Transforming the complexity of a theoretical framework into an experiental design methodology for designers

In design, a wide range of design tools and techniques that are derived from theoretical frameworks have been developed. However, there are only a few that consider the perceptual qualities involved in interaction. Although existing tools are widely adopted, designer’s need for considering theoretical notions of ecological perception (Gibson, 1986), embodied interaction (Dourish, 2011) and affordances (Gibson, 1986; Norman, 1988; Hartson, 2003) has not been addressed in the context of design tools. This paper describes the development of an experiential design method card system based on the Interaction Frogger framework (Wensveen, 2004). The design method card supports designers to better understand the perceptual qualities of interaction design and convey this knowledge into their design processes. First, we introduce various theoretical frameworks that deal with perceptual qualities within interaction design, particularly focusing on the Interaction Frogger framework. Consequently, we investigate how a complex theoretical framework can be translated into practice utilising a design tool, by examining a case study of developing a set of design method cards. This set of method cards was examined by means of focus group sessions with design researchers and redesign exercises with designers and design students from various backgrounds. Throughout the redesign exercise, the experiential nature of the method cards system helped designers and design students to gain insights into perceptual information exchanges that emerge between objects and users. Furthermore, the method cards gave them a systematic platform for these insights to be reapplied into their design process. Overall, the design method card system provides opportunities for design practitioners, researchers, and students to explore perceptual qualities within the interaction design space and further an opportunity to utilize theoretical knowledge in a practical design process

Synthesis of as-grown superconducting MgB_2 thin films by molecular beam epitaxy in UHV conditions

As-grown superconducting MgB_2 thin films have been grown on SrTiO_3(001), MgO(001), and Al_2O_3(0001) substrates by a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) method with novel co-evaporation conditions of low deposition rate in ultra-high vacuum. The structural and physical properties of the films were studied by RHEED, XRD, electrical resistivity measurements, and SQUID magnetometer. The RHEED patterns indicate three-dimensional growth for MgB_2. The highest T_c determined by resistivity measurement was about 36K in these samples. And a clear Meissner effect below T_c was observed using magnetic susceptibility measurement. We will discuss the influence of B buffer layer on the structural and physical properties.Comment: 9 pages with 4 figures, ISS2003 proceedin

The electron lifetime in Luttinger liquids

We investigate the decoherence of the electron wavepacket in purely ballistic one-dimensional systems described through the Luttinger liquid (LL). At a finite temperature $T$ and long times $t$, we show that the electron Green's function for a fixed wavevector close to one Fermi point decays as $\exp(-t/\tau_F)$, as opposed to the power-law behavior occurring at short times, and the emerging electron lifetime obeys $\tau_F^{-1}\propto T$ for spinful as well as spinless electrons. For strong interactions, $(T\tau_F)\ll 1$, reflecting that the electron is not a good Landau quasiparticle in LLs. We justify that fractionalization is the main source of electron decoherence for spinful as well as spinless electrons clarifying the peculiar electron mass renormalization close to the Fermi points. For spinless electrons and weak interactions, our intuition can be enriched through a diagrammatic approach or Fermi Golden rule and through a Johnson-Nyquist noise picture. We stress that the electron lifetime (and the fractional quasiparticles) can be revealed from Aharonov-Bohm experiments or momentum resolved tunneling. We aim to compare the results with those of spin-incoherent and chiral LLs.Comment: 20 pages, 1 column, 6 figures, 1 Table; expands cond-mat/0110307 and cond-mat/0503652; final version to appear in PR

Anatomical review of the mandibular lingula for inferior alveolar nerve block

The purpose of this study was to perform a review of the literature related to the anatomy of the mandibular lingula and to provide information to improve the execution of effective anesthesia of the inferior alveolar nerve in clinical practices of the mandible. Prognathic mandibles have a lingula that is located more posterior and superior than non-prognathic mandibles. Most of the lingula is located above the occlusal plane, but it is occasionally located at or below the occlusal plane. The lingula of the triangular shape was generally located slightly more superior and posterior than other shapes. The mandibular lingula is an important anatomical landmark, and accurate information for exact lingula features is required during inferior alveolar nerve block anesthesia. Proper evaluation of the lingula is key to effective anesthesia and decreases the failure rate of the inferior alveolar nerve in clinical practices of the mandible

Quality Characteristics of Irradiated Chicken Breast Rolls from Broilers Fed Different Levels of Conjugated Linoleic Acid

Dietary CLA treatment reduced color a*- and b*-values of cooked chicken breast rolls. Sensory panels rated the color of cooked chicken rolls with CLA treatments darker than the control. The production of CO in cooked chicken rolls increased dramatically after irradiation and was correlated with the increased redness of cooked chicken rolls after irradiation. Irradiation greatly increased volatile production and induced a metallic off-flavor in chicken rolls. The hardness of chicken rolls increased and juiciness decreased as the dietary level of CLA increased, and consumer preferred the color of cooked chicken rolls after irradiation to the nonirradiated ones. Although dietary CLA was somewhat positive in reducing pinkness, but negatively influenced to the eating quality of irradiated cooked chicken rolls

Universal Resistances of the Quantum RC circuit

We examine the concept of universal quantized resistance in the AC regime through the fully coherent quantum RC circuit comprising a cavity (dot) capacitively coupled to a gate and connected via a single spin-polarized channel to a reservoir lead. As a result of quantum effects such as the Coulomb interaction in the cavity and global phase coherence, we show that the charge relaxation resistance $R_q$ is identical for weak and large transmissions and it changes from $h/2e^2$ to $h/e^2$ when the frequency (times $\hbar$) exceeds the level spacing of the cavity; $h$ is the Planck constant and $e$ the electron charge. For large cavities, we formulate a correspondence between the charge relaxation resistance $h/e^2$ and the Korringa-Shiba relation of the Kondo model. Furthermore, we introduce a general class of models, for which the charge relaxation resistance is universal. Our results emphasize that the charge relaxation resistance is a key observable to understand the dynamics of strongly correlated systems.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Synthesizing SystemC Code from Delay Hybrid CSP

Delay is omnipresent in modern control systems, which can prompt oscillations and may cause deterioration of control performance, invalidate both stability and safety properties. This implies that safety or stability certificates obtained on idealized, delay-free models of systems prone to delayed coupling may be erratic, and further the incorrectness of the executable code generated from these models. However, automated methods for system verification and code generation that ought to address models of system dynamics reflecting delays have not been paid enough attention yet in the computer science community. In our previous work, on one hand, we investigated the verification of delay dynamical and hybrid systems; on the other hand, we also addressed how to synthesize SystemC code from a verified hybrid system modelled by Hybrid CSP (HCSP) without delay. In this paper, we give a first attempt to synthesize SystemC code from a verified delay hybrid system modelled by Delay HCSP (dHCSP), which is an extension of HCSP by replacing ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with delay differential equations (DDEs). We implement a tool to support the automatic translation from dHCSP to SystemC

A two-step learning approach for solving full and almost full cold start problems in dyadic prediction

Dyadic prediction methods operate on pairs of objects (dyads), aiming to infer labels for out-of-sample dyads. We consider the full and almost full cold start problem in dyadic prediction, a setting that occurs when both objects in an out-of-sample dyad have not been observed during training, or if one of them has been observed, but very few times. A popular approach for addressing this problem is to train a model that makes predictions based on a pairwise feature representation of the dyads, or, in case of kernel methods, based on a tensor product pairwise kernel. As an alternative to such a kernel approach, we introduce a novel two-step learning algorithm that borrows ideas from the fields of pairwise learning and spectral filtering. We show theoretically that the two-step method is very closely related to the tensor product kernel approach, and experimentally that it yields a slightly better predictive performance. Moreover, unlike existing tensor product kernel methods, the two-step method allows closed-form solutions for training and parameter selection via cross-validation estimates both in the full and almost full cold start settings, making the approach much more efficient and straightforward to implement

Kondo effect in crossed Luttinger liquids

We study the Kondo effect in two crossed Luttinger liquids, using Boundary Conformal Field Theory. We predict two types of critical behaviors: either a two-channel Kondo fixed point with a nonuniversal Wilson ratio, or a new theory with an anomalous response identical to that found by Furusaki and Nagaosa (for the Kondo effect in a single Luttinger liquid). Moreover, we discuss the relevance of perturbations like channel anisotropy, and we make links with the Kondo effect in a two-band Hubbard system modeled by a channel-dependent Luttinger Hamiltonian. The suppression of backscattering off the impurity produces a model similar to the four-channel Kondo theory.Comment: 7 pages, RevteX, to be published in Physical Review