Spatial design thinking in the age of multimedia

There are several emerging design methods and design thoughts, such as Evidence-Based design, Universal design, and so on, that have been utilized in spatial design. Further, the space design has been changed in the wake of invention of new materials, building technologies, and users\u27 functional needs. Designers need to collect and reorganize a new spectrum of information in order to conduct design. Designer\u27s thinking power plays an important role in creating space. Base on the research results in the realm of human cognitive faculty, synesthesia may hold the key to understanding a mechanism for thinking, cross-sensory perception and association involved in artistic and spatial creation. In addition, multimedia is the acting edge tool to support design methods and design thinking. Mathematical model can also be used for explain space design generation and design thinking. As a result, Chaos theory and Mandelbrot Set can be used to support new spatial design thinking and design models. Finally, this study examines Prezi, a multimedia-based tool, to integrate design thinking and communication

Analytical Studies on a Modified Nagel-Schreckenberg Model with the Fukui-Ishibashi Acceleration Rule

We propose and study a one-dimensional traffic flow cellular automaton model of high-speed vehicles with the Fukui-Ishibashi-type (FI) acceleration rule for all cars, and the Nagel-Schreckenberg-type (NS) stochastic delay mechanism. By using the car-oriented mean field theory, we obtain analytically the fundamental diagrams of the average speed and vehicle flux depending on the vehicle density and stochastic delay probability. Our theoretical results, which may contribute to the exact analytical theory of the NS model, are in excellent agreement with numerical simulations.Comment: 3 pages previous; now 4 pages 2 eps figure

A Complete Reference of the Analytical Synchrotron External Shock Models of Gamma-Ray Bursts

Gamma-ray bursts are most luminous explosions in the universe. Their ejecta are believed to move towards Earth with a relativistic speed. The interaction between this "relativistic jet" and a circum burst medium drives a pair of (forward and reverse) shocks. The electrons accelerated in these shocks radiate synchrotron emission to power the broad-band afterglow of GRBs. The external shock theory is an elegant theory, since it invokes a limit number of model parameters, and has well predicted spectral and temporal properties. On the other hand, depending on many factors (e.g. the energy content, ambient density profile, collimation of the ejecta, forward vs. reverse shock dynamics, and synchrotron spectral regimes), there is a wide variety of the models. These models have distinct predictions on the afterglow decaying indices, the spectral indices, and the relations between them (the so-called "closure relations"), which have been widely used to interpret the rich multi-wavelength afterglow observations. This review article provides a complete reference of all the analytical synchrotron external shock afterglow models by deriving the temporal and spectral indices of all the models in all spectral regimes, including some regimes that have not been published before. The review article is designated to serve as a useful tool for afterglow observers to quickly identify relevant models to interpret their data. The limitations of the analytical models are reviewed, with a list of situations summarized when numerical treatments are needed.Comment: 119 pages, 45 figures, invited review accepted for publication in New Astronomy Review

RISE-Based Integrated Motion Control of Autonomous Ground Vehicles With Asymptotic Prescribed Performance

This article investigates the integrated lane-keeping and roll control for autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs) considering the transient performance and system disturbances. The robust integral of the sign of error (RISE) control strategy is proposed to achieve the lane-keeping control purpose with rollover prevention, by guaranteeing the asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system, attenuating systematic disturbances, and maintaining the controlled states within the prescribed performance boundaries. Three contributions have been made in this article: 1) a new prescribed performance function (PPF) that does not require accurate initial errors is proposed to guarantee the tracking errors restricted within the predefined asymptotic boundaries; 2) a modified neural network (NN) estimator which requires fewer adaptively updated parameters is proposed to approximate the unknown vertical dynamics; and 3) the improved RISE control based on PPF is proposed to achieve the integrated control objective, which analytically guarantees both the controller continuity and closed-loop system asymptotic stability by integrating the signum error function. The overall system stability is proved with the Lyapunov function. The controller effectiveness and robustness are finally verified by comparative simulations using two representative driving maneuvers, based on the high-fidelity CarSim-Simulink simulation

AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY EXTENSION SYSTEM IN CHINA： CURRENT SITUATION AND REFORM DIRECTION

This paper presents the evolution of China’s Agricultural Technology Extension (ATE) System since its inception in 1920s. China’s ATE system has gone through 5 stages before the current system was formed. It evolved from basic-level extension network in 1950s, mid-level extension organizations in 1960s，gradually into nation-wide extension system in 1980s. The participative extension network was reconstructed during “the Cultural Revolution” period. The reform of extension system of China has been intensified since 1992 and the five-level Agricultural Technology Extension organizations were basically established. Compared with those previous ones, the current extension system is much better in its setting hierarchy, functions and extension efficiency. However, at present, China’s ATE system is also facing such problems as investment deficiency, low-quality and redundant extension team, failure to meet the market needs and government domination, etc. Based on these problems, some reform directions and measures to perfect China’s ATE system are proposed. Key words: evolution, China’s Agricultural Extension Technology System, history, status quo, refor

On the Selection of Transmission Range in Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

Transmission range plays an important role in the deployment of a practical underwater acoustic sensor network (UWSN), where sensor nodes equipping with only basic functions are deployed at random locations with no particular geometrical arrangements. The selection of the transmission range directly influences the energy efficiency and the network connectivity of such a random network. In this paper, we seek analytical modeling to investigate the tradeoff between the energy efficiency and the network connectivity through the selection of the transmission range. Our formulation offers a design guideline for energy-efficient packet transmission operation given a certain network connectivity requirement