Nanobump microresonator

We introduce a whispering gallery-mode (WGM) nanobump microresonator (NBMR) and develop its theory. This microresonator is formed by an asymmetric nanoscale-high deformation of the translationally symmetric optical fiber surface, which is employed in fabrication of surface nanoscale axial photonics (SNAP) structures. It is shown that an NBMR causes strong localization of WGMs near a closed ray (geodesic) at the fiber surface, provided that this ray is stable. Our theory explains and describes the experimentally observed localization of WGMs by NBMRs and is useful for the design and fabrication of SNAP devices.

Formation and precise geometry control of SNAP microresonators by external electrostatic fields

In SNAP (Surface nanoscale axial photonics) resonators propagation of a slow whispering gallery mode along an optical fiber is controlled by nanoscale variation of the effective radius of the fiber [1]. Similar behavior can be realized in so - called nanobump microresonators in which the introduced variation of the effective radius is asymmetric, i.e. depends on the axial coordinate [2]. The possibilities of realization of such structures “on the fly” in an optical fiber by applying external electrostatic fields to it is discussed in this work. It is shown that local variations in effective radius of the fiber and in its refractive index caused by external electric fields can be large enough to observe SNAP structure - like behavior in an originally flat optical fiber. Theoretical estimations of the introduced refractive index and effective radius changes and results of finite element calculations are presented. Various effects are taken into account: electromechanical (piezoelectricity and electrostriction), electro-optical (Pockels and Kerr effects) and elasto-optical effect. Different initial fibre cross-sections are studied. The aspects of use of linear isotropic (such as silica) and non-linear anisotropic (such as lithium niobate) materials of the fiber are discussed. REFERENCES [1] M. Sumetsky, J. M. Fini, Opt. Exp. 19, 26470 (2011). [2] L. A. Kochkurov, M. Sumetsky, Opt. Lett. 40, 1430 (2015).

Design and Fabrication of Perovskite Micro-Cavity Lasers

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Reading images : the book club in the art gallery

This paper seeks to document and understand one instance of community-university engagement: that of an on-going book club organised in conjunction with public art exhibitions. The curator of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Art Museum invited the authors, three postgraduate research students in the faculty of Creative Writing and Literary Studies at QUT, to facilitate an informal book club. The purpose of the book club was to generate discussion, through engagement with fiction, around the themes and ideas explored in the Art Museum’s exhibitions. For example, during the William Robinson exhibition, which presented evocative images of the environment around Brisbane, Queensland, the book club explored texts that symbolically represented aspects of the Australian landscape in a variety of modes and guises. This paper emerges as a result of the authors’ observations during, and reflections on, their experiences facilitating the book club. It responds to the research question, how can we create a best practice model to engage readers through open-ended, reciprocal discussion of fiction, while at the same time encouraging interactions in the gallery space? To provide an overview of reading practices in book clubs, we rely on Jenny Hartley’s seminal text on the subject, The Reading Groups Book (2002). Although the book club was open to all members of the community, the participants were generally women. Elizabeth Long, in Book Clubs: Woman and the Uses of Reading in the Everyday (2003), offers a comprehensive account of women’s interactions as they engage in a reading community. Long (2003, 2) observes that an image of the solitary reader governs our understanding of reading. Long challenges this notion, arguing that reading is profoundly social (ibid), and, as women read and talk in book clubs, ‘they are supporting each other in a collective working-out of their relationship to a particular historical movement and the particular social conditions that characterise it’ (Long 2003, 22). Despite the book club’s capacity to act as a forum for analytical discussion, DeNel Rehberg Sedo (2010, 2) argues that there are barriers to interaction in such a space, including that members require a level of cultural capital and literacy before they feel comfortable to participate. How then can we seek to make book clubs more inclusive, and encourage readers to discuss and question outside of their comfort zone? How can we support interactions with texts and images? In this paper, we draw on pragmatic and self-reflective practice methods to document and evaluate the development of the book club model designed to facilitate engagement. We discuss how we selected texts, negotiating the dual needs of relevance to the exhibition and engagement with, and appeal to, the community. We reflect on developing questions and material prior to the book club to encourage interaction, and describe how we developed a flexible approach to question-asking and facilitating discussion. We conclude by reflecting on the outcomes of and improvements to the model.

Species composition and reproductive modes of anurans from a transitional Amazonian forest, Brazil

The aim of the present study was to describe the species composition and reproductive modes of an anuran community from a transition area between the Amazonia and Cerrado biomes. Data were collected in habitats exhibiting different degrees of anthropogenic degradation. The community (35 species) identified during the present study presented a larger number of reproductive modes when compared with those from Cerrado communities, but smaller than those of other sites in the Amazon. While all nine modes were recorded in the gallery forests of local rivers and streams, anthropogenic habitats (rubber tree orchards and soybean fields) were occupied only by species adapted to environments where humidity is low, typical of the Cerrado. Overall, the anuran fauna of the study area was characterized by species that depend on access to water bodies for their reproduction, with only a few specialized species able to reproduce in dry environments.

Attributes of service delivery modes and their impact on consumer satisfaction

Consumersatisfaction is fundamental to organisational success. It is well recognised that personal service is important in achieving consumer satisfaction. However, the application of self-service technology (SST) is widcning and is attennuating traditional exchanges between consumers and service employees. The effect of this reduction of personal service on consumer satisfaction judgements is not well understood. This study addresses this gap by investigating the relative effects of SST and personal service attributes on overall consumer satisfaction. Thc study highlights important service attributes applicable to SST and personal service. The conceptual framework is tested using data collected from 241 leisure and business travellers drawn from premium hotels in a regional area. Structural equation modelling techniques support the conceptual framework. As expected, the attributes of personal service and SST contribute to consumer satisfaction. However, thc impact of personal service attributes 011 consumer satisfaction is much stronger than the effects of SST attributes. Though SST is an important determinant of consumer satisfaction, interactions with staff are critical. These results have applications for the theory and practice of services marketing, and high light avenues for further investigation.

Brite Innovation Gallery 2007

In 2006, the BrITE project of the CrC for Construction Innovation researched the learning behaviours of twenty of australia’s most innovative contractors.

The impact of corporate venturing on a firm's competence modes

In this conceptual paper we investigate how corporate venturing influences an organization's competences. The impact of various types of corporate ventures on the portfolio of strategic options of a firm's competence modes (Sanchez, 2004a; Sanchez & Heene, 2002) will be assessed by distinguishing two fundamentally different dimensions of corporate venturing: technology and product (Block & MacMillan, 1993). We argue that the level of product and factor market dynamism mediates the effect of corporate venturing on a firm's competence modes. Corporate ventures that significantly increase the level of product or factor market dynamics will increase the flexibility in all five competence modes. These ventures have a direct effect on the lower-order competence modes and an indirect, lagged effect on higher-order competence modes through feedback loops. The developed framework and the propositions contribute to managing the ability of a firm to change its coordination, resource, and operating flexibility in order to sustain value creation.