New media reading strategy

This dissertation addresses the need for a strategy that will help readers new to new media texts interpret such texts. While scholars in multimodal and new media theory posit rubrics that offer ways to understand how designers use the materialities and media found in overtly designed, new media texts (see, e.g,, Wysocki, 2004a), these strategies do not account for how readers have to make meaning from those texts. In this dissertation, I discuss how these theories, such as Lev Manovich’s (2001) five principles for determining the new media potential of texts and Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen’s (2001) four strata of designing multimodal texts, are inadequate to the job of helping readers understand new media from a rhetorical perspective. I also explore how literary theory, specifically Wolfgang Iser’s (1978) description of acts of interpretation, can help audiences understand why readers are often unable to interpret the multiple, unexpected modes of communication used in new media texts. Rhetorical theory, explored in a discussion of Sonja Foss’s (2004) units of analysis, is helpful in bringing the reader into a situated context with a new media text, although these units of analysis, like Iser’s process, suggests that a reader has some prior experience interpreting a text-as-artifact. Because of this assumption of knowledge put forth by all of the theories explored within, I argue that none alone is useful to help readers engage with and interpret new media texts. However, I argue that a heuristic which combines elements from each of these theories, as well as additional ones, is more useful for readers who are new to interpreting the multiple modes of communication that are often used in unconventional ways in new media texts. I describe that heuristic in the final chapter and discuss how it can be useful to a range of texts besides those labelled new media.

First-principles studies of boron nanostructures

Boron is an 'electron deficient' element which has a rather fascinating chemical versatility. In the solid state, the elemental boron has neither a pure covalent nor a pure metallic character. As a result, its vast structural dimensionally and peculiar bonding features hold a unique place among other elements in the periodic table. In order to understand and properly describe these unusual bonding features, a detailed and systematic theoretical study is needed. In this work, I will show that some of the qualitative features of boron nanostructures, including clusters, sheets and nanotubes can easily be extracted from the results of first principles calculations based on density functional theory. Specifically, the size-dependent evolution of topological structures and bonding characteristics of boron clusters, Bn will be discussed. Based on the scenario observed in the boron clusters, the unique properties of boron sheets and boron nanotubes will be described. Moreover, the ballistic electron transport in single-walled carbon nanotubes will be considered. It is expected that the theoretical results obtained in the present thesis will initiate further studies on boron nanostructures, which will be helpful in understanding, designing and realizing boron-based nanoscale devices.

Effect of microstructure and alloying elements on the resistance of fastener grade steels to hydrogen assisted cracking

Fastener grade steels with varying alloy contents and heat treatments were employed to measure changes in resistance to hydrogen assisted cracking. The testing procedure compared notched tension specimens fractured in air to threshold stress values obtained during hydrogen charging, utilizing a rising step load procedure. Bainitic structures improved resistance by 10-20% compared to tempered martensite structures. Dual phase steels with a tempered martensite matrix and 20% ferrite were more susceptible and notch sensitive. High strength, fully pearlitic structures showed an improvement in resistance. Carbon content, per se, had no effect on the resistance of steel to hydrogen assisted cracking. Chromium caused a deleterious effect but all other alloying elements studied did not cause much change in hydrogen assisted cracking susceptibility.

Sexual and organ function in patients with symptomatic prolapse: are pessaries helpful?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate quality of life and pelvic organ and sexual function before and during pessary use in patients with symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse and to determine reasons which lead to cessation of pessary use. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PATIENT(S): Patients with symptomatic stage II or more prolapse of the anterior, posterior, or apical vaginal wall with or without uterus were included in this study. INTERVENTION(S): We used the Female Sexual Function Index questionnaire and the Sheffield prolapse questionnaire. For quality of life we used the King's Health Questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Main outcome measures were quality of life and sexual and pelvic organ function. RESULT(S): A total of 73 women participated in this study; 31 were sexually active. Desire, lubrication, and sexual satisfaction showed statistically significant improvement, and orgasm remained unchanged. Statistically significant improvement in the feeling of bulge occurred during therapy, stool outlet problems were significantly improved, overactive bladder symptoms were significantly better, and pessaries did not significantly alter incontinence. CONCLUSION(S): Pessaries have been shown to be a viable noninvasive treatment for pelvic organ prolapse improving organ and sexual function as well as general wellbeing.

DC MICROGRID STABILIZATION THROUGH FUZZY CONTROL OF INTERLEAVED, HETEROGENEOUS STORAGE ELEMENTS

As microgrid power systems gain prevalence and renewable energy comprises greater and greater portions of distributed generation, energy storage becomes important to offset the higher variance of renewable energy sources and maximize their usefulness. One of the emerging techniques is to utilize a combination of lead-acid batteries and ultracapacitors to provide both short and long-term stabilization to microgrid systems. The different energy and power characteristics of batteries and ultracapacitors imply that they ought to be utilized in different ways. Traditional linear controls can use these energy storage systems to stabilize a power grid, but cannot effect more complex interactions. This research explores a fuzzy logic approach to microgrid stabilization. The ability of a fuzzy logic controller to regulate a dc bus in the presence of source and load fluctuations, in a manner comparable to traditional linear control systems, is explored and demonstrated. Furthermore, the expanded capabilities (such as storage balancing, self-protection, and battery optimization) of a fuzzy logic system over a traditional linear control system are shown. System simulation results are presented and validated through hardware-based experiments. These experiments confirm the capabilities of the fuzzy logic control system to regulate bus voltage, balance storage elements, optimize battery usage, and effect self-protection.

