Designing and Building immersive education spaces using Project Wonderland: from pedagogy through to practice

This paper presents work on the JISC funded SIMiLLE project to build a culturally sensitive virtual world to support language learning. This builds on the MiRTLE project (funded by Sun Microsystems), which created a mixed-reality space for teaching and learning. The aim of the SIMiLLE project is to investigate the technical feasibility and pedagogical value of using virtual environments to provide a realistic socio-cultural setting and content for language learning interaction. The paper starts by providing some background information on the Wonderland platform and the MiRTLE project, and then outlines the requirements for SIMiLLE, and how these requirements will be supported through the use of a virtual world based on Project Wonderland. We then present our plans for the evaluation of the system, with a particular focus on the importance of incorporating pedagogy into the design of these systems, and how we can support good practice with the ever-growing use of 3D virtual environments in formalised education

Synchronization of interconnected networks: the role of connector nodes

In this Letter we identify the general rules that determine the synchronization properties of interconnected networks. We study analytically, numerically and experimentally how the degree of the nodes through which two networks are connected influences the ability of the whole system to synchronize. We show that connecting the high-degree (low-degree) nodes of each network turns out to be the most (least) effective strategy to achieve synchronization. We find the functional relation between synchronizability and size for a given network-of-networks, and report the existence of the optimal connector link weights for the different interconnection strategies. Finally, we perform an electronic experiment with two coupled star networks and conclude that the analytical results are indeed valid in the presence of noise and parameter mismatches.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters. Main text: 5 pages, 4 figures. Supplemental material: 8 pages, 3 figure

Pairs-Production of Higgs in Association with Bottom Quarks Pairs at e+e−e^+e^- Colliders

In a previous paper, we studied the Higgs pair production in the standard model with the reaction $e^{+}e^{-}\to t \bar t HH$. Based on this, we study the Higgs pair production via $e^{+}e^{-}\to b \bar b HH$. We evaluate the total cross section of $b\bar bHH$ and calculate the number total of events considering the complete set of Feynman diagrams at tree-level, and compare this process with the process $e^{+}e^{-}\to t \bar t HH$. The numerical computation is done for the energy which is expected to be available at a possible Next Linear $e^{+}e^{-}$ Collider with a center-of-mass energy $800, 1000, 1600$ $GeV$ and luminosity 1000 $fb^{-1}$.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Localization of algebras over coloured operads

We give sufficient conditions for homotopical localization functors to preserve algebras over coloured operads in monoidal model categories. Our approach encompasses a number of previous results about preservation of structures under localizations, such as loop spaces or infinite loop spaces, and provides new results of the same kind. For instance, under suitable assumptions, homotopical localizations preserve ring spectra (in the strict sense, not only up to homotopy), modules over ring spectra, and algebras over commutative ring spectra, as well as ring maps, module maps, and algebra maps. It is principally the treatment of module spectra and their maps that led us to the use of coloured operads (also called enriched multicategories) in this context.Comment: 34 page

Consideraciones sobre el final del relleno endorreico de las fosas de Calatayud y Teruel y su paso al exorreísmo. Implicaciones morfoestratigráficas y estructurales

[Resumen] Se pone en evidencia como la edad de la Superficie de Erosión Fundamental y el final del relleno endorreico de las fosas de Calatayud y Teruel, en la Cordillera Ibérica, no es un evento isócrono, sino variable en ambas depresiones yen. distintos sectores de una misma. La información geomorfológica y estratigráfica demuestra como la captura de una depresión endorreica y su paso al exorreismo es un proceso gradual en el espacio y en el tiempo, sin que necesariamente esté relacionado con estímulos tectónicos o climáticos. Así un intervalo de tiempo postcaptura puede estar representado en distintos sectores de una fosa por sedimentos endorreicos, hiatos erosivos o de no depósito y depósitos aluviales exorreicos. Por otra parte se cuestiona la cronoestratigrafía tradicional de los mantos aluviales depositados en condiciones exorreicas. Finalmente se esboza la evolución espacio temporal de la captura y paso al exorreismo de las fosas de Calatayud y Teruel y de las semifosas pliocuaternarias del sector central de la Cordillera Ibérica.[Abstract] It is shown how the age of the "Fundamental Erosión Surface" and the end of the endorheic infill of Calatayud and Teruel grabens, in the Iberian Range, is not isochronous, but variable between both basins and among different sectors of a certain one. Both, geomorphological and stratigraphical evidences demonstrate how the capture of an endorheic basin and its transition to exorheic conditions is a gradual process, which not necessarily has to be related with tectonic or climatic factors. A po~t-capture time span may be represented in different sectors of a graben by endorheic sediments, erosional and nondepositional hiatus and alluvial exorheic deposits. On the other hand, the traditional chronostratigraphy of the alluvial fans deposited under exorheic conditions is argued. Finally, the space and time evolution of the capture and transition to exorheic conditions in Teruel and Calatayud grabens and in the Plioquaternary halfgrabens of the central sector of the Iberian range is outlined