Developing Feedback Based Robotic Manufacturing Method for Earth-Based Materials

Although earth-based materials have the advantage of being locally sourced and have low embodied emissions, they can have an unpredictable material behavior due to their heterogeneous composition which potentially limits their use in manufacturing. As a result, it becomes challenging to standardise and maintain quality outcomes. Moreover, current industry methods are labour-intensive and require a high level of traditional knowledge. This research explores and develops a fabrication methodology for earthen materials that is location-agnostic. It involves an array of fabrication approaches, including the development of a robotic 'Impact Printing' setup using a UR10 robot and a custom tool to pick, place, and mechanically compact earth blocks. The 'Feedback System' employs Kinect 2.0 to scan the deformation of earth materials observed during fabrication and a computational algorithm to generate accurate and adapted toolpaths for the position and compaction of earthen blocks in real-time. To push the boundaries of architectural design for traditional building materials, the study investigates the construction of a closed Nubian vault using the aforementioned techniques and tools. Through the optimization of material behavior and manufacturing processes, the research opens up a pathway for automated onsite earth construction

Social Media, Gender and the Mediatisation of War: Exploring the German Armed Forces’ Visual Representation of the Afghanistan Operation on Facebook

Studies on the mediatisation of war point to attempts of governments to regulate the visual perspective of their involvements in armed conflict – the most notable example being the practice of ‘embedded reporting’ in Iraq and Afghanistan. This paper focuses on a different strategy of visual meaning-making, namely, the publication of images on social media by armed forces themselves. Specifically, we argue that the mediatisation of war literature could profit from an increased engagement with feminist research, both within Critical Security/Critical Military Studies and within Science and Technology Studies that highlight the close connection between masculinity, technology and control. The article examines the German military mission in Afghanistan as represented on the German armed forces’ official Facebook page. Germany constitutes an interesting, and largely neglected, case for the growing literature on the mediatisation of war: its strong antimilitarist political culture makes the representation of war particularly delicate. The paper examines specific representational patterns of Germany’s involvement in Afghanistan and discusses the implications which arise from what is placed inside the frame of visibility and what remains out of its view

Globally, songs and instrumental melodies are slower and higher and use more stable pitches than speech: A Registered Report

Both music and language are found in all known human societies, yet no studies have compared similarities and differences between song, speech, and instrumental music on a global scale. In this Registered Report, we analyzed two global datasets: (i) 300 annotated audio recordings representing matched sets of traditional songs, recited lyrics, conversational speech, and instrumental melodies from our 75 coauthors speaking 55 languages; and (ii) 418 previously published adult-directed song and speech recordings from 209 individuals speaking 16 languages. Of our six preregistered predictions, five were strongly supported: Relative to speech, songs use (i) higher pitch, (ii) slower temporal rate, and (iii) more stable pitches, while both songs and speech used similar (iv) pitch interval size and (v) timbral brightness. Exploratory analyses suggest that features vary along a “musi-linguistic” continuum when including instrumental melodies and recited lyrics. Our study provides strong empirical evidence of cross-cultural regularities in music and speech

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Ion mobility spectrometry-tandem mass spectrometry strategies for the on-line monitoring of a continuous microflow reaction

Continuous flow chemistry is an efficient, sustainable and green approach for chemical synthesis that surpasses some of the limitations of the traditional batch chemistry. Along with the multiple advantages of a flow reactor, it could be directly connected to the analytical techniques for on-line monitoring of a chemical reaction and ensure the quality by design. Here, we aim to use ion mobility, mass and tandem mass spectrometry (IMS-MS and MS/MS) for the on-line analysis of a pharmaceutically relevant chemical reaction. We carried out a model hetero-Diels Alder reaction in a microflow reactor directly connected to the IMS-MS and MS/MS using either electrospray or atmospheric pressure photo ionization methods. We were able to monitor the reaction mechanism of the Diels Alder reaction and structurally characterize the reaction product and synthesis side-products. The chosen approach enabled identification of two isomers of the main reaction product. A new strategy to annotate the ion mobility spectrum in the absence of standard molecules was introduced and tested for its validity. This was achieved by determining the survival yield of each isomer upon ion mobility separation and density functional theory calculations. This approach was verified by comparing the theoretically driven collision cross section values to the experimental data. In this paper, we demonstrated the potential of combined IMS-MS and MS/MS on-line analysis platform to investigate, monitor and characterize structural isomers in the millisecond time scale

Scheduling decisions and their dynamic consequences on construction performance

Construction practitioners often experience unexpected results of their scheduling-related decisions. This is mainly due to lack of understanding of the dynamic nature of construction system. However, very little attention has been given to its significant importance and few empirical studies have been undertaken on this issue. This paper, therefore, analyzes the effect of aggressive scheduling, overtime, resource adding, and schedule slippage on construction performance, focusing on workers’ reactions to those scheduling decisions. Survey data from 102 construction practitioners in 38 construction sites are used for the analysis. The results indicate that efforts to increase work rate by working overtime, resource adding, and aggressive scheduling can be offset due to losses in productivity and quality. Based on the research findings, practical guidelines are then discussed to help site managers to effectively deal with the dynamics of scheduling and improve construction performance