Addressing universal access in social networks: an inclusive search mechanism

Social network services (SNSs) have brought new possibilities and challenges to the design of software environments that respect people’s cultural differences. These systems may represent an opportunity for social and digital inclusion. However, search mechanisms in these systems impose serious barriers for people in the process of acquiring digital literacy. One of the barriers is the difficulty of using the adequate terms/keywords to perform content searches. This paper presents an approach to allow ordinary, non-technology proficient people to access the content of a network through the use of search parameters that make sense to them. The proposal is grounded on Semantic Web technologies (Web ontology) combined with Organizational Semiotics concepts and methods to identify the users’ profile and language. A case study was conducted with the search mechanism integrated into a SNS, and a preliminary evaluation reveals the advantages and drawbacks of the approach.     

Damping of vinyl acetate–n‐butyl acrylate copolymers

A photopolymerization process at room temperature was devised to copolymerize vinyl acetate (VAc) and n‐butyl acrylate (BA) mainly to prepare rubber‐like damping sheet bearing pressure‐sensitive adhesive property in this study. The investigations using both the differential scanning calorimeter and rheometric dynamic analysis show the existence of two glass transition temperatures for each copolymer. The scanning electron microscopic pictures reveal that the degree of microphase separation increases with increasing annealing time at 70°C. It was suggested that the rubbery domain (formed by the PBA blocks) disperses in the glassy domain (constituted by the PVAc blocks), making an effective damping entity. Excellent damping was observed for the copolymer samples, with the tanδ peak values as high as 1.76–1.80 at a certain temperature range and with tanδ> 0.3 at quite wide temperature ranges. In addition, the copolymers containing more VAc tend to have the higher damping. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 1396–1403, 2004     

Evaluation of Polyester Resin as a New Compatibilizer for SBR/PVC Blends

A polyester (PE) based on the glycolyzed products of PET was prepared and added in different concentrations to a series of SBR/PVC blends. The addition of the polyester showed that all properties of SBR/PVC blends were improved by incorporation of PE. Highest mechanical strength values were obtained at a polyester concentration of 7.5 phr. Thermal analysis as well as dynamic mechanical properties of SBR/PVC blends after the addition of 7.5 and 10 phr polyester indicated one single glass transition temperature. The dielectric losses (?") were analyzed in the frequency domains in the two terms of Fröhlich related to the Maxwell Wagner effect and the orientation of the aggregates caused by the movement of the main chain. The permittivity (?') values were found to increase by increasing the polyester content. This increase was followed by a decrease in the ?" up to a 7.5 phr polyester content after which no pronounced change was noticed.     

Small‐angle X‐ray scattering study of modified porous suspension–poly(vinyl chloride) particles

Small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) was applied to investigate the microstructure of unmodified and modified porous commercial suspension‐type poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) particles. The modified PVC particles were prepared by an in situ stabilizer‐free polymerization/crosslinking of particles absorbed with a monomer/crosslinker/peroxide solution. The modifying polymers include styrene with or without divinyl benzene (DVB) as a crosslinker and methyl methacrylate (MMA) with or without ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a crosslinker. The SAXS method was used to highlight the effect of polystyrene (PS) on the microstructure of PVC particles and to evaluate the characteristic lengths, both in the PVC/PS and the PVC/XPS (PS crosslinked with 0 and 5% DVB, respectively) systems. A model is suggested, where during the synthesis modification process, swelling of PVC by styrene and styrene polymerization occur simultaneously. PVC swelling by styrene causes destruction of the PVC subprimary particles, whereas styrene polymerization leads to phase separation resulting from incompatibility of the polymers. It was further suggested that because of PVC swelling by styrene, structure of the subprimary particles is lost. Therefore the characteristic lengths of PVC/PS and PVC/XPS, as calculated from the SAXS measurements, were attributed to the size of the phase‐separated PS and XPS inclusions, respectively. The SAXS method also shows that PMMA and XPMMA do not influence the PVC microstructure. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 95: 1024–1031, 2005     

Using silica nanoparticles as curing reagents for epoxy resins to form epoxy–silica nanocomposites

Nanoscale colloidal silica showed high reactivity toward curing epoxy resins to form epoxy–silica nanocomposites under mild conditions. Adding a certain amount (5000 ppm) of magnesium chloride lowered the activation energy of the reaction from 71 to 46 kJ/mol. Less and more magnesium chloride both exhibited counter action on lowering the activation energy of the curing reaction. Tin chloride dihydrate and zinc acetylacetonate hydrate were also added into the curing compositions, however, showing no significant effect on promoting the curing reaction. Through this curing reaction, epoxy–silica nanocomposites containing high silica contents up to 70 wt % were obtained. Therefore, this reaction provided a novel and convenient route in preparation of epoxy–silica nanocomposites. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 95: 1237–1245, 2005     

On the ‘curiosity’ of electrical self‐heating,static charge and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness from carbon black/aluminium flakes reinforced epoxy‐resin composites

This paper shows the wide application range (such as electrical self‐heating and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness) of composites consisting of conductive carbon black/aluminum flakes (CBA) filler and epoxy insulative matrix. The effect of CBA content on the network structure of epoxy matrix was investigated in detail. Static electrical conductivity increases linearly with the increase of filler concentration at the interface in epoxy composites. The large decrease of the conductivity as a function of the temperature is analyzed in terms of the negative temperature coefficient of conductivity (NTCC) effect. The influence of viscosity, surface energy and barrier highest energy on the NTCC behaviour in the composite is also considered. Based on these results, a new interpretation is proposed to explain the NTCC phenomena by computing the swelling force among conductive phases. The correlations of conductivity during the temperature cycling and activation energy were analyzed. The effects of dynamic ageing at various temperatures on the resistivity are reported. Current–voltage–temperature characteristics for epoxy with different contents of CBA were examined in detail. A model based on the law of energy conservation is proposed to calculate the specific heat and amount of heat dissipation. The static charge of the epoxy–CBA composites was estimated. The correlation between electromagnetic wave‐shielding effectiveness (EMS), conductivity and frequency of epoxy composites with different filler contents is also discussed. Furthermore, the effect of annealing on EMS of epoxy composites was examined. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Enhanced strain hardening in elongational viscosity for HDPE/crosslinked HDPE blend