Knots and Classical 3-Geometries

It has been conjectured by Rovelli that there is a correspondence between the space of link classes of a Riemannian 3-manifold and the space of 3-geometries (on the same manifold). An exact statement of his conjecture will be established and then verified for the case when the 3-manifold is compact, orientable and closed.Comment: 14p. type-set in AmS-TeX version 2.

The Impact of Virtual Product Dissection Environments on Student Design Learning and Self-Efficacy

While recent design efforts have lead to the development of virtual dissection tools that reduce the costs associated with physical dissection, little is known about how these virtual environments impact student design learning. Therefore, the current study was developed to address this knowledge gap through two investigations: (1) an experimental study that examines the impact of virtual dissection on design learning, knowledge retention, and self-efficacy, and (2) a qualitative study focused on student experiences during virtual dissection. These studies show that physical dissection leads to a higher electro-mechanical self-efficacy gain compared to virtual dissection; however, the method of dissection did not affect student learning. We use these findings to provide recommendations for the use of product dissection in design education

Choosing Creativity: The Role of Individual Risk and Ambiguity Aversion on Creative Concept Selection in Engineering Design

While creativity is often seen as an indispensable quality of engineering design, individuals often select conventional or previously successful options during the concept selection process due to the inherent risk associated with creative concepts and their inadvertent bias against creativity. However, little is actually known about what factors attribute to the promotion or filtering of these creative concepts during concept selection. To address this knowledge gap, an exploratory study was conducted with 38 undergraduate engineering students. This study was aimed at investigating the impact of individual risk aversion, ambiguity aversion, and student educational level on the selection and filtering of creative ideas during the concept selection process. The results from this study indicate that an individuals ability to generate creative ideas is not significantly related to their preference for creative ideas during concept selection, but individual risk aversion and ambiguity aversion are significantly related to both creative concept selection and creative idea generation. Our results also revealed that first and third-year students’ creative ability are affected differently by varying levels of tolerance for ambiguity. These results highlight the need for a more directed focus on creativity in engineering education in both concept creation and concept selection. These results also add to our understanding of creativity during concept selection and provide guidelines for enhancing the design process

Computational Aspects of Protein Functionality

The purpose of this short article is to examine certain aspects of protein functionality with relation to some key organizing ideas. This is important from a computational viewpoint in order to take account of modelling both biological systems and knowledge of these systems. We look at some of the lexical dimensions of the function and how certain constructs can be related to underlying ideas. The pervasive computational metaphor is then discussed in relation to protein multifunctionality, and the specific case of von Willebrand factor as a ‘smart’ multifunctional protein is briefly considered. Some diagrammatic techniques are then introduced to better articulate protein function

The utility of Aspirin in Dukes C and High Risk Dukes B Colorectal cancer--the ASCOLT study: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

published_or_final_versio

On the Nesterov-Todd Direction in Semidefinite Programming

On the Nesterov-Todd Direction in Semidefinite Programmin

A model for an inland port in Australia

This paper examines the role of an inland port particular to the outer regions of Melbourne, Australia. In this study, it has been experienced that the broad use of terminology, in the Melbourne context, has been a stumbling block. In its particular context, this has provided the impetus for the development of a model for an inland port that is unambiguous. It is clear from international examples that such a development acts as a significant potential nucleus for regional economic growth, but the lack of a facilitated discussion is an impediment. This model is offered as a facilitator and a useful tool in the construction of a common understanding