215 research outputs found
Re-creating Military Sashes: Reviving the Sprang Technique
No full textThe scene is a battlefield. In a time before modern methods of communication, how do you tell who\u27s who? How are commanding officers identified in the heat of the fighting? Army dress is functional, protecting the body and facilitating combat. It also includes design elements that identify groups and rank. Military sashes were frequently the mark of command on the field. Well into the 1800s, non-commissioned officers, as well as generals, wore sprang sashes. Reenactors of the War of 1812 have created a demand for these items. What is sprang? And how were these sashes made? Sprang is a technique, partway between braiding and weaving. Each row of work moves across the warp to produce two rows of mirror-image fabric. The author has been using the sprang technique to replicate military sashes based on pieces in museum collections. How are the patterns created? What materials best imitate the original sashes? How, exactly, would a person set up a small test piece? What kind of frame best holds a larger work? The author investigates these questions and speculates on qualities of sprang that would have recommended it as the method of choice for these sashes
Wasp-inspired needle insertion with low net push force
No full textThis paper outlines the development of a four-part needle prototype inspired by the ovipositor of parasitic wasps. In the wasp ovipositor, three longitudinal segments called valves move reciprocally to gain depth in the substrate. It has been suggested that serrations located along the wasp ovipositor induce a friction difference between moving and anchoring valves that is needed for this reciprocal motion. Such an anchoring mechanism may not be desired in a medical setting, as serrations can induce tissue damage. Our aim was to investigate whether a multipart needle can penetrate tissue phantom material with near-zero net push force while using needle parts devoid of surface gripping textures or serrations. Accordingly, a four-part needle prototype was developed and tested in gelatine substrates. The performance of the prototype was assessed in terms of the degree of slipping of the needle with respect to the gelatine, with less slip implying better performance. Slip decreased with decreasing gelatine concentration and increasing offset between the needle parts. Motion through gelatine was achieved with a maximum push force of 0.035 N. This study indicates the possibility of needle propagation into a substrate with low net push force and without the need of serrations on the needle surface.Accepted Author ManuscriptMedical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technolog
Design of the future bird repelling laser aiming device: A 2DOF laser aiming solution
No full textIn this MSc thesis report, the process of developing a laser aiming solution for the purpose of bird repelling will be described. This process consists roughly of five phases: Setting up requirements, generating concepts, picking and developing a single concept, building and finally testing this concept.The current laser aiming solution is not satisfactory for many applications where safety is critical. The laser technology used by Bird Control Group to repel the birds can be dangerous to the human eye under certain circumstances. Therefore, a more accurate aiming solution is required.A concept where the source is stationary and the laser beam is reflected with a mirror is chosen over a moving source configuration, as the moving mass in that configuration is much lower (around 4% of the moving source configuration). This means the system can reach much higher speeds and react to higher frequency input signals due to the higher eigenfrequencies of the system.The completed prototype proved to be two orders of magnitude more accurate than the current solution, while also being much faster when required. Both of these factors and other factors contributed to the success of this project.Mechanical Engineering | Mechatronic System Design (MSD
Finnegans Wake as a system of knowledge without primitive terms: proposal against the paradigm of competence in the so-called Joyce industry
No full textThe thesis challenges the paradigm of hierarchical interpretive competence adopted in the academic community engaged in the professional (i.e. paid) study of the text called Finnegans Wake (FW) attributed to James Joyce. It is argued that having generated an excess of data, the exegete of FW deprived themselves of primitive terms, i.e. fundamental, undefined terms whose meaning is revealed by intuition. It is argued that there exist no consistent criteria for establishing a hierarchy of hermeneutical competence about FW as a literary text. The existing models of competence are either extraliterary (i.e. not concerned primarily with FW as a literary text) or inconsistent. The existing inconsistent models do not include explanations how one (i) adjudicates conflicts between exegetes on the same level in a hierarchy, (ii) categorises claims which (in addition to their initial vagueness) cannot be conflicted, (iii) categorises equivalent claims made with different means, and (iv) categorises different claims made with equivalent means. The thesis takes on three important tenets promoted in the interpretive industry: (i) the text principle, saying that FW is a prosaic text, a specimen of literature, (ii) the author principle, saying that FW is Joyces work, and (iii) the language principle, saying that the language of the text is English. Against the text and author principles, Chapter 1 presents FW as a vastly polyauthorial and polytextual polyreferentiality. Against the language principle, Chapter 2 promotes as optimal the position that the language of the source text (Wakese) is unknown. Chapter 3 discusses the academic paradigm of competence and its extraliterary motivations. The thesis urges the interpretive industry to uphold their paradigm of competence by naming the value of its otherwise unjustified control over the literary interpretation of FW or to gain coherence by exposing their extraliterary motivation
Ovipositor-inspired needle insertion without a net push force
No full textAbstract—As current rigid needles follow straight line trajectories, limiting the path planning possibilities in minimally invasive surgical approaches, research into steerable needle instruments becomes necessary. This article outlines the development of a four-part needle prototype inspired by the ovipositor of parasitic wasps and designed to penetrate without a net push force. In the wasp ovipositor, three valves move reciprocally to gain depth in the substrate with one valve at a time, while the other two valves anchor against the substrate and provide lateral support. The needle prototype consists of four reciprocally moving needle parts, devoid of any tissue gripping textures, with a combined cross-section of 2 x 2 mm, supported by a platform which is able to move with low friction. The goal of this study is to penetrate tissue phantom material without applying a net push force by using a friction difference induced between protruding needle parts and stationary needle parts, solely based on the difference in the size of surface area subjected to needle-tissue friction. The prototypes validation in gelatin phantom shows needle insertion with limited push force, independent from the penetration depth. The performance of the prototype is measured by the amount of slip between needle and substrate. Slip shows to be proportional with needle-part offset and inversely proportional with gelatin concentration, whereas protrusion sequence and needle-part velocity seem to have little effect on performance. Validation of these relations is found challenging due to the effect of inertia and bearing friction on the measured slip.BMDBioMechanical EngineeringMechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin
Eine Plattform für "Lindenstraße" verknüpft mit archivischen Quellen und Münchner Wikipedia-Artikel
No full textDie re:publica habe ich auch dieses Jahr (#rp18) nicht besucht, doch wie sonst habe ich mir schnell einen Überblick über die aufgezeichneten Sektionen verschafft. Ins Auge sprang mir dabei sofort der Talk Öffentlich-rechtliche Medien + Europeana + Wikipedia + Nutzer*innen = EPOS (Link) von Volker Grassmuck, der meine Hoffnung auf neue Ideen für Archive nährte. Diese wurden dann zwar nicht explizit genannt, aber die Ideen für Schwestersparten kann doch auch Wirkung für Archive entfalten. htt..
Impact of employee satisfaction with facilities on self-assessed productivity support
No full textPurpose: This paper aims to explore the relationship between satisfaction with buildings, facilities and services and perceived productivity support and to test whether the findings from a similar study of Batenburg and Van der Voordt (2008) are confirmed in a repeat study after 10 years with more recent data. Design/methodology/approach: Data were traced from a database with data on user satisfaction and perceived productivity support. These data were collected through the work environment diagnostic tool WODI light. The data include responses from 25,947 respondents and 191 organisations that have been analysed by stepwise multiple-regression analyses. Findings: In total 38% of the variation of office employees’ satisfaction with support of productivity can be explained by employee satisfaction with facilities, the organisation, current work processes and personal- and job-related characteristics. The most important predictor of self-assessed support of productivity is employee satisfaction with facilities. In particular, psychological aspects, i.e. opportunities to concentrate and to communicate, privacy, level of openness, and functionality, comfort and diversity of the workplaces are very important. The findings confirm that employee satisfaction with facilities correlates significantly with perceived productivity support. Other factors that are not included in the data set, such as intrinsic motivation, labour circumstances and human resource management may have an impact as well. Originality/value: This research provides a clear insight in the relation between employee satisfaction with facilities and the perceived support of productivity, based on survey data collected over almost 10 years in 191 organisations.Accepted Author ManuscriptReal Estate Managemen
Spatial support of knowledge production in higher education: Research paper
No full textThis paper explores the impact of the physical and social dimensions of the work environment on satisfaction and perceived productivity of knowledge workers in Dutch universities of applied sciences. The approach took the form of a literature review, multiple case study of six research centres using interviews and logbook analysis, and web-based survey (N = 188). Optimally facilitating knowledge production requires both space for concentration (to support internalisation of knowledge) and space for interaction (to support externalisation of knowledge). None of the work environments involved in the study adequately supported all the phases of knowledge development adequately. Cellular offices with personal desks are preferred for solo work and,whereas new workplace designs with a focus on the office as a meeting place support interaction and collaboration. Spatial layout and interaction have a stronger impact than comfort and absence of distraction. The spatial layout should support both in-depth concentration and communication, fit the internalisation/externalisation ratio of activities, and accommodate the proximity essential for collaborative knowledge development. Being able to choose is the key to success. In terms of research limitations, knowledge workers’ productivity was measured by self-assessment, but only a limited number of diaries were collected. The lessons learned can be used as inputs to decisionmaking processes regarding the design, implementation and management of working environments in higher education settings. Few studies have been conducted concerning the spatial preferences and needs of knowledge workers in universities of applied sciences. The results show that the physical dimension (comfort and layout) is more important for collective productivity, whereas individual productivity is more strongly influenced by the social dimension (interaction and distraction).Accepted Author ManuscriptReal Estate Managemen
The Seven Base Units, Part I
No full textThe author reflects on base units which serve as the seven fundamentals of all scientific units. He provides a brief historical account on the emergence of unit systems which sprang up globally due to the development of commerce. The author points out that scientists and mathematicians began to understand the need for a unified system of units as part of the ideas during the age of European Renaissance
Did Nietzsche Know Logo?
No full textA selection of quotes shared because of their relevancy to the "Logo Philosophy". As their author listings will indicate, they originate from the common base of human experience from which Logo itself sprang, along with many other calls for reform in education throughout history.Educatio
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