Evaluating the impact of CASE: an empirical comparison of retrospective and cross-sectional survey approaches

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate two methods of assessing the productivity and quality impact of Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) and Fourth Generation Language (4GL) technologies: (1) by the retrospective method; and (2) the cross-sectional method. Both methods involve the use of questionnaire surveys. Developers' perceptions depend on the context in which they are expressed and this includes expectations about the effectiveness of a given software product. Consequently, it is generally not reliable to base inferences about the relative merits of CASE and 4GLs on a cross-sectional comparison of two separate samples of users. The retrospective method that requires each respondent to directly compare different products is shown to be more reliable. However, there may be scope to employ cross-sectional comparisons of the findings from different samples where both sets of respondents use the same reference point for their judgements, and where numerical rather than verbal rating scales are used to measure perceptions.     

Presupposition failure — A comedy of errors

Presuppositions of utterances are the pieces of information you convey with an utterance no matter whether your utterance is true or not. We first study presupposition in a very simple framework of updating propositional information, with examples of how presuppositions of complex propositional updates can be calculated. Next we move on to presuppositions and quantification, in the context of a dynamic version of predicate logic, suitably modified to allow for presupposition failure. In both the propositional and the quantificational case, presupposition failure can be viewed as error abortion of procedures. Thus, a dynamic assertion logic which describes the preconditions for error abortion is the suitable tool for analysing presupposition.     

冲裁模CAD／CAM结构库之原型法

本文首先给出了一种新的2.5D 实体表示法,然后在此基础上提出了“原型”的概念。原型法的思想运用在结构库的管理中主要体现在它将模具结构与构成这种结构的零件之间的强联系变成弱联系,结构库面向的对象是一个具有整体性和可运算性的结构原型。这样的原型结构库基本上达到了通用性与开放性的要求。     

顶封封隔管柱的研制与应用

中原油田近年来注水压力不断升高，井况恶化严重，为此开发了顶封封隔管柱，主要阐述了管柱工况受力特点、结构、工作原理及现场使用效果。经现场较大面积的应用证明，各项性能、技术指标达到了现场要求。     

提高自蔓延高温合成陶瓷内衬钢管性能的研究

在概括了自蔓延高温合成陶瓷内衬钢管的制备原理基础上，从降低陶瓷层孔隙率，减少陶瓷层裂纹和提高陶瓷层结合强度等方面，论述了提高自蔓延高温合成陶瓷内衬钢管性能的措施，对自蔓延高温合成陶瓷内衬钢管的应用现状及展望进行了评述。     

Replacement of beef fat in Frankfurters by interesterified palm,cottonseed and olive oils

Three interesterified vegetable oils (IVOs) prepared from palm, cottonseed, and olive oil, respectively, have been studied for application to Frankfurters. Beef fat (10%) was replaced by one of the IVOs at 20, 60 or 100%. Fatty acid composition of the lipid fraction in the Frankfurters and saturated/unsaturated ratios were established for all batches. We found that total or partial replacement of beef fat by IVOs did not lead to significant changes in appearance, colour, texture, flavour or sensory score. We conclude that IVOs may be successfully applied as beef fat substitutes in Frankfurters.     

The organisational learning effects of management accounting information under advanced manufacturing technology

This study empirically examined the organisational learning effects of the nonfinancial performance information provided by management accounting information systems (MAISs) under advanced manufacturing technology (AMT). In this study, a target costing system and the frequent and quick reporting of information were considered the facilitators of learning. First, we examined the relationships between AMT level and the amount of nonfinancial performance information produced by MAISs. The empirical results showed that there are significant positive relationships between the level of AMT and nonfinancial performance information. With a systems approach, we also proved the impact of the relationships among AMT levels, nonfinancial performance information and learning facilitators on the organisational performance of a firm. The results of our research suggest that under a high level of AMT, for the provision of information to result in an increase of performance through organisational learning, a target costing system must be introduced and a large amount of information should be provided frequently and quickly. The results of this study also showed that although AMT level may be low, fairly well-arranged facilitators and a moderately large amount of information may be necessary for the improvement of performance. In conclusion, effective organisational learning depends on the provision of relevant information as well as efficient learning support mechanisms.     

中国陶瓷业如何与国际市场对接——访中国建筑卫生陶瓷协会秘书长缪斌

我国是陶瓷生产大国,近几年发展速度很快.2001年,我国的建筑陶瓷产量约20亿平方米,卫生瓷5000万件以上,全年全行业出口额超过2亿美元,创历史最好水平.加入WTO给我国陶瓷行业带来了很多机遇和挑战,但我们究竟与意大利、西班牙等陶瓷强国差距在哪里呢?记者最近走访了中国建筑陶瓷协会秘书长缪斌先生.恰逢秘书长刚从欧洲考察回来,便聊起这次欧洲之行……