Design of robust service operations using cybernetic principles and simulation

Information flows in a service organisation allow business units to co-ordinate their response to changes in the operating environment. Processes and interactions can be designed so that the right information flows to the right people, at the right time to make effective decisions regarding job priorities and allocation of limited resource. This paper develops an analysis framework and simulation approach to identify the internal information flows an organisation needs to “tune itself” for changing conditions, thus making itself more robust to uncertainties. The ideas are developed and illustrated through a case study with a major telecoms company.International Design Conference - DESIGN 201

Single-color two-photon spectroscopy of Rydberg states in electric fields

Rydberg states of atomic helium with principal quantum numbers ranging from n=20 to n=100 have been prepared by non-resonance-enhanced single-color two-photon excitation from the metastable 2 {^3}S{_1} state. Photoexcitation was carried out using linearly and circularly polarized pulsed laser radiation. In the case of excitation with circularly polarized radiation, Rydberg states with azimuthal quantum number |m_{\ell}|=2 were prepared in zero electric field, and in homogeneous electric fields oriented parallel to the propagation axis of the laser radiation. In sufficiently strong electric fields, individual Rydberg-Stark states were resolved spectroscopically, highlighting the suitability of non-resonance-enhanced multiphoton excitation schemes for the preparation of long-lived high-|m_{\ell}| hydrogenic Rydberg states for deceleration and trapping experiments. Applications of similar schemes for Doppler-free excitation of positronium atoms to Rydberg states are also discussed

Tannakian approach to linear differential algebraic groups

Tannaka's Theorem states that a linear algebraic group G is determined by the category of finite dimensional G-modules and the forgetful functor. We extend this result to linear differential algebraic groups by introducing a category corresponding to their representations and show how this category determines such a group.Comment: 31 pages; corrected misprint

Germanness, Civilization, and Slavery: Southern Brazil as German Colonial Space (1819-1888).

This dissertation examines how discourses concerning slavery and civilization helped construct Southern Brazil as a colonial space in German-language sources between 1819 and 1888. Germanophone authors in both Europe and Brazil presented Portuguese-Brazilians as rendered unwilling to and incapable of effectively developing their country due to their alleged dependence on slave labor. German settlers, according to German nationalists, would remake the Portuguese-Brazilians into industrious and effective examples of civilization, thereby presenting Brazil as not only wanting German colonists, but also as needing them to advance. In German-language presentations of Southern Brazil, settlers remained allegedly free of the effects of slavery, either through their refusing to own slaves or through exercising a civilizing influence on their slaves. However, German nationalists excluded Afro-Brazilians as a group from the German civilizing mission in the region, asserting that the state and slave owners, not the German-Brazilian population, were responsible for improving Afro-Brazilians’ character. This dissertation further examines how these representations of German settlers in Southern Brazil served different social and political purposes for German nationalists on their respective sides of the Atlantic. In this way, this dissertation uncovers how discourses of slavery connected to the development of German colonialism at both the transnational and local levels.PHDHistoryUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116675/1/eugenesc_1.pd

Determining if Custodial Grandparents of Pre-K - Third Grade Students Perceive Delivery of Information and Services Offered as Effective in Decreasing Early Chronic Absence

This study examined the delivery of information and services offered to grandparents who had become the primary caregivers of pre-k through third grade students to determine if the information and services were effective in decreasing chronic early absence as defined by Chang and Romero (2008). This mixed-method, multi-case study focused on the perceived needs of custodial grandparents and examined if the school system was meeting their needs through delivery of information and services. The researcher sought participation from 5 custodial grandparents who had grandchildren in pre-k, kindergarten, first, second, or third grades in a Northeast Tennessee school system and whose grandchildren had accumulated absences that met the definition of chronic early absenteeism (10% or more absences) as defined by Chang and Romero (2008). Skyward Database provided a list of families who met the aforementioned criteria. The average age of this group of grandparents was 51.8 with a range of ages from 48 to 54.The comparison group, also retrieved from the Skyward Database, included 4 custodial grandparents whose grandchildren had the highest attendance rates (top 5%). The average age of this group was 53 with a range of ages from 48 to 59. Researcher-developed questionnaires and interviews were used to determine outcomes and major findings. [a1] Major findings included 1) A Chi Squared Test determined that children in grandparent-led households were significantly more likely to meet the criteria of chronic early absence than children from parent/other guardian-led households; 2) 100% of grandparents in both groups had not heard of chronic early absence, 33% of teachers had not heard of chronic early absence, and 50% of Family Resource Center Staff had not heard of chronic early absence; 3) 47% of grandparent-led households met the criteria of chronic early absence while only 18% of parent/other guardian-led households met criteria of chronic early absence; 4) 0% of the parents were involved in the child’s life or education in the grandparent-led households while 50% of the parents were involved in the child’s life or education in parent/other guardian-led households; 5) 20% of children in grandparent-led households with chronic early absence had disciplinary actions while 100% of children in grandparent-led households with high attendance had significant disciplinary actions; and 6) Sickness was the primary reason for absences in grandparent-led families with chronic early absence; 7) A majority of grandparents in both groups used verbal communication with teachers and school staff, but written communication was preferred by each group

