Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Space science'
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1
King, Barbara Amelia. "Space Art + Space Science a polymathic paradigm shift in the art/science dialogue." Master's thesis, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32739.
Abstract:
Perhaps no other field of scientific endeavor has been more influenced by the arts than space exploration. The artistic visions of yesteryear are the technological realities of today. These realities in turn create new possibilities for artistic expression. However, Space Art and Space Science have shared a convoluted history. Their forerunner disciplines of the Humanities and Natural Sciences and their practitioners were entrenched as polar opposites for centuries. Recent research, however, has revealed the reverse; that the psychological profile and the creative processes of artists and scientists are actually similar, often to the point of the practitioners being polymathic. Moreover, it has been discovered that polymathic ability nurtures two qualities essential for the survival of both Space Art and Space Science: that of creativity and innovation. Current literature has taken note of the commonality of polymathic ability between the practitioners of the arts and sciences. Academic and industry think tanks have examined the virtues of artists as space researchers, and conversely, scientists developing an artistic approach as a design strategy. Thought leaders have expressed faith in trans-disciplinary collaboration as the way forward in the global affairs of space. Yet, therein lies the problem. These various studies individually lack a cohesive strategy to leverage their findings and transform the Art/Sci dialogue into a disruptive force that sustains a paradigm shift in the arts, space and society agendas going forward. The impetus for this dissertation is the unique opportunity to amalgamate those disparate studies by utilizing the momentum of New Space culture, and its focus on societal inclusion and environmental concerns to serve as anchors for space research and sustainability. Further, we argue that the next logical step is to inculcate a fundamental Art/Sci paradigm shift within the space community to exploit the unprecedented global drive towards space exploration and colonization, thereby solidifying the influence of the space art and space science agendas in the service of the global commons on Earth and in space.
2
Barry, Andrew Michael. "The science of science : programmes of British space research." Thesis, University of Sussex, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.333979.
3
McCalden, Alec John. "User interfaces in space science instrumentation." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2006. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/14194/.
Abstract:
This thesis examines user interaction with instrumentation in the specific context of space science. It gathers together existing practice in machine interfaces with a look at potential future usage and recommends a new approach to space science projects with the intention of maximising their science return. It first takes a historical perspective on user interfaces and ways of defining and measuring the science return of a space instrument. Choices of research methodology are considered. Implementation details such as the concepts of usability, mental models, affordance and presentation of information are described, and examples of existing interfaces in space science are given. A set of parameters for use in analysing and synthesizing a user interface is derived by using a set of case studies of diverse failures and from previous work. A general space science user analysis is made by looking at typical practice, and an interview plus persona technique is used to group users with interface designs. An examination is made of designs in the field of astronomical instrumentation interfaces, showing the evolution of current concepts and including ideas capable of sustaining progress in the future. The parameters developed earlier are then tested against several established interfaces in the space science context to give a degree of confidence in their use. The concept of a simulator that is used to guide the development of an instrument over the whole lifecycle is described, and the idea is proposed that better instrumentation would result from more efficient use of the resources available. The previous ideas in this thesis are then brought together to describe a proposed new approach to a typical development programme, with an emphasis on user interaction. The conclusion shows that there is significant room for improvement in the science return from space instrumentation by attention to the user interface.
4
Watkinson, Emily Jane. "Space nuclear power systems : enabling innovative space science and exploration missions." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/40461.
Abstract:
The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) 241Am radioisotope power systems (RPSs) research and development programme is ongoing. The chemical form of the americium oxide ‘fuel’ has yet to be decided. The fuel powder will need to be sintered. The size and shape of the oxide powder particles are expected to influence sintering. The current chemical flow-sheet creates lath-shaped AmO2. Investigations with surrogates help to minimise the work with radioactive americium. This study has proposed that certain cubic Ce1-xNdxO2-(x/2) oxides (Ia-3 crystal structures with 0.5 < x < 0.7) could be potential surrogates for some cubic AmO2-(x/2) phases. A new wet-chemical-synthesis-based process for fabricating Ce1-xNdxO2-(x/2) with a targeted x-values has been demonstrated. It uses a continuous oxalate coprecipitation and calcination route. An x of 0.6 was nominally targeted. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and Raman spectroscopy confirmed its Ia-3 structure. An increase in precipitation temperature (25 °C to 60 °C) caused an increase in oxalate particle median size. Lath/plate-shaped particles were precipitated. Ce Nd oxide PXRD data was Rietveld refined to precisely determine its lattice parameter. The data will be essential for future sintering trials with the oxide where variations in its crystal structure during sintering will be investigated. Sintering investigations with micrometric CeO2 and Nd2O3 have been conducted to understand how AmO2 and Am2O3 may sinter. This is the first reported pure Nd2O3 spark plasma sintering (SPS) investigation. A comparative study on the SPS and the cold-press-and-sinter of CeO2 has been conducted. This is the first study to report sintering lath-shaped CeO2 particles. Differences in their sizes and specific surface areas affected powder cold-pressing and caused variations in cold-pressed-and-sintered CeO2 relative density and Vickers hardness. The targeted density range (85-90%) was met using both sintering techniques. The cold-press-and-sinter method created intact CeO2 discs with reproducible geometry and superior Vickers hardness to those made by SPS.
5
Godwin, Matthew Thomas. "The Skylark rocket, British space science and the European Space Research Organisation." Thesis, University of London, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.424926.
6
White, Craig (Craig E. ). 1971. "Science fiction to science fact : the link between early science fiction and the space programs." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9572.
7
Jafari, Rad Shirin. "Time, knowledge & space sharing : Science & Discovery Centre - Lund Science Village." Thesis, KTH, Arkitektur, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-133493.
Abstract:
The buildings face into the landscape & influence the urban fabric around where the sculptural interplay of the envelope & ground transforms onto its glass facades. Here time, ideas, space & knowledge is shared by creating environments where the participants can inform & be re-informed by the adaptiveness of the architecture surrounded. The dynamic of the spaces generates creative thinking & increases the social interaction & sharing throughout the transformational sequences giving various spatial experiences.Byggnaderna står i landskapet och påverkar stadsstrukturen runtom där det skulpturala samspelet utav höljet & marken transformeras på dess glasfasader. Här kommer tid, idéer, utrymme och kunskap delas genom skapandet av miljöer där deltagarna kan informera och åter-informeras av arkitektur omgiven. Dynamiken i rummen genererar kreativt tänkande och ökar den sociala interaktionen & utbytet emellan genom de transformbara sekvenserna i de olika rumsliga upplevelserna.
8
Daneshpour, Negar. "Time, knowledge & space sharing : Science & Discovery Centre - Lund Science Village." Thesis, KTH, Arkitektur, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-123064.
Abstract:
The buildings face into the landscape & influence the urban fabric around where the sculptural interplay of the envelope & ground transforms onto its glass facades. Here time, ideas, space & knowledge is shared by creating environments where the participants can inform & be re-informed by the adaptiveness of the architecture surrounded. The dynamic of the spaces generates creative thinking & increases the social interaction & sharing throughout the transformational sequences giving various spatial experiences.Byggnaderna står i landskapet och påverkar stadsstrukturen runtom där det skulpturala samspelet utav höljet & marken transformeras på dess glasfasader. Här kommer tid, idéer, utrymme och kunskap delas genom skapandet av miljöer där deltagarna kan informera och åter-informeras av arkitektur omgiven. Dynamiken i rummen genererar kreativt tänkande och ökar den sociala interaktionen & utbytet emellan genom de transformbara sekvenserna i de olika rumsliga upplevelserna.
9
Maharaj, Doraisamy Ashok. "Space for "development": US-Indian space relations 1955 -1976." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/45973.
Abstract:
Through four case studies of technological systems - optical tracking of satellites, sounding rockets, instructional television through a geosynchronous satellite, and a launch vehicle--I explore the origins and development of the Indian space program from 1955 through 1976, a period critical in shaping the program's identity and its relationship to the state. Institutionalized, and constructed in different geographic regions of India, these systems were embedded in the broader political, economic, and social life of the country and served as nodes around which existing and new scientific and technological communities were formed. These organic, highly networked communities in turn negotiated and developed a space program to meet the social and strategic demands of a new modernizing nation state. That modernizing program was, in turn, embedded in a broader set of scientific, technological and political relationships with industrialized countries, above all the United States. The United States' cooperation with India began with the establishment of tracking stations for plotting the orbits of artificial satellites. Cognizant of the contributions made by Indian scientists in the field of astronomy and meteorology, a scientific tradition that stretched back several decades, the officials and the scientific community at NASA, along with their Indian counterparts outlined a cooperative program that focused on the mutual exploration of the tropical space for scientific data. This initial collaboration gradually expanded and more advanced space application projects brought the two democratic countries, in spite of some misgivings, closer together in the common cause of using space sciences and technologies for developing India. In the process India and the United States ended up coproducing a space program that responded to the ambitions of the postcolonial scientific and political elite of India. The global Cold War and the ambiguities, desires and tensions of a postcolonial nation-state vying for leadership among the newly decolonized states in the Afro-Asian region are critical for understanding the origins and the trajectory of India's space program. Without this political context and the construction of a transnational web of relationships, it is highly unlikely that the Indian scientific and technological elite, along with their industrial and political partners, would have succeeded in putting India on the space map of the world.
10
Zanin, Serena <1988>. "The space challenge in Soviet bloc science fiction." Master's Degree Thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10579/2582.
Abstract:
Durante la Guerra fredda, le due nazioni più potenti al mondo si impegnarono in una competizione le cui radici riguardavano la diversa ideologia, economia e cultura. A seguito del discorso del presidente Kennedy nel 1961, la luna diventò la componente più suggestiva di questa corsa allo spazio, infatti, la prima potenza che avrebbe raggiunto la luna, avrebbe dominato sia nello spazio che in terra. Durante gli anni ’50 e i primi anni ’60, l’Unione Sovietica compì una serie di importanti primati (come il primo missile balistico intercontinentale, il primo satellite artificiale, il primo uomo e la prima donna sullo spazio) che favorirono la realizzazione della propaganda sovietica e la creazione dell’“uomo nuovo sovietico”. L’entusiasmo per il cosmo e il successivo disincanto influenzarono profondamente la cultura letteraria e, in particolar modo, la science fiction sovietica e russa. I due esempi presi in considerazione sono: l’introspezione psicologica dell’essere umano nell’opera “Solaris” (1961) di Stanislaw Lem e la satira post-sovietica dell’esplorazione spaziale in “Omon Ra” (1992) di Viktor Pelevin.
11
Godwin, Matthew. "The Skylark rocket : British space science and the European space research organisation, 1957-1972 /." Paris : Beauchesne, 2007. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb411905977.
12
Denault, Alexandre. "Journey, a shared virtual space middleware." Thesis, McGill University, 2011. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=96773.
Abstract:
The complexity of developing multiplayer games, along with their popularity, has grown tremendously in the recent years. The most complex of these, Massively Multiplayer Games (MMOGs), require developers to deal with many issues, such as scalability, reliability and cheat prevention. Although individual solutions to these problems exists, very little academic work has been done to address all these issues simultaneously. In addition, experimentation in these areas can require a significant implementation effort.In this work, we present Journey, a unified framework that address all these issues in a simple, modular and efficient architecture leveraging replicated objects. Scalability is addressed through the use of a dynamic cell load-balancing strategy while fault tolerance and cheat prevention are achieved by leveraging existing replicated objects in the system. The proposed framework is implemented using numerous enhancements not found in traditional replication, like obstacle-aware partitioning and remote procedure call systems.The efficiency of this framework is illustrated through the use of Mammoth, a massively multiplayer research framework. Using experimental data from human players, artificial players (NPC) were built and used to stress test and gather performance data. Analysis of this data demonstrated that load balancing provides important scalability benefits while very little overhead is incurred from the fault tolerance and cheat prevention systems.Dans les dernières années, la popularité des jeux multi-joueurs a connu une croissance sans égale. Cette croissance a aussi provoqué une augmentation importante dans la complexité de développement, surtout pour les jeux en ligne massivement multi-joueurs (MMOGs). Ces jeux posent des problèmes sérieux, tel que la croissance de capacité, la fiabilité et la prévention de la tricherie. Quoiqu'il existe de nombreuses solutions pour chacun de ces problèmes, très peu de travail académique adresse tous ces problèmes ensembles. De plus, l'expérimentation dans ces domaines nécessite de grands efforts de développement.Ce document présente Journey, un cadre de librairies informatiques unifiées qui adresse tous ces problèmes avec une architecture simple, modulaire et efficace tirant parti de la technologie des objets répliqués. Journey utilise un système d'équilibrage de charge avec cellule dynamique pour pallier aux problèmes de capacité. De plus, les défis de tolérance des failles et la prévention de la tricherie peuvent être adressés à l'aide des objets déjà répliqués dans le système. L'outil proposé utilise plusieurs améliorations qui n'existe pas dans la réplication traditionnelle, tel que la division des espaces prenant compte des obstacles et l'exécution de méthode distantes.La performance de Journey est évaluée à l'aide de Mammoth, un outil de recherche pour les environnements massivement multi-joueurs. À l'aide de données expérimentales de joueurs humains, des joueurs artificiels on été construits pour mesurer la capacité et la performance de l'outil proposé. L'analyse de ses données démontre que l'équilibre des charges démontre une grande augmentation de capacité. De plus, les systèmes de tolérance de fautes et de prévention de la tricherie on très peu d'impact sur la performance du système.
13
Pak, Anne On-Yi 1977. "Euclidean space codes as space-time block codes." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/86722.
14
Kneale, James Robert. "Lost in space? : readers' constructions of science fiction worlds." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.309071.
15
Carlton, Ashley Kelly. "Characterizing high-energy electrons in space using science imagers." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/120413.
Abstract:
Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2018.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 129-140).
Harsh radiation in the form of ionized, highly energetic particles is part of the space environment and can affect the operation, performance, and lifetime of spacecraft and their instruments. Jupiter has the largest and strongest magnetosphere of all of the planets in the solar system and it is dominated by high-energy electrons. Measuring and characterizing megaelectron volt (MeV) particles is fundamental for understanding the energetic processes powering the magnetosphere, interactions of the particles with surfaces of the Jovian satellites, and the effects of these particles on spacecraft near or in Jovian orbit. Electrons in Jupiter's magnetosphere can interact with spacecraft and lead to component failures, degradation of sensors and solar panels, and physical damage to materials. Dedicated instruments to monitor the radiation environment are not always included on spacecraft due to resource constraints. Measurements of the high-energy (>1 MeV) electron environment at Jupiter are currently spatially and temporally limited, predominantly coming from the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) on the Galileo spacecraft. In this thesis, we develop ways to use existing hardware on spacecraft to measure the energetic particle environment. Solid-state detectors are commonly used as scientific imagers on spacecraft. In addition to being sensitive to incoming photons, semiconductor devices also are affected by incoming charged particles collected during integration and detector readout. These radiation hits from the space environment are typically considered "noise" at the detector. We develop a technique to extract quantitative high-energy electron environment information (energy and flux) from science imager radiation "noise". We use data from the Galileo spacecraft Solid-State Imaging (SSI) instrument, which is a silicon charge-coupled device (CCD). We post-process raw SSI images to obtain frames with only the radiation contribution. The camera settings are used to compute the energy deposited in each pixel, which corresponds to the intensity of the observed radiation hits. The energy deposited in the SSI pixels by incident particles from processed SSI images are compared with the results from 3D Monte Carlo transport simulations of the SSI using Geant4. Simulating the response of the SSI instrument to mono-energetic electron environments, we find that the SSI is capable of detecting >10 MeV electrons (>90% of <10 MeV particles are stopped with 95% confidence). Using geometric scaling factors computed for the SSI, we calculate the environment particle flux given a number of pixels with radiation hits. We compare the SSI results to measurements from the Galileo EPD, examining the electron fluxes from the >11 MeV integral flux channel. We find agreement with the EPD data within 3-sigma of the EPD data for 43 out of 43 (100%) of the SSI images evaluated. 62% of fluxes are also within 1-sigma of the EPD data. To demonstrate that the general technique is applicable to other imagers, we also analyze the Galileo Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS). We find that NIMS is sensitive to >5 MeV electrons and the calculated fluxes are consistent with the EPD. This approach can be applied to other sets of imaging data (star trackers, etc.) in energetic electron environments, such as those found in geostationary Earth orbit. This thesis also includes a summary of required and recommended information (tests, models, etc.) for the use of science imagers as high-energy electron sensors.
by Ashley Kelly Carlton.
Ph. D.
16
Hicks, Adam S. "A.C.C.E.S.S. - Alternative Conceptions: a Comprehensive Examination of Space Science." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1250084491.
17
Hicks, Adam Scott. "A.C.C.E.S.S. alternative conceptions : a comprehensive examination of space science /." Oxford, Ohio : Miami University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=miami1250084491.
18
Martin, Claudette. "Examining Visitor Attitudes and Motivations at a Space Science Centre." Thesis, Högskolan Dalarna, Vetenskapskommunikation, 2004. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-1162.
Abstract:
The H.R. MacMillan Space Centre is a multi-faceted organization whose mission is to educate, inspire and evoke a sense of wonder about the universe, our planet and space exploration. As a popular, Vancouver science centre, it faces the same range of challenges and issues as other major attractions: how does the Space Centre maintain a healthy public attendance in an increasingly competitive market where visitors continue to be presented with an increasingly rich range of choices for their leisure spending and entertainment dollars?This front-end study investigated visitor attitudes, thoughts and preconceptions on the topic of space and astronomy. It also examined visitors’ motivations for coming to a space science centre. Useful insights were obtained which will be applied to improve future programme content and exhibit development.
19
Mejia, Lillian Lynette. "Snow White in Space| Science Fiction Reimagines Traditional Fairy Tales." Thesis, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1593257.
Abstract:
This thesis explores the intersection of fairy tales with late twentieth and early twenty-first century science fiction - specifically, the reimagining of classic fairy tales within science fictional settings. I will begin with an overview of the ways in which fairy tales and science fiction seem particularly well-suited for such an endeavor, in terms of similarity of common themes, structure, and narrative device. Next, I will examine two recent examples: Caitlín R. Kiernan's "The Road of Needles," and Tanith Lee's "Beauty," noting deviations from the traditional source material and highlighting the ways in which the original stories have been updated for modern audiences. Finally, I will offer several of my own stories that reimagine fairy tales in science fiction settings: "Curiosity," a retelling of "The Little Mermaid," "I Dream the Snowfall, the Red Earth of Mars," a retelling of "Snow White," and "Match Girl," a retelling of "The Little Match Girl."
20
Lange, Alissa A., Lori T. Meier, R. Murphy, C. Clevenger, Q. Tian, and E. Shock. "To the Moon and Back: Exploring Space Science with Preschoolers." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2019. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/5891.
21
Cupitt, Catherine Anne. "Space opera: a hybrid form of science fiction and fantasy." Thesis, Curtin University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/1082.
Abstract:
This thesis considers space opera as a hybrid form of science fiction and fantasy.“Falling Stars,” the creative component which includes fantasy, space opera and science fiction stories, constitutes a spectrum of speculative fiction. In order to illustrate the similarities and difference between the genres represented in the spectrum, I focus on the central figure of the alien other and the ways in which such a figure can be gendered and embodied. The space opera novella combines motifs of both fantasy and science fiction within the figure of the cyborg, Orlando, who is transgendered and hyperchangeably embodied.The exegesis offers a theoretical context through which to view the creative work. I argue that space operas are melodramatic adventure stories, which operate as a hybrid form of science fiction and fantasy, using the non-realist expectations inherent in both, but mixing the extrapolations and icons of science fiction with the self-consistent but unbelievable discontinuities of fantasy. I also consider space opera’s tendency to exhibit a conservative, unexamined colonialistic imperative, with the attendant assumptions that create a potential for feminist subversion.
22
Agnan, Marco. "SmallSats : Technical developments to address contemporary goals in space science." Electronic Thesis or Diss., université Paris-Saclay, 2022. http://www.theses.fr/2022UPASP119.
Abstract:
Cette thèse réalisée en Validation des Acquis par l'Experience (VAE) explore comment les petits satellites (typiquement de CubeSat jusqu'à 500kg) permettent de nouvelles missions et découvertes en science spatiale. Les disciplines étudiées vont de l'observation de la Terre, la physique solaire à l'astrophysique à distance et in-situ.A l'ère du NewSpace, de nouveaux objectifs scientifiques sont maintenant accessibles grâce à ces petits satellites qui bénéficient des avancées technologiques récentes en termes de miniaturisation et de réduction des coûts d'accès à l'espace. Ces points les rendent particulièrement adaptés aux cas :- en constellation pour de la science multi-point (in-situ ou à distance)- en contexte à haut risque/ haut retour scientifique.Au travers d'une présentation détaillée des projets auquel l'auteur a participé durant sa carrière, cette thèse explore les domaines scientifique dans les différentes disciplines ou les petits satellites pourront avoir une utilisation innovante en mettant en avant les limitations et solutions technologiques associées à de telles plateformes.Le sujet de l'exploration d'asteroides via l'utilisation de petits satellites y est exploré plus en details, ou une quantification du retour scientifique des concepts y est proposéThis thesis in Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE) explores how SmallSats (from CubeSats to 500kg) are unlocking new possible missions and discoveries in space science. The topics of interests go from Earth science, Solar science to remote and in-situ astrophysics.In the NewSpace era, benefiting from recent technological advances of hardware miniaturization and launch cost reductions, new scientific objectives are now accessible thanks to SmallSats, finding their best uses in:- constellation for multi point science (remote or in-situ) cases;- high risk / high return cases.Through a detailed presentation of the Project addressed during the author's carreer, this thesis explores scientific domains where SmallSats will have an innovative use in the future, highlighting limitations and technological solutions associated with such platforms.The topic of asteroid exploration using SmallSats is presented in more details, with a quantification of the scientific return of proposed concepts
23
Pratz, Gunther. "Space, time and transcendence : Karl Heim's philosophy of spaces at the encounter of natural science and theology." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.271491.
24
Gstalder, Steven Herbert. "Understanding Library Space Planning." Thesis, University of Pennsylvania, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10289537.
Abstract:
The role of the academic library has shifted from developing book collections to serving the information and technology needs of students and faculty. The needs of library users change more quickly and unpredictably than the needs of books, and library directors have pushed beyond the traditional incremental approach to library development to respond to changing needs. As many universities struggle to balance budgets, library directors must demonstrate the value and demand for library spaces and services to justify investments in construction and renovation projects. This study investigates the reasons that the new library space projects were undertaken and the forces driving decisions about investments in the library facilities. The cases in this dissertation present studies of three private, non-profit liberal arts institutions in the Eastern United States that have recently invested in major renovation or construction projects for new library spaces. At each site, interviews and focus group sessions were conducted with librarians, students, faculty, and library administrators. Archival material was researched to supplement the data collected from the subjects of the interviews. A multi-lens framework of strategic change is used to examine the forces and factors that influenced the decisions to pursue new library spaces in each case study. The institutions in the study successfully developed new learning commons and library spaces through renovation or construction projects. Each of the libraries in the study faced similar factors leading to a new space, including overcrowding, interest from students in collaborative learning, increased demand for access to technology, and the decline in the use of the printed book. The strong leadership of the library director, with support from the institution’s president, contributed to the success of each project in the study. The importance of this study derives from its examination of the changing factors and forces that drive the uses of new library spaces, highlighting the need to build flexibility into new construction projects.
25
Bouland, Adam Michael. "The space around BQP." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113997.
Abstract:
Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2017.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-268).
This thesis explores the computational power of quantum devices from the perspective of computational complexity theory. Quantum computers hold the promise of solving many problems exponentially faster than classical computers. The computational power of universal quantum devices is captured by the complexity class BQP, which stands for "bounded-error quantum polynomial time." We hope that quantum devices will be capable of the full power of BQP in the long term. However, quantum computers are difficult to build, so the experimental devices of the near future may be incapable of universal quantum computation. As a result, a number of recent works have studied "weak" models of quantum computers which lie "below BQP." The first part of this thesis examines the space "below BQP" and describes a number of sub-universal models of quantum computation which can nevertheless perform sampling tasks which are difficult for classical computers. We show that prior models maintain hardness when their set of quantum operations is restricted, and describe two new models of "weak" quantum computation which also show advantage over classical devices. A major theme in this work is that almost any weak device can perform hard sampling tasks. We find that almost any model which is not universal, but not known to be efficiently classically simulable, admits a speedup over classical computing for sampling tasks under plausible assumptions. This work can be seen as progress towards classifying the power of all restricted quantum gate sets. On the other hand, quantum gravity theorists have considered modifying quantum mechanics to resolve the black hole information paradox. Inspired by these debates, the second part of this thesis explores the computational power of modified theories of quantum mechanics. We find that almost all modifications allow for drastically more power than BQP i.e. these modifications lie "above BQP" - and we find that these speedups may be related to superluminal signaling in these models. Surprisingly, we find one model which is only slightly more powerful than BQP. Inspired by this model, we study and resolve an open problem in classical complexity related to the power of statistical-zero knowledge proof systems.
by Adam Michael Bouland.
Ph. D.
26
Van, der Post Leda. "Creating a space for integrative education within the sciences." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012677.
Abstract:
This thesis documents an action research project that was carried out within the Department of Computing Sciences at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), South Africa, from January 2010 to December 2011. The overall aim of the research was to foster an environment in which academics could explore ways to teach using an integrative approach to education. Previous research within the department had raised the concern that students were graduating without the type of high-level cognitive skills that were required in the workplace. While the students’ technical skills were perceived as being excellent, employers indicated that students would benefit from opportunities to develop or improve skills such as communication, teamwork, innovative thinking and time management. These skills include high-level cognitive skills, and are often referred to as “soft skills”. The academics participating in the research project came to believe that it was essential to develop teaching methods that would provide opportunities for students to develop these soft skills, in conjunction with the content and technical knowledge currently addressed in their courses. The research project followed the living theory approach to action research. A living theory action research project allows the researcher to investigate her own teaching, and develop a theory of practice. The theory of practice can be applied to the issues under investigation, to improve the situation or solve problems. At the same time, the theory of practice can contribute to the body of knowledge within the academic domain of the research. Action research is an iterative, cyclical process. There were four research cycles, each one semester in length, during the two years of the project. The project will continue, with a fifth research cycle, starting in January 2012. By the end of the fourth research cycle—Semester Two, 2011—there were eleven academics actively participating in the research group. The project had extended its influence to include academics from the Department of Mathematics at NMMU. The academics ranged from senior, long-serving professors to junior lecturing staff. The results of the research, or the researcher-practitioner’s living theory, explain the process by which an effective and enthusiastic community of practice, dedicated to improving the academics’ teaching and learning practice, was developed. The living theory is applicable to academics within a scientific discipline, desiring to explore and improve their education practice. My living theory explains the characteristics of the TLC (The Learning Community) space, and the action strategies for creating such a space. The explanation of the process of this project includes an analysis of the development process of the research group, typical characteristics of the environment or “space” of the group, and action strategies that other academics could use to create a similar community of practice.
27
Poorthuis, Ate. "Social Space and Social Media: Analyzing Urban Space with Big Data." UKnowledge, 2015. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/geography_etds/41.
Abstract:
This dissertation focuses on the key role that big data can play in minimizing the perceived disconnect between social theory and quantitative methods in the discipline of geography. It takes as its starting point the geographic concept of space, which is conceptualized very differently in social theory versus quantitative methodology. Contrary to this disparity, an examination of the disciplinary history reveals a number of historic precedents and potential pathways for a rapprochement, especially when combined with some of the new possibilities of big data. This dissertation also proposes solutions to two common barriers to the adoption of big data in the social sciences: accessing and collecting such data and, subsequently, meaningful analysis. These methods and the theoretical foundation are combined in three case studies that show the successful integration of a quantitative research methodology with social theories on space. The case studies demonstrate how such an approach can create new and alternative understandings of urban space. In doing so it answers three specific research questions: (1) How can big data facilitate the integration of social theory on space with quantitative research methodology? (2) What are the practical challenges and solutions to moving “beyond the geotag” when utilizing big data in geographical research? (3) How can the quantitative analysis of big data provide new and useful insight in the complex character of social space? More specifically, what insights does such an analysis of relational social space provide about urban mobility and cognitive neighborhoods?
28
Kumaran, Vikram. "Plan Recognition as Candidate Space Search." NCSU, 2006. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-10312006-000347/.
Abstract:
Effective human computer interaction is enhanced by a machine?s ability to make educated guesses about the intention of its user. In our research, we have developed a novel plan recognition algorithm ? based on plan space search planners ? to recognize plans given a limited set of observed actions. Our focus in this research is towards accurately picking possible plans and not towards disambiguation or building plan libraries and therefore we complement other advances in this field, namely probability based recognition and other plan library based recognition systems. Along with the ability to recognize overall goal of an agent our algorithm also allows us to make local predictions, a feature absent in most of the other system.
29
Corbin, Benjamin Andrew. "The value proposition of distributed satellite systems for space science missions." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/103442.
Abstract:
Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2015.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 382-402).
The resources available for planetary science missions are finite and subject to some uncertainty. Despite decreasing costs of spacecraft components and launch services, the cost of space science missions is increasing, causing some missions to be canceled or delayed, and fewer science groups have the opportunity to achieve their goals due to budget limits. New methods in systems engineering have been developed to evaluate flexible systems and their sustained lifecycle value, but these methods are not yet employed by space agencies in the early stages of a mission's design. Previous studies of distributed satellite systems (DSS) showed that they are rarely competitive with monolithic systems; however, comparatively little research has focused on how DSS can be used to achieve new, fundamental space science goals that simply cannot be achieved with monolithic systems. The Responsive Systems Comparison (RSC) method combines Multi-Attribute Tradespace Exploration with Epoch-Era Analysis to examine benefits, costs, and flexible options in complex systems over the mission lifecycle. Modifications to the RSC method as it exists in previously published literature were made in order to more accurately characterize how value is derived from space science missions. A tiered structure in multi-attribute utility theory allows attributes of complex systems to be mentally compartmentalized by stakeholders and more explicitly shows synergy between complementary science goals. New metrics help rank designs by the value derived over their entire mission lifecycle and show more accurate cumulative value distributions. A complete list of the emergent capabilities of DSS was defined through the examination of the potential benefits of DSS as well as other science campaigns that leverage multiple assets to achieve their scientific goals. Three distinct categories consisting of seven total unique capabilities related to scientific data sampling and collection were identified and defined. The three broad categories are fundamentally unique, analytically unique, and operationally unique capabilities. This work uses RSC to examine four case studies of DSS missions that achieve new space science goals by leveraging these emergent capabilities. ExoplanetSat leverages shared sampling to conduct observations of necessary frequency and length to detect transiting exoplanets. HOBOCOP leverages simultaneous sampling and stacked sampling to study the Sun in far greater detail than any previous mission. ÆGIR leverages census sampling and self-sampling to catalog asteroids for future ISRU and mining operations. GANGMIR leverages staged sampling with sacrifice sampling and stacked sampling to answer fundamental questions related to the future human exploration of Mars. In all four case studies, RSC showed how scientific value was gained that would. be impossible or unsatisfactory with monolithic systems. Information gained in these studies helped stakeholders more accurately understand the risks and opportunities that arise as a result of the added flexibility in these missions. The wide scope of these case studies demonstrates how RSC can be applied to any science mission, especially one with goals that are more easily achieved with (or impossible to achieve without) DSS. Each study serves as a blueprint for how to conduct a Pre-Phase A study using these methods.
by Benjamin Andrew Corbin.
Ph. D.
30
McFarthing, James. "Jules Verne and the utopias of space, time and science fiction." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.665460.
Abstract:
This thesis seeks to cohere two strands in the work of Jules Verne, namely that of science and utopia. The role of science is of paramount importance to Verne's fictional practice in the Voyages extraordinaires, yet its elucidation, I will argue, is dependent upon aesthetic innovations that lend science a spatial and temporal structure. The spatial and temporal manifestations of science help form a 'chronotope of science' that allows Vernian protagonists to gain access to scientific phenomena using an aesthetically charged epistemology. The chronotope of science is accompanied by further motivic chronotopes, which I identify as key in the depiction of Vernian utopia and dystopia respectively. The vehicles of some of Verne's earlier and most successful novels, such as the Victoria of Cinq semaines en ballon (1863) or the Nautilus of Vingt mille lieues sous les mers (1870), illustrate the ways in which Verne reconfigures ideology and history in new spatial and temporal categories. These utopian figurations will be subverted, so I argue, in the Vernian utopian community as depicted in the Voyages extraordinaires of the 1870s. Here, the utopian communities of L'Ile mysterieuse (1874) and France-Ville from Les Cinq cents millions de la Begum (1879) are subverted by a chronotopic recalibration of their utopian content, which sees the anti-utopian Le Chancellor and the Germanic Stahlstadt emerge as thematic opposites. This dystopian turn becomes more concretely established in Vernian production of the 1880s and 1890s, which sees various of Verne's earlier utopian motifs transformed into instruments of dystopia and terror, from destructive cannons to tyrannical airships. The thesis will conclude that the challenges initially met by Verne in the depiction of science and the rapidly changing industrial world of the nineteenth century led to the development of a unique aesthetic and spatio-temporal constructions that could frame not only the changing spatial environment, but also the unfolding temporal field of human history. These structures, both scientific and utopian, would help inform the generic development of science fiction, whose use of science and positing of alternative futures owes much, thematically and stylistically, to the Vernian literary aesthetic.
31
Crumley, Zacharia. "Voxel-Space Shape Grammars." Thesis, University of Cape Town, 2012. http://pubs.cs.uct.ac.za/archive/00000783/.
Abstract:
The field of Procedural Generation is being increasingly used in modern content generation for its ability to significantly decrease the cost and time involved. One such area of Procedural Generation is Shape Grammars, a type of formal grammar that operates on geometric shapes instead of symbols.
Conventional shape grammar implementations use mesh representations of shapes, but this has two significant drawbacks. Firstly, mesh representations make Boolean geometry operations on shapes difficult to accomplish. Boolean geometry operations allow us to combine shapes using Boolean operators (and, or, not), producing complex, composite shapes. A second drawback is that sub-, or trans-shape detailing is challenging to achieve. To address these two problems with conventional mesh-based shape grammars, we present a novel extension to shape grammars, in which a voxel representation of the generated shapes is used.
We outline a five stage algorithm for using these extensions and discuss a number of optional enhancements and optimizations. The final output of the algorithm is a detailed mesh model, suitable for use in real-time or offline graphics applications. We also test our extension’s performance and range of output with three categories of testing: performance testing, output range testing, and variation testing.
The results of the testing with our proof-of-concept implementation show that our unoptimized algorithm is slower than conventional shape grammar implementations, with a running time that is O(N^3) for an N^3 voxel grid. However, there is scope for further optimization to our algorithm, which would significantly reduce running times and memory consumption. We outline and discuss several such avenues for performance enhancement.
Additionally, testing reveals that our algorithm is able to successfully produce a broad range of detailed outputs, exhibiting many features that would be very difficult to accomplish using mesh-based shape grammar implementations. This range of 3D models includes fractals, skyscraper buildings, space ships, castles, and more. Further, stochastic rules can be used to produce a variety of models that share a basic archetype, but differ noticeably in their details.
32
Toal, Ciaran. "Space and spectacle : science and religion at the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1840-1890." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.580114.
Abstract:
This thesis examines public encounters between science and religion that took place in connection with the meetings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) between 1840 and 1890. Throughout, it is argued that these encounters are always made in place, and are profoundly shaped by the local, regional and national settings in which the BAAS met. This is explored through five meetings of the Association, including Cork (1843), Edinburgh (1850), Bath (1864), Bristol (1875) and Montreal (1884). From the politic-religious debates around Irish Repeal in Cork, the Disruption in Edinburgh's Established Church and the publication of Vestiges, or indeed the civic divide between Montreal's Protestant elite and the ultramontanist Catholic population, in each the boundaries between science and religion were differently shaped, contested and framed by local circumstances. As well as placing each meeting in its local, regional and national setting, attention is drawn to the importance of rhetorical geographies and 'communicative acts' in making science-religion encounters. The BAAS's dedication to political and religious neutrality in 1831 was a crucial organising protocol that limited the expression of religious ideas and the use of confessional language in the official confines of the meeting. Breaching this protocol, more often than not, invited controversy. At the same time, 'communicative acts' in different places also played a crucial role in mediating encounters. Spectacles, such as John Tyndall's 1874 'Belfast address', or the appearance of Bishop Colenso in Bath, or even minor religious services, were central in shifting and staging science-religion boundaries in particular times and places. Throughout the thesis, the profound spatial implications of the BAAS's prohibition on religion is highlighted. Indeed, attention is drawn to how the Association's leadership fostered the middle Sunday of the Association's week - a day left free from official business in the programme - as a rhetorical and material space where ideas banned from the Association could find expression. This space helped relieve tension between the Victorian appetite for religion and the BAAS's proscription. Finally, uncovering the Sunday activities attached to the Association helps, as is shown, counter a grand narrative of secularisation that ties science and professionalisation to religious decline.
33
Aktug, Irem. "State space representation for verification of open systems." Licentiate thesis, Stockholm, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-3973.
34
Ng, Tobun Dorbin. "A concept space approach to semantic exchange." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/289095.
Abstract:
This dissertation work investigates the use of information technologies that clarify semantic meaning to help users elaborate their information needs by providing library-specific knowledge to the information seeking process. The research involved two interdependent semantic technologies: concept space consultation and library-specific, domain-specific, automatically generated concept spaces. The concept space consultation phase used spreading activation algorithms--branch-and-bound and Hopfield net algorithms--to explore knowledge sources in specific domains. This research demonstrated the comparable effectiveness of exploration of a library database using a man-made classification scheme and thesaurus as opposed to an automatically generated concept space. The results showed that the use of spreading activation algorithms identified more relevant concepts than the use of the manual browsing method. The concept space technique automatically identifies and extracts concept from a library collection while at the same time computing the strength of associations between concepts. This research demonstrated that the concept space technique was able to create human-recognizable concepts and their associations. In addition, the technique could be scaled to generate very large library-specific concept spaces for a very large underlying library collection. Moreover, the interdependent use of both semantic technologies creates a semantic medium for users and library-specific knowledge sources to exchange content with context--context in user information need and that in corporeal knowledge.
35
Fuhry, David P. "Skylines in Metric Space." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1208562156.
36
Handmer, Annie Grace. "Making a success of ‘failure’: a Science Studies analysis of PILOT and SERC in the context of Australian space science." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2022. https://hdl.handle.net/2123/27383.
Abstract:
This thesis presents an in-depth empirical investigation, based on participant observation, interviews and publicly available materials, of PILOT and SERC, two recent Australian space science projects that were both connected to the problem of space debris. While PILOT’s proposal for funding failed, SERC was successfully funded yet failed to reach its initially stated goal of demonstrating the possibility of Active Debris Removal (ADR) using a ground-based high power laser combined with laser guide star adaptive optics. My analysis illustrates that the Australian space science funding and policy environment changed significantly in the brief period between PILOT’s unsuccessful proposal and SERC’s formation, marking the period of time in which dual-use space capability development was recognised as a political strategic priority. In SERC’s case, dual-use technology has been developed through (substantially) publicly funded institutions and by civil scientists. I argue that the current arrangement of policy and funding structures in the Australian space sciences sector facilitates engagement in dual-use technology development in such a way that two outcomes emerge: first, that moral responsibility for the products of such research is institutionally and individually avoided by distributing it ‘up the chain’ to national governmental entities, and second, that international legal responsibility is likewise avoided at a national level by distributing it ‘down the chain’ to institutions. I demonstrate how policy and funding conditions in Australia allowed individuals working in, and adjacent to, the space sciences to maintain, unchallenged, the convenient fiction that science is itself amoral and, to some extent, apolitical.
37
Kamahele-Sanfratello, Ciara L. (Ciara Lei). "Symbolic planning in belief space." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/100604.
Abstract:
Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2015.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (page 32).
SASY (Scalable and Adjustable SYmbolic) Planner is a flexible symbolic planner which searches for a satisfying plan to a partially observable Markov decision process, or a POMDP, while benefiting from advantages of classical symbolic planning such as compact belief state expression, domain-independent heuristics, and structural simplicity. Belief space symbolic formalism, an extension of classical symbolic formalism, can be used to transform probabilistic problems into a discretized and deterministic representation such that domain-independent heuristics originally created for classical symbolic planning systems can be applied to them. SASY is optimized to solve POMDPs encoded in belief space symbolic formalism, but can also be used to find a solution to general symbolic planning problems. We compare SASY to two other POMDP solvers, SARSOP and POMDPX_NUS, and define a new benchmark domain called Elevator.
by Ciara L. Kamahele-Sanfratello.
M. Eng.
38
Wang, Harrison M. Eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Interactive exploration of design space." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/123118.
Abstract:
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Thesis: M. Eng. in Computer Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2019
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 57-59).
Typical design for manufacturing applications requires simultaneous optimization of conflicting performance objectives: Design variations that improve one performance metric may decrease another performance metric. In these scenarios, there is no unique optimal design but rather a set of designs that are optimal for different tradeoffs (called Pareto-optimal). In this thesis, I present a novel approach to discovering the Pareto front, allowing designers to navigate the landscape of compromises efficiently. The approach is based on a first-order approximation of the Pareto front, which allows entire neighborhoods rather than individual points on the Pareto front to be captured. In addition to allowing for efficient discovery of the Pareto front and the corresponding mapping to the design space, this approach allows one to represent the entire trade-off manifold as a small collection of patches that comprise a high-quality and piecewise-smooth approximation. Additionally, I will present the early stages of an extension to the aforementioned work - namely the capability to discover a Pareto gamut that arises from multiple fronts affected by one or more application variables.
by Harrison Wang.
M. Eng. in Computer Science and Engineering
M.Eng.inComputerScienceandEngineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
39
Chiku, Takemi. "Japanese space policy in the changing world." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/12825.
40
Coughlin, Michael. "Enabling User Space Secure Hardware." Thesis, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10791863.
Abstract:
User space software allows developers to customize applications beyond the limits of the privileged operating system. In this dissertation, we extend this concept to the hardware in the system, providing applications with the ability to define secure hardware; effectively enabling hardware to be treated as a user space resource. This addresses a significant challenge facing industry today, which has an increasing need for secure hardware. With the ever increasing leaks of private data, increasing use of a variety of computing platforms controlled by third parties, and increasing sophistication of attacks, secure hardware, now more than ever, is needed to provide protections we need. However, the current ecosystem of secure hardware is fractured and limited. Developers are left with few choices of platforms to implement their applications and oftentimes the choices don’t fully meet their needs. Instead of relying on manufacturers to make the correct design decisions and ensuring that these platforms are implemented correctly, we enable applications to define the exact secure hardware that it needs to protect itself and its data.
This vision leverages the emergence of programmable hardware, specifically FPGAs, to serve as the basis of user space secure hardware. The challenges of this, however, are that (i) sharing of FPGA resources among multiple applications is not currently practical, and (ii) the reprogrammability of FPGAs compromises the security properties of secure hardware. We address these challenges by introducing two systems, Cloud RTR and Software Defined Secure Hardware, which individually solve each challenge, and then combine these solutions together to realize the complete vision. Cloud RTR solves the first challenge by leveraging cloud compilation to allow for an FPGA to be shared between applications, making hardware into a user space resource. SDSHW solves the second challenge by introducing a self-provisioning system that allows for an FPGA to provisioned into a secure state, allowing for secure hardware to be run in an FPGA. We then combine these two systems to implement the user space hardware provided by Cloud RTR on the secure platform provided by SDSHW, which provides our vision of user space secure hardware.
41
Backman, Fredrick. "Making Place for Space : a History of 'Space Town' Kiruna 1943-2000." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för idé- och samhällsstudier, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-101725.
Abstract:
Science and technology have a tendency to clump together in places where they spawn other forms of societal activities. Sometimes these places become famous through processes known as place-making, or the social construction of place. Because the scientific and technological activities affect the places, and the places conversely affect the science and technology, it is relevant to study how and why these connections emerge. This dissertation examines the particular case of the northern Swedish town of Kiruna, which has become known for being a `space town' because of its scientific, technological, and other activities that relate to the near space around the earth. The overall objective is to analyse the processes underlying the making of Kiruna as a space town in the period 1943--2000. Five parts make up the study. First is an examination of how the development of space physics research in Kiruna led to the setting up of a scientific observatory. The second part studies how the Swedish participation in the European Space Research Organisationmade Kiruna the place for a rocket base. Next follows an analysis of how local business efforts contributed to forming a new satellite technology business and the Space House office building. The fourth part concerns how the visions to establish a space `university' eventually led to the emergence of the Space Campus. Last is an epilogue that briefly analyses the space tourism efforts in Kiruna. A central finding is that the space town has emerged as the result of entwined processes where, on the one hand, ideas about the near space around the earth have led to new activities and physical structures, and, on the other hand, these new activities and built structures conversely have inspired to new ideas. Of importance is also the geographical place where these developments have occurred. Here, a reoccurring argument to placing the activities and structures in Kiruna was the town's geographically favourable location for specific scientific and technological activities. Another finding is that the development has gradually led to the emergence of a kind of identity or notion of Kiruna as a particular place for space activities. Although this form of place-making has occurred largely through spontaneous processes, it was also the result of intentional efforts. Together, these different place-making processes have formed the `space town' of Kiruna.
42
Anderson, Clinton W. "Probing Space: Formative Assessment in a Middle School Inquiry-Based Science Classroom." Master's thesis, University of Central Florida, 2012. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/5103.
Abstract:
This action research thesis was performed to explore the research questions: How did the use of formative assessment affect student performance data in understanding the concepts of the Sun-Earth-Moon system?, How did the use of learning scales as formative techniques impact student self-assessment of their knowledge of the Sun-Earth-Moon system?, How did the implementation of formative assessment techniques affect student discourse on the topic of the Sun-Earth-Moon system? Formative assessment techniques including “talk-friendly” probes, sticky bars, and agree-disagree statements were used in the classroom to expose gaps in knowledge, to facilitate discourse, and promote self-assessment. A triangulation of data included a district-provided pre/post-test, teacher observation, written and oral student responses of formative assessment, self-assessment, discourse, and student self-assessment on a learning goal tracker. Data gathered from student responses to formative assessment techniques given during discourse, lab experiences, in written responses, and from the student learning scale tracker were analyzed to expose misconceptions and gaps in knowledge and guide classroom instruction. Data showed that student performance data improved overall and students narrowed gaps in knowledge of the Sun-Earth-Moon system. Improvement in student participation and skill of discourse was evident; however students needed more practice developing written explanations for phenomenon within the Sun-Earth-Moon system. Through the use of self-assessments students showed improvement in ability to self-assess and realized gained knowledge toward their learning goal.ID: 031001339; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Title from PDF title page (viewed April 15, 2013).; Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Central Florida, 2012.; Includes bibliographical references (p, 170-172).
M.Ed.
Masters
Teaching, Learning, and Leadership
Education and Human Performance
K-8 Math and Science
43
Divine, Susan Marie. "Utopias of Thought, Dystopias of Space: Science Fiction in Contemporary Peninsular Narrative." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/195666.
Abstract:
This study serves as an introduction to three recent narratives in Spanish Science Fiction. While this literary genre has long been read in Spain in translation, it is only recently that Sci-Fi has been successful as a popular literature produced by native authors. Álex de la Iglesia, Gabriela Bustelo and Rafael Reig have worked in realist and genre fiction through their careers but chose to use Science Fiction to speak of the rapidly changing space of Madrid. Their criticism is centered on the changes to the physical, social, economic and political landscape of Madrid post-1992. My analysis is based on the works of the geographer David Harvey, among others, which helps to underline the importance of the urbanization of capital and consciousness that the three narratives disentangle. While being three very different texts - one film and two novels -, they all manipulate concerns of time and space to come to a similar conclusion. Their narratives serve as a warning about how the good intentions of humanist theories like feminism or scientific advancement can easily turn into a nightmare by instead serving the needs of capitalism rather than those of social justice.
44
Sun, Chen Ph D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Design space exploration of photonic interconnects." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68509.
Abstract:
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-113).
As processors scale deep into the multi-core and many-core regimes, bandwidth and energy-efficiency of the on-die interconnect network have become paramount design issues. Recognizing potential limits of electrical interconnects, emerging nanophotonic integration has been recently proposed as a potential technology option for both on-chip and chip-to-chip applications. As optical links avoid the capacitive, resistive and signal integrity limits imposed upon electrical interconnects, the introduction of integrated photonics allows for efficient realization of physical connectivity that are costly to accomplish electrically. While many recent works have since cited the potential benefits of optics, inherent design tradeoffs of photonic datapath and backend components remain relatively unknown at the system-level. This thesis develops insights regarding the behavior of electrical and hybrid optoelectrical networks and systems. We present power and area models that capture the behavior of electrical interface circuits and their interactions with optical devices. To animate these models in the context of a full system, we contribute DSENT, a novel physical modeling framework capable of estimating the costs of generalized digital electronics, mixed-signal interface circuitry, and optical links. With DSENT, we enable fast power and area evaluation of entire networks to connect the dynamics of an underlying photonics interconnect to that of an otherwise electrical system. Using our methodolody, we perform a technology-driven design space exploration of intra-chip networks and highlight the importance of thermal tuning and parasitic receiver capacitances in network power consumption. We show that the performance gains enabled by photonics-inspired architectures can enable savings in total system energy even if the network is more costly. Finally, we propose a photonically interconnected DRAM system as a solution to the core-to-DRAM bandwidth bottleneck. By attacking energy consumption at the DRAM channel, chip, and bank level with integrated photoncis, we cut the power consumption of the DRAM system by 10x while remaining area neutral when compared to a projected electrical baseline.
by Chen Sun.
S.M.
45
Dodis, Yevgeniy 1976. "Space-time tradoffs for graph properties." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/47497.
46
Brodsky, Micah Z. (Micah Zev). "Synthetic morphogenesis : space, time, and deformation." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/92963.
Abstract:
Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2014.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 127-133).
Synthetic biology has presented engineers with a fascinating opportunity: can we understand the principles of our origins { animal embryonic development - by re-engineering it in the laboratory? I investigate, from an engineer's perspective, some of problems that arise in developing geometric form in a deformable substrate. More abstractly, I attack the problem of establishing spatial patterns, when rearranging and deforming parts of the system is inherent to the process. Deformable, foam-like cellular surfaces are developed as a model for embryonic epithelia (polarized cellular sheets), one of the principal tissue types in early animal development. I explore ways in which simple agent programs running within the individual cells can collectively craft large-scale structures. The mechanical properties of the substrate prove crucial to the patterning process. In such a distributed, heterogeneous substrate, little can be assumed about the progress of time. In one branch of my work, I develop patterning techniques where convergence is transparently and locally detectable, drawing insights from clockless digital circuits and casting the problem as distributed constraint propagation. In another branch of work, I avoid the problem of timing by making all patterns self- correcting. In self-correcting patterning, I attempt to understand "canalization" - how development is naturally robust to perturbations. I formulate a model for regional patterning, inspired by regeneration experiments in developmental biology, and using mathematical principles from classical models of magnetic domains and phase separation. The problem again becomes a form of distributed constraint propagation, now using soft constraints. I explore some of the resulting phenomena and then apply the mechanism to crafting surface geometries, where self-correction makes the process robust to both damage and self-deformation. I conclude with a look at how this naturally leads to an example of partial redundancy { multiple systems that partly but not completely overlap in function - yielding confusing responses to the effects of virtual knock-out experiments, reminiscent of the confusing behavior of knock-out experiments in biology.
by Micah Z. Brodsky.
Ph. D.
47
Mkadmi, Taieb. "Speeding-up state-space search by automatic abstraction." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/6908.
Abstract:
Most existing abstraction algorithms are sensitive to the initial problem formulation. Given two different descriptions of the same space, they will produce different abstractions, of which one might be efficient for problem-solving while the other might be inefficient. This thesis presents a completely automated approach to generating and using abstractions for problem solving in state-spaces. The strategy to overcome the problem of sensitivity is called the graph relabelling strategy. The abstraction algorithms used are all based on that strategy and on a theoretical study of the complexity to abstract and to search using an abstraction. This study presents theorems and compares analytical results to some known graph algorithms. Extensive experiments confirm that our abstractions can be quickly computed and greatly reduce problem-solving time in state-spaces, especially those with invertible operators.
48
Oliveau, Kevin B. "The future of the U.S. military in space." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/12737.
49
Kelly, Michael Robert 1953. "Intelligent space laboratory organizational design using system entity structure concepts." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/291985.
Abstract:
This thesis is the product of a knowledge acquisition effort, whose objective was to obtain information essential to the modelling and simulation of a robotically operated laboratory on board the forthcoming space station "Freedom." The information is represented using the system entity structure, a knowledge representation scheme that utilizes artificial intelligence concepts. The system entity structure details the design information and associated knowledge required for the intelligent autonomous operation of the space-based laboratory. The approach is proven to be very beneficial for organizing and displaying the vast amounts of information that constitute this intricate system design. Knowledge management, representation, and the nature of a future software implementation are also addressed.
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Patala, Srikanth. "Topological analysis of the grain boundary space." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69667.
Abstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2011.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-125).
Grain boundaries and their networks have a profound influence on the functional and structural properties of every class of polycrystalline materials and play a critical role in structural evolution and phase transformations. Recent experimental advances enable a full crystallographic characterization, including the boundary misorientation and inclination parameters, of grain boundaries. Despite these advances, a lack of appropriate analytical tools severely undermines our ability to analyze and exploit the full potential of the vast amounts of experimental data available to materials scientists. This is because the topology of the grain boundary space is unknown and even a well-studied part of the complete grain boundary space, the misorientation space, is relatively poorly understood. This thesis summarizes efforts to improve the representation of misorientation information and to understand the topology of the complete grain boundary space. First, the topology of the space of misorientations is discussed with a focus on the effect of symmetries on the minimum embedding dimensions in Euclidean space. This opens the door to a new method of representation of misorientation information in which grain boundaries can be uniquely colored by their misorientations. Second, conditions under which the topology of the grain boundary space has been resolved are presented. Resolving the topology of the complete grain boundary space not only facilitates statistical analysis of grain boundaries, but can also help describe the structure-property relationships of these interfaces.
by Srikanth Patala.
Ph.D.