Illuminated Structures

My thesis work consists of sculptural wooden furniture, which is built using a ‘skin on frame’ technique. One piece uses wooden slats as the ‘skin’ while the other pieces utilize a Dacron fabric skin stretched over a wooden framework. The goal of the work to is operate as aesthetically driven sculpture while retaining a deeply functional furniture element. By creating functional work that the viewer can use, I hope to provide a more intimate experience wherein the viewer’s body interacts directly with the work, resulting in a deeper connection between the viewer and the artwork

Alternatives: The Video Game. An Assessment of Bias and Preferences in Uncertain Situations

Going against working assumptions of what is natural , animals have been observed to gamble when choosing between a high-risk choice with a high reward, and a consistent alternative with a low reward that feeds them more over time. The Energy Budget Rule (EBR) claims that animals have a foraging goal they must reach to survive, and each attempt to forage has a cost; under certain conditions, a high risk gamble is the best option for survival. The present study attempts to observe human choice behavior in a task that tests EBR and assesses shifts in behavior over time as an increase or decrease in cost is introduced. Using a virtual videogame task, participants were randomly assigned to a either a positive or negative budget condition and given 30 opportunities to reach either an obtainable (in positive conditions) or unobtainable (in negative conditions) goal by choosing between a low-risk option with a consistent reward, or a high-risk alternative with an infrequent high reward. Participants experiencing a positive budget condition were expected to be risk averse. Participants experiencing a negative budget were expected to be risk prone. Cost was manipulated mid-game for the participants. The results of the study conflicted with the predictions of EBR. Participants experiencing a positive budget chose the high-risk option more often than participants experiencing a negative budget. The results showed that all participants quickly learned that it was advantageous to choose the low risk option. The results reveal the role of situational factors on human gambling behavior

Handbook for MAP, volume 32. Part 1: MAP summary. Part 2: MAPSC minutes, reading, August 1989. MAP summaries from nations. Part 3: MAP data catalogue

Extended abstracts from the fourth workshop on the technical and scientific aspects of mesosphere stratosphere troposphere (MST) radar are presented. Individual sessions addressed the following topics: meteorological applications of MST and ST radars, networks, and campaigns; the dynamics of the equatorial middle atmosphere; interpretation of radar returns from clear air; techniques for studying gravity waves and turbulence, intercomparison and calibration of wind and wave measurements at various frequencies; progress in existing and planned MST and ST radars; hardware design for MST and ST radars and boundary layer/lower troposphere profilers; signal processing; and data management

He\u27s Me Pal

[Verse 1] I know a lad and when I feel bad He drives all me troubles away, When he’s your friend, he’s your to de end No matter what others may say; He don’t tell me how I ought to be, He likes me just as I am, So, when I gets blue, he’s the one I go to For his heart is as big as a ham. [Chorus] He’s me pal, he’s me pal Dere ain’t nobody else I can see, I know he’s dead tough, but his love ain’t no bluff He’s share his last dollar with me; I’d rather have him with his fifteen a week Than be some old millionaire’s gal, He’s de best ever wuz, and I loves him becuz He’s me pal, he’s me pal. [Verse 2] My pal is poor, but I am dead sure He’s better than most millionaires, I’m satisfied when he’s at me side Me joys and me troubles he shares; I’d give me arm to keep him from harm, He’d do de same thing for me, He’ll always be there, stormy weather or fair, That’s de reason I likes him, you see. [Chorus] [Verse 3] Friends may be few, friends may be true But I have one dear friend of old, Bless her dear heart, we will never part For she loves me better than gold, When she is near I have no fear, No harm to me can befall, She’s patient, resigned, she is loving and kind And I know she’s the best friend of all [3rd Chorus] She’s me pal, she’s me pal She’s the very best friend that I know, Her herat’s full of love as the heavens above, She’s drives away sorrow and woe, I’ll try to repay all her kindness to me And if God be willing I shall, I have one friend that’s true, dear old mother that’s you, You’re me pal, you’re me pa

In My Merry Oldsmobile

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/1846/thumbnail.jp

Tammany

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/6763/thumbnail.jp

A Data Driven Approach to Reducing the Risk and Impact of Structure Fires

Structure (house) fires do not discriminate, they take life, injure, destroying property and damaging the environment. An average of 19,877 structure fires occurs annually in Australia at a cost of $3.3 Billion. Firefighting methods have largely remained unchanged since the Roman bucket brigades. Today, firefighters are still on standby and ready to respond (to a fire). This research highlights a disparate and uncoordinated body of knowledge with a clear gap in both the literature and practice. The research gap is the application of predictive analytics in the Emergency Management Sector that is to predict where and when a fire is most likely to occur. In this paper, sourcing two years of structure fire data combined with other datasets such as weather, we have shown predictive analytics could provide emergency managers with an Information System tool that would enable them to make informed decisions on future fire emergency scenarios. Using Activity Theory, we can demonstrate how Information System can be used as a tool to provide a safer community. The contribution of this research aims to use predictive analytics to identify at risk communities so that response time to fire-fighting can be decreased, and targeted fire safety education delivered

Cross-sectoral challenges to media literacy: final report

This research was commissioned by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT - formerly DCMS) in October 2022, as part of its efforts to address challenges, barriers and inefficiencies in the media literacy sector, and build capabilities in organisations to meet the ambition of the Online Media Literacy Strategy (DCMS, 2021a)

Towards a level set reinitialisation method for unstructured grids

Interface tracking methods for segregated flows such as breaking ocean waves are an important tool in marine engineering. With the development in marine renewable devices increasing and a multitude of other marine flow problems that benefit from the possibility of simulation on computer, the need for accurate free surface solvers capable of solving wave simulations has never been greater. An important component of successfully simulating segregated flow of any type is accurately tracking the position of the separating interface between fluids. It is desirable to represent the interface as a sharp, smooth, continuous entity in simulations. Popular Eulerian interface tracking methods appropriate for segregated flows such as the Marker and Cell Method (MAC) and the Volume of Fluid (VOF) were considered. However these methods have drawbacks with smearing of the interface and high computational costs in 3D simulations being among the most prevalent. This PhD project uses a level set method to implicitly represent an interface. The level set method is a signed distance function capable of both sharp and smooth representations of a free surface. It was found, over time, that the level set function ceases to represent a signed distance due to interaction of local velocity fields. This affects the accuracy to which the level set can represent a fluid interface, leading to mass loss. An advection solver, the Cubic Interpolated Polynomial (CIP) method, is presented and tested for its ability to transport a level set interface around a numerical domain in 2D. An advection problem of the level set function demonstrates the mass loss that can befall the method. To combat this, a process known as reinitialisation can be used to re-distance the level set function between time-steps, maintaining better accuracy. The goal of this PhD project is to present a new numerical gradient approximation that allows for the extension of the reinitialisation method to unstructured numerical grids. A particular focus is the Cartesian cut cell grid method. It allows geometric boundaries of arbitrary complexity to be cut from a regular Cartesian grid, allowing for flexible high quality grid generation with low computational cost. A reinitialisation routine using 1st order gradient approximation is implemented and demonstrated with 1D and 2D test problems. An additional area-conserving constraint is introduced to improve accuracy further. From the results, 1st order gradient approximation is shown to be inadequate for improving the accuracy of the level set method. To obtain higher accuracy and the potential for use on unstructured grids a novel gradient approximation based on a slope limited least squares method, suitable for level set reinitialisation, is developed. The new gradient scheme shows a significant improvement in accuracy when compared with level set reinitialisation methods using a lower order gradient approximation on a structured grid. A short study is conducted to find the optimal parameters for running 2D level set interface tracking and the new reinitialisation method. The details of the steps required to implement the current method on a Cartesian cut cell grid are discussed. Finally, suggestions for future work using the methods demonstrated in the thesis are presented