A modern course on digital design at the University of Twente

At the University of Twente, the Netherlands a modern course on basic digital design has been developed. This course, which is based on a text book in English (K. J. Breeding, 1992), is supported by a sophisticated computer-assisted learning program and life-like practical work with extensive use of computer-aided-design tools. These features largely reduce the need for human teachers. Major parts of the course are particularly suited to be copied by other institute

‘The voluntary organisation forms … a unique feature of the British way of life’: One voluntary organisation’s response to the birth of the Youth Service

With the future of the UK’s statutory Youth Service in doubt, this article looks back to the days of its birth. After the Second World War, some people were critical about the idea of direct state involvement and its possible association with the indoctrination of impressionable young people. However, in the West Riding of Yorkshire (WRY), the Education Authority saw the arrival of state provision as signalling an end to the need for voluntary organisations in youth work. The West Riding Association (WRA) and the Leeds Association of Girls’ and Mixed Clubs (LAGC) fought to continue their work with voluntary sector clubs where young people played a leading role in planning and organising their programmes. The Associations’ archives show the struggle leading up to their eventual amalgamation in 1950, in the face of the almost total removal of funding

Understanding and profiling user requirements to support the conceptual design of an integrated land monitoring system

Acquiring and organizing knowledge and information elements can be essential not only to understand, but also to eliminate, reduce and control complexity and uncertainty. An integration of tools from different disciplines could systematically help in the construction of an agreed framework for problem formulation, above all when the situation is "new". An application was de-veloped in relation to an industrial project, in order to propose profiles of the potential users of an innovative system and of their requirements, and to for-mally develop models that can orient analysis, decision and action. Some ele-ments and results of this integrated application of "soft" and "hard" decision aid tools are here proposed as steps of an organizational learning cycle, which is a basic element of each innovation proces

Utilizing a 3D game engine to develop a virtual design review system

A design review process is where information is exchanged between the designers and design reviewers to resolve any potential design related issues, and to ensure that the interests and goals of the owner are met. The effective execution of design review will minimize potential errors or conflicts, reduce the time for review, shorten the project life-cycle, allow for earlier occupancy, and ultimately translate into significant total project savings to the owner. However, the current methods of design review are still heavily relying on 2D paper-based format, sequential and lack central and integrated information base for efficient exchange and flow of information. There is thus a need for the use of a new medium that allow for 3D visualization of designs, collaboration among designers and design reviewers, and early and easy access to design review information. This paper documents the innovative utilization of a 3D game engine, the Torque Game Engine as the underlying tool and enabling technology for a design review system, the Virtual Design Review System for architectural designs. Two major elements are incorporated; 1) a 3D game engine as the driving tool for the development and implementation of design review processes, and 2) a virtual environment as the medium for design review, where visualization of design and design review information is based on sound principles of GUI design. The development of the VDRS involves two major phases; firstly, the creation of the assets and the assembly of the virtual environment, and secondly, the modification of existing functions or introducing new functionality through programming of the 3D game engine in order to support design review in a virtual environment. The features that are included in the VDRS are support for database, real-time collaboration across network, viewing and navigation modes, 3D object manipulation, parametric input, GUI, and organization for 3D objects

The big de Rham-Witt complex

This paper gives a new and direct construction of the multi-prime big de Rham-Witt complex which is defined for every commutative and unital ring; the original construction by the author and Madsen relied on the adjoint functor theorem and accordingly was very indirect. (The construction given here also corrects the 2-torsion which was not quite correct in the original version.) The new construction is based on the theory of modules and derivations over a lambda-ring which is developed first. The main result in this first part of the paper is that the universal derivation of a lambda-ring is given by the universal derivation of the underlying ring together with an additional structure depending on the lambda-ring structure in question. In the case of the ring of big Witt vectors, this additional structure gives rise to divided Frobenius operators on the module of K\"ahler differentials. It is the existence of these divided Frobenius operators that makes the new construction of the big de Rham-Witt complex possible. It is further shown that the big de Rham-Witt complex behaves well with respect to \'etale maps, and finally, the big de Rham-Witt complex of the ring of integers is explicitly evaluated. The latter complex may be interpreted as the complex of differentials along the leaves of a foliation of Spec Z.Comment: 63 page

Preventing introduction and spread of Dermanyssus gallinae in poultry facilities using the HACCP method

Preventing the establishment of ectoparasitic poultry red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) populations is key in ensuring welfare and egg production of laying hens and absence of allergic reactions of workers in poultry facilities. Using the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point method, a panel of experts identified hazards and associated risks concerning the introduction and spread of this mite in poultry facilities. Together we provide an overview of possible corrective actions that can be taken to prevent population establishment. Additionally, a checklist of the most critical control points has been devised as management tool for poultry farmers. This list was evaluated by Dutch and British poultry farmers. They found the checklist feasible and usefu

Path-integral evolution of multivariate systems with moderate noise

A non Monte Carlo path-integral algorithm that is particularly adept at handling nonlinear Lagrangians is extended to multivariate systems. This algorithm is particularly accurate for systems with moderate noise.Comment: 15 PostScript pages, including 7 figure

Form and index of Ginsparg-Wilson fermions

We clarify the questions rised by a recent example of a lattice Dirac operator found by Chiu. We show that this operator belongs to a class based on the Cayley transformation and that this class on the finite lattice generally does not admit a nonvanishing index, while in the continuum limit, due to operator properties in Hilbert space, this defect is no longer there. Analogous observations are made for the chiral anomaly. We also elaborate on various aspects of the underlying sum rule for the index.Comment: 10 pages; v2: equation corrected, conclusions unchange