Mapping the unmappable

Mapping the Unmappable? the Choreography Shared Material on Dying through the Lens of the Technogenetic Dancer. If choreographic movement is a trace, which is already behind at the moment of its appearance, the impulses that move the dancer could be understood to reside in the virtual. Whether they are the internalized instructions of the choreographer, the inscriptions of concepts on the dancing body which shape how the dancer moves, or movement material that has been incorporated over time, this gestalt is somewhat mapped before is materialized. Erin Manning describes the moment before it manifests as the preacceleration of the movement, when the potentialities of the gesture collapse and stabilize into form. This form is transient, appearing as a trace that is dissolving as soon as it appears. In her critique of some approaches to collaborations between dance and technology she describes technology as a prosthetic that constrains the dancer's movement by inducing this collapse into stability and thus limiting the potentiality of the technogenetic body of the dancer. Thus the technology becomes the focus rather than the sophisticated sensorial skills of the dancer in movement. Using this challenge as a provocation, I have explored methods for mapping a choreographed phrase of movement from the piece entitled Shared Material on Dying by Irish choreographer, Liz Roche. I will explore the virtual space before this dance is materialized, through the frame of a technogenetic body. I will uncover, through phenomenological enquiry, the constituent elements that are embedded in this virtual map, that is, the associations, sensations and spatio-temporal reference points that have been incorporated over time. The purpose is to point to possible directions in mapping the virtual dance space and to understand choreographed movements not just in terms of their material trace but also in terms of the associations, sensations and perceptions that give a specific choreography its identity. This undertaking has relevance for archiving dance. This presentation will involve danced choreography alongside documented material to explore multiple perspectives on the piece and the experience of dancing it.

Mapping mountains : a morphological study of traditional highland settlements in Chittagong Hill tracts of Bangladesh

This thesis is a morphological study of the settlement patterns of the diverse hill groups in Chittagong Hill Tracts – a mountainous borderland of Bangladesh in South Asia. It examines the settlement morphology of a hill town, using a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods, and explains the recurrent neighbourhood types of the highland groups in relation to their urbanisation. The research findings related to the settlements of diverse cultural groups in a cross-border region of the Asian uplands are also relevant to similar contexts and enquiries. Furthermore, the developed methodological framework that facilitated the data collection process in CHT's culturally diverse regions is also applicable to the investigation of geographic areas with similar socio-cultural complexities. Finally, this research specifically contributes to the literature of cross-cultural studies of highland towns and vernacular settlements in the Asian context.

Understanding Uncertainties in Non-Linear Population Trajectories: A Bayesian Semi-Parametric Hierarchical Approach to Large-Scale Surveys of Coral Cover

Recently, attempts to improve decision making in species management have focussed on uncertainties associated with modelling temporal fluctuations in populations. Reducing model uncertainty is challenging; while larger samples improve estimation of species trajectories and reduce statistical errors, they typically amplify variability in observed trajectories. In particular, traditional modelling approaches aimed at estimating population trajectories usually do not account well for nonlinearities and uncertainties associated with multi-scale observations characteristic of large spatio-temporal surveys. We present a Bayesian semi-parametric hierarchical model for simultaneously quantifying uncertainties associated with model structure and parameters, and scale-specific variability over time. We estimate uncertainty across a four-tiered spatial hierarchy of coral cover from the Great Barrier Reef. Coral variability is well described; however, our results show that, in the absence of additional model specifications, conclusions regarding coral trajectories become highly uncertain when considering multiple reefs, suggesting that management should focus more at the scale of individual reefs. The approach presented facilitates the description and estimation of population trajectories and associated uncertainties when variability cannot be attributed to specific causes and origins. We argue that our model can unlock value contained in large-scale datasets, provide guidance for understanding sources of uncertainty, and support better informed decision making

Flammability and thermal properties of novel semi aromatic polyamide/organoclay nanocomposite

