Case Study: “Hair meets Design”: The Application of Storytelling in the Context of Long-Distance Collaboration and Virtual Teamwork

Virtual teamwork and long distance collaboration is an increasingly attractive option in design education especially when students and other participants, (for example, industry guests or sponsors) cannot meet in the same physical place or classroom. The constant improvement in technology allows this type of electronic communication to be increasingly accepted as an appropriate format for collaboration and evaluation of student projects. This paper discusses the collaboration between members of a company in Germany and a group of industrial design students in California. It will present the work flow, the evaluation tools and the formats introduced during the process. Since the participants of this project could not meet physically to discuss and evaluate ideas, it was imperative for the teams to develop standard visual formats that were easy to understand and re-utilize. These formats had to be flexible enough for the purpose of adding comments from the evaluators. Because the physical presence of the presenter is missing, it is necessary to adjust the content and layout of the messages in order to make them more relevant and self-explanatory. The message has to be easy to understand without the help of a presenter or lecturer. One of the most significant questions in this project was how to present multiple “layers of information” in one single image at the same time (for example, how to depict work flow, time sequence and object hierarchy in one single frame). In a normal situation (where the presenter is physically present in front of an audience) he/she can verbally add secondary information that would not be visually included but it is necessary in order to understand the relevance of the image being presented. This additional verbal information could be related to time, hierarchy, etc. This paper will discuss the development and evaluation of visual formats that present multiple layers of information in one single image. It describes the methods used and reports the solutions. Ultimately, this paper explains the relevance of using storytelling in the context of long-distance design collaboration. Keywords: Virtual Teamwork; Long-Distance Collaboration; Storytelling; Infographics</p

Families of Singular and Subsingular Vectors of the Topological N=2 Superconformal Algebra

We analyze several issues concerning the singular vectors of the Topological N=2 Superconformal algebra. First we investigate which types of singular vectors exist, regarding the relative U(1) charge and the BRST-invariance properties, finding four different types in chiral Verma modules and twenty-nine different types in complete Verma modules. Then we study the family structure of the singular vectors, every member of a family being mapped to any other member by a chain of simple transformations involving the spectral flows. The families of singular vectors in chiral Verma modules follow a unique pattern (four vectors) and contain subsingular vectors. We write down these families until level 3, identifying the subsingular vectors. The families of singular vectors in complete Verma modules follow infinitely many different patterns, grouped roughly in five main kinds. We present a particularly interesting thirty-eight-member family at levels 3, 4, 5, and 6, as well as the complete set of singular vectors at level 1 (twenty-eight different types). Finally we analyze the D\"orrzapf conditions leading to two linearly independent singular vectors of the same type, at the same level in the same Verma module, and we write down four examples of those pairs of singular vectors, which belong to the same thirty-eight-member family.Comment: Latex, 51 pages. One figure. Many improvements. Major revisio

The Other Spectral Flow

Recently we showed that the spectral flow acting on the N=2 twisted topological theories gives rise to a topological algebra automorphism. Here we point out that the untwisting of that automorphism leads to a spectral flow on the untwisted N=2 superconformal algebra which is different from the usual one. This "other" spectral flow does not interpolate between the chiral ring and the antichiral ring. In particular, it maps the chiral ring into the chiral ring and the antichiral ring into the antichiral ring. We discuss the similarities and differences between both spectral flows. We also analyze their action on null states.Comment: Latex, 7 page

Classification of agricultural systems based on pesticide use intensity and safety

An analysis of socio-economic driving forces in crop protection is proposed to improve the implementation of sustainable strategies. The analysis includes: (1) a classification of agricultural systems based on pesticide use intensity and safety, (2) an evaluation of the profitability of farming systems and identification of socio-economic factors that influence pesticide use and (3) formulation of policy recommendations. We find that for cereals and for fruit trees alike, crop yields are much higher for agricultural systems with high doses of pesticides. The safety of applied pesticides does not affect crop protection costs significantly. For cropping systems characterised by low-intensity in pesticide use, the application of safer products has a positive effect on reduction of crop protection costs.pesticide use, driving forces in crop protection, economic analysis of agricultural systems, Crop Production/Industries,

Topological Descendants: DDK and KM Realizations

The "minimal matter + scalar" system can be embedded into the twisted N=2 topological algebra in two ways: a la DDK or a la KM. Here we present some results concerning the topological descendants and their DDK and KM realizations. In particular, we prove four "no-ghost" theorems (two for null states) regarding the reduction of the topological descendants into secon- daries of the "minimal matter + scalar" conformal field theory. We write down the relevant expressions for the case of level 2 descendants.Comment: 10 pgs, Late

Spectral Flows and Twisted Topological Theories

We analyze the action of the spectral flows on N=2 twisted topological theories. We show that they provide a useful mapping between the two twisted topological theories associated to a given N=2 superconformal theory. This mapping can also be viewed as a topological algebra automorphism. In particular null vectors are mapped into null vectors, considerably simplifying their computation. We give the level 2 results. Finally we discuss the spectral flow mapping in the case of the DDK and KM realizations of the topological algebra.Comment: The presentation of the results has been very much improved. Some references have been adde

A Content Analysis on the Phases of Emergency Management for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico

The destruction caused by Hurricane Maria challenged the emergency management agencies in Puerto Rico. More than a month after the storm, most of the island remained without electricity, and full recovery has taken several months, if not years. This study explores the four phases of emergency management (mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery) for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico from the perspective of FEMA and AEMEAD. Data comes from a content analysis of official communications, news reports, and social media postings from FEMA, AEMEAD, and other agencies responsible for emergency management in Puerto Rico. Results suggest that the magnitude of the storm, previous financial struggles, and a lack of preparedness were the main factors that influenced the emergency management process for AEMEAD. Also, results indicate that ongoing disasters, lack of priority, and geographic challenges were the main factors that influenced the emergency management process for FEMA. The findings of this study provide a comprehensive review of the emergency management procedures taken by FEMA and AEMEAD before, during, and after Hurricane Maria. This review can inform those involved in emergency management and can be utilized as a policy tool to learn and prepare for future catastrophic events