Transfer Scenarios: Grounding Innovation with Marginal Practices

Transfer scenarios is a method developed to support the design of innovative interactive technology. Such a method should help the designer to come up with inventive ideas, and at the same time provide grounding in real human needs. In transfer scenarios, we use marginal practices to encourage a changed mindset throughout the design process. A marginal practice consists of individuals who share an activity that they find meaningful. We regard these individuals not as end-users, but as valuable input in the design process. We applied this method when designing novel applications for autonomous embodied agents, e.g. robots. Owners of unusual pets, such as snakes and spiders, were interviewed - not with the intention to design robot pets, but to determine underlying needs and interests of their practice. The results were then used to design a set of applications for more general users, including a dynamic living-room wall and a set of communicating hobby robots

Scenarios for Irish House Prices

In this note, a recently published model of the Irish residential mortgage market is used to generate likely scenarios for Irish house prices out to 2013. The model allows for the interaction between house prices and mortgage credit as well as key macroeconomic variables and housing supply. Future prices based on such models typically tend to assume that, where significant overvaluation has occured, prices correct back to some long-run equilibrium path. However, analysis of housing booms in a cross-country context reveals that prices often tend to overcorrect following a sustained house price boom. We discuss the results from our model in this context.

ILC Operating Scenarios

The ILC Technical Design Report documents the design for the construction of a linear collider which can be operated at energies up to 500 GeV. This report summarizes the outcome of a study of possible running scenarios, including a realistic estimate of the real time accumulation of integrated luminosity based on ramp-up and upgrade processes. The evolution of the physics outcomes is emphasized, including running initially at 500 GeV, then at 350 GeV and 250 GeV. The running scenarios have been chosen to optimize the Higgs precision measurements and top physics while searching for evidence for signals beyond the standard model, including dark matter. In addition to the certain precision physics on the Higgs and top that is the main focus of this study, there are scientific motivations that indicate the possibility for discoveries of new particles in the upcoming operations of the LHC or the early operation of the ILC. Follow-up studies of such discoveries could alter the plan for the centre-of-mass collision energy of the ILC and expand the scientific impact of the ILC physics program. It is envisioned that a decision on a possible energy upgrade would be taken near the end of the twenty year period considered in this report

Four-Neutrino Scenarios

The main features of four-neutrino 3+1 and 2+2 mixing schemes are reviewed, after a discussion on the necessity of at least four massive neutrinos if the solar, atmospheric and LSND anomalies are due to neutrino oscillations. Complete list of references on four-neutrino mixing at http://www.to.infn.it/~giunti/neutrinoComment: 7 pages. Talk presented at NOW 2000, Conca Specchiulla (Otranto, Italy), 9-16 Sep. 200

Open charm scenarios

We discuss possibilities of identifying open charm effects in direct production processes, and propose that direct evidence for the open charm effects can be found in $e^+ e^-\to J/\psi\pi^0$. A unique feature with this process is that the $D\bar{D^*}+c.c.$ open channel is located in a relatively isolated energy, i.e. $\sim 3.876$ GeV, which is sufficiently far away from the known charmonia $\psi(3770)$ and $\psi(4040)$. Due to the dominance of the isospin-0 component at the charmonium energy region, an enhanced model-independent cusp effect between the thresholds of $D^0\bar{D^{*0}}+c.c.$ and $D^+ D^{*-}+c.c.$ can be highlighted. An energy scan over this energy region in the $e^+e^-$ annihilation reaction can help us to understand the nature of X(3900) recently observed by Belle Collaboration in $e^+ e^-\to D\bar{D}+c.c.$, and establish the open charm effects as an important non-perturbative mechanism in the charmonium energy region.Comment: 6 pages, Proceeding contribution to the Rutherford Centennial Conference, Aug. 8-12, 2011, Manchester, U.

Cosmological scenarios from multiquintessence

In this work we derive and analyse cosmological scenarios coming from multi-component scalar field models. We consider a direct sum of a sine-Gordon with a Z2 model, and also a combination of those with a BNRT model. Moreover, we work with a modified version of the BNRT model, which breaks the Z2 x Z2 symmetry of the original BNRT potential, coupled with the sine-Gordon and with the standard Z2 models. We show that our approach can be straightforwardly elevated to $N$ fields. All the computations are made analytically and some parameters restriction is put forward in order to get in touch with complete and realistic cosmological scenarios

Mars base buildup scenarios

Two Mars surface based build-up scenarios are presented in order to help visualize the mission and to serve as a basis for trade studies. In the first scenario, direct manned landings on the Martian surface occur early in the missions and scientific investigation is the main driver and rationale. In the second senario, Earth development of an infrastructure to exploit the volatile resources of the Martian moons for economic purposes is emphasized. Scientific exploration of the surface is delayed at first in this scenario relative to the first, but once begun develops rapidly, aided by the presence of a permanently manned orbital station

Virtual Reality Physics Scenarios

Many students taking physics early on in their education find that it may be difficult to associate the theory they learn in class with how physics works in real world scenarios. Through various experiments in class, students are able to see examples of physics phenomena, but those experiments are limited by equipment, and do not offer precise data. To combat this, we are creating a virtual reality application for students to use to help learn physics. This report details the requirements the system will meet, as well as the use cases and subsequent activity diagrams for all users. We have also included a conceptual model of our system, as well as an explanation for technologies used, and a test plan and development timeline