Tenure and turnover of academics in six undergraduate programs in the United States

The mobility of faculty members in different undergraduate programs is influenced by different factors, and so inter-program variability can be expected in mobility rates. This study makes use of course catalogs for the collection of data related to the tenure and turnover of academics from six undergraduate programs in the United States. Included in the study are 34 universities ranked in the top 100 US universities according to USNews for which a minimum of 15 years of course catalogs are available. For the study, 1345 course catalogs were used to attain information about 19,353 faculty members. It was found that economics faculty members have the shortest average tenure and economics programs have the highest turnover among all six programs, while physics and chemistry are the least mobile programs. The other three programs—history, mathematics and political science—fall somewhere in between. Private and high ranking universities are less mobile than public and low ranking universities respectively. It is found that turnover rates fell and average tenures increased after the 1970s.     

An integrated fuzzy AHP–ELECTRE methodology for environmental impact assessment

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the possible impact that a proposed plan or project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects. The aim of this paper is to propose an environmental impact assessment methodology based on an integrated fuzzy AHP–ELECTRE approach in the context of urban industrial planning. In the proposed methodology the criteria weights are generated by a fuzzy AHP procedure. The fuzzy set theory is a perfect means for modeling uncertainty or imprecision arising from human mental phenomena. The usage of fuzzy sets in describing uncertainties and vagueness in different environmental factors simplifies the complex structure of EIA. A fuzzy outranking methodology, fuzzy ELECTRE is used to assess the environmental impact generated by the six different industrial districts which were predicted to shape the future industrial structure of Istanbul metropolitan area. Finally, a fuzzy dominance relation (FDR) methodology is used to rank the alternatives from the most risky to the least. A sensitivity analysis is also provided.     

A Review of Dehydration of Various Industrial Sludges

Wastewater characteristics and sludge generation potential of point source categories are reviewed critically. Novel industry-specific sludge dewatering/drying solutions necessary to establish a sustainable model are examined through a detailed literature survey. Knowledge of sludge properties is one of the most critical issues needed to design dewatering/drying equipment. This study focuses on industrial wastewater/sludge characterization. In addition, a comprehensive review of current drying models and technologies is also presented. A summary of the results derived from a novel thin-film-based photonic sludge dewatering/drying study is outlined as an alternative approach for industrial sludge control. Sludge was dried in a tubular quartz reactor (TQR), the inner surface of which was coated with a TiO₂ thin film. The TQR was irradiated with UV A, UV B, and UV C lamps. The consumed and generated energy fluxes through endergonic and exergonic reactions driven by photolysis and photocatalysis were investigated. In addition, the variations in sludge dewatering/drying characteristics were also examined and compared with conventional methods to evaluate the energy requirements.     

A microwave method based on amplitude-only reflection measurements for permittivity determination of low-loss materials

A new method based on amplitude-only reflection measurements for complex permittivity determination of low-loss materials backed by a short-circuit termination is presented. There are two main advantages of the proposed method. First, it is insensitive to calibration plane shifts and phase uncertainties in reflection measurements of low-loss materials. Second, it does not require any additional test material with a thickness value different than that of the material under test. The disadvantage of the proposed method is that it is not convenient to apply for complex permittivity determination of dispersive low-loss materials. The method is validated by complex and amplitude-only scattering parameter measurements at X-band of a low-loss sample (polystyrene) fitted into a waveguide section. The method, as other non-resonant methods, can only provide a rough indication of the imaginary part of the permittivity for low-loss samples.     

A functional failure reasoning methodology for evaluation of conceptual system architectures

In this paper, we introduce a new methodology for reasoning about the functional failures during early design of complex systems. The proposed approach is based on the notion that a failure happens when a functional element in the system does not perform its intended task. Accordingly, a functional criticality is defined depending on the role of functionality in accomplishing designed tasks. A simulation-based failure analysis tool is then used to analyze functional failures and reason about their impact on overall system functionality. The analysis results are then integrated into an early stage system architecture analysis framework that analyzes the impact of functional failures and their propagation to guide system-level architectural design decisions. With this method, a multitude of failure scenarios can be quickly analyzed to determine the effects of architectural design decisions on overall system functionality. Using this framework, design teams can systematically explore risks and vulnerabilities during the early (functional design) stage of system development prior to the selection of specific components. Application of the presented method to the design of a representative aerospace electrical power system (EPS) testbed demonstrates these capabilities.     

A model of energy management analysis,case study of a sugar factory in Turkey

This study presents a case study of energy management in a sugar factory in Turkey. The main idea of the study is to analyse energy consumption, the quantity of material production, and figure out a suitable energy efficiency for the case study of a sugar factory subsequently. Firstly, a material production and energy consumption audit were performed for the sugar factory. Secondly, energy efficiency was calculated from the energy data. The SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) statistical software was used to ensure the accuracy of the data. The factory’s energy consumption was calculated as 43,590.25 toe (tons of oil equivalent) over the last year. These results were used for CUSUM (Cumulative Sum Deviation Method) graphics. This research poses the consumption of energy, cost of energy and the relationship between energy usage and material production of sugar. The unit of energy cost was 688.22 [$/toe] for the last year. This result showed that the factory decreased the unit of energy by optimisation. The results indicated that the investigated sugar factory should pay attention to the energy management issue in order to comply with the Energy Efficiency of Turkish Law and Directives.