Game-Framed Conversationally-Articulated Modelling and Simulation

It is argued that more attractive, more engaging and more effective learning about steering complex socio-technical-ecological systems can be achieved through carefully engineered learning activities framed as multiplayer games, in which modelling is conducted, simulations are run and at least three kinds of learning conversations are pursued together, all in a spiralling recursive fashion

Outstanding Educational Performance Awards: Highlighting High Achieving Arkansas Schools, 2011

So, in this Arkansas Education Report (AER) we aim to highlight excellent performance and give our congratulations. To that end, we are happy to highlight many high performing schools around the state in our now-annual AER entitled the Outstanding Educational Performance Awards

The Impact of Lean Startup Theory Upon Local Business Entrepreneurs

Research Focus. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the entrepreneurs in South Texas are aware of the Lean Startup Methodology, and have utilized its principles in their business startup decisions. If so, how have these Lean Methods impacted their ongoing operational management? Additionally, this study ascertains the degree of satisfaction these entrepreneurs have with their startup processes. Finally, this study determines whether selected entrepreneurs would recommend a Lean Startup approach to other entrepreneurs. The research focused only upon selected business entities formed since 2000. Research Methods. This study utilized a survey methodology. In particular, Creswell’s instruction found in The Survey Design (2014, p.157) was implemented. The purpose of doing a survey design here was to sample a population of San Antonio business entrepreneurs so that inferences can be made about whether their use or not, of the Lean Startup theory, can be used to generalize to a larger population of entrepreneurs. A survey was desired because of the economy of design, plus the potential for rapid turnaround without invasive interviews. This survey was cross-sectional and data collected within a short period. This survey was collected electronically utilizing a web-hosted service called SurveyMonkey. Research Results/Findings. The results of this study reveal statistical significance when four independent variables are analyzed. Specifically, they are the type of industry, year of the company founding, job role, and the number of personal startups. Overall only 9.3% of the respondents indicated that were familiar with the Lean Startup terminology and principles. Conclusions from Research. This study reveals that although the Lean Startup thinking has been around since 2005, and specifically published since 2011, the South Texas business community has very little knowledge of it. In fact, it hardly seems to be on the methodology-radar and mindset of most queried. While the Lean Startup approach holds much-promised guidance and food for thought to anyone desiring to begin a business, this study shows it is not readily known at the street level in South Texas. The trickle-down from origination to shoe leather implementation is either too slow or is being passed over. Continuous elucidation of the Lean Startup principles, coupled with incorporation of this process into traditional institutions including MBA programs at universities, may prove effective over time

High temperature ceramic/metal joint structure

A high temperature turbine engine includes a hybrid ceramic/metallic rotor member having ceramic/metal joint structure. The disclosed joint is able to endure higher temperatures than previously possible, and aids in controlling heat transfer in the rotor member

High temperature turbine engine structure

A hybrid ceramic/metallic fastener (bolt) includes a headed ceramic shank carrying a metallic end termination fitting. A conventional cap screw threadably engages the termination fitting to apply tensile force to the fastener

No Fixed Form: The Infra-Éireann – Making Ireland Modern Pavilion and the Sites of Modernity

This paper explores the relationship between architectural design and research in the context of a particular example, the development of the Irish pavilion for the 14th architectural biennale in Venice 2014 (Infra-Éireann) and its reiteration and expansion in Ireland for the State’s centennial celebrations 1916–2016 (Making Ireland Modern). Originally responding to Rem Koolhaas’s call to investigate the international absorption of modernity, the pavilion sought to engage with the properties of the architectures of infrastructure in twentieth and twenty-first-century Ireland. Central to this proposition was that infrastructure is simultaneously a technological and cultural construct, one that for Ireland occupied a critical position in the building of a new, independent post-colonial nation state. Presupposing infrastructure as consisting of both visible and invisible networks, the idea of a matrix became a central theoretical and visual tool in the curatorial and design process for both the pavilion and its contents. To begin with this was a two-dimensional grid used to identify and order what became described as a series of ten infrastructural episodes. These were determined chronologically across the decades between 1916 and 2016 and their spatial manifestations articulated in terms of scale: micro, meso and macro. What emerged in the design and research process was a dialectic relationship between the pavilion and its content as logistical and conceptual concerns merged to realise an adaptive framed modular structure, imagined as an embodied manifesto and, analogous to infrastructure, as having no fixed form

Photoerosion and the abundances of the light elements

The abundances of the rare light elements H-2, He-3, Li-7, and B-11 are shown to be potentially affected by photoerosion. That process, involving the interaction of high energy photons from galactic centers with atomic nuclei, will increase the abundances of H-2, He-3, and B-11 while lowering slightly those of Li-7 and He-4. In some regions of galaxies the effects may be large enough to impact their chemical evolution. In particular this process may have enhanced the H-2 and He-3 abundances near the center of our galaxy over and above those from the big bang, as well as the galactic B-11 abundance over that from cosmic-ray spallation

The role of Insulin-like Growth Factors (IGFs) and IGF-binding proteins in the nervous system

The insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and IGF-II) and their receptors are widely expressed in nervous tissue from early embryonic life. They also cross the blood brain barriers by active transport, and their regulation as endocrine factors therefore differs from other tissues. In brain, IGFs have paracrine and autocrine actions that are modulated by IGF-binding proteins and interact with other growth factor signalling pathways. The IGF system has roles in nervous system development and maintenance. There is substantial evidence for a specific role for this system in some neurodegenerative diseases, and neuroprotective actions make this system an attractive target for new therapeutic approaches. In developing new therapies, interaction with IGF-binding proteins and other growth factor signalling pathways should be considered. This evidence is reviewed, gaps in knowledge are highlighted, and recommendations are made for future research

High temperature turbine engine structure

A high temperature ceramic/metallic turbine engine includes a metallic housing which journals a rotor member of the turbine engine. A ceramic disk-like shroud portion of the engine is supported on the metallic housing portion and maintains a close running clearance with the rotor member. A ceramic spacer assembly maintains the close running clearance of the shroud portion and rotor member despite differential thermal movements between the shroud portion and metallic housing portion