Seeking empathy in conscious cities

The vision of the conscious city has entered the radar. It takes as its heartland, the idea of a ‘conversation’ between inhabitants, digitally imbued objects and responsive architectural fabrics at the city scale. Can advances in the internet of everything, neuroscience, AI and big data enable social opportunities in a more sentient city? This chapter considers the ethics of an architectural dialogic — bringing questions of computational neutrality and democratic participation to the fore in the design and curation of ‘intelligent architecture’

Glide Effects on Low Speed Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with Ice Formation

This paper builds on the research that was previously presented and defended at a conference and adds to the depth of glide characteristics and aerodynamics. The basic assumed theory of low speed flight is used as the starting point and determined if this holds true for low speed. Traditionally, flight has always been about achieving faster and high flight operations. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are not typically designed to fly fast, the construction and power units are limiting, added to the lack of complexity in propulsion systems prevents high speeds in most cases. Here, aerodynamic data for Ice on leading edge and top surfaces were analysed, the characteristics obtained and thus the limitations. Furthermore, the influences of this to for unmanned aerial vehicles when subjected to surface environmental conditions such as ice on the leading edge and upper surface. Tested in a wind tunnel to see how theory compares with practice at various speed including take-off, landing and operational applications where head winds substantially alter parameters and this is data used to determine glide paths for landing. It also recommends design and operational changes to limited situations

Crew Resource Management and Its Possible Role in Nursing Risk Management

Crew Resource Management (CRM) was introduced within the aviation industry in the late 1970s after an aircraft ran out of fuel whilst the pilots were trying to solve an undercarriage problem. To reduce such errors and ultimately lower the probability of failure and the severity of risks that occur, training in CRM was rolled out across the whole industry. It has been successful over the last few years in major reductions in the number of crashes and fatalities in the commercial aviation sector. Nursing has similar concerns in that errors can ultimately result in fatalities. There are parallels in the needs and expectations of pilots and nurses to assess risk, reduce risk and deliver reliable and dependable professional services. In this paper the parallels of pilots and nurses demands are compared to assess if the lessons learned in aviation can assist nurses deliver procedures with lower risks. The analysis will draw on the demands and expectations and how they both deal with risk, challenging errors and ensuring that identified risks are not overlooked or ignored. Finally, suggestions of adopting, sharing and benchmarking between these two industries can adopt best practices so that both industries can learn from each other

Quadratic backward propagation of variance for nonlinear statistical circuit modeling

Accurate statistical modeling and simulation are keys to ensure that integrated circuits (ICs) meet specifications over the stochastic variations inherent in IC manufacturing technologies. Backward propagation of variance (BPV) is a general technique for statistical modeling of semiconductor devices. However, the BPV approach assumes that statistical fluctuations are not large, so that variations in device electrical performances can be modeled as linear functions of process parameters. With technology scaling, device performance variability over manufacturing variations becomes nonlinear. In this paper we extend the BPV technique to take into account these nonlinearities. We present the theory behind the technique, and apply it to specific examples. We also investigate the effectiveness of several possible solution algorithms

Observations on intergeneric hybrids in tilapias

Hybridization, Growth, Sex ratio, Reproduction, Reproductive behaviour Tilapia zillii, Oreochromis andersonii, Oreochromis aureus, Oreochromis macrochir, Oreochromis mortimeri, Oreochromis mossambicus, Oreochromis niloticus, Oreochromis placidus, Oreochromis spilurus, Oreochromis tanganicae, Sarotherodon galilaeus

Tablet PCs in schools: Case study report: A report for Becta by the Open University

The publication provides an analysis of twelve case studies involving schools in England that were using Tablet PCs. The analysis is complemented by brief individual reports describing aspects of how each of these schools was using Tablet PCs

Why decision making may not require awareness

Newell & Shanks (N&S) argue against the idea that any significant role for unconscious influences on decision making has been established by research to date. Inasmuch as this conclusion applies to the idea of an "intelligent cognitive unconscious," we would agree. Our concern is that the article could lead the unwary to conclude that there are no unconscious influences on decision making - and never could be. We give reasons why this may not be the case

Energy and force analysis of Ti-6Al-4V linear friction welds for computational modeling input and validation data

The linear friction welding (LFW) process is finding increasing use as a manufacturing technology for the production of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V aerospace components. Computational models give an insight into the process, however, there is limited experimental data that can be used for either modeling inputs or validation. To address this problem, a design of experiments approach was used to investigate the influence of the LFW process inputs on various outputs for experimental Ti-6Al-4V welds. The finite element analysis software DEFORM was also used in conjunction with the experimental findings to investigate the heating of the workpieces. Key findings showed that the average interface force and coefficient of friction during each phase of the process were insensitive to the rubbing velocity; the coefficient of friction was not coulombic and varied between 0.3 and 1.3 depending on the process conditions; and the interface of the workpieces reached a temperature of approximately approximately 1273 K (1000 °C) at the end of phase 1. This work has enabled a greater insight into the underlying process physics and will aid future modeling investigations.EPSRC, Boeing Company, Welding Institut

METIS D3.4: Final workshops packages: workshops for different educational levels and education contexts

Several decades of research in technology-enhanced learning (TEL) have clearly demonstrated the potential of digital technology to transform education. Yet the impact of TEL research on daily teaching-learning practices is still far from fulfilling this potential. Arguably, this is a gap in the capacity for learning design: educators need the tools and competencies which would allow them to identify educational challenges, describe the context in which they arise, identify the opportunities afforded by technology, project the insights derived from research, and devise new learning experiences. To address this gap, educators need tools and practices. Tools that would support them through the cycle of learning design – from conception to deployment and evaluation of techno-educational innovations. Professional practices that use such tools to ensure the robustness and effectiveness of their innovations and make learning design a daily habit and part of their professional identity. The METIS project (http://metis-project.org/) aims to contribute to this aim, by providing educators with an Integrated Learning Design Environment (ILDE) (Hernández-Leo, Asensio-Pérez, Derntl, Prieto, & Chacón, 2014; Hernández-Leo et al., 2015) and a workshop package for training educators in using the ILDE to support effective learning design. Work Package 3, led by the OU (UK), is concerned with the design and development of the workshop package. This deliverable is the final version of the METIS workshop package. It includes • a meta-design for METIS workshops that provides a flexible reusable structure so that workshops can be customised to meet different needs , • a description of the rationale and pedagogical methodology on which the meta-design is based • guidance for instantiating the meta-design in different contexts and • example workshop packages based on the meta-design for three different educational sectors. This document provides educators with a basis for delivering workshops about using the ILDE to support effective learning design. To create and run a workshop suitable for your own context, please proceed in the following way. Firstly, consider the meta-design; then choose one of the example workshop packages closest to your context; finally, use the guidelines to adapt it for your needs