The development of semi aromatic polyamide/organoclays nanocomposites (PANC) is reported in this communication. New polyamide (PA) was successfully synthesized through direct polycondensation reaction between bio-based diacid and aromatic diamine. PA exhibited strong UV vis absorption band at 412 nm. Its photoluminescence spectrum showed maximum band at 511 nm in the green region. The surface modification of montmorillonite was carried out through ion-exchange reaction using 1,4-bis[4-aminophenoxy]butane (APB) as a modifier. Then PANCs containing 3 and 6 wt.% of the modified montmorillonite (MMT-APB) were prepared. Flammability and thermal properties of PA and the nanocomposites were studied by microscale combustion calorimeter (MCC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). TGA results in both air and nitrogen atmospheres indicated improving in thermal properties of PANCs compared to the neat PA. According to MCC analysis, a 31.6% reduction in pHRR value has been achieved by introducing 6 wt.% of the organoclay in PA matrix.

A methodology for mapping Instagram hashtags

While social media research has provided detailed cumulative analyses of selected social media platforms and content, especially Twitter, newer platforms, apps, and visual content have been less extensively studied so far. This paper proposes a methodology for studying Instagram activity, building on established methods for Twitter research by initially examining hashtags, as common structural features to both platforms. In doing so, we outline methodological challenges to studying Instagram, especially in comparison to Twitter. Finally, we address critical questions around ethics and privacy for social media users and researchers alike, setting out key considerations for future social media research.

Large scale multiuser digital mind mapping tool : a study in usability

Project work can involve multiple people from varying disciplines coming together to solve problems as a group. Large scale interactive displays are presenting new opportunities to support such interactions with interactive and semantically enabled cooperative work tools such as intelligent mind maps. In this paper, we present a novel digital, touch-enabled mind-mapping tool as a first step towards achieving such a vision. This first prototype allows an evaluation of the benefits of a digital environment for a task that would otherwise be performed on paper or flat interactive surfaces. Observations and surveys of 12 participants in 3 groups allowed the formulation of several recommendations for further research into: new methods for capturing text input on touch screens; inclusion of complex structures; multi-user environments and how users make the shift from single- user applications; and how best to navigate large screen real estate in a touch-enabled, co-present multi-user setting.

Multiple iterations : mapping the trace

This paper explores the concept that individual dancers leave traces in a choreographer’s body of work and similarly, that dancers carry forward residue of embodied choreographies into other working processes. This presentation will be grounded in a study of the multiple iterations of a programme of solo works commissioned in 2008 from choreographers John Jasperse, Jodi Melnick, Liz Roche and Rosemary Butcher and danced by the author. This includes an exploration of the development by John Jasperse of themes from his solo into the pieces PURE (2008) and Truth, Revised Histories, Wishful Thinking and Flat Out Lies (2009); an adaptation of the solo Business of the Bloom by Jodi Melnick in 2008 and a further adaptation of Business of the Bloom by this author in 2012. It will map some of the developments that occurred through a number of further performances over five years of the solo Shared Material on Dying by Liz Roche and the working process of the (uncompleted) solo Episodes of Flight by Rosemary Butcher. The purpose is to reflect back on authorship in dance, an art form in which lineages of influence can often be clearly observed. Normally, once a choreographic work is created and performed, it is archived through video recording, notation and/or reviews. The dancer is no longer called upon to represent the dance piece within the archive and thus her/his lived presence and experiential perspective disappears. The author will draw on the different traces still inhabiting her body as pathways towards understanding how choreographic movement circulates beyond this moment of performance. This will include the interrogation of ownership of choreographic movement, as once it becomes integrated in the body of the dancer, who owns the dance? Furthermore, certain dancers, through their individual physical characteristics and moving identities, can deeply influence the formation of choreographic signatures, a proposition that challenges the sole authorship role of the choreographer in dance production. This paper will be delivered in a presentation format that will bleed into movement demonstrations alongside video footage of the works and auto-ethnographic accounts of dancing experience. A further source of knowledge will be drawn from extracts of interviews with other dancers including Sara Rudner, Rebecca Hilton and Catherine Bennett.

