Concept of spinsonde for multi-cycle measurement of vertical wind profile of tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclones and cyclogenesis are active areas of research. Chute-operated dropsondes jointly developed by NASA and NCAR are capable of acquiring high resolution vertical wind profile of tropical cyclones. This paper proposes a chute-free vertical retardation technique (termed as spinsonde) that can accurately measure vertical wind profile. Unlike the expendable dropsondes, the spinsonde allows multi-cycle measurement to be performed within a single flight. Proof of principle is demonstrated using a simulation software and results indicate that the GPS ground speed correlates with the wind speeds to within +/-5 km/h. This technique reduces flying weight and increases payload capacity by eliminating bulky chutes. Maximum cruising speed (Vh) achieved by the spinsonde UAV is 372 km/h.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1407.845

Tahap kemahiran insaniah dalam kalangan pelajar kejuruteraan tahun akhir di Politeknik KPM

Dalam dunia yang semakin berkembang dengan pesat, majikan tidak hanya mementingkan kemahiran teknikal sahaja tetapi juga kepada kemahiran insaniah agar pelajar mereka dapat menyesuaikan dan melengkapkan diri dengan semua jenis pekerjaan dan dalam masa yang sama memiliki pelbagai kemahiran. Sehubungan dengan ini, kajian ini dilaksanakan adalah mengenal pasti tahap kemahiran insaniah dari segi komunikasi, menyelesaikan masalah secara kritis dan kerja berpasukan dalam kalangan pelajar kejuruteraan tahun akhir di Politeknik Premier Malaysia. Sampel kajian terdiri daripada 350 orang pelajar diploma tahun akhir sesi 2013/2014 dari bidang kejuruteraan yang ada ditawarkan di Politeknik Ungku Omar, Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah dan Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan. Kajian yang dijalankan adalah kajian kuantitatif berbentuk tinjauan dimana untuk menjawab setiap persoalan kajian. Instrumen kajian yan digunakan adalah satu set soal selidik yang mengandungi maklumat diri dan item elemen kemahiran insaniah. Data yang diperolehi dianalisis secara diskriptif dan inferensi. Hasil dapatan kajian mendapati tahap kemahiran insaniah pelajar Politeknik Premier Malaysia berada pada tahap tinggi dengan nilai min keseluruhan adalah 4.16, dimana aspek kemahiran komunikasi adalah 4.17, kemahiran menyelesaikan masalah secara kritis adalah 4.15 dan kemahiran kerja berpasukan adalah 4.16. Untuk melihat perbezaan tahap kemahiran insaniah berdasarkan jantina, Ujian-t tidak bersandar digunakan dan hasil dapatan menunjukkan bahawa tidak terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan tahap kemahiran insaniah bagi pelajar lelaki dan pelajar perempuan. Secara keseluruhannya, tahap kemahiran insaniah pelajar kejuruteraan tahun akhir di Politeknik Premier adalah tinggi berdasarkan persepsi dan ini telah membuktikan setiap pelajar menitikberat kemahiran insaniah agar mereka dapat bersaing di pasaran

Pedagogical and learning strategies for promoting internet information literacy in Singapore secondary school students

Internet information literacy has the potential to open the whole world of knowledge to easy access and use. Computer literacy and Internet readiness alone do not empower the learner to capitalise on the use of the Internet to acquire useful knowledge. Without information literacy, the learner would be overwhelmed not only by the information overload but also by being confronted with the amount of unreliable information posted on the Internet. Therefore this paper looks at how the Internet age might influence the ways that students learn and how to capitalise on it to prepare those students for the digital world of today and how to be empowered for the future challenges of the increasing complexities of tomorrow. The findings indicate that the integration of discipline-specific Internet information literacy into the curriculum is essential before we can enhance student learning using the Internet for resource-based learning. It is also to equip them with relevant information management skills and the ability to learn independently. These are fundamental skills required to become emerging lifelong learners in the midst of an information explosion so as to be able to meet the challenges of the 21st century and the knowledge economy

A quest for a better simulation-based knowledge elicitation tool

Knowledge elicitation is a well-known bottleneck in the development of Knowledge-Based Systems (KBS). This is mainly due to the tacit property of knowledge, which renders it unfriendly for explication and therefore, analysis. Previous research shows that Visual Interactive Simulation (VIS) can be used to elicit episodic knowledge in the form of example cases of decisions from the decision makers for machine learning purposes, with a view to building a KBS subsequently. Notwithstanding, there are still issues that need to be explored; these include how to make a better use of existing commercial off-the-shelf VIS packages in order to improve the knowledge elicitation process' effectiveness and efficiency. Based in a Ford Motor Company (Ford) engine assembly plant in Dagenham (East London), an experiment was planned and performed to investigate the effects of using various VIS models with different levels of visual fidelity and settings on the elicitation process. The empirical work that was carried out can be grouped broadly into eight activities, which began with gaining an understanding of the case study. Next, it was followed by four concurrent activities of designing the experiment, adapting a current VIS model provided by Ford to support a gaming mode and then assessing it, and devising the meaures for evaluating the elicitation process. Following these, eight Ford personnel, who are proficient decision makers in the simulated operations system, were organised to play with the game models in 48 knowledge elicitation sessions over 19 weeks. In so doing, example cases were collected during the personnel's interactions with the game models. Lastly, the example cases were processed and analysed, and the findings were discussed. Eventually, it seems that the decisions elicited through a 2-Dimensional (2D) VIS model are probably more realistic than those elicited through other equivalent models with a higher level of visual fidelity. Moreover, the former also emerges to be a more efficient knowledge elicitation tool. In addition, it appears that the decisions elicited through a VIS model that is adjusted to simulate more uncommon and extreme scenes are made for a wider range of situations. Consequently, it can be concluded that using a 2D VIS model that has been adjusted to simulate more uncommon and extreme situations is the optimal VIS-based means for eliciting episodic knowledge

A comparison between IMSC, PI and MIMSC methods in controlling the vibration of flexible systems

A comparative study is presented between three active control algorithms which have proven to be successful in controlling the vibrations of large flexible systems. These algorithms are: the Independent Modal Space Control (IMSC), the Pseudo-inverse (PI), and the Modified Independent Modal Space Control (MIMSC). Emphasis is placed on demonstrating the effectiveness of the MIMSC method in controlling the vibration of large systems with small number of actuators by using an efficient time sharing strategy. Such a strategy favors the MIMSC over the IMSC method, which requires a large number of actuators to control equal number of modes, and also over the PI method which attempts to control large number of modes with smaller number of actuators through the use of an in-exact statistical realization of a modal controller. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the main features of the three algorithms and the merits of the MIMSC method