To tame a TIGER one has to know its nature:extending weighted angular integration analysis to the descriptionof GIS road-centerline data for large scale urban analysis

GIS databases representing urban layouts according to road centerlines spanningbetween intersection nodes (at road junctions) can be analyzed syntactically basedon the concept of angular fractional depth

Path, theme and narrative in open plan exhibition settings

Three arguments are made based on the analysis of science exhibitions. First,sufficiently refined techniques of spatial analysis allow us to model the impact oflayout upon visitors' paths, even in moderately sized open plans which allow almostrandom patterns of movement and relatively unobstructed visibility. Second, newlydeveloped or adapted techniques of analysis allow us to make a transition frommodeling the mechanics of spatial movement (the way in which movement is affectedby the distribution of obstacles and boundaries), to modeling the manner in whichmovement might register additional aspects of visual information. Third, theadvantages of such purely spatial modes of analysis extend into providing us with asharper understanding of some of the pragmatic constrains within which exhibitioncontent is conceived and designed

Exploring, Engaging, Understanding in Museums

Patterns of accessibility through the space of the exhibition, connections or separations among spaces or exhibition elements, sequencing and grouping of elements, form our perceptions and shape our understanding. Through a review of several previous studies and the presentation of new work, this paper suggests that these patterns of movement form the basis of visitor understanding and that these effects can be deliberately controlled and elaborated through a closer examination of the influence of the visual and perceptual properties of an exhibition. Furthermore, it is argued that there is also a spatial discourse based on patterns of access and visibility that flows in its own right, although not entirely separate from the curatorial narrative

Journeys in the City: Empathising With the Users of Transport Buildings

Accessibility is a considerable and growing issue in the design of many public buildings including vital high use buildings such as train stations. Yet research methods for these buildings are poor. This paper suggests that one new approach to design is to use immersive, auto-ethnographic methods to achieve an empathetic understanding of design needs. The paper asks: what can we learn about the mobility requirements of station users when we are immersed in a train station environment, and what mobile research methods can we use to begin to explore this? The paper reports on a study that used video diaries to explore Canary Wharf Station in a November evening rush hour in dry conditions, and specifically to study passenger behaviours on an island platform within the station. The analysis focused on how to improve mobility in the station from a user’s perspective. This use of auto-ethnography is discussed as part of a broader methodological debate about how to explore universal design issues from a user’s perspective, and in the context of empathetic desig

Advanced technologies for Mission Control Centers

Advance technologies for Mission Control Centers are presented in the form of the viewgraphs. The following subject areas are covered: technology needs; current technology efforts at GSFC (human-machine interface development, object oriented software development, expert systems, knowledge-based software engineering environments, and high performance VLSI telemetry systems); and test beds

Why is Polygyny More Prevalent in Western Africa?: An African Slave Trade Perspective

Polygyny rates are higher in Western Africa than in Eastern Africa. The African slave trades explain this difference. More male slaves were exported in the trans-Atlantic slave trades from Western Africa, while more female slaves were exported in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea slave trades from Eastern Africa. The slave trades led to prolonged periods of abnormal sex ratios, which impacted the rates of polygyny across Africa. In order to assess these claims, we construct a unique ethnicity-level data set linking current rates of polygyny with historical trade flow data from the African slave trades. Our OLS estimates show a positive correlation between the trans-Atlantic slave trades and polygyny. An IV approach shows the relationship is causal and statistically signicant. We also provide cross-country evidence corroborating our findings.slave trades; polygyny; Africa; development

Grassmann phase space theory for fermions

A phase space theory for fermions has been developed using Grassmann phase space variables which can be used in numerical calculations for cold Fermi gases and for large fermion numbers. Numerical calculations are feasible because Grassmann stochastic variables at later times are related linearly to such variables at earlier times via c-number stochastic quantities. A Grassmann field version has been developed making large fermion number applications possible. Applications are shown for few mode and field theory cases