Characterization and Mapping of Patterned Ground in the Saginaw Lowlands, Michigan: Possible Evidence for Late-Wisconsin Permafrost

We identified, mapped, and characterized a widespread area (gt;1,020 km2) of patterned ground in the Saginaw Lowlands of Michigan, a wet, flat plain composed of waterlain tills, lacustrine deposits, or both. The polygonal patterned ground is interpreted as a possible relict permafrost feature, formed in the Late Wisconsin when this area was proximal to the Laurentide ice sheet. Cold-air drainage off the ice sheet might have pooled in the Saginaw Lowlands, which sloped toward the ice margin, possibly creating widespread but short-lived permafrost on this glacial lake plain. The majority of the polygons occur between the Glacial Lake Warren strandline (~14.8 cal. ka) and the shoreline of Glacial Lake Elkton (~14.3 cal. ka), providing a relative age bracket for the patterned ground. Most of the polygons formed in dense, wet, silt loam soils on flat-lying sites and take the form of reticulate nets with polygon long axes of 150 to 160 m and short axes of 60 to 90 m. Interpolygon swales, often shown as dark curvilinears on aerial photographs, are typically slightly lower than are the polygon centers they bound. Some portions of these interpolygon swales are infilled with gravel-free, sandy loam sediments. The subtle morphology and sedimentological characteristics of the patterned ground in the Saginaw Lowlands suggest that thermokarst erosion, rather than ice-wedge replacement, was the dominant geomorphic process associated with the degradation of the Late-Wisconsin permafrost in the study area and, therefore, was primarily responsible for the soil patterns seen there today.

Mapping Hydrophobicity on the Protein Molecular Surface at Atom-Level Resolution

A precise representation of the spatial distribution of hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity and charges on the molecular surface of proteins is critical for the understanding of the interaction with small molecules and larger systems. The representation of hydrophobicity is rarely done at atom-level, as this property is generally assigned to residues. A new methodology for the derivation of atomic hydrophobicity from any amino acid-based hydrophobicity scale was used to derive 8 sets of atomic hydrophobicities, one of which was used to generate the molecular surfaces for 35 proteins with convex structures, 5 of which, i.e., lysozyme, ribonuclease, hemoglobin, albumin and IgG, have been analyzed in more detail. Sets of the molecular surfaces of the model proteins have been constructed using spherical probes with increasingly large radii, from 1.4 to 20 A˚, followed by the quantification of (i) the surface hydrophobicity; (ii) their respective molecular surface areas, i.e., total, hydrophilic and hydrophobic area; and (iii) their relative densities, i.e., divided by the total molecular area; or specific densities, i.e., divided by property-specific area. Compared with the amino acid-based formalism, the atom-level description reveals molecular surfaces which (i) present an approximately two times more hydrophilic areas; with (ii) less extended, but between 2 to 5 times more intense hydrophilic patches; and (iii) 3 to 20 times more extended hydrophobic areas. The hydrophobic areas are also approximately 2 times more hydrophobicity-intense. This, more pronounced "leopard skin"-like, design of the protein molecular surface has been confirmed by comparing the results for a restricted set of homologous proteins, i.e., hemoglobins diverging by only one residue (Trp37). These results suggest that the representation of hydrophobicity on the protein molecular surfaces at atom-level resolution, coupled with the probing of the molecular surface at different geometric resolutions, can capture processes that are otherwise obscured to the amino acid-based formalism.

Spatial mapping of proteoglycan content in articular cartilage using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy

Diagnosis of articular cartilage pathology in the early disease stages using current clinical diagnostic imaging modalities is challenging, particularly because there is often no visible change in the tissue surface and matrix content, such as proteoglycans (PG). In this study, we propose the use of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to spatially map PG content in articular cartilage. The relationship between NIR spectra and reference data (PG content) obtained from histology of normal and artificially induced PG-depleted cartilage samples was investigated using principal component (PC) and partial least squares (PLS) regression analyses. Significant correlation was obtained between both data (R2 = 91.40%, p<0.0001). The resulting correlation was used to predict PG content from spectra acquired from whole joint sample, this was then employed to spatially map this component of cartilage across the intact sample. We conclude that NIR spectroscopy is a feasible tool for evaluating cartilage contents and mapping their distribution across mammalian joint