The Fabrication and Characterisation of Economically Viable Functionalised Surfaces for Superhydrophobic and Antimicrobial Applications

This thesis investigates the fabrication and characterisation of economically viable functionalised surfaces for superhydrophobic and antimicrobial applications. This included the production of a ZnO incorporated PVC nanocomposite, a ZnO stearic acid latex paint, and a ZnO stearic acid polyurethane coating. All samples were produced while avoiding expensive raw materials and using manufacturing techniques viable for large scale production. To begin with, PVC and ZnO nanoparticles were identified as viable materials for an antimicrobial nanocomposite. Samples produced with compression moulding were then tested and proved to be qualitatively antimicrobial against both S. aureus and E. coli. Quantitatively, the samples were shown to kill 99.67% of E. coli, while only having a 58.78% kill against S. aureus. This was followed by mechanism testing that identified singlet oxygen as the nanocomposite’s primary mechanism. A further study of S. aureus was able to rule out carotenoids as its primary method of defence against singlet oxygen. This work was followed by the development of a superhydrophobic paint. The paint was fabricated using predominantly ZnO or SiO2, stearic or palmitic acid, and one of four latexes. Once optimised, the surfaces underwent testing and analysis to determine both the surfaces’ physical and chemical properties. This culminated with a surface producing an x̄ WCA (water contact angle) of 170.3°, while also displaying qualitative antimicrobial properties against both S. aureus and E. coli, while lacking sufficient quantitative antimicrobial properties. Finally, durable superhydrophobic polymer coatings were investigated. Both polyurethane and epoxy surfaces were combined with particles and fatty acids in an effort to produce the coatings. This work achieved a durable superhydrophobic polyurethane coating containing ZnO, with an x̄ WCA of 167.5°, qualitative antimicrobial properties against both S. aureus and E. coli, while again lacking sufficient quantitative antimicrobial properties

Make it so! Jean-Luc Picard, Bart Simpson and the design of e-public services

In this paper, we report on a project applying participatory design methods to include people who have experience of social exclusion (in one form or another) in designing possible technologies for e-(local)-government services. The work was part of a project for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in the UK, and was concerned with ‘access tokens’ that can provide personal identification for individuals accessing public services, based on technologies such as multi-functional smartcards, flash memory sticks, mobile phone SIMs or similar devices. In particular we report on our experience using the ‘pastiche scenarios’ technique recently developed by Mark Blythe. Our findings indicate that the technique can be effective and engaging in helping people to create realistic scenarios of future technology use and highlight some possible pitfalls to consider when using this technique.</p

Models for Chronology Selection

In this paper, we derive an expression for the grand canonical partition function for a fluid of hot, rotating massless scalar field particles in the Einstein universe. We consider the number of states with a given energy as one increases the angular momentum so that the fluid rotates with an increasing angular velocity. We find that at the critical value when the velocity of the particles furthest from the origin reaches the speed of light, the number of states tends to zero. We illustrate how one can also interpret this partition function as the effective action for a boosted scalar field configuration in the product of three dimensional de Sitter space and $S^1$. In this case, we consider the number of states with a fixed linear momentum around the $S^1$ as the particles are given more and more boost momentum. At the critical point when the spacetime is about to develop closed timelike curves, the number of states again tends to zero. Thus it seems that quantum mechanics naturally enforces the chronology protection conjecture by superselecting the causality violating field configurations from the quantum mechanical phase space.Comment: 20 pages, Late

Making mentoring work: The need for rewiring epistemology

To help produce expert coaches at both participation and performance levels, a number of governing bodies have established coach mentoring systems. In light of the limited literature on coach mentoring, as well as the risks of superficial treatment by coach education systems, this paper therefore critically discusses the role of the mentor in coach development, the nature of the mentor-mentee relationship and, most specifically, how expertise in the mentee may best be developed. If mentors are to be effective in developing expert coaches then we consequently argue that a focus on personal epistemology is required. On this basis, we present a framework that conceptualizes mentee development on this level through a step by step progression, rather than unrealistic and unachievable leap toward expertise. Finally, we consider the resulting implications for practice and research with respect to one-on-one mentoring, communities of practice, and formal coach education