Primary alkaline battery cathodes a three-scale model

A mathematical model for the galvanostatic discharge and recovery of porous, electrolytic manganese dioxide cathodes, similar to those found within primary alkaline batteries is presented. The phenomena associated with discharge are modeled over three distinct size scales, a cathodic (or macroscopic) scale, a porous manganese oxide particle (or microscopic) scale, and a manganese oxide crystal (or submicroscopic) scale. The physical and chemical coupling between these size scales is included in the model. In addition, the model explicitly accounts for the graphite phase within the cathode. The effects that manganese oxide particle size and proton diffusion have on cathodic discharge and the effects of intraparticle voids and microporous electrode structure are predicted using the model.

A large-scale computing infrastructure for design education

Most departmental computing infrastructure reflects the state of networking technology and available funds at the time of construction, which converge in a preconceived notion of homogeneity of network architecture and usage patterns. The DMAN (Digital Media Access Network) project, a large-scale server and network foundation for the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's School of Design was created as a platform that would support a highly complex academic environment while giving maximum freedom to students, faculty and researchers through simplicity and ease of use. As a centralized multi-user computation backbone, DMAN faces an extremely hetrogeneous user and application profile, exceeding implementation and maintenance challenges of typical enterprise, and even most academic server set-ups. This paper sumarizes the specification, implementation and application of the system while describing its significance for design education in a computational context.

Neonatal palliative care attitude scale : development of an instrument to measure the barriers to and facilitators of palliative care in neonatal nursing

OBJECTIVE The aim of this research project was to obtain an understanding of the barriers to and facilitators of providing palliative care in neonatal nursing. This article reports the first phase of this research: to develop and administer an instrument to measure the attitudes of neonatal nurses to palliative care. METHODS The instrument developed for this research (the Neonatal Palliative Care Attitude Scale) underwent face and content validity testing with an expert panel and was pilot tested to establish temporal stability. It was then administered to a population sample of 1285 neonatal nurses in Australian NICUs, with a response rate of 50% (N 645). Exploratory factor-analysis techniques were conducted to identify scales and subscales of the instrument. RESULTS Data-reduction techniques using principal components analysis were used. Using the criteria of eigenvalues being 1, the items in the Neonatal Palliative Care Attitude Scale extracted 6 factors, which accounted for 48.1% of the variance among the items. By further examining the questions within each factor and the Cronbach’s of items loading on each factor, factors were accepted or rejected. This resulted in acceptance of 3 factors indicating the barriers to and facilitators of palliative care practice. The constructs represented by these factors indicated barriers to and facilitators of palliative care practice relating to (1) the organization in which the nurse practices, (2) the available resources to support a palliative model of care, and (3) the technological imperatives and parental demands. CONCLUSIONS The subscales identified by this analysis identified items that measured both barriers to and facilitators of palliative care practice in neonatal nursing. While establishing preliminary reliability of the instrument by using exploratory factor-analysis techniques, further testing of this instrument with different samples of neonatal nurses is necessary using a confirmatory factor-analysis approach.

Measuring Consumer Loyalty : the loyalty orientation scale

Reflecting its importance to thc financial success of organisations, interest in consumer loyalty continues unabated. However, there are still many unanswered questions about its conceptualisation and measurement.These questions must he resolved before academics and practitioners can usefully apply the concept. We argue that consumer loyalty is best conceptualised as a multi-dimensional phenomenon. Based on this multi-dimensional view, we develop and test a new measure of consumer loyalty. We hypothesise a threedimensional structure containing affective, temporal and instrumental dimensions, Results from a preliminary test are reported. The results indicate that the construct can be reprcxeuted with two dimensions: affective and temporal loyally. As an additional check on the reliability of our results, we find significant correlations between these two dimensions and a measure of behavioural loyalty.

Competing in the new economy through large scale collaborative ventures (LSCV): a strategic marketing approach based on a study of the multifunction polis.

This paper draws on a study of government initiat ives aimed at facilitating economic development, specifically the Multifunction Polis Feasibility Study involving the governments and business enterprises of Australia and Japan (1987-1991). Large scale projects that involve collaboration between gove rnment and business (termed: large scale collaborative venture LSCV)are identified as one aspect of competing in the new economy . The study pursued the research propos ition that a LSCV can be effectively facilitated by following a theory based process similar to those in corporate practice. An approach to managing such ventures is outlined, based on strategic marketing theory that may enhance their success and thereby help countries part icipate more successfully in global competition through such ventures.

A strategic marketing approach to national development initiatives involving large scale collaborative ventures (LSCV)

This paper relates to government initiatives which aim at advancing their country’s economic development and investor attractiveness. It identifies large scale projects that involve collaboration between government and business (termed: large scale collaborative venture – LSCV) as one aspect of competing in the new economy. The study pursued the research proposition that a LSCV can be effectively facilitated by following a theory based process similar to what is used in corporate practice. An approach to managing such ventures is outlined, based on strategic marketing theory applied to a major project, the Multifunction Polis. It is proposed that such an approach may enhance the success of a collaborative venture and thereby help countries participate more successfully in global competition through such ventures.

