University of Canterbury

About: University of Canterbury is a education organization based out in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Large Hadron Collider. The organization has 11100 authors who have published 29846 publications receiving 893232 citations. The organization is also known as: Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha & Canterbury College.

Strength of Concrete Filled Steel Tubular Columns

Abstract: The ultimate strength of axially and eccentrically loaded steel tubular columns covering a wide range of slenderness ratios was investigated. Hollow steel tubes were tested and compared with concrete filled steel tubes. It was found that the buckling load of the axially loaded long columns can be accurately predicted by summing the tangent modulus loads for the steel tube and the concrete core acting as independent columns. The effect of slenderness ratio on the lateral pressure exerted by the tube on the concrete was examined. Lateral pressure is exerted when the concrete commences to increase in volume at high strains and results in an increase in strength of the concrete. Buckling will occur before the longitudinal strain becomes sufficiently high to cause the concrete to increase in volume. For eccentrically loaded columns constructed from steel tubes infilled with concrete, it was found that a straight line interaction formula using the ultimate axial load and the ultimate flexural capacity of the sections predicted failing loads.

Sex-typicality and attractiveness: are supermale and superfemale faces super-attractive?

Abstract: Many animals find extreme versions of secondary sexual characteristics attractive, and such preferences can enhance reproductive success (Andersson, 1994). We hypothesized, therefore, that extreme versions of sex-typical traits may be attractive in human faces. We created supermale and superfemale faces by exaggerating all spatial differences between an average male and an average female face. In Expt 1 the male average was preferred to a supermale (50% exaggeration of differences from the female average). There was no clear preference for the female average or the superfemale (50% exaggeration). In Expt 2, participants chose the most attractive face from sets of images containing feminized as well as masculinized images for each sex, and spanning a wider range of exaggeration levels than in Expt 1. Chinese sets were also shown, to see whether similar preferences would occur for a less familiar race (participants were Caucasian). The most attractive female image was significantly feminized for faces of both races. However, the most attractive male image for both races was also significantly feminized. These results indicate that feminization, rather than sex exaggeration per se, is attractive in human faces, and they corroborate similar findings by Perrett et al. (1998).

Effects of perceived behavioral control on the consumer usage intention of e-coupons

Abstract: To investigate changes that e-coupons bring to consumers' coupon usage, the authors of this article developed and estimated models of coupon-usage intention. The models are based on the theory of reasoned action or the theory of planned behavior. Results show that the theory of planned behavior explains e-coupon usage intention better than the theory of reasoned action. On the other hand, the intention to use traditional coupons is effectively explained by the theory of reasoned action. Both perceived behavioral control and attitude toward Internet searching have significant effects on the intention to use e-coupons. Also, heavy users of e-coupons are different from those of traditional coupons. Light users of traditional coupons have relatively high intention to use e-coupons if they have more access to e-coupons. On the other hand, heavy users of traditional coupons have relatively low intention to use e-coupons if they have less access to them. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Shallow-depth 3d interaction: design and evaluation of one-, two- and three-touch techniques

Abstract: On traditional tables, people frequently use the third dimension to pile, sort and store objects. However, while effective and informative for organization, this use of the third dimension does not usually extend far above the table. To enrich interaction with digital tables, we present the concept of shallow-depth 3D -- 3D interaction with limited depth. Within this shallow-depth 3D environment several common interaction methods need to be reconsidered. Starting from any of one, two and three touch points, we present interaction techniques that provide control of all types of 3D rotation coupled with translation (6DOF) on a direct-touch tabletop display. The different techniques exemplify a wide range of interaction possibilities: from the one-touch technique, which is designed to be simple and natural, but inherits a degree of imprecision from its simplicity; through to three-touch interaction, which allows precise bimanual simultaneous control of multiple degrees of freedom, but at the cost of simplicity. To understand how these techniques support interaction in shallow-depth 3D, we present a user study that examines the efficiency of, and preferences for, the techniques developed. Results show that users are fastest and most accurate when using the three-touch technique and that their preferences were also strongly in favour of the expressive power available from three-touch.

Improving performance of spatio-temporal machine learning models using forward feature selection and target-oriented validation

Abstract: Importance of target-oriented validation strategies for spatio-temporal prediction models is illustrated using two case studies: (1) modelling of air temperature ( T a i r ) in Antarctica, and (2) modelling of volumetric water content (VW) for the R.J. Cook Agronomy Farm, USA. Performance of a random k-fold cross-validation (CV) was compared to three target-oriented strategies: Leave-Location-Out (LLO), Leave-Time-Out (LTO), and Leave-Location-and-Time-Out (LLTO) CV. Results indicate that considerable differences between random k-fold ( R 2 = 0.9 for T a i r and 0.92 for VW) and target-oriented CV (LLO R 2 = 0.24 for T a i r and 0.49 for VW) exist, highlighting the need for target-oriented validation to avoid an overoptimistic view on models. Differences between random k-fold and target-oriented CV indicate spatial over-fitting caused by misleading variables. To decrease over-fitting, a forward feature selection in conjunction with target-oriented CV is proposed. It decreased over-fitting and simultaneously improved target-oriented performances (LLO CV R 2 = 0.47 for T a i r and 0.55 for VW).