Distributed cognition at the crime scene

The examination of a scene of crime provides both an interesting case study and analogy for consideration of Distributed Cognition. In this paper, Distribution is defined by the number of agents involved in the criminal justice process, and in terms of the relationship between a Crime Scene Examiner and the environment being searched.     

Development of a generic activities model of command and control

This paper reports on five different models of command and control. Four different models are reviewed: a process model, a contextual control model, a decision ladder model and a functional model. Further to this, command and control activities are analysed in three distinct domains: armed forces, emergency services and civilian services. From this analysis, taxonomies of command and control activities are developed that give rise to an activities model of command and control. This model will be used to guide further research into technological support of command and control activities.     

In situ measurement and simulation of temperature and stress gradients during sintering of large ceramic components

A special thermooptical measuring system was used to determine mechanical, thermal and sintering properties during firing simultaneously. Combining customary and novel in situ measuring methods, a complete dataset was obtained which includes elastic and viscous moduli, thermal conductivity and coefficients of heat transfer, specific heat, reaction and sintering data and gas permeability. Using finite element methods (FEM) the temperature fields in large components were simulated for various time temperature cycles. From the temperature field local reaction and shrinkage rates were calculated. The corresponding stresses were obtained using FEM again. The time temperature cycle was optimized taking into account both a sufficient safety margin to the respective strength of the sintering material and the economic requirement for a short firing cycle. The use of the methods was demonstrated considering as example a large high voltage porcelain insulator, which undergoes a number of phase transformations during firing.     

How to make networking an art...not an accident

Networking is more than a business buzzword. It's your vital connection to potential clients, new opportunities, business resources, and career support. Cultivating a circle of contacts makes your job a whole lot easier as well as a lot more fun and profitable. You need to know how to make contacts. Otherwise, your creativity, your career, and your professional growth will stagnate. So find out what's going on and who's doing what in your field. The social skills described in the following article may be the most neglected factors in your career     

Visualising alignment to support students’ judgment of confidence in open learner models

User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction - Knowledge monitoring is a component of metacognition which can help students regulate their own learning. In adaptive learning software, the...     

Measuring team skills in crime scene investigation: exploring ad hoc teams

The purpose of this study was to measure the team skills of operational crime scene examiners (CSEs). The techniques used were based on established methods and helped to gain a greater understanding of the domain of forensic investigation. The research begins with a hierarchical task analysis and then adapts pre-established methods for measuring the performance of CSEs in four UK Police Forces. The process supports comparison between prescribed methods of 'good practice' and real world practice. This has allowed the identification of the distributed skills and tasks of the CSE. Using Annett et al.'s HTA(T), crime scene examination can be categorised and the communications and coordination structures occurring between teams investigating a burglary considered. This makes it possible to generalise the method to situations involving ad hoc teams.     

The design of the SensVest

The SensVest is an item of wearable technology that measures, records and transmits aspects of human physical performance such as heart rate, temperature and movement. The SensVest has been designed for use by science teachers and students to meet their requirements. This paper reports the stages undertaken to design the SensVest, from determining appropriate methods of assessing human performance, to considerations of mounting the technology on the body. Trials have shown that concessions need to be made with ease of use and cost to ensure that the data collected is reliable and usable, with an awareness of the sensors limitations. By designing the SensVest with the wearer in mind a system has been developed that is comfortable, does not inhibit normal performance and is wearable. User trials have shown that meaningful, reliable and useful data can be collected using the SensVest.

Gear Lubrication in Inert Gas Atmospheres

An investigation was made of the effect of inert gas atmospheres on the gear load-carrying capacity of lubricants. The experiments were performed in two types of gear test machines, using case-hardened AMS-6260 steel test gears. It was found that two mineral oils (a solvent-extracted turbine oil base stock and a USP grade white mineral oil), as well as the same oils fortified with different extreme-pressure additives, all exhibited a decided increase in load-carrying capacity when the gears were operated in an atmosphere of nitrogen or argon instead of air. On the other hand, the response of synthetic lubricants was not found to be necessarily similar. In fact, only one of the six synthetic fluids tested showed any significant increase in load-carrying capacity when the gears were operated in a nitrogen atmosphere.