Discrete dislocation simulations and size dependent hardening in single slip

Plastic deformation in two-dimensional monophase and composite materials is studied using a discrete dislocation dynamics method. In this method, dislocations are represented by line defects in a linear elastic medium, and their interactions with boundaries or second-phase elastic particles are incorporated through a complementary finite element solution. The formulation includes a set of simple constitutive rules to model the lattice resistance to dislocation glide, as well as the generation, annihilation and pinning of dislocations at point obstacles. The focus is on the predicted strain hardening of these materials when only a single slip system is active. When the particle morphology is such as to require geometrically necessary dislocations, hardening in the composite materials exhibits a distinct size effect. This size effect is weaker than that predicted by simple analytical estimates based on geometrically necessary dislocations.

Journey of Reform: A Phenomenological Study of the Perceived Impacts of Standards-Based Grading on Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction

This phenomenological study included interviewing a purposeful sampling of eight teacher-leaders in the Sioux Center Community School District in Sioux Center, Iowa, to discover the perceived impact that the district’s professional development reform to standards-based grading (SBG) and personalized competency-based education (PCBE) had on their curriculum, instructional, and assessment practices - as well as on student learning. Analysis of these experiences and perceptions was undertaken with the intention to deepen the understanding of what implications, principles, and elements might be critical to the following leadership goals around such reform: advancing district-wide guidance around next steps and destinations for short- and long-term professional development planning; creating potential best practice tools for monitoring fidelity, efficacy, and teacher confidence; and providing insights to prevent teacher burnout. The results of this study suggested that the development and establishment of a standards-based grading framework is a long-term process. Standards-based grading accompanied with an emphasis on personalized learning had significant impact on instructional practices, workload, and student learning and required a mindset shift for all parties involved

Conceptualising a consumer data intelligence service in perspective of the European Union’s PSD2

In recent years the retail payments market has experienced significant technical advancement, with compelling growth in regard to development to new forms of payment and numerous payment services in the market place. In 2015, the European Commission (EC) introduced a new directive for payment services called PSD2, entering into force on 13 January 2018, to reduce barriers of entry and integrating retail payments across the European Union (EU). By granting third party non-financial institutions access to consumers’ financial data, the EC is opening the financial services industry and levelling the playing field. This allows for a strong drive for innovation in the sector and for start-ups to offer new services to compete with the traditional banks. Consumer knowledge gained by the analysis of financial data becomes a strategic asset and allow businesses to connect with customers in new ways. New data intelligence services emerge in the financial technology industry seeking to close the knowledge gap between the expectations of customer experiences and currently available bank offerings. Therefore, the work project identifies how to provide valuable customer intelligence to businesses in the financial payments industry with regard to PSD2. To examine the new and emerging opportunities, we conceptualise a Consumer Data Intelligence Service, including statistical analyses to predict potential consumer behaviour. The proposed Consumer Data Intelligence Service concept suggests that turning relevant customer data into valuable insights through data analytics will allow businesses to act on the new opportunities. “I would like to assert that data will be the basis of competitive advantage for any organisation that you run.” – Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM (7.03.2013, Council on foreign relations – Corporate Conference

Reconstruction and modelling of Holocene coastal evolution of the western Netherlands

Large-scale coastal evolution in the western Netherlands during the Holocene was characterised by an initial stage of transgression followed by a stage of coastal progradation. The last 2000 years, the position of coastline of the western Netherlands was relatively stable, with local retreat and advance. Coastal deposits from the western Netherlands have been studied in detail at the Ypenburg area, in cores from coast-perpendicular cross sections near Haarlem and Wassenaar and in cores from the modern shoreface. The age of deposition has been determined with AMS 14C dating of single shells. A model has been used to reconstruct the wave-height reduction on the palaeo-shoreface profiles and model simulations have been used to reveal previously unobserved patterns in the large-scale coastal evolution. The combination of traditional sedimentological research with tools like cone-penetration tests (CPT), ground-penetrating radar (GPR), AMS 14C dating, and modelling of palaeo-conditions and stratigraphic modelling used in this thesis, presents a powerful means to unravel the geological past

Myrica migration in the Holocene

Already in the Boreal Myrica gale (gale; bog myrtle) formed a part of the vegetation of the Drents-Friese Plateau in the Northern Netherlands. During the Subboreal gale became more important. Due to human activity especially in the borderzones of the rivers and streams which drained the Pleistocene grounds of Friesland and Utrecht, the area of Myrica increased. From these borderzones it moved up very quickly to the peat areas of the coastal zone. Once settled in the bogs gale dominated at some places the vegetation of the coastal plain of Friesland and Noord-Holland. Under watery conditions gale produces macroscopic well recognisable rootlets with verrucous tubers. The presence of the coastal barriers and the dunes in the Western Netherlands gives Myrica the opportunity to be an important element of the peat bogs, till the large-scale land reclamation started (± 800 à 1000 AD). In Friesland Myrica is on the way down already during the Roman period. Salt water and long-term drainage caused by the digging of ditches (land reclamation) resulted in the decrease of the area of Myrica