Variable-gap bias structure for magnetic bubble memory package

Size and thickness of field adjusting plate can be varied. Memory chip specification is relaxed, since chips in structure need not be matched in bias margin

Stripe-line coil for magnetic-field generation in bubble memory devices

Coil etched from conductive film has better field uniformity than wire-wound coils and less coil loss at high-frequency operation

Creating a virtual support group in an interactive narrative:a companionship game for cancer patients

Over one in five cancer patients are affected by feelings of loneliness [1]. This paper proposes a text-based game aimed at affected cancer patients, in which the player develops relationships with non-player characters in the context of a fictitious cancer support group. This would be designed with the aim of alleviating patient loneliness and fostering a sense of companionship. This work is part of an interdisciplinary project led by Abertay University and partnered with Macmillan Cancer Support, exploring the ways in which interactive storytelling can be used to support cancer patients. The game’s narrative and characters will be designed drawing on real patient experiences gathered in interviews. The game will go through several iterations of feedback and rewriting in response to focus groups held with patients and healthcare professionals.</p

Exploring cognitive issues in visual information retrieval

A study was conducted that compared user performance across a range of search tasks supported by both a textual and a visual information retrieval interface (VIRI). Test scores representing seven distinct cognitive abilities were examined in relation to user performance. Results indicate that, when using VIRIs, visual-perceptual abilities account for significant amounts of within-subjects variance, particularly when the relevance criteria were highly specific. Visualisation ability also seemed to be a critical factor when users were required to change topical perspective within the visualisation. Suggestions are made for navigational cues that may help to reduce the effects of these individual differences

Estimation of gravitational acceleration with quantum optical interferometers

The precise estimation of the gravitational acceleration is important for various disciplines. We consider making such an estimation using quantum optics. A Mach-Zehnder interferometer in an "optical fountain" type arrangement is considered and used to define a standard quantum limit for estimating the gravitational acceleration. We use an approach based on quantum field theory on a curved, Schwarzschild metric background to calculate the coupling between the gravitational field and the optical signal. The analysis is extended to include the injection of a squeezed vacuum to the Mach-Zehnder arrangement and also to consider an active, two-mode SU(1,1) interferometer in a similar arrangement. When detection loss is larger than $8\%$, the SU(1,1) interferometer shows an advantage over the MZ interferometer with single-mode squeezing input. The proposed system is based on current technology and could be used to examine the intersection of quantum theory and general relativity as well as for possible applications.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure