Mobile support in CSCW applications and groupware development frameworks

Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) is an established subset of the field of Human Computer Interaction that deals with the how people use computing technology to enhance group interaction and collaboration. Mobile CSCW has emerged as a result of the progression from personal desktop computing to the mobile device platforms that are ubiquitous today. CSCW aims to not only connect people and facilitate communication through using computers; it aims to provide conceptual models coupled with technology to manage, mediate, and assist collaborative processes. Mobile CSCW research looks to fulfil these aims through the adoption of mobile technology and consideration for the mobile user. Facilitating collaboration using mobile devices brings new challenges. Some of these challenges are inherent to the nature of the device hardware, while others focus on the understanding of how to engineer software to maximize effectiveness for the end-users. This paper reviews seminal and state-of-the-art cooperative software applications and development frameworks, and their support for mobile devices

Chemically-Mediated quantum criticality in NbFe_2

Laves-phase Nb{1+c}Fe_{2-c} is a rare itinerant intermetallic compound exhibiting magnetic quantum criticality at c_{cr}=1.5%Nb excess; its origin, and how alloying mediates it, remains an enigma. For NbFe_2, we show that an unconventional band critical point (uBCP) above the Fermi level E_F explains most observations, and that chemical alloying mediates access to this uBCP by an increase in E_F with decreasing electrons (increasing %Nb), counter to rigid-band concepts. We calculate that E_F enters the uBCP region for c_{cr} > 1.5%Nb and by 1.74%Nb there is no Nb site-occupation preference between symmetry-distinct Fe sites, i.e., no electron-hopping disorder, making resistivity near constant as observed. At larger Nb (Fe) excess, the ferromagnetic Stoner criterion is satisfied.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Stress Reduction: A neighborhood introduction

Responding to reported health concerns a stress reduction program was developed for residents of an urban Latino neighborhood struggling with poverty, crime, and limited access to healthcare. The revised Health Promotion Model (HPM) was used as a framework (Pender, 1996). A qualitative study testing a 5-week Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) intervention was imbedded into the program 18 months after its implementation. Utilizing a pre/post test design participants were predicted to demonstrate significant reductions in post-intervention mean scores for 3 self-report measures, the Cohen Perceived Stress Scale, General Sleep Disturbance Scale, and a modified Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale. A 91% drop in participation compared to prior attendance levels precluded measuring the dependent variables. Comparing the MBSR intervention with prior instruction attempts to explicate this unexpected outcome, supporting the potential explanatory possibilities of the HPM and informing the need for further studies ofMBSR in cultural contexts

Reciprocating magnetic refrigerator employing tandem porous matrices within a reciprocating displacer

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for a magnetic refrigeration system. A continuously reciprocating displacer houses at least a pair of paramagnetic substances each of which is alternately driven into and out of a magnetic field. Two separate bidirectional pumping systems flow helium gas through the displacer and through both paramagnetic substances to create heat exchange conditions at two separate temperature extremes

Chebyshev minimax control theory

General, closed-form, analytical solutions are determined for certain classes of C-minimax control problems, several alternative mathematical theories are derived, and a controller design theory is developed to give optimal control in the presence of unmeasureable external disturbances

NiTi shape-memory transformations: minimum-energy pathways between austenite, martensites, and kinetically-limited intermediate states

NiTi is the most used shape-memory alloy, nonetheless, a lack of understanding remains regarding the associated structures and transitions, including their barriers. Using a generalized solid-state nudge elastic band (GSSNEB) method implemented via density-functional theory, we detail the structural transformations in NiTi relevant to shape memory: those between body-centered orthorhombic (BCO) groundstate and a newly identified stable austenite ("glassy" B2-like) structure, including energy barriers (hysteresis) and intermediate structures (observed as a kinetically limited R-phase), and between martensite variants (BCO orientations). All results are in good agreement with available experiment. We contrast the austenite results to those from the often-assumed, but unstable B2. These high- and low-temperature structures and structural transformations provide much needed atomic-scale detail for transitions responsible for NiTi shape-memory effects.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Global Institutional Philanthropy: A Preliminary Status Report

Philanthropy is growing and gaining visibility around the world. Private giving has an increasingly important role in addressing human suffering, promoting social justice and equitable economic growth, and strengthening and supporting a broad array of civil society goals and organizations. Yet as a field of study -- if indeed it is a "field" of study -- global philanthropy is in its infancy. It defies definition at the same time that it provokes interest and inquiry. While many have contributed to our understanding of global giving, it is fair to say that there are no individual or institutional experts. Reliable giving data can be found in only a limited number of countries. Globally comparable data is non-existent. Careful analysis of philanthropic giving through a global lens is hard to find. Given the vast and uncharted landscape of global philanthropy, any effort to define its boundaries or describe its contours is likely to be misleading. Such efforts are equally likely to obscure or at least only partially represent the rich diversity and complexity of philanthropy as it is practiced in countries and cultures around the world