common trend in the surface chemistry changes. to develop a potentially useful low energy surface that would impart anti soil and cleanibility properties, a fluorocarbon was successfully grafted on each material. Water and light mineral oil contact angle measurements confirmed a marked increase in hydrophobicity and oleophobicity, in some cases reaching that close to pure polytetrafluoroethylene. The grafted surface was found to be significantly wash durable. This is a valuable development as the process is minimally hazardous, relatively simple, fast, efficient, economic, and easily scalable and deployable. Particularly in the case of some polymers, such as polyolefins and cellulose, this method bypasses the challenges of complex processing routes and harmful chemicals that are currently used to achieve the same goal

Learning English with The Sims: exploiting authentic computer simulation games for L2 learning

With their realistic animation, complex scenarios and impressive interactivity, computer simulation games might be able to provide context-rich, cognitively engaging virtual environments for language learning. However, simulation games designed for L2 learners are in short supply. As an alternative, could games designed for the mass-market be enhanced with support materials to allow students to enter and make use of them for learning? This classroom-based investigation looked into whether the best selling game The SIMs™ could be rendered pedagogically beneficial to university-level ESL learners by means of supplementary materials designed to meet criteria for CALL task appropriateness. The mixed-methods study found statistically significant improvements in vocabulary knowledge, as well as a generally positive reaction to the modifications among users