Mapping of indoor environments by robots using low-cost vision sensors

For robots to operate in human environments they must be able to make their own maps because it is unrealistic to expect a user to enter a map into the robot’s memory; existing floorplans are often incorrect; and human environments tend to change. Traditionally robots have used sonar, infra-red or laser range finders to perform the mapping task. Digital cameras have become very cheap in recent years and they have opened up new possibilities as a sensor for robot perception. Any robot that must interact with humans can reasonably be expected to have a camera for tasks such as face recognition, so it makes sense to also use the camera for navigation. Cameras have advantages over other sensors such as colour information (not available with any other sensor), better immunity to noise (compared to sonar), and not being restricted to operating in a plane (like laser range finders). However, there are disadvantages too, with the principal one being the effect of perspective. This research investigated ways to use a single colour camera as a range sensor to guide an autonomous robot and allow it to build a map of its environment, a process referred to as Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). An experimental system was built using a robot controlled via a wireless network connection. Using the on-board camera as the only sensor, the robot successfully explored and mapped indoor office environments. The quality of the resulting maps is comparable to those that have been reported in the literature for sonar or infra-red sensors. Although the maps are not as accurate as ones created with a laser range finder, the solution using a camera is significantly cheaper and is more appropriate for toys and early domestic robots.

Long-term trends in fine particle number concentrations in the urban atmosphere of Brisbane : the relevance of traffic emissions and new particle formation

The measurement of submicrometre (< 1.0 m) and ultrafine particles (diameter < 0.1 m) number concentration have attracted attention since the last decade because the potential health impacts associated with exposure to these particles can be more significant than those due to exposure to larger particles. At present, ultrafine particles are not regularly monitored and they are yet to be incorporated into air quality monitoring programs. As a result, very few studies have analysed their long-term and spatial variations in ultrafine particle concentration, and none have been in Australia. To address this gap in scientific knowledge, the aim of this research was to investigate the long-term trends and seasonal variations in particle number concentrations in Brisbane, Australia. Data collected over a five-year period were analysed using weighted regression models. Monthly mean concentrations in the morning (6:00-10:00) and the afternoon (16:00-19:00) were plotted against time in months, using the monthly variance as the weights. During the five-year period, submicrometre and ultrafine particle concentrations increased in the morning by 105.7% and 81.5% respectively whereas in the afternoon there was no significant trend. The morning concentrations were associated with fresh traffic emissions and the afternoon concentrations with the background. The statistical tests applied to the seasonal models, on the other hand, indicated that there was no seasonal component. The spatial variation in size distribution in a large urban area was investigated using particle number size distribution data collected at nine different locations during different campaigns. The size distributions were represented by the modal structures and cumulative size distributions. Particle number peaked at around 30 nm, except at an isolated site dominated by diesel trucks, where the particle number peaked at around 60 nm. It was found that ultrafine particles contributed to 82%-90% of the total particle number. At the sites dominated by petrol vehicles, nanoparticles (< 50 nm) contributed 60%-70% of the total particle number, and at the site dominated by diesel trucks they contributed 50%. Although the sampling campaigns took place during different seasons and were of varying duration these variations did not have an effect on the particle size distributions. The results suggested that the distributions were rather affected by differences in traffic composition and distance to the road. To investigate the occurrence of nucleation events, that is, secondary particle formation from gaseous precursors, particle size distribution data collected over a 13 month period during 5 different campaigns were analysed. The study area was a complex urban environment influenced by anthropogenic and natural sources. The study introduced a new application of time series differencing for the identification of nucleation events. To evaluate the conditions favourable to nucleation, the meteorological conditions and gaseous concentrations prior to and during nucleation events were recorded. Gaseous concentrations did not exhibit a clear pattern of change in concentration. It was also found that nucleation was associated with sea breeze and long-range transport. The implications of this finding are that whilst vehicles are the most important source of ultrafine particles, sea breeze and aged gaseous emissions play a more important role in secondary particle formation in the study area.

K-tree : large scale document clustering

We introduce K-tree in an information retrieval context. It is an efficient approximation of the k-means clustering algorithm. Unlike k-means it forms a hierarchy of clusters. It has been extended to address issues with sparse representations. We compare performance and quality to CLUTO using document collections. The K-tree has a low time complexity that is suitable for large document collections. This tree structure allows for efficient disk based implementations where space requirements exceed that of main memory.

A new educational technology for media and communication studies : mapping media in Australia and Sweden

This chapter reports on Australian and Swedish experiences in the iterative design, development, and ongoing use of interactive educational systems we call ‘Media Maps.’ Like maps in general, Media Maps are usefully understood as complex cultural technologies; that is, they are not only physical objects, tools and artefacts, but also information creation and distribution technologies, the use and development of which are embedded in systems of knowledge and social meaning. Drawing upon Australian and Swedish experiences with one Media Map technology, this paper illustrates this three-layered approach to the development of media mapping. It shows how media mapping is being used to create authentic learning experiences for students preparing for work in the rapidly evolving media and communication industries. We also contextualise media mapping as a response to various challenges for curriculum and learning design in Media and Communication Studies that arise from shifts in tertiary education policy in a global knowledge economy.