Motor expressions as creativity support: Exploring the potential for physical interaction

This research explores the effects of physical interactions designed on the basis of motor expressions to support creative ideation in creativity support technologies. The presented research looks into the effects on creative ideation of incompatibility between motor expressions and problem situations, and appraisals of (un)pleasantness. We report the results of a preliminary study which suggests that affective incompatibility between a problem situation and a motor expression benefits creative ideation, and that pleasantness motor expressions enhance task enjoyment, which in turn leads to a beneficial effect on the originality of ideas generated. Based on these results, we conclude with two new directions for the design of physical interactions with novel creativity support technologies

Can group work assist independent work? Psychology ‘ReGrouPs’

[First Paragraph] The rapidly developing interest in qualitative methods in psychology (defined as interpretative studies of specific issues or problems in which the researcher is central to the sense that is made – Elliott, Fischer, & Rennie, 1999) is currently being paralleled by students’ use of qualitative methods in final year research projects, which is itself a piece of independent research required for programme accreditation by the British Psychological Society. Whilst most students produce qualitative projects of a good standard, there is evidence that both students and supervisors of such research experience demands specific to this methodology

Mood and creativity: an appraisal tendency perspective

There is a strong relationship between the mood one is in, and the way one performs creatively. Previous research has shown that this relationship is complex. In this paper we argue that this complexity partly lies in a faulty conceptualization of mood. We will argue that an appraisal tendency perspective on moods will help to further clarify the relationship between mood and creativity. To support this argument we will highlight some inconsistencies in previous research, and use the appraisal tendency perspective on mood to develop predictions that help explain these inconsistencies and develop new directions for mood-creativity research. Future research is required to assess the accuracy of these predictions

Production of Millisecond Dips in Sco X-1 Count Rates by Dead Time Effects

Chang et al. (2006) reported millisecond duration dips in the X-ray intensity of Sco X-1 and attributed them to occultations of the source by small trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). We have found multiple lines of evidence that these dips are not astronomical in origin, but rather the result of high-energy charged particle events in the RXTE PCA detectors. Our analysis of the RXTE data indicates that at most 10% of the observed dips in Sco X-1 could be due to occultations by TNOs, and, furthermore, we find no positive or supporting evidence for any of them being due to TNOs. We therefore believe that it is a mistake to conclude that any TNOs have been detected via occultation of Sco X-1.Comment: Submitted to ApJ; uses emulateapj.cls, 8 pages with 8 figure

Climate resilience in the United Kingdom wine production sector: CREWS-UK

As cool climate viticulture rapidly expands, the England and Wales wine sector is winning international acclaim, particularly for its sparkling wines, and is attracting significant investment. Supported by warming climate trends during the growing season, wine producers are establishing new vineyards planted predominantly with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Grape-friendly weather conditions in 2018 led to a record harvest and may be a sign of good things to come. Long term (100-years) Growing Season Average Temperatures (GSTs) in south-east and south-central England have noticeably increased with 6 of the top 10 warmest growing seasons (April–October), over the last 100 years, occurring since 2005. However, weather and growing season conditions fluctuate markedly from year to year, meaning that yields and grape quality continue to vary significantly. Weather extremes are anticipated to become more frequent under future climate change, further threatening the stability of production. Current uncertainty over future climatic conditions during the growing season and their potential effects on viticulture in the UK exposes both existing producers and potential investors to unquantified risks and opportunities. The CREWS-UK climate resilience research project is generating actionable information on how climate change may affect the wine production sector, to support better decision-making and investment

E-government evaluation: Reflections on three organisational case studies

The deployment of e-Government continues at a significant cost and pace in the worldwide public sector. An important area of research is that of the evaluation of e-Government. In this paper the authors report the findings from three interpretive in-depth organisational case studies that explore e-Government evaluation within UK public sector settings. The paper elicits insights to organisational and managerial aspects with the aim of improving knowledge and understanding of e- Government evaluation. The findings that are extrapolated from the analysis of the three case studies are classified and mapped onto a tentative e-Government evaluation framework and presented in terms lessons learnt. These aim to inform theory and improve e- Government evaluation practice. The paper concludes that e-Government evaluation is an under developed area and calls for senior executives to engage more with the e- Government agenda and commission e-Government evaluation exercises to improve evaluation practice

Early to middle Miocene foraminifera from the deep-sea Congo Fan, offshore Angola

Analysis of a 630m section of an exploration well penetrating the distal part of the Congo Fan (~2000m water depth) yielded high abundance and diversity assemblages of agglutinated and calcareous benthic foraminifera. Planktonic foraminifera constrain the age to Early – Middle Miocene, and \delta 18O records reveal the Mi1 (~16.3 Ma) isotopic shift. Relatively few taxonomic studies of deep-water calcareous and agglutinated benthic foraminifera exist from this time period in this locality. All species encountered are therefore taxonomically described and documented using SEM photography (over 170 species), along with 27 species of planktonic foraminifera. Faunas show close affinities to those of the eastern Venezuela Basin, Gulf of Mexico and Central Paratethys. Seven assemblages are defined and analysed using morphogroup analysis and Correspondence Analysis, documenting the response of benthic foraminifera to three primary environmental-forcing factors; energy levels in the benthic boundary layer, oxygen levels relating to changing surface water productivity, and fluctuations in the level of the CCD. Near the top and bottom of the studied section both foraminiferal abundance and diversity decrease, corresponding with increased sand content implying greater energy levels and environmental disturbance. The majority of the section consists of shales with very low percentage sand, high foraminiferal abundance and diversity, and high sedimentation rates of ~10cm/kyr. Morphogroup analysis reveals a major switch in the fauna at around oxygen isotope event Mi1, with the transition from an epifaunal-dominated Cibicidoides assemblage to shallow infaunal-dominated Bulimina assemblage. We regard this as likely due to expansion of the oxygen minimum zone (paleobathymetric estimates are ~1000m) related to increased surface-water productivity and global cooling. Shifts in calcareous foraminiferal percentage over the studied interval overprint these signals and are believed to be related to a shoaling CCD, linked to reduced oceanic acidity and global atmospheric CO2 levels during the early Middle Miocene Monterey Carbon Isotope Excursion

Orbit targeting specialist function: Level C formulation requirements

A definition of the level C requirements for onboard maneuver targeting software is provided. Included are revisions of the level C software requirements delineated in JSC IN 78-FM-27, Proximity Operations Software; Level C Requirements, dated May 1978. The software supports the terminal phase midcourse (TPM) maneuver, braking and close-in operations as well as supporting computation of the rendezvous corrective combination maneuver (NCC), and the terminal phase initiation (TPI). Specific formulation is contained here for the orbit targeting specialist function including the processing logic, linkage, and data base definitions for all modules. The crew interface with the software is through the keyboard and the ORBIT-TGT display