Computation with Curved Shapes: Towards Freeform Shape Generation in Design

Shape computations are a formal representation that specify particular aspects of the design process with reference to form. They are defined according to shape grammars, where manipulations of pictorial representations of designs are formalised by shapes and rules applied to those shapes. They have frequently been applied in architecture in order to formalise the stylistic properties of a given corpus of designs, and also to generate new designs within those styles. However, applications in more general design fields have been limited. This is largely due to the initial definitions of the shape grammar formalism which are restricted to rectilinear shapes composed of lines, planes or solids. In architecture such shapes are common but in many design fields, for example industrial design, shapes of a more freeform nature are prevalent. Accordingly, the research described in this thesis is concerned with extending the applicability of the shape grammar formalism such that it enables computation with freeform shapes. Shape computations utilise rules in order to manipulate subshapes of a design within formal algebras. These algebras are specified according to embedding properties and have previously been defined for rectilinear shapes. In this thesis the embedding properties of freeform shapes are explored and the algebras are extended in order to formalise computations with such shapes. Based on these algebras, shape operations are specified and algorithms are introduced that enable the application of rules to shapes composed of freeform B´ezier curves. Implementation of the algorithms enables the application of shape grammars to shapes of a more freeform nature than was previously possible. Within this thesis shape grammar implementations are introduced in order to explore both theoretical issues that arise when considering computation with freeform shapes and practical issues concerning the application of shape computation as a model for design and as a mode for generating freeform shapes

Incommensurable design descriptions

Data management is a persistent problem in design and manufacturing. This is because different processes require different descriptions of the same design concept. Descriptions can include geometry and/or topology as well as other non-spatial information, such as design intent, and over the course of a design and manufacturing process it is often necessary to convert between descriptions non-sequentially, to support development and realisation of a design concept. This paper highlights the difficulties that arise in managing different descriptions by exploring what are possibly unrealistically simple examples involving drawings of simple shapes. Although simple, the examples illustrate a fundamental truth; that the information embedded in the structures of different descriptions of a design are often incommensurable, and this can introduce challenges in the management of design data

Shape interpretation with design computing

How information is interpreted has significant impact on how it can be used. This is particularly important in design where information from a wide variety of sources is used in a wide variety of contexts and in a wide variety of ways. This paper is concerned with the information that is created, modified and analysed during design processes, specifically with the information that is represented in shapes. It investigates how design computing seeks to support these processes, and the difficulties that arise when it is necessary to consider alternative interpretations of shape. The aim is to establish the problem of shape interpretation as a general challenge for research in design computing, rather than a difficulty that is to be overcome within specific processes. Shape interpretations are common characteristics of several areas of enquiry in design computing. This paper reviews these, brings an integrated perspective and draws conclusions about how this underlying process can be supported

Wheat, Rye, and Barley: On Celiac and the Eucharist during the Pandemic

This article ties together reflections on the Eucharist and reflections on the pandemic by appealing to the author’s experiences with celiac disease. Both celiac and the pandemic force Christians to ask the question “What does it mean to approach Christ’s body when it threatens our life?” Acknowledging the complexity of this question is key to understanding and communicating with Christians across the world, especially in high- stakes situations like a pandemic, where misrepresentation runs rampant. The pandemic witnessed the toll of undue simplifications of this question—both in those who denied that liturgy could be a source of danger, and in moralized responses to religious services during the pandemic. Reflecting on celiac can defend against these dangerous misunderstandings, opening Eucharistic theology to the vulnerability of flesh

Towards product platform introduction: optimising commonality of components

Companies that design and manufacture products for a wide range of related applications need to offer the right product for each use. A platform design strategy allows designing the product range based on product platforms, where some of the components and systems are common across the range whereas other components are individual for each product variant. This paper presents the problems that a company faces when trying to introduce a platform strategy and outlines a method to find suitable components to be made common. The method is shown with a simple case. The approach uses fuzzy logic to obtain a suitable criterion to assess the overall value of the product line and a genetic algorithm for finding the set of components to be made commo

A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experience of Online Instructors of Theological Reflection at Christian Institutions Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experience of teaching theological reflection in the online environment for instructors at Christian institutions accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. The central theories guiding this study were reflective practice and transformative learning theory as they explore the relationship between experience and reflection. Since relatively few inquiries have been published on the ways in which seminary professors assist future religious leaders in the use of reflective practice, the central research question for this study was: How do instructors at Christian institutions accredited by the Association of Theological Schools describe their experience of teaching theological reflection in the online environment? Through a transcendental phenomenology involving the data collection methods of individual interviews and a focus group triangulated with letters to future theological educators, I described the lived experience of teaching theological reflection in the online environment for a purposive sample of 13 instructors of online theological reflection employed by Christian institutions accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. Data analysis yielded the four themes of time, relationships, experience, and space as well as the essence of teaching theological reflection online; this essence, or concise summary of teaching theological reflection online, was hospitality in cyberspace for the purpose of fostering discussions about theology and experience

Using Convolutional Neural Networks for Autonomous Drone Navigation

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), more commonly known as drones, serve various purposes, notably in military applications. Consequently, there arises a need for navigation methods impervious to intercepted signals [1]. Previous research has explored numerous solutions, including machine learning. This paper delves into a specific machine learning approach employing a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to discern image locations [2]. It elucidates the conversion of a CNN model between two machine learning libraries and presents results from multiple experiments examining parameters and factors influencing the approach\u27s efficacy. These experiments encompass testing different data sources, image quantities, and processing pipelines to gauge their impact on CNN performance using datasets from the geographically diverse Northwest Arkansas region [3,4]

The Red Wilderness: Mark and Modern Western Storytelling

Many adaptations of “the Gospel” have been made in recent years, but few of these are sustained engagements with one of the four gospels in particular. Modern biblical scholarship is increasingly realizing, however, the narrative integrity of each gospel taken on its own terms. Though four-gospel canonical adaptations are legitimate, this thesis hopes to lay some groundwork for the adaptation of one gospel in particular, the Gospel of Mark, showing that such a project is both feasible and desirable. It will do so by 1) briefly exploring adaptation theory to clarify the goals and challenges such an adaptation would face, 2) investigating one element of Mark’s narrative—his use of wilderness—in depth, and 3) exploring the resources a modern form of storytelling, the Western novel of Cormac McCarthy, provides for adapting Mark. Though no adaptation will here be presented, this study hopes that these preliminary steps are sufficient to spark curiosity and to encourage adaptors to consider Mark, rather than an amalgam of the four gospels, for adaptation

Revelation of the Trinity: Karl Rahner's position and an evangelical alternative

The widely accepted Grundaxiom of Karl Rahner's doctrine of the Trinity, "The economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity and vice versa," functions in contemporary theology as a means of reconciling the seemingly contradictory claims: (a) that God has revealed the doctrine of the Trinity to the church; and (b) that he has not disclosed this doctrine verbally in Scripture. Rahner's Grundaxiom, that is to say, serves to legitimate theological reflection on the Trinity that does not presuppose a pre-Enlightenment understanding of Scriptural revelation.In our dissertation, however, we argue: (a) that Rahner's Grundaxiom does not cohere with certain elements of Rahner's own theology; (b) that the Grundaxiom entails conclusions inconsistent with what Rahner regards as Trinitarian orthodoxy; and (c) that a pre-Enlightenment understanding of Scripture, by contrast, constitutes a reasonable foundation for Rahner's ideal of Trinitarian orthodoxy. We conclude, therefore (d) that, barring the possibility of some third foundation for the theology of the Trinity, Rahner's doctrine of the Trinity itself presupposes a pre-Enlightenment conception of Scriptural revelation