MODEL UPDATING AND STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING OF HORIZONTAL AXIS WIND TURBINES VIA ADVANCED SPINNING FINITE ELEMENTS AND STOCHASTIC SUBSPACE IDENTIFICATION METHODS

Wind energy has been one of the most growing sectors of the nation’s renewable energy portfolio for the past decade, and the same tendency is being projected for the upcoming years given the aggressive governmental policies for the reduction of fossil fuel dependency. Great technological expectation and outstanding commercial penetration has shown the so called Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) technologies. Given its great acceptance, size evolution of wind turbines over time has increased exponentially. However, safety and economical concerns have emerged as a result of the newly design tendencies for massive scale wind turbine structures presenting high slenderness ratios and complex shapes, typically located in remote areas (e.g. offshore wind farms). In this regard, safety operation requires not only having first-hand information regarding actual structural dynamic conditions under aerodynamic action, but also a deep understanding of the environmental factors in which these multibody rotating structures operate. Given the cyclo-stochastic patterns of the wind loading exerting pressure on a HAWT, a probabilistic framework is appropriate to characterize the risk of failure in terms of resistance and serviceability conditions, at any given time. Furthermore, sources of uncertainty such as material imperfections, buffeting and flutter, aeroelastic damping, gyroscopic effects, turbulence, among others, have pleaded for the use of a more sophisticated mathematical framework that could properly handle all these sources of indetermination. The attainable modeling complexity that arises as a result of these characterizations demands a data-driven experimental validation methodology to calibrate and corroborate the model. For this aim, System Identification (SI) techniques offer a spectrum of well-established numerical methods appropriated for stationary, deterministic, and data-driven numerical schemes, capable of predicting actual dynamic states (eigenrealizations) of traditional time-invariant dynamic systems. As a consequence, it is proposed a modified data-driven SI metric based on the so called Subspace Realization Theory, now adapted for stochastic non-stationary and timevarying systems, as is the case of HAWT’s complex aerodynamics. Simultaneously, this investigation explores the characterization of the turbine loading and response envelopes for critical failure modes of the structural components the wind turbine is made of. In the long run, both aerodynamic framework (theoretical model) and system identification (experimental model) will be merged in a numerical engine formulated as a search algorithm for model updating, also known as Adaptive Simulated Annealing (ASA) process. This iterative engine is based on a set of function minimizations computed by a metric called Modal Assurance Criterion (MAC). In summary, the Thesis is composed of four major parts: (1) development of an analytical aerodynamic framework that predicts interacted wind-structure stochastic loads on wind turbine components; (2) development of a novel tapered-swept-corved Spinning Finite Element (SFE) that includes dampedgyroscopic effects and axial-flexural-torsional coupling; (3) a novel data-driven structural health monitoring (SHM) algorithm via stochastic subspace identification methods; and (4) a numerical search (optimization) engine based on ASA and MAC capable of updating the SFE aerodynamic model.

Driving the refactoring of Java Enterprise applications by evaluating the distance between application elements

Java Enterprise Applications (JEAs) are complex systems composed using various technologies that in turn rely on languages other than Java, such as XML or SQL. Given the complexity of these applications, the need to reverse engineer them in order to support further development becomes critical. In this paper we show how it is possible to split a system into layers and how is possible to interpret the distance between application elements in order to support the refactoring of JEAs. The purpose of this paper is to explore ways to provide suggestions about the refactoring operations to perform on the code by evaluating the distance between layers and elements belonging those layers. We split JEAs into layers by considering the kinds and the purposes of the elements composing the application. We measure distance between elements by using the notion of the shortest path in a graph. Also we present how to enrich the interpretation of the distance value with enterprise pattern detection in order to refine the suggestion about modifications to perform on the code.

Knowledge-Production Processes in Practice Research - Outcomes and Critical Elements

The welfare sector has seen considerable changes in its operational context. Welfare services respond to an increasing number of challenges as citizens are confronted with life’s uncertainties and a variety of complex situations. At the same time the service-delivery system is facing problems of co-operation and the development of staff competence, as well as demands to improve service effectiveness and outcomes. In order to ensure optimal user outcomes in this complex, evolving environment it is necessary to enhance professional knowledge and skills, and to increase efforts to develop the services. Changes are also evident in the new emergent knowledge-production models. There has been a shift from knowledge acquisition and transmission to its construction and production. New actors have stepped in and the roles of researchers are subject to critical discussion. Research outcomes, in other words the usefulness of research with respect to practice development, is a topical agenda item. Research is needed, but if it is to be useful it needs to be not only credible but also useful in action. What do we know about different research processes in practice? What conceptions, approaches, methods and actor roles are embedded? What is the effect on practice? How does ‘here and now’ practice challenge research methods? This article is based on the research processes conducted in the institutes of practice research in social work in Finland. It analyses the different approaches applied by elucidating the theoretical standpoints and the critical elements embedded in them, and reflects on the outcomes in and for practice. It highlights the level of change and progression in practice research, arguing for diverse practice research models with a solid theoretical grounding, rigorous research processes, and a supportive infrastructure.