Learning Dimensions: Lessons from Field Studies

In this paper, we describe work to investigate the creation of engaging programming learning experiences. Background research informed the design of four fieldwork studies involving a range of age groups to explore how programming tasks could best be framed to motivate learners. Our empirical findings from these four studies, described here, contributed to the design of a set of programming "Learning Dimensions" (LDs). The LDs provide educators with insights to support key design decisions for the creation of engaging programming learning experiences. This paper describes the background to the identification of these LDs and how they could address the design and delivery of highly engaging programming learning tasks. A web application has been authored to support educators in the application of the LDs to their lesson design

Political Culture in Jamaica Before Anticolonial Nationalism

This paper considers scholarship on political culture in Jamaica in 1865, the year of the Morant Bay rebellion. It situates the historiography of political culture in relation to three trends: first, an older historiography that envisaged the rebellion as indicative of nationalist consciousness; second, a more recent focus on the local politics of protest in the period 1838–1900; and third, another recent approach of explaining political culture through the dynamic relationship between metropole and colony. The paper then goes on to suggest that the latter two approaches are congenial to analysing the Underhill Meetings, a set of key political discussions prior to the rebellion which nevertheless have been underutilized in the historiography. The paper concludes by considering the possible linkages between the Underhill Meetings and the reform initiatives of the post-rebellion colonial state. Overall, it argues for the possibility of island-wide political consciousness without the need for ethno-nationalism or “imagined communities”.Arts and Humanities Research Council, St Catherine’s College, OxfordThis is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/hic3.1233

The idea of the sequel : a theoretically oriented study of literary sequels with special emphasis on three examples from the first half of the eighteenth century.

The literary sequel has received little sustained or comprehensive critical attention. In view of this neglect the aim of this thesis is to present the sequel as a fruitful subject for discussion and analysis. The task undertaken here necessitates three interrelated procedures, the first of which seeks to produce a widely applicable definition of the word "sequel". The second procedure is the describing of the sequel as a literary form. This process demands a theoretical approach which views the sequel as a concept, or, as the thesis title indicates, an idea. In order to give coherence and unity to this activity the range of reference is limited almost exclusively to prose fiction in English from the late sixteenth century to the present day. In the three main central chapters the focus further narrows to consider in turn three examples of the sequel drawn from the first half of the eighteenth century. The close analysis of individual works highlights paradoxical aspects of the sequel. These special characteristics derive from a governing paradox common to all sequels: a sequel both continues a prior work and has an independent existence. The sequel cannot, however, be fully characterised without reference to its immediate historical circumstances. A third procedure examines the ways in which the contemporary response to a first part can prompt the composition of a sequel and influence its content and structure

Retrofitting a high-rise residential building to reduce energy use by a factor of 10

This thesis details the ways in which energy is consumed in an existing Canadian high-rise apartment building and outlines a strategy to reduce its consumption of grid purchased energy by 90%. Grid purchased energy is targeted because the building is located in Saskatchewan where energy is predominantly generated from fossil fuels that release greenhouse gas emissions into the environment. Greenhouse gas emissions are targeted because of the growing consensus that human activities are the cause of recent global climate destabilization and the general trend towards global warming. Energy consumption is also a concern because of anticipated resource shortages resulting from increases in both global population and average per capita consumption. Many researchers are beginning to claim that a factor 10 reduction in energy use by industrialized nations will be required in order for our civilization to be sustainable.The building that was studied is an 11 story seniors high-rise with a total above ground floor area of 8,351 m2. It was constructed in 1985, in Saskatoon, SK, and it is an average user of energy for this region of the world and for a building of its size and type. Numerous field measurements were taken in the building, both during this study and previously by the Saskatchewan Research Council. These measurements were used to create a computer model of the building using EE4. After the computer model of the building was created different energy saving retrofits were simulated and compared. Over 40 retrofits are presented and together they reduce the annual grid purchased energy of the building from 360 kWh/m2 (based on above ground floor area) to 36 kWh/m2, a factor 10 reduction. Natural gas consumption was reduced by approximately 94% and grid purchased electrical consumption was reduced by approximately 81%. As a result of these energy savings, a factor 6.6 reduction (85%) in greenhouse gas emissions was also achieved. The goal of factor 10 could not be achieved only through energy conservation and the final design includes two solar water heating systems and grid-connected photovoltaic panels. These systems were modeled using RETScreen project analysis tools.Capital cost estimates and simple payback periods for each retrofit are also presented. The total cost to retrofit the building is estimated to be $3,123,000 and the resulting utility savings from the retrofits are approximately$150,000 per year. This is a factor 6.0 reduction (83%) in annual utility costs in comparison to the base building. While the typical response to proposing a “green” building is that financial sacrifices are required, there is also research available stating that operating in a more sustainable manner is economically advantageous. This research project adds to the “green building economics” debate by detailing savings and costs for each retrofit and ranking each retrofit that was proposed. The most economically advantageous mechanical system that was added to the building was energy recovery in the outdoor ventilation air. It should also be noted that there was already a glycol run-around heat recovery system in the building and even greater savings would have been obtained from installing the energy recovery system had this not been the case.While the goal of factor 10 required economically unjustifiable retrofits to be proposed, the majority of the retrofits had simple payback periods of less than 20 years (30 out of 49). This research shows that certain retrofits have highly desirable rates of return and that when making decisions regarding investing in auditing a building, improving energy efficiency, promoting conservation, or utilizing renewable energy technologies, maintaining the status quo may be economically detrimental. This would be especially true in the case of new building construction

