An Application of the Design Science Research Theoretical Framework and Methodology in the Construction of an Approach for Designing Applications in 3D Virtual Worlds

This paper discusses the use of the design science research theoretical framework and methodology for constructing an approach for designing applications in 3D virtual worlds. The research is about the need for a suitable method and tools for designing virtual world applications, which is evidenced by many of the problems that virtual worlds continue to suffer due to poor design. The proposed approach uses the generative design grammar framework and the generative design agent model as tools for designing virtual world applications. Preliminary analyses suggest that, the use of a method and tools created specifically for designing virtual world applications provides a suitable and robust approach for designing these types of applications

An Approach for Designing Applications in 3D Virtual Worlds

This paper discusses an approach for designing VW applications using the generative design grammar framework and the generative design agent model as tools. The need for a suitable method and tools for designing VW applications is evidenced by many of the problems that VWs continue to suffer due to poor design. Preliminary analysis suggest that the combination of a method and tools created specifically for designing VW applications provides a robust and suitable approach for designing these types of applications

The Sierra Leone patois: A study of its growth and structure, with special reference to the teaching of English in Sierra Leone

Not availabl

Radiological Risk Assessment due to Ingestion of some Bottled Drinking Water on the Ghanaian Market

Activity concentrations of the Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORMs) in some bottled drinking water brands obtained from some supermarkets in Accra were analyzed using gamma spectrometry.40 K activity concentrations were in the range of 3.57 - 5.47 Bq/L, the highest occurring in brand L9. Similarly,232 Th activity concentrations were in the range of 0.30 - 0.56 Bq/L with the highest occurring in brand L8. 226 Ra was identified in eleven brands with the remaining 5 below detection limit. The highest value (0.53 Bq/L) occurred in brand L9. Comparison of the mean concentrations showed significant differences at (α = 0.05) between the various brands of bottled water. Estimated committed effective doses were generally below 0.1 mSv/a for all age groups with the exception of children <1yr. Estimated lifetime cancer and hereditary risk were done using the ICRP risk assessment methodology

Designing for Usability in 3D Virtual Environments

This paper is about designing 3D applications and the software design process in desktop virtual environments. Here, we introduce parts of our work on a design-focused approach to usability engineering and software development for 3D desktop virtual environments. We begin by discussing some of the current limitations in virtual environment research. We then introduce alternate perspectives for improving the usability of virtual environment applications. We highlight the need for a software development approach to designing virtual environment applications and provide some arguments for this. Finally, we conclude by providing a summary of our work-in-progress solution

Assessment of Levels of Occupational Exposure to UV-A and UV-C Radiation among Shielded Metal Arc Welders in Accra, Ghana

This study attempted to quantify the irradiance levels of ultraviolet A (UV-A) and ultraviolet C (UV-C) from the shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) process to welders in Accra, Ghana. Exposures were assessed via measurements, observations, and interviews. The assessments were done based on safe exposure levels prescribed by recognized international organizations such as the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Results from the measured UV-C irradiance levels EUV-C ranged between 0.16 ± 0.08 W/m2 and 10.46 ± 1.96 W/m2 with its corresponding permissible exposure duration tmax‑UV‑C per day ranging from 5.74 s to 367.35 s. The measured UV-A irradiance levels EUV‑A ranged from 0.88 ± 0.03 W/m2 to 23.72 ± 6.66 W/m2 with its corresponding permissible exposure duration tmax‑UV‑A per day ranging from 421.59 s to     11,363.64 s. The obtained effective irradiance Eeff has a range of 2.08 W/m2 to 28.79 W/m2 with the range of permissible exposure duration tmax per day of 1.04 s to 14.40 s. It was found that the total exposure time of the welders exceeded the permissible exposure durations and that the safety practices among the welders were unsatisfactory

‘The Chaotic Science Lab’: Supporting trainee science teachers – a cross departmental project

This project supports science teachers in developing health and safety skills through the use of a virtual laboratory. In the laboratory they can carry out health and safety audits, develop their awareness of potential hazards and assess the possible risks involved. The students can visit the virtual world either individually or in groups, and then discuss the issues they have found to be a risk ‘in-world’ or later in the ‘real’ classroom. A web interface enables user registration and a user record for each session. Each session is recorded with time, date, location and scores for the user as they work through pre-programmed activities which enable the tracking and analysis of site usage. Early findings suggest that this is an intriguing and unexpected addition to the science teacher training curriculum, and that students are keen to develop the scenarios further. There are clear benefits for staff and students alike

Benchmarking RCGAu on the Noiseless BBOB Testbed

RCGAu is a hybrid real-coded genetic algorithm with “uniform random direction” search mechanism. The uniform random direction search mechanism enhances the local search capability of RCGA. In this paper, RCGAu was tested on the BBOB-2013 noiseless testbed using restarts till a maximum number of function evaluations (#FEs) of 105 × D are reached, where D is the dimension of the function search space. RCGAu was able to solve several test functions in the low search dimensions of 2 and 3 to the desired accuracy of 108. Although RCGAu found it difficult in getting a solution with the desired accuracy 108 for high conditioning and multimodal functions within the specified maximum #FEs, it was able to solve most of the test functions with dimensions up to 40 with lower precisions

Assessment of Levels of Occupational Exposure to Extremely Low Frequency Electric and Magnetic Fields in a Data Centre in Greater Accra Region - Ghana.

The Electric and Magnetic fields for workers in a data centre in the Greater Accra Region was assessed. The fundamental objective was to determine the levels of the electric and magnetic fields and to assess the extent of exposure of workers in the data centre to these fields. The results for the electric field intensities in the data centre ranged from 6.03E-03 ± 7.54E-04 kVm-1 to 2.33E-04 ± 8.82E-05 kVm-1. The results obtained for the magnetic flux density ranged from 3.9E-07 ± 8.77E-03 μT to 7.27E-08 ± 7.31E-03 μT. The results obtained for the induced current density ranged from 2.37E-06 ± 1.50E-02 mA/m2 to 2.46E-07 ± 9.99E-03 mA/m2. Data obtained were below the basic restrictions for induced current density and reference levels for electric field and magnetic flux density set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection