Typeface design for a Thai context: An English typface with Thai stylistic considerations

This thesis involves the design of a new English typeface which reflects the aesthetic values of Thai culture. It incorporates Thai stylistic considerations, including the unique appearances and forms of Thai artifacts, into the design of English letterforms. A primary purpose of this new typeface would be for use as a display typeface in printed or digital applications regarding Thai subjects, which are distributed inside and outside Thailand

Design of Compliant Nonlinear Torsional Springs Through Parametric Finite Element Analysis

This paper presents the design and optimisation of compliant nonlinear torsional springs by parametric finite element analysis. The springs are created based on a single B-spline curve, which exhibits a compact, lightweight, and simpler design than existing works. The spring is created by a combination of computational finite element analysis methods and optimisation algorithms that analyse and optimise spring designs. The models and methodology of spring creation are presented with results. The constant-torque spring was able to outperform the generic constant spring design in some aspects as well as cosine-torque spring which perform an outstanding output in term of output accuracy. This thesis explores a new type of nonlinear torsional spring with advantages above generic nonlinear torsional spring as well as difficulties, limitations and recommendations of the spring design method used

Porosity: Networking Cities for a Changing Climate

On October 28th 2013 Hurricane Sandy hit land on the East Coast of the United States. The deadliest storm to hit the country since 2005 it caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, destroyed thousands of homes, left millions without electric service, and caused 117 deaths in the United States, including 53 in New York, making Sandy the most life costly hurricane to hit the United States mainland since Hurricane Katrina. In all an estimated 186 people were killed across the United States, the Caribbean, and Canada. In the immediate aftermath of the storm not only did the emergency services, state and federal government implement emergency plans of action, including both direct intervention on the ground and massive financial support, so too did a number of charities, community and residents groups across the US. One of the most surprising of these groups was what became known as Occupy Sandy. As noted by the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute: Within hours of Sandy's landfall, members from the Occupy Wall Street movement used social media to tap the wider Occupy network for volunteers and aid. Overnight, a volunteer army of young, educated, tech-savvy individuals with time and a desire to help others emerged. In the days, weeks, and months that followed, Occupy Sandy became one of the leading humanitarian groups providing relief to survivors across New York City and New Jersey. At its peak, it had grown to an estimated 60,000 volunteers more than four times the number deployed by the American Red Cross. What this phenomenon clearly demonstrates is the potential for digital networking to improve response to catastrophic storm events at a community level. Far from being solely a question of material support and logistics, the response to the disaster was one equally definable as digital. Pointing to the possible rethinking of issues around the extreme and localised consequences of climate change and responses to it in purely traditional infrastructural terms, the social media focused organisation of Occupy Sandy potentially offers us a new frame of reference to deal with these, and less catastrophic issues around climate change and our response to it. This paper provides a discussion of the projected impacts of global environmental change in urban environments in the United States, with a particular focus on their impact on existing storm and sanitary water infrastructure. However, it theorizes a new approach to this archaic system of infrastructure that exploits social networking tools and digital technologies to build greater networks for climate change resilience across the United States and, by extension, elsewhere

Mixing is required for uniform reconstitution of filter-dried protein antigens in a single-injection vaccine formulation

Ambient temperature filter dried vaccine formulations have been proposed to simultaneously achieve thermostability and offer a ready-to-use immunisation device that combines reconstitution and injection. Vaccine concentration should be uniform at the point of injection, but the uniformity following direct reconstitution of filter-dried vaccines has not been reported. We present here a study of vaccine mixing and release following dissolution of filter-dried model protein and toxoid antigens within a single syringe, filter and needle unit. Release was better for filters made from glass than cellulose. Without additional mixing, uniformity was poor and only 41% of input protein was released from protein filter-dried onto glass fiber. In contrast, adding a simple glass bead and mixing by inversion, 100% release antigen solution was achieved, with uniform concentration at exit from the needle throughout a simulated injection. Adsorption onto alum adjuvant had no detectable effect on vaccine dissolution and mixing. The uniformity and yield of low doses of diphtheria and tetanus toxoid was also improved by mixing, albeit with a lower yield of 60-68%. We conclude that uniformity and mixing should be studied to ensure safety and efficacy of directly reconstituted filter-dried vaccine formulations

A Causal Effect of Customer Relationship Management, Attitude, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioral Control of Customer Affecting Purchase Intention to Using Anti-Aging Business in Thailand

The purpose of this study was to empirically examine the effect of interrelationships among the customer relationship management, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control, and their effects on the intention to purchase anti-aging products and services. A mixed methodology was used as the examining approach. The quantitative data was collected from 460 samples using online survey, and was analyzed using the structural equation model. The samples having and having no experience with the anti-aging products or services was separately analyzed. The qualitative data was obtained using in-depth interview with 15 informants to add insights to the quantitative results. The results showed a strong support for the proposed model, particularly in the experienced group, while some hypotheses were supported in the group with no experience. Via the perceived behavioral control, attitude, and subjective norm, the customer relationship management could better influence the intention to purchase. This study helped managers to better design for the more effective customer relationship management strategy. In order to make customer relationship more efficiently work, managers have to design it to strategically incorporate the perceived behavioural control and subjective norm of the customer

#FOGWASTE: urbanismo participativo para uma melhor compreensão do contexto

Participatory urbanism is on the rise in communities struggling to develop quality public spaces in constrained environments. In light of the growing practice of community-based strategies to shape urban place-making, this paper argues for an increased role of community engagement in urban place-understanding. It presents the work of feminist environmental artists of the 1970s as a precedent for participatory approaches towards infrastructure awareness and environmental stewardship, and discusses opportunities for expanding the impact of their approach through digital media integration. Lastly, the paper concludes with a contemporary case-study as an engaged model for improving urban systems function. The case study presented represents a collaboration between the authors and the City of San Jose to engage pilot communities with a greater understanding of the connections between household practices of waste water management and urban sustainability.Keywords: participatory urbanism, community engagement, environmental art, urban infrastructure, social media, urban sustainability.O urbanismo participativo é considerado cada vez mais importante para aplicação em comunidades que lutam para melhorar a qualidade do espaço público em contextos com restrições. À luz de uma crescente prática de estratégias baseadas em comunidades para a construção do lugar no âmbito urbano, este artigo afirma a relevância do engajamento de uma comunidade na compreensão de um contexto urbano. Ele apresenta o trabalho de artistas ambientais feministas da década de 1970 como um precedente de abordagens participativas para a consciencialização a respeito da infraestrutura e a gestão ambiental, e discute oportunidades para expandir o impacto da sua abordagem através da integração de mídia digital. Finalmente, o artigo termina com o estudo de um caso contemporâneo, modelo de engajamento para melhorar o funcionamento dos sistemas urbanos. O estudo de caso apresentado é relativo à colaboração entre os autores e a cidade de San Jose para engajar comunidades-piloto por meio de uma maior compreensão das conexões entre as práticas domésticas de gestão de resíduos de água e a sustentabilidade urbana.Palavras-chave: urbanismo participativo, engajamento comunitário, arte ambiental, infraestrutura urbana, mídias sociais, sustentabilidade urbana