Chapter 1 Introduction

"Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews, this book delves into the rich world of Ghanaian fashion, demonstrating how, over time, local dress styles and materials have been fused with global trends to create innovative, high fashion garments that reflect a distinctly Ghanaian cosmopolitanism. Ghana has a complex and diverse fashion culture which was in evidence before independence in 1957 and has continued to grow in reputation in the postcolonial period. In this book, Christopher Richards reflects on the contributions of the country’s female fashion designers, who have employed fashion to innovate existing, culturally relevant dress styles, challenge gendered forms of dress, and make bold statements regarding women’s sexuality. Treated as artworks, the book examines specific garments to illustrate the inherent complexity of their design and how fashion is often embedded with a blending of personal histories, cultural practices and global inspirations. Reflecting in particular on the works of Laura Quartey, Letitia Obeng, Juliana Kweifio-Okai, Beatrice Arthur, and Aisha Ayensu, this book makes an important and timely contribution to art history, fashion studies, anthropology, history, women’s studies and African Studies.

A DETAILED ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE MODIFIED POLAR DECODING RNTI RECOVERY METHOD TO TRACK USER ACTIVITY IN 5G NETWORKS

In this thesis, we analyze and optimize the modified polar decoding and syndrome matching radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) recovery method to de-anonymize the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in 5G networks. We present the impact on RNTI recovery of payload length, codeword length, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the Hamming and longest common substring (LCS) recovery methods. Further, we consider the full set of RNTIs and downlink control information (DCI) fields that can be examined for user activity data and propose methods to track user activity within radio networks from the recovered data. Finally, we optimize the RNTI recovery method for different attacker scenarios to demonstrate how an attacker can recover RNTIs, track UEs, and aggregate data about the UE usage patterns and/or metadata about the user.DOD Space, Chantilly, VA 20151Lieutenant Commander, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Anti-Slave-Trade Law, ‘Liberated Africans’ and the State in the South Atlantic World, c.1839–1852

From 1807 onwards, bilateral slave-trade treaties stipulated how naval squadrons would rescue slaves from slave ships, and how states should arrange the settlement and apprenticeship of these slaves, to transform them into ‘liberated Africans’. Comparing interactions between the state and liberated Africans at sea along the South African and Brazilian coasts, and in the port towns of Cape Town and Salvador, reveals how the legal status of liberated Africans changed over time. Current scholarship has framed liberated Africans in terms of whether they were attributed rights or suffered re-enslavement, and thus focused on their solidarity through claiming rights, ‘ethnic survivals’ or creolization. Instead, this paper argues anti-slave-trade legislation ascribed to liberated Africans a set of unguaranteed entitlements – promises regarding status and treatment without obligating states to uphold that status or treatment. By focusing on the precise aspects of legislation that operated at each point in the process of anti-slave-trade activity – rescuing slaves from slave ships, transportation to a port, processing through a court, and apprenticeship – this paper unearths how the law came into force in the encounter between state officials and liberated Africans, as part of the complex transition from slavery to free labour

Creating Multi Objective Value Functions from Non-Independent Values

Decisions are made every day and by everyone. As these decisions become more important, involve higher costs and affect a broader group of stakeholders it becomes essential to establish a more rigorous strategy than simply intuition or going with your gut . In the past several decades, the concept of Value Focused Thinking (VFT) has gained much acclaim in assisting Decision Makers (DMs) in this very effort. By identifying and organizing what a DM values VFT is able to decompose the original problem and create a mathematical model to score and rank alternatives to be chosen. But what if the decision should not be completely decomposed? What if there are factors that are inextricably linked rather than independent? In the past several years, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have quickly become the number one killer of American troops overseas. To this end the Joint IED Defeat Organization worked to create a VFT model to solicit and grade countermeasure proposals as candidates for funding. While much time and care was put into soliciting a valid VFT hierarchy from the appropriate DM, it does not represent the only option. With JIEDDO as an example this paper examines a strategy to better reflect a DM’s combined values in a way which is understandable to the DM and maintains a level of mathematical rigor