Business Intelligence Acceptance: The Prominence of Organizational Factors

The specifics of business intelligence systems compared to operational IS motivate the necessity to research the business intelligence systems acceptance determinants separately. The authors followed an exploratory approach in order to conceptualize a business intelligence acceptance model. Their findings show that in the Business Intelligence Systems context, there is a significant emphasis on organizational factors, such as result demonstrability, social influence, and facilitating conditions with sufficient resources that help build an adequate information culture all substantially influencing the effective acceptance of business intelligence systems.     

Determination of the True Operational Range of a Piezoelectric Actuator

Piezoelectric multilayer actuators are technologically important devices used in numerous positioning and force generation applications. During operation, the actuator displacement and force are nonlinearly coupled to the applied electric field, which is often ignored during material characterization. In this study, a novel experimental arrangement is presented that acts like a virtual linear spring, allowing for characterization of the full operational range as a function of applied electric field as well as the true blocking force and impedance matching system stiffness. The macroscopic measurements are contrasted to previous experimental techniques, providing insight into the effect of path dependence on the blocking force.     

Simultaneous Enhancement of Fracture Toughness and Unipolar Strain in Pb(Zr,Ti)O3‐ZrO2 Composites Through Composition Adjustment

The influence of second phase zirconia particles on the electrical properties and fracture behavior of various polycrystalline soft Pb(Zr_1?xTi_x)O₃ (PZT) compositions was investigated. PZT composites with yttria‐stabilized tetragonal zirconia particles exhibited enhanced crack resistance in comparison to monolithic compositions, regardless of the PZT composition. The addition of zirconia, however, was found to change the PZT composition through the diffusion of zirconium, resulting in variations in the observed piezoelectric and ferroelectric responses. Through the tailoring of the PZT matrix composition, the large electromechanical response and enhanced fracture toughness could be retained. The variation in both small and large signal properties is contrasted to fracture results and crystal structure changes, as determined by X‐ray diffraction.     

Influence of Zn2+ doping on the morphotropic phase boundary in lead-free piezoelectric (1 – x)Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-xBaTiO3

A series of morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) compositions of (1–x)Na_1/2Bi_1/2TiO₃-xBaTiO₃ (x = 0.05, 0.055, 0.06, 0.065, 0.07), with and without 0.5 mol% Zn-doping was synthesized using the solid-state route. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction, dielectric analysis, and electromechanical measurements (piezoelectric d₃₃ coefficient, coupling factor k_p, mechanical quality factor Q_m, and internal bias field E_bias). The increase in the ferroelectric-relaxor transition temperature upon Zn-doping was accompanied by a shift of the MPB toward the Na_1/2Bi_1/2TiO₃-rich side of the phase diagram. Higher tetragonal phase fraction and increased tetragonal distortion were noted for Zn-doped (1 – x)Na_1/2Bi_1/2TiO₃-xBaTiO₃. In addition, ferroelectric hardening and the presence of an internal bias field (E_bias) were observed for all doped compositions. The piezoelectric constant d₃₃ and the coupling coefficient k_p decreased by up to ∼30%, while a 4- to 6-fold increase in Q_m was observed for the doped compositions. Apart from establishing a structure–property correlation, these results highlight the chemically induced shift of the phase diagram upon doping, which is a crucial factor in material selection for optimal performance and commercialization.     

A comparative study of stochastic optimization methods in electric motor design

The efficiency of universal electric motors that are widely used in home appliances can be improved by optimizing the geometry of the rotor and the stator. Expert designers traditionally approach this task by iteratively evaluating candidate designs and improving them according to their experience. However, the existence of reliable numerical simulators and powerful stochastic optimization techniques make it possible to automate the design procedure. We present a comparative study of six stochastic optimization algorithms in designing optimal rotor and stator geometries of a universal electric motor where the primary objective is to minimize the motor power losses. We compare three methods from the domain of evolutionary computation, generational evolutionary algorithm, steady-state evolutionary algorithm and differential evolution, two particle-based methods, particle-swarm optimization and electromagnetism-like algorithm, and a recently proposed multilevel ant stigmergy algorithm. By comparing their performance, the most efficient method for solving the problem is identified and an explanation of its success is offered.     

Optimisation of combined collaborative recommender systems

A new approach to collaborative user modelling is presented in this paper. We have developed a framework that can be used for easy testing of different concepts. We have also introduced three different areas where collaborative modelling can be further improved. For the first phase of testing, we have created a hybrid system based on three different collaborative recommender techniques. Since this system implements multiple collaboration techniques, we decided to call this approach Combined Collaborative Recommender. Although each prediction technique can produce adequate results, we have proved that the combination of these techniques into a unified system provides a much more stable system. It should also be pointed out that these analyses were done using a very large dataset (more than 2 million ratings) providing reliable results. Results of these optimisations are presented along with pointers for further development.     

Canada’s program on nuclear hydrogen production and the thermochemical Cu–Cl cycle

This paper presents an overview of the status of Canada’s program on nuclear hydrogen production and the thermochemical copper–chlorine (Cu–Cl) cycle. Enabling technologies for the Cu–Cl cycle are being developed by a Canadian consortium, as part of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) for hydrogen production with the next generation of nuclear reactors. Particular emphasis in this paper is given to hydrogen production with Canada’s Super-Critical Water Reactor, SCWR. Recent advances towards an integrated lab-scale Cu–Cl cycle are discussed, including experimentation, modeling, simulation, advanced materials, thermochemistry, safety, reliability and economics. In addition, electrolysis during off-peak hours, and the processes of integrating hydrogen plants with Canada’s nuclear plants are presented.     

Influence of composition on the unipolar electric fatigue of Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3‐(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 lead‐free piezoceramics

The lead‐free (1?x)Ba(Zr_0.2Ti_0.8)O₃‐x(Ba_0.7Ca_0.3)TiO₃ system is considered as promising candidate for the replacement of lead‐based piezoceramics in actuation applications, during which electric fatigue is a major concern. This issue was addressed in this work, where the unipolar fatigue resistance of three (1?x)Ba(Zr_0.2Ti_0.8)O₃‐x(Ba_0.7Ca_0.3)TiO₃ compositions with different crystallographic structures (rhombohedral, orthorhombic, and tetragonal) was evaluated. Strain asymmetry and development of an internal bias field were observed in all compositions. The decrease in the remanent polarization and the large signal piezoelectric coefficient after 10⁷ unipolar cycles was found to lie between 6%‐12% and 2%‐13%, respectively. The most pronounced fatigue was observed for the orthorhombic composition, which has the largest extrinsic contribution to strain. On the other hand, the best fatigue resistance was observed for the tetragonal composition, which has a predominantly intrinsic strain response. The correlation of fatigue resistance with strain mechanism was corroborated with determination of the Rayleigh parameters and changes in the domain morphology after cycling as confirmed by piezoresponse force microscopy.