William Carrick: A Scots photographer in St Petersburg (1827˜1878)

Abstract

William Carrick, whose name now appears in the Bolshaya Sovietskaya Encyclopaedia as one of the founders of Russian photography, was born of Scottish parents in Edinburgh, on 31st December 1827. A few months later he was taken to Russia, which was to be his home for the rest of his life. His grandfather and father were timber merchants, and ran their business from Cronstadt, the port for St. Petersburg.     

The “Terranova” render of the Engineering Faculty in Bologna (1931–1935): reasons for an outstanding durability

In the first half of the twentieth century, a variety of dry-mix renders with different trade marks spread across Europe. Their stated performance made them attractive for buildings where the overhanging eave was absent, hence they found broad application in rationalist buildings and districts. However, their composition and properties are barely known. In this paper, the Terranova render of the Engineering Faculty in Bologna was characterised, to investigate the reasons for its outstanding durability. Unexpectedly, the render was found to be constituted by dolomitic lime and only a small amount of white cement and exhibited a remarkable strength. The presence of air voids seems due the use of air entraining agents and may have contributed to the frost resistance of this render during 80 years. The results are expected to contribute not only to the knowledge of Terranova render, but also to a better understanding of durability issues for new renders.     

Science on the edge of empire: E. A. Forsten (1811–1843) and the Natural History Committee (1820–1850) in the Netherlands Indies

Between 1820 and 1850, the Dutch government sent several scientists to the Netherlands Indies as part of the Natuurkundige Commissie (Natural History Committee). One of these was naturalist Eltio Alegondus Forsten (1811–1843), who was sent on a collecting mission to Celebes (Sulawesi). This paper explores the ways in which Forsten was in a relationship of mutual interdependence with four spheres of influence, two in the Netherlands (those of the Dutch government and the natural history museum in Leiden) and two in the Dutch East Indies (those of the governor-general and the local population of Forsten's collecting grounds). These four entities served as focal points for Forsten's practice, and tried to use his mission for their own purposes. At the same time, Forsten negotiated their demands deftly and turned them to his own advantage in order to serve his own future career. Throughout, I draw parallels with the experiences of various other members of the Natural History Committee. I ultimately propose that this case study of Forsten provides a glimpse of a possible pattern for the relationship between government-sponsored science and empire in the Dutch East Indies in the first half of the 19th century.     

Road safety development in Europe: A decade of changes (2001–2010)

To evaluate the road safety development of a country over time, the percentage change in the number of road fatalities is traditionally the main indicator. However, simply considering the reduction in the road fatalities may not correctly reflect the real improvement in road safety because the transport circumstances of a country underlying the road fatalities also change every year. In this study, we present a new way for measuring the road safety performance change over time, which is to use the technique of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist productivity index. In doing so, we can not only focus on the evolution of road safety final outcomes within a given period, but also take the changes of different measures of exposure in the same period into account. In the application, the DEA-based Malmquist productivity index (DEA-MI) is used to measure the extent to which the EU countries have improved their road safety performance over the period 2001–2010. More objective and insightful results are obtained compared to the ones based on the traditional indicator. The results show considerable road safety progress in most of the Member States during these ten years, and the fatality risk rather than the fatality number on Europe's roads has actually been reduced by approximately half. However, the situation differed considerably from country to country. The decomposition of the DEA-MI into ‘efficiency change’ and ‘technical change’ further reveals that the bulk of the improvement during the last decade was attained through the adoption of productivity-enhancing new technologies throughout the road transport sector in Europe, rather than through the relatively underperforming countries catching up with those best-performing ones.     

Studies on nonideal plasma published in the pages of the journal Teplofizika Vysokikh Temperatur (High Temperature) for the last 50 years (1963–2012): A bibliographic review

A complete bibliography of works concerning nonideal plasma and some subjects closely related to it, which were published in the Teplofizika Vysokikh Temperatur (High Temperature) journal over the last 50 years, is reviewed for the first time. The publications which have played an important role in this field are discussed. Different ideas and hypotheses proposed to find an explanation for effects revealed in experiments are analyzed critically. Tribute is paid to all participants of this exciting epopee that is still far from complete.     

Self-Propagating Reactions in the Ti–Si System: A SHS-MASHS Comparative Study

In this work, we report on the self-propagating reaction in Ti–Si blends, observed by SHS and MASHS (mechanical activated SHS) techniques. In spite of the differences between the two reacting methods, correlations were found between the key parameters of the two modes of activation. Moreover, this comparative study enabled us to gain some hints on the reaction mechanism. The combustive behavior of powder mixtures with stoichiometries corresponding to the intermetallics present in the Ti–Si phase diagram (TiSi₂, TiSi, Ti₅Si₄, and Ti₅Si₃) was studied. The SHS characteristics, such as combustion temperature, propagation rate, and ignition temperature was strongly dependent on both the initial stoichiometry and milling time. Particular attention was paid to the influence of the initial stoichiometry and milling conditions on the reaction mechanism. A single-step dissolution-precipitation mechanism was found for the composition Ti : Si = 5 : 3. On the other hand, at the composition Ti : Si = 1 : 2, the mechanism shows two steps, the first, active at the leading front of the combustion front, involving only solid phases, and the second, active in the afterburn region, involving solid–liquid interaction.     

Phase Relations in the Bi–(Pb)–Sr–Ca–Cu–Sc–O System

The phase relations in the Bi–(Pb)–Sr–Ca–Cu–Sc–O system were studied near Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_{8 +} (Bi-2212) and (Bi,Pb)₂Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O_{10 +} (Bi-2223) between 850 and 930°C. The introduction of Sc led to the formation of a new compound Sr₂ScBiO₆, which coexisted with Bi-2212 and Bi-2223. Using crystallization from a peritectic melt at different cooling rates, we obtained Bi-2212 matrix composites containing finely dispersed Sr_1.9Ca_0.1ScBiO₆inclusions, with T _cattaining 89 K. The T _cof the Bi-2223–Sr_1.9Ca_0.1ScBiO₆superconducting ceramic prepared by solid-state sintering of a Bi–(Pb)–Sr–Ca–Cu–Sc–O precursor was 108.5 K.     

International collaboration in scientific publishing: the case of West Africa (2001–2010)

Bibliographic data of publications indexed in Web of Science with at least one (co-)author affiliated to any of the 15 West African countries and published from 2001 to 2010 included are downloaded. Analyses focused one collaboration indicators especially intra regional collaboration, intra African collaboration and collaboration with the world. Results showed that the rate of papers with only one author is diminishing whereas the rate of papers with six and more authors is increasing. Nigeria is responsible for more than half the region’s total scientific output. The main African partner countries are South Africa (in the Southern Africa, Cameroon (in the Central Africa), Kenya and Tanzania (in the Eastern Africa). The main non African partner countries are France, USA and United Kingdom, which on their own contributed to over 63 % of the papers with a non West African address. Individual countries have higher international collaboration rate, except Nigeria. West African countries cooperated less with each other and less with African and developing countries than they did with developed ones. The study suggests national authorities to express in actions their commitment to allot at least 1 % of their GDP to science and technology funding. It also suggests regional integration institutions to encourage and fund research activities that involve several institutions from different West African countries in order to increase intra regional scientific cooperation.     

The state of science and technology in Africa (2000–2004): A scientometric assessment

This article reports for first time the state of science and technology in the African Continent on the basis of two scientometric indicators — number of research publications and number of patents awarded. Our analysis shows that Africa produced 68,945 publications over the 2000–2004 period or 1.8% of the World’s publications. In comparison India produced 2.4% and Latin America 3.5% of the World’s research. More detailed analysis reveals that research in Africa is concentrated in just two countries — South Africa and Egypt. These two counties produce just above 50% of the Continent’s publications and the top eight countries produce above 80% of the Continent’s research. Disciplinary analysis reveals that few African countries have the minimum number of scientists required for the functioning of a scientific discipline. Examination of the Continent’s inventive profile, as manifested in patents, indicates that Africa produces less than one thousand of the world’s inventions. Furthermore 88% of the Continent’s inventive activity is concentrated in South Africa. The article recommends that the African Governments should pay particular attention in developing their national research systems.     

PhD theses in Spain: A gender study covering the years 1990–2004

In this study we analyse gender equality in the preparation, supervision and defence of PhD theses in Spain in the period 1990–2004. The results indicate a tendency towards greater equality in the number of men and women successfully completing doctoral studies. However, the gender imbalance among thesis supervisors and on thesis assessment boards is more apparent, with a predominance of male academics. Moreover, the gender of the PhD student is clearly related to the gender of the supervisor, and both are related to the gender of the members of the assessment boards of PhD theses in Spain.     

Phase Composition of Heat-Treatment Products in the ZrO(OH)2–Y(OH)3–FeOOH System

The phase composition of the heat-treatment products in the ZrO(OH)₂–Y(OH)₃–FeOOH system is determined as a function of the precipitation procedure and calcination temperature (620–1570 K) for the compositions 0.97ZrO₂· xY₂O₃· yFe₂O₃(x+ y= 0.03; x= 0, 0.01, 0.015, 0.02, 0.03) and (1 – x– y)ZrO₂· xY₂O₃· yFe₂O₃(x= y= 0.02, 0.025, 0.03, 0.04). At a given ZrO₂: stabilizer ratio, partial substitution of Fe³⁺for Y³⁺increases the degree of ZrO₂stabilization and retards the low-temperature degradation of the material.     

Banality,Memory and the Index: Thomas Demand and Hitler’s photographer

In “The Ontology of the Photographic Image”, André Bazin elucidates how photographic images enable the subject to elude death because by its very nature the image preserves the subject through the act of memory and remembering. This characteristic implies an indexical relation between the image and its referent and a reliance on memory’s capacity to recall such images. Problematising this position are photographs that are removed from their original context, detached from collective memory and forgotten, or images that, in their very banality, erase or negate meaning? This paper explores the disruption to photography’s meaning and memory in selected photographs by Thomas Demand that are restagings of photographs by Adolf Hitler’s official photographer Heinrich Hoffmann. This paper analyses these photographs in terms of memory and indexicality and considers how banality can affect the circumstances of looking — a concept that is here applied in order to reconsider these images.     

Human–Cyber–Physical Systems (HCPSs) in the Context of New-Generation Intelligent Manufacturing

An intelligent manufacturing system is a composite intelligent system comprising humans, cyber systems, and physical systems with the aim of achieving specific manufacturing goals at an optimized level. This kind of intelligent system is called a human–cyber–physical system (HCPS). In terms of technology, HCPSs can both reveal technological principles and form the technological architecture for intelligent manufacturing. It can be concluded that the essence of intelligent manufacturing is to design, construct, and apply HCPSs in various cases and at different levels. With advances in information technology, intelligent manufacturing has passed through the stages of digital manufacturing and digital-networked manufacturing, and is evolving toward new-generation intelligent manufacturing (NGIM). NGIM is characterized by the in-depth integration of new-generation artificial intelligence (AI) technology (i.e., enabling technology) with advanced manufacturing technology (i.e., root technology); it is the core driving force of the new industrial revolution. In this study, the evolutionary footprint of intelligent manufacturing is reviewed from the perspective of HCPSs, and the implications, characteristics, technical frame, and key technologies of HCPSs for NGIM are then discussed in depth. Finally, an outlook of the major challenges of HCPSs for NGIM is proposed.     

Evaluation of the thixoformability of the A332 Alloy (Al–9.5?wt%Si–2.5?wt%Cu)

The main purpose of this article is to develop and/or use a commercial conventional low-cost raw material as thixoforming material in order to diminish the costs of the thixoforming process. Semi-solid technology usually uses aluminium low-silicon alloys such A356 (Al–7.0 wt%Si) as raw materials. High silicon content alloys with a quasi-eutectic composition diminish the semi-solid range, making it difficult to control the thixoforming temperature, although present excellent mechanical properties. This article reports on the semi-solid behaviour of Al–9.5 wt%Si–2.5 wt%Cu (A332). Thermo-Calc simulations and experimental DSC techniques were used to map the temperature transition from solid to liquid in order to achieve the best semi-solid behaviour and hence the best thixoforming temperature. Samples were reheated at three temperatures to 30, 45 and 60% of the solid fraction applying holding times of 0, 30, 90 and 210 s. The morphological evolution and semi-solid behaviour of the samples at these temperatures were determined via the fixed platen compression test. The structure showed the best semi-solid behaviour at 572 °C, with an apparent viscosity of up to 1.5 × 10⁵ Pa s. The results indicated that the semi-solid behaviour of the commertial Al–9.5 wt%Si–2.5 wt%Cu alloy is similar to that of the alloy A356. Despite its large dendritic structure it is possible, with the correct combination of temperature and time, to use this alloy as raw material for the thixoforming process. Furthermore, semi-solid parts can be produced by thixoforging using this low-cost material without any special preparation.     

Chaos in the Takens–Bogdanov bifurcation with O(2) symmetry

The Takens–Bogdanov bifurcation is a codimension-two bifurcation that provides a key to the presence of complex dynamics in many systems of physical interest. When the system is translation-invariant in one spatial dimension with no left-right preference the imposition of periodic boundary conditions leads to the Takens–Bogdanov bifurcation with O(2) symmetry. This bifurcation, analyzed by G. Dangelmayr and E. Knobloch, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. London A 322, 243 (1987), describes the interaction between steady states and travelling and standing waves in the nonlinear regime and predicts the presence of modulated travelling waves as well. The analysis reveals the presence of several global bifurcations near which the averaging method (used in the original analysis) fails. We show here, using a combination of numerical continuation and the construction of appropriate return maps, that near the global bifurcation that terminates the branch of modulated travelling waves, the normal form for the Takens–Bogdanov bifurcation admits cascades of period-doubling bifurcations as well as chaotic dynamics of Shil'nikov type. Thus chaos is present arbitrarily close to the codimension-two point.     

Emergence of modern scientific discourse in the American continent: knowledge claims in the discovery of Erythronium/Vanadium in Mexico (1802–1832)

In the present paper, we study the discovery of the chemical element number 23, Erythronium/Vanadium (E/V), as an early example of the modern process of validating knowledge claims in México. We examined the published work between 1802 and 1832 of Andrés Manuel del Río (AMR) in the Royal Mining Seminar of México and contrasted the styles of argument and forms of certification between his teaching and experimental writings concerning his claim to the paternity of E/V discovery. We also analyze the respective papers of European authors that replicated, rediscovered and certified AMR’s finding. We use a combination of bibliometric, sociotechnical network and literary critical analysis in order to show that the certification of E/V spawned an emerging mode for producing and validating new knowledge in the American continent and particularly in México. In turn, this approach supports AMR’s claim to the discovery of E/V from the production process of the lead brown ore in Zimapán, México.