3D Window Manager Prototype

The standard graphical user interfaces on leading operating systems today all use a two dimensional approach for interaction and visualization. Handling several applications using this approach often leads to a cluttered work space which is hard to manage efficiently. Research within the 3D window management area has been performed and many products exist today which utilize 3D in one way or another, but none of these have had any impact on how windows are managed in leading operating systems. The main goal with this thesis was to implement a prototype which utilized 3D in order to manage open windows in a structured way. The result is a system where the user can interact with windows in a 3D world. These windows can be placed and grouped on certain designated areas, which the user is able to navigate between quickly along predefined paths. In order to work with windows they are brought up from the 3D environment to a conventional two dimensional work space. Different users that tried out the prototype encountered no big issues with how the prototype solved navigation and interaction with objects in a 3D environment. While some of them appreciated the product as a whole, some could not see how this would benefit them during their daily computer usage, although they saw advantages with some of the functionality. // Sammanfattning De grafiska användargränssnitt som används i de ledande operativsystemen idag använder ett två-dimensionellt tillvägagångssätt för interaktion och visualisering. Att hantera flera applikationer på detta sätt leder ofta till en rörig arbetsyta som är svår att arbeta med effektivt. Forskning inom fönsterhantering i 3D har utförts och många produkter finns i dagsläget som utnyttjar 3D på ett eller annat sätt, men ingen av dessa har haft något genomslag för hur fönster hanteras i de ledande operativsystemen. Huvudmålet med denna rapport var att implementera en prototyp som utnyttjade 3D för att hantera öppna fönster på ett strukturerat sätt. Resultatet är ett system där användaren kan interagera med fönster i en 3D-värld. Dessa fönster kan placeras och grupperas på särskilda ytor, som användaren snabbt kan navigera mellan längs förbestämda banor. För att arbeta med fönster tas de upp från 3Dmiljön till en konventionell två-dimensionell arbetsyta.En grupp användare som prövade prototypen stötte inte på några större hinder med hur prototypen löste navigering och interaktion med objekt i en 3D-miljö. Medan några av dem uppskattade produkten i sin helhet, hade en del svårt att se hur detta skulle gynna dem i sin dagliga datoranvändning, även om de såg fördelar med delar av funktionaliteten

Fremont-Smith: The Foundations and Government: State and Federal Law and Supervision

Digimergo är en digitalisering av Emergo Train System, ett system där personal inom räddningstjänst kan öva på olika katastrofscenarion. För att göra Digimergo användbart behövdes ytterligare programvara: ett administrationsverktyg till övningar och en scenarioeditor. I det programvaruutvecklingsprojekt som denna rapport behandlar har ny programvara utvecklats och integrerats med det ursprungliga Digimergosystemet. I den här rapporten diskuteras vilka risker som existerar när ny funktionalitet skall läggas till ett gammalt projekt samt hur dessa risker kan minimeras. Rapporten undersöker också vilka utvecklingsmetoder som lämpar sig i projekt där ny funktionalitet ska läggas till befintliga system. Resultatet visar att den största risken med att utöka befintliga projekt är att underskatta tiden som krävs för att sätta sig in i projektet i fråga. Det mest effektiva sättet att minimera risken för detta är att mycket tidigt studera det tidigare arbetet och utbilda projektmedlemmarna i det gamla systemet. Ett annat angreppssätt är att välja en metod som är flexibel när det kommer till nya risker eller ändringar i projektets plan, förslagsvis iterativa metoder

Tessellations and Pattern Formation in Plant Growth and Development

The shoot apical meristem (SAM) is a dome-shaped collection of cells at the apex of growing plants from which all above-ground tissue ultimately derives. In Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress), a small flowering weed of the Brassicaceae family (related to mustard and cabbage), the SAM typically contains some three to five hundred cells that range from five to ten microns in diameter. These cells are organized into several distinct zones that maintain their topological and functional relationships throughout the life of the plant. As the plant grows, organs (primordia) form on its surface flanks in a phyllotactic pattern that develop into new shoots, leaves, and flowers. Cross-sections through the meristem reveal a pattern of polygonal tessellation that is suggestive of Voronoi diagrams derived from the centroids of cellular nuclei. In this chapter we explore some of the properties of these patterns within the meristem and explore the applicability of simple, standard mathematical models of their geometry.Comment: Originally presented at: "The World is a Jigsaw: Tessellations in the Sciences," Lorentz Center, Leiden, The Netherlands, March 200

Farmers’ Perception of Management Accounting

The agriculture sector in Sweden is undergoing a fast reformation. Due to different policy changes, the competition from foreign agriculture has increased and the number of Swedish dairy farm businesses is steadily decreasing. Sweden has got good conditions for agriculture and the Swedish food production is an important sector of the Swedish economy that employs 240 000 people throughout the production chain. The increased competition has enlarged the focus on business management within farm businesses to secure a competitive agriculture in Sweden. In the farm management literature, the manager has previously been acknowledged as an important factor in determining farm performance based on the background that the economic performance differs among farms, even though they face similar conditions. In the business literature, management accounting is highlighted as a set of important practices for decision-making and control within the business. In the agricultural sector, the importance of management accounting has also been acknowledged, however, previous studies suggest that the usage of formal management accounting practices is low among farm managers. Instead, studies have shown that farmers tend to use their social network and experience to evaluate financial decisions. In contrary, previous studies have also shown that more successful farmers think in terms of business management. Therefore the aim of this study is to explore how Swedish dairy farm managers perceive management accounting and use it in order to manage their companies with respect to decision-making, and control. The results of this study is based on the analysis of nine interviews with farm managers on large Swedish dairy farms. During the interviews, the Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique was used to obtain knowledge and understanding of farmer’s perception regarding management accounting. The data was coded with the means-end chain theory and was displayed in a hierarchical value map, allowing for an analysis of the central attributes, consequences, goals and values of management accounting. The results indicate that management accounting is perceived as an integrated part of farm management practices. However, instead of using formal management accounting practices, farmers rely on informal and simplified management techniques for decision-making and control. The main contribution of this study is the novel use of the chosen method and an increased understanding of management accounting in farm management practices. This increased understanding can be used to develop the field of farm management further and to secure the long-term competitiveness of Swedish agriculture.Den svenska lantbrukssektorn genomgår en omfattande struktur-rationalisering. På grund av en rad politiska beslut har konkurrensen från utländska livsmedelsproducenter ökat. Detta har medfört att antalet svenska mjölkproducenter minskar i antal och de kvarvarande blir allt större. Generellt har Sverige goda förutsättningar för att bedriva livsmedelsproduktion och den svenska livsmedelssektorn sysselsätter 240 000 personer genom hela produktionskedjan. Den ökade konkurrensen har inneburit ett ökat fokus på företagsledning i lantbruksföretag för att säkerställa en god långsiktig konkurrensförmåga. Tidigare litteratur har uppmärksammat företagsledaren som en viktig faktor för lönsamheten i lantbruksföretag av litteraturen. Detta baseras på vetskapen att lantbruksföretag med liknande förutsättningar skiljer sig gällande lönsamhet. I företagslitteraturen har ekonomistyrning uppmärksammats som en viktig faktor för att bistå företagsledaren med information vid beslut och uppföljning. Detta gäller även inom lantbruksliteraturen även om det har uppmärksammats att användningen av ekonomistyrning inom lantbruksföretagen är låg. Istället tenderar lantbrukare att värdesätta sitt sociala nätverk och sin erfarenhet som viktiga beståndsdelar i sin företagsledning. En paradox är dock att tidigare studier visar att framgångsrika lantbrukare tänker i banor av företagsledning. Syftet med den här studien är därför att undersöka hur svenska mjölkproducenter uppfattar ekonomistyrning och hur ekonomistyrning används för att fatta beslut och utöva intern kontroll. Empirin i studien är baserat på nio stycken djupintervjuer med företagsledare på stora svenska mjölkgårdar. Vid intervjuerna användes Zaltman metaphor elicitation technique för att skapa kunskap och förståelse för lantbrukarnas uppfattning gällande ekonomistyrning. För att koda datan användes means-end chain teorin och resultaten sammanfattades i en hierarkisk värdekarta. Den hierarkiska värdekartan visar de centrala länkarna mellan uppfattade attribut, konsekvenser, mål och värden. Kartan möjliggör en analys av hur lantbrukarna använder och uppfattar ekonomistyrning. Resultatet indikerar att ekonomistyrning ses som en integrerad del av företagsledningen. Dock används informella och förenklade ekonomistyrningstekniker för beslutsfattande och kontroll. Det huvudsakliga bidraget från studien är sättet att använda den valda metoden samt en ökad förståelse för företagsledning inom lantbruksnäringen. Den ökade förståelsen kan användas för att ytterligare utveckla företagsledning inom lantbruksnäringen vilken i sin tur kan bidra med att stärka konkurrenskraften i det svenska lantbruket

Samverkan mellan enheter inom en koncern

The purpose with the master's thesis is to study the cooperation between two units within a concern and also to emphasise the improvement proposal which improves the cooperation. The ambition with the master's thesis is to give improvement proposals that, with implementation, can contribute to a more efficient cooperation between the units

Investigation of photochemical effects in flame diagnostics with picosecond photofragmentation laser-induced fluorescence

Photofragmentation laser-induced fluorescence (PFLIF) is for the first time performed based on picosecond laser pulses for detection of hydroperoxyl radicals (HO2) in a stoichiometric laminar methane/air flame. Photofragmentation is performed with a pump laser pulse of 80 ps duration and a wavelength of 266 nm, whereupon the produced OH photofragments are detected by a second picosecond probe laser pulse, inducing fluorescence via excitation in the A2Σ+(v = 1) ← X2Π(v = 0) band of OH near 283 nm. Excitation spectra of the OH photofragments formed in the reaction zone were recorded for pump-probe delays ranging from 0 to 5 ns. The spectra suggest that the population distribution of the nascent OH fragments is rotationally cold and that it takes on the order of 5 ns for the nascent non-equilibrium rotational distribution to relax into a thermal distribution. The radial OH-fragment distribution was extracted from spectral images (radial position versus emission wavelength) recorded at six different pump-probe delays. Photochemical OH production was observed both in the reaction zone and the product zone. Comparison with a kinetic model for OH production suggests that more than 20% of the oxygen fragments produced by photolysis in the reaction zone are formed in the excited 1D state, explaining a very rapid initial signal growth. The OH-production model was also compared with previous reaction-zone data, acquired with nanosecond laser pulses in the same flame, indicating that no O(1D), but only O(3P), is formed. A plausible explanation of the discrepancy between the two results is that the picosecond pulses, having more than two-orders of magnitude higher irradiance than the nanosecond pulses used in the previous study, might cause 2-photon photodissociation, allowing production of O(1D). In terms of flame diagnostics with PFLIF, it is concluded that a setup based on nanosecond laser pulses, rather than picosecond pulses, appears preferable since photochemical OH production in the reaction zone can be avoided while for short delay times the ratio between the photofragment signal and the photochemical interference in the product zone, stemming from CO2 photolysis, is sufficiently large to clearly visualize the photofragments

Feasibility Study of a Radical Vane-Integrated Heat Exchanger for Turbofan Engine Applications

The density of liquid hydrogen (LH2), at the normal boiling point, is two times higher than that of highly compressed hydrogen. This makes LH2 the prime candidate for hydrogen storage in aviation. However, LH2 is stored at cryogenic temperatures that require adequate insulation, as well as the integration of heat exchangers to warm up the hydrogen on its way to the combustion chamber. Ideally, the required heat exchangers are strategically placed in the engine core to produce optimum heat management, thus improving the engine efficiency, increase its durability as well as to reduce emissions. Moreover, the combination of hydrogen high specific heat with cryogenic temperatures results in formidable cooling capacity, that can be explored by more compact HEX solutions. The present work numerically investigates a novel concept of a compact compressor vane-integrated heat exchanger, for application in cryogenically fuelled gas turbine engines. The baseline engine used for establishing the HEX requirements is a large geared turbofan, operating on liquid hydrogen. The HEX aero-thermal performance is first estimated using zero-dimensional models and Chalmers in-house gas turbine performance tool GESTPAN. After, the conceptual design of an outlet guide vane-HEX is developed and integrated into a three-stage low-pressure compressor. The baseline compressor geometry is a lightly loaded high-speed booster with a design pressure ratio of 2.8. The multi-stage compressor with the integrated HEX is evaluated using steady-state computational fluid dynamics. Results allow to estimate the heat exchanger performance in terms of total pressure loss, heat transfer effectiveness, and the potential enhanced radial flow turning capability. Further, the impact of the new developed OGV-HEX on the compressor characteristics is also reported and discussed

The heat transfer potential of compressor vanes on a hydrogen fueled turbofan engine

Hydrogen is a promising fuel for future aviation due to its CO2-free combustion. In addition, its excellent cooling properties as it is heated from cryogenic conditions to the appropriate combustion temperatures provides a multitude of opportunities. This paper investigates the heat transfer potential of stator surfaces in a modern high-speed low-pressure compressor by incorporating cooling channels within the stator vane surfaces, where hydrogen is allowed to flow and cool the engine core air. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations were carried out to assess the aerothermal performance of this cooled compressor and were compared to heat transfer correlations. A core air temperature drop of 9.5\ua0K was observed for this cooling channel design while being relatively insensitive to the thermal conductivity of the vane and cooling channel wall thickness. The thermal resistance was dominated by the air-side convective heat transfer, and more surface area on the air-side would therefore be required in order to increase overall heat flow. While good agreement with established heat transfer correlations was found for both turbulent and transitional flow, the correlation for the transitional case yielded decent accuracy only as long as the flow remains attached, and while transition was dominated by the bypass mode. A system level analysis, indicated a limited but favorable impact at engine performance level, amounting to a specific fuel consumption improvement of up to 0.8\ua0% in cruise and an estimated reduction of 3.6\ua0% in cruise NOx. The results clearly show that, although it is possible to achieve high heat transfer rate per unit area in compressor vanes, the impact on cycle performance is constrained by the limited available wetted area in the low-pressure compressor

Including time in a travel demand model using dynamic discrete choice

Activity based travel demand models are based on the idea that travel is derived from the demand to participate in different activities. Predicting travel demand should therefore include the prediction of demand for activity participation. Time-space constraints, such as working hours, restricts when and where different activities can be conducted, and plays an important role in determining how people choose to travel. Travelling is seen as a possibly costly link between different activities, that also implicitly leads to missed opportunities for activity participation. With a microeconomic foundation, activity based models can further be used for appraisal and for accessibility measures. However, most models up to date lack some dynamic consistency that, e.g., might make it hard to capture the trade-off between activity decisions at different times of the day. In this paper, we show how dynamic discrete choice theory can be used to formulate a travel demand model which includes choice of departure time for all trips, as well as number of trips, location, purpose and mode of transport. We estimate the model on travel diaries and show that the it is able to reproduce the distribution of, e.g., number of trips per day, departure times and travel time distributions

Quantitative analysis of auxin sensing in leaf primordia argues against proposed role in regulating leaf dorsoventrality

Dorsoventrality in leaves has been shown to depend on the pre-patterned expression of KANADI and HD-ZIPIII genes within the plant shoot apical meristem (SAM). However, it has also been proposed that asymmetric auxin levels within initiating leaves help establish leaf polarity, based in part on observations of the DII auxin sensor. By analyzing and quantifying the expression of the R2D2 auxin sensor, we find that there is no obvious asymmetry in auxin levels during Arabidopsis leaf development. We further show that the mDII control sensor also exhibits an asymmetry in expression in developing leaf primordia early on, while it becomes more symmetric at a later developmental stage as reported previously. Together with other recent findings, our results argue against the importance of auxin asymmetry in establishing leaf polarity