Development of Commercial Quality Software for Mechanisms Design Education

1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Timmins
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Educational Software ◽  
Free Form ◽  
Single Individual ◽  
University Environment ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fixed Set ◽  
Develop Software

Abstract Development of high quality technical software in a university environment has been a persistent problem since the introduction of educational software to institutions of higher learning. Design software presents a number of special considerations. It differs significantly from other types of educational software in that it requires a free-form creative environment rather than a question-and-answer format or even a detailed analysis of a fixed set of specified problems. Ideally, the student should be able to explore a wide range of realistic problems and develop both optimal and non-optimal solutions using a variety of mechanisms. This paper outlines the differences between truly “commercial quality” software and that developed for use at the local campus and explores the difficulties involved in producing such a product. Users drastically underestimate the amount of manpower and funding required to develop software packages on a par with widely available applications such as AutoCAD, WordPerfect, or Lotus 1-2-3. Similarly, design education software developed at universities for national distribution represent thousands of man-hours of development and may be the work of a single individual or a team of programmers led by a faculty member.

scholarly journals Goal-driven active learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Bougie ◽  
Ryutaro Ichise
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Real World ◽  
Imitation Learning ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fixed Set ◽  
Complex Decision Making ◽  
Complex Decision

AbstractDeep reinforcement learning methods have achieved significant successes in complex decision-making problems. In fact, they traditionally rely on well-designed extrinsic rewards, which limits their applicability to many real-world tasks where rewards are naturally sparse. While cloning behaviors provided by an expert is a promising approach to the exploration problem, learning from a fixed set of demonstrations may be impracticable due to lack of state coverage or distribution mismatch—when the learner’s goal deviates from the demonstrated behaviors. Besides, we are interested in learning how to reach a wide range of goals from the same set of demonstrations. In this work we propose a novel goal-conditioned method that leverages very small sets of goal-driven demonstrations to massively accelerate the learning process. Crucially, we introduce the concept of active goal-driven demonstrations to query the demonstrator only in hard-to-learn and uncertain regions of the state space. We further present a strategy for prioritizing sampling of goals where the disagreement between the expert and the policy is maximized. We evaluate our method on a variety of benchmark environments from the Mujoco domain. Experimental results show that our method outperforms prior imitation learning approaches in most of the tasks in terms of exploration efficiency and average scores.

A Pillar of Mechanical Engineering Design Education in Australia: 25 Years of the Warman Design and Build Competition

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren F. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
National Committee ◽  
Engineering Design Education ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Institutional Learning ◽  
History Of

The “Warman Design and Build Competition”, running across Australasian Universities, is now in its 26th year in 2013. Presented in this paper is a brief history of the competition, documenting the objectives, yearly scenarios, key contributors and champion Universities since its beginning in 1988. Assuming the competition has reached the majority of mechanical and related discipline engineering students in that time, it is fair to say that this competition, as a vehicle of the National Committee on Engineering Design, has served to shape Australasian engineering education in an enduring way. The philosophy of the Warman Design and Build Competition and some of the challenges of running it are described in this perspective by its coordinator since 2003. In particular, the need is for the competition to work effectively across a wide range of student group ability. Not every group engaging with the competition will be competitive nationally, yet all should learn positively from the experience. Reported also in this paper is the collective feedback from the campus organizers in respect to their use of the competition as an educational experience in their classrooms. Each University participating uses the competition differently with respect to student assessment and the support students receive. However, all academic campus organizer responses suggest that the competition supports their own and their institutional learning objectives very well. While the project scenarios have varied widely over the years, the intent to challenge 2nd year university (predominantly mechanical) engineering students with an open-ended statement of requirements in a practical and experiential exercise has been a constant. Students are faced with understanding their opportunity and their client’s value system as expressed in a scoring algorithm. They are required to conceive, construct and demonstrate their device with limited prior knowledge and experience, and the learning outcomes clearly impact their appreciation for teamwork, leadership and product realization.

scholarly journals Colour Studies: Clarification and Alpha-Numeric Adaptation of Notation Systems for Artists and Designers

1970 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-148
Author(s):  
ZS Ebigbagha
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Pivotal Role ◽  
Art And Design ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Creative Construction

Colour studies have generated much confusion in art and design education, particularly among students of the discipline in Nigeria. This is due to the complexity of the subject matter itself, wide-range of available materials and a variety of concepts developed in its multi-disciplinarity that is not kept distinct. Therefore, this paper utilizes a qualitative approach that employs the critical, historical, and analytic examination to provide clarification on the constructive and expressive aspects of colour studies. The paper introduces the reader to the pivotal role of colour and its multi-disciplinary interest. Also, it adequately clarifies paradigms and theories in the physical, psychophysical and psychological domains with particular emphasis on areas of practical value to art and design. Moreover, it considers the numeric adaptation of the colour wheel to a set of numbers for harmonic relationship. And it ends with the need for artists and designers to comprehensively grasp the contextual behaviour of colour and develop colour originality through creative construction and effective use in order to successfully express themselves in colour.

scholarly journals Efficient and Innovative Polishing Processes for Smoothing Complex Surface Geometries and Internal Contours on Brittle-Hard Components

2020 ◽  
Vol 238 ◽  
pp. 03010
Author(s):  
Marcel Binder ◽  
Sebastian Henkel ◽  
Anne-Marie Schwager ◽  
Christoph Letsch ◽  
Jens Bliedtner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Current Trend ◽  
Glass Ceramics ◽  
Complex Surface ◽  
Fused Silica ◽  
Free Form ◽  
Resource Saving ◽  
Processing Technologies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Monolithic Components ◽  
Free Form Surfaces

The material fused silica, as well as other brittle-hard materials such as glass ceramics, have great potential for use in a wide range of applications due to their special material properties. The technical advantages of these materials require sophisticated processing technologies, including polishing steps, in order to be able to use these interesting materials advantageously. In addition, a current trend in modern optical manufacturing is the use of free-form surfaces and monolithic components that combine several optical and mechanical functions in one part. Novel or improved processes are needed in order to meet future requirements for resource-saving and effective production methods at the same time.

Free-Form Modeling in Bilateral Brep and CSG Representation Schemes

1998 ◽  
Vol 08 (05n06) ◽  
pp. 537-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jai Menon ◽  
Baining Guo
Keyword(s):  
Shape Control ◽  
Tangent Plane ◽  
Free Form ◽  
Unified Approach ◽  
Dual Representation ◽  
Surface Patches ◽  
Low Degree ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Algebraic Patches ◽  
Direct Term

This paper presents a unified approach for incorporating free-form solids in bilateral Brep and CSG representation schemes, by resorting to low-degree (quadratic, cubic) algebraic surface patches. We develop a general CSG solution that represents a free-form solid as a boolean combination of a direct term and a complicated delta term. This solution gives rise to the trunctet-subshell conditions, under which the delta term computation can be obviated. We use polyhedral smoothing to construct a Brep consisting of quadratic algebraic patches that meet with tangent-plane continuity, such that the trunctet-subshell conditions are guaranteed automatically. This guarantee is not currently available for cubic patches. The general CSG solution thus applies whenever trunctet-subshell conditions are violated, e.g. sometimes for cubic patches or sometimes for patches of any degree that are subject to shape control operations. Manifold solids of arbitrary topology can be represented in our dual representation system. Ensuing CSG constructs are parallel processed on the RayCasting Engine to support a wide range of solid modeling applications, including general sweeping, Minkowski operations, NC machining, and touch-sense probing.

scholarly journals LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT PROFILES FOR THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF IRANIAN HIGHER EDUCATION

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Hamidifar ◽  
Kamaruzaman Yusoff ◽  
Mansoureh Ebrahimi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Leadership Competencies ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Internationalization Of Higher Education ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Leadership And Management ◽  
Effective Leaders ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Systematic Development

Ongoing efforts to strengthen internationalization have increased the numbers of international students in institutions of higher learning. Such inflows will clearly place local institutions on par with many of their international counterparts. This paper explores the significance of higher education’s internationalization with regard to leadership competencies and systems management. The objective is to examine a wide range of priorities that qualify a successful leader as well as an effective ‘systems profile’ for the internationalization of higher education and its profile on the internationalization of Iranian higher education. The authors analyze differences between leaders and managers as their core focus. Required criteria for effective leaders and team management are discussed with a specific view towards the internationalization of higher education. A qualitative approach applies and findings demonstrate how both leadership’s and management’s contributions and skills combine to accomplish the task. As a detailed synopsis, this paper provides prime incentive for future investigations of educational enterprises. It presents a substantiated framework for the systematic development of prudent internationalized institutions of higher education, particularly in Iran.

Identification of promising objects for the synthesis of thiosulphonate derivatives of benzoquinone and hydroquinone

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
N. Y. Monka ◽  
◽  
N. E. Stadnytska ◽  
I. R. Buchkevych ◽  
K. O. Kaplia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Activity ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Reduced Form ◽  
Free Form ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
On Line ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Derivatives Of

Benzoquinone and its reduced form hydroquinone belong to phenolic compounds and are found in living organisms in free form or in glycosides. They are active substances of some medicinal plants and have a pharmacological effect on the human body. Accordingly, their derivatives are important objects for chemical synthesis and development of new drugs. This article presents the findings of the structural design of substances with benzoquinone or hydroquinone fragment and sulfur-containing compound. By use of appropriate on-line programs a predictive screening of the biological activity and cytotoxicity of thiosulfonate derivatives of benzoquinone and hydroquinone has been conducted. It has been found that they have immense methodological potential to be synthesized by substances with a wide range of biological activities and a high value of probable activity, which substantiates the feasibility of conducting experimental studies on their biological activity, particularly anticancer.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Julee T. Flood ◽  
Terry L. Leap
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
College Education ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Academic Standards ◽  
Faculty Research ◽  
Promotion And Tenure ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Service Expectations ◽  
Prohibitive Cost

The wide range of U.S. institutions of higher learning face a number of challenges such as the balance between faculty research, teaching, and service expectations, the high and, sometimes, prohibitive cost of a college education, eroding academic standards, heated debates over curriculum issues, administrative bloat, and the contentious nature of promotion and tenure decisions. Risk management is often the key to dealing with these issues.

scholarly journals Highly Bioavailable Forms of Curcumin and Promising Avenues for Curcumin-Based Research and Application: A Review

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney J. Stohs ◽  
Oliver Chen ◽  
Sidhartha D. Ray ◽  
Jin Ji ◽  
Luke R. Bucci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Form ◽  
Blood Levels ◽  
Pharmacokinetic Studies ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Health Maintenance ◽  
Enhanced Absorption ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Human Pharmacokinetic ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Health Promoting

Curcumin exerts a wide range of beneficial physiological and pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-amyloid, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-neoplastic, immune-modulating, metabolism regulating, anti-depressant, neuroprotective and tissue protective effects. However, its poor solubility and poor absorption in the free form in the gastrointestinal tract and its rapid biotransformation to inactive metabolites greatly limit its utility as a health-promoting agent and dietary supplement. Recent advances in micro- and nano-formulations of curcumin with greatly enhanced absorption resulting in desirable blood levels of the active forms of curcumin now make it possible to address a wide range of potential applications, including pain management, and as tissue protective. Using these forms of highly bioavailable curcumin now enable a broad spectrum of appropriate studies to be conducted. This review discusses the formulations designed to enhance bioavailability, metabolism of curcumin, relationships between solubility and particle size relative to bioavailability, human pharmacokinetic studies involving formulated curcumin products, the widely used but inappropriate practice of hydrolyzing plasma samples for quantification of blood curcumin, current applications of curcumin and its metabolites and promising directions for health maintenance and applications.

Effect of age, sex and fertility on the optimal structure of a static self-replacing ewe and wether flock

1975 ◽  
Vol 15 (76) ◽  
pp. 610 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Jardine ◽  
PD Mullaney ◽  
ED Turnbull ◽  
JK Egan
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Stress ◽  
Optimal Structure ◽  
Biological Factors ◽  
Optimal Structures ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Fixed Set ◽  
Effect Of Age

This study investigated the optimal structure of a closed ewe and wether flock producing wool and meat. A range of price-weighted (net of a fixed set of costs) combinations of these products was considered, and optimal structures determined for each. The aim of the study was to throw some light on the effects of the main biological factors-age, sex and fertility-on flock structure (given that there is no nutritional stress). The general conclusions were that the optimal structure shifts from disposing of wethers as lambs and ewes as 5.5-year olds to disposing of wethers as 3.5-year olds and ewes as 4.5-year olds, as fertility declines or meat declines in value relative to wool. However, the former structure tends to dominate and is optimal over a wide range of conditions.

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