Obtaining presentations from group actions without making choices

Consider a group $G$ acting nicely on a simply-connected simplicial complex $X$. Numerous classical methods exist for using this group action to produce a presentation for $G$. For the case that $X/G$ is 2-connected, we give a new method that has the novelty that one does not have to identify a fundamental domain for the action. Indeed, the resulting presentation is canonical in the sense that no arbitrary choices need to be made. It can be viewed as a nonabelian analogue of a simple result in the study of equivariant homology.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures. Some small corrections. To appear in Algebr. Geom. Topo

Material Design, Processing, and Engineering Requirements for Magnetic Shape Memory Devices

For magnetic shape memory (MSM) alloys, a magnetic field stimulates a shape change. We use the shape change to build devices such as micro-actuators, sensors, and microfluidic pumps. Currently, (as a novel technology,) devices suffer from some material and magnetic driver shortcomings. Here we address the issues related to operating temperature, repeatability, failure, and magnetic driver development. To increase the operating temperature of the MSM material, we alloyed Fe and Cu to Ni-Mn-Ga. We showed that the element-specific contribution to the valence electron density as parameter systematically determines the effect of each element on the variation of the martensite transformation temperature of the 10M phase. To stabilize the material, we developed a micro-shotpeening process that adds stresses to the material surface, thereby inducing a fine twin microstructure. The treatment allowed nearly full magnetic-field-induced strain, and extended fatigue life of the material from only one thousand cycles in the electropolished state to more than one million cycles in the peened state. We measured the effect of the peening process on material actuation when in MSM pump configuration. In the polished state, the deformation was stochastic, with a sharp-featured, faceted shrinkage. In the treated state, the deformation was smooth and repeatably swept along the surface akin to a wave. To actuate the MSM micropump without electromotor, we developed a linear electromagnetic actuation device and evaluated its effectiveness in the switching mechanism of the material. By compressing the magnetic field between opposing coils, we generated a strong magnetic field, which caused a localized region to switch at selected poles. In the next iteration of the drive, we inserted the MSM sample between two linear pole arrangements of high pitch density to approximate a moving vertical field. The incremental stepping of the vertical field between poles caused translation of the switched region. The results of this dissertation demonstrate the suitability of MSM alloys for high-precision, persistent, and reliable actuators such as micropumps

Turning a Savage Eye/I: Writing Survival and Empowerment in Yvonne Vera’s \u3cem\u3eThe Stone Virgins\u3c/em\u3e

Yvonne Vera’s The Stone Virgins (2002), both thematically and stylistically, dramatizes a pathological patriarchal system that engages in the oppression of women and their right to normal, happy and productive lives. I argue that, in this novel, she employs the creative imagination and skill of the female I/eye to interrogate a deformed masculinist ideology that has colluded with religion, politics and the class system in the oppression of women, often excluding them from historiography and from public life. In The Stone Virgins, Vera represents a historiography that has marginalized and erased women’s histories from the patriarchal grand narratives of their national liberation history; her narrative points towards women’s future involvement in the whole process of citizenship and nation-building in a ‘reformed’ nation as is evidenced in the closing lines of the novel where the focus is on restoration, recreation and deliverance as essential to the future of the new nation. Writing within the context of a political and economic crisis in 1990s Zimbabwe, with the country showing signs of increasing political decay and growing economic despair, Vera fictionalizes not only the general malaise but specifically the suffering of women under masculinist repression at both the domestic (household) and national levels. In this manner, it parts company with a more celebratory interpretation of history found in conventional liberationist historiography. Vera’s writing in this novel, in her construction of African female subjectivity, critically reassesses the interconnections between masculinist violence as a vital component of liberationist ideology in Zimbabwe both during the liberation struggle and the post-independence years. The corrective narrative of The Stone Virgins resists the masculinist realism of Zimbabwean liberationist narratives that seek to impose a censorship on interrogations of the ‘official’ account. Vera’s writing underscores the importance of counter-narratives (counter-memories) to falsified accounts of history

Battlefield Mementos Care of and Restitution of Japanese \u27Good Luck Flags\u27 and Cultural Heritage Objects from War in Museum Collections

In World War II one of the most common objects found on the battlefield in the Pacific Theater was that of the Japanese Yosegaki Hinomaru or “Good Luck Flag” These objects were some of the most looted items from the war and soon found themselves in the possession of veterans of World War II and their families. In the past few decades as these veterans pass, increasing numbers of veterans and their families attempt to return the flags to Japan, or museums in the United States, believing they are the most suited to care for such objects. However this presents unique problems for museums as these flags are nearly invariably illegally looted from the war dead, and possessing such objects could also cause ethical if not legal concerns. Despite no laws explicitly prohibiting the possession or sale of such cultural heritage objects I will look at such objects through a lens of NAGPRA and how they would be treated under their guidelines. I will cover Simon Harrison\u27s approach to the cultural significance of the flags and how they have changed in function through the years as well as the impact of individuals who attempt to restitute the flags on their own initiative. I will then address what institutions like the Obon Society do in their mission to return Japanese Good Luck flags as well as how other museum institutions can assist or facilitate their mission

Hypotheses in Marketing Science: Literature Review and Publication Audit

We examined three approaches to research in marketing: exploratory hypotheses, dominant hypothesis, and competing hypotheses. Our review of empirical studies on scientific methodology suggests that the use of a single dominant hypothesis lacks objectivity relative to the use of exploratory and competing hypotheses approaches. We then conducted a publication audit of over 1,700 empirical papers in six leading marketing journals during 1984-1999. Of these, 74% used the dominant hypothesis approach, while 13 % used multiple competing hypotheses, and 13% were exploratory. Competing hypotheses were more commonly used for studying methods (25%) than models (17%) and phenomena (7%). Changes in the approach to hypotheses since 1984 have been modest; there was a slight decrease in the percentage of competing hypotheses to 11%, which is plained primarily by an increasing proportion of papers on phenomena. Of the studies based on hypothesis testing, only 11 % described the conditions under which the hypotheses would apply, and dominant hypotheses were below competing hypotheses in this regard. Marketing scientists differed substantially in their opinions about what types of studies should be published and what was published. On average, they did not think dominant hypotheses should be used as often as they were, and they underestimated their use

Design of a processor to support the teaching of computer systems

Teaching computer systems, including computer architecture, assembly language programming and operating system implementation, is a challenging occupation. At the University of Waikato this is made doubly true because we require all computer science and information systems students study this material at second year. The challenges of teaching difficult material to a wide range of students have driven us to find ways of making the material more accessible. The corner stone of our strategy for delivering this material is the design and implementation of a custom CPU that meets the needs of teaching. This paper describes our motivation and these needs. We present the CPU and board design and describe the implementation of the CPU in an FPGA. The paper also includes some reflections on the use of a real CPU rather than a simulation environment. We conclude with a discussion of how the CPU can be used for advanced classes in computer architecture and a description of the current status of the project

Conducting Successful Supervision: Novel Elements Towards an Integrative Approach

In recent years that has been an increasing interest in supervision within the UK's cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) community. This is because the role of supervision has begun to be recognized in relation to the delivery of effective clinical services (Department of Health, 1998), and because of a clear recognition of the need to ensure that CBT practitioners are competent. Perhaps less well recognized in CBT are a number of interesting educational approaches to supervision, ones that may make supervision more successful. This paper summarizes some of these theories from a CBT perspective. Whilst the evidence base does not yet justify being too prescriptive, it is argued that some of these theories, such as Vygotsky's notion of the “Zone of Proximal Development”, provide helpful prompts for reflecting on CBT supervision. An integrative model is constructed from these theories, with illustrative examples and suggestions for future research

Hypotheses in Marketing Science: Literature Review and Publication Audit

We examined three approaches to research in marketing: exploratory hypotheses, dominant hypothesis, and competing hypotheses. Our review of empirical studies on scientific methodology suggests that the use of a single dominant hypothesis lacks objectivity relative to the use of exploratory and competing hypotheses approaches. We then conducted a publication audit of over 1,700 empirical papers in six leading marketing journals during 1984-1999. Of these, 74% used the dominant hypothesis approach, while 13 % used multiple competing hypotheses, and 13% were exploratory. Competing hypotheses were more commonly used for studying methods (25%) than models (17%) and phenomena (7%). Changes in the approach to hypotheses since 1984 have been modest; there was a slight decrease in the percentage of competing hypotheses to 11%, which is explained primarily by an increasing proportion of papers on phenomena. Of the studies based on hypothesis testing, only 11 % described the conditions under which the hypotheses would apply, and dominant hypotheses were below competing hypotheses in this regard. Marketing scientists differed substantially in their opinions about what types of studies should be published and what was published. On average, they did not think dominant hypotheses should be used as often as they were, and they underestimated their use.marketing, marketing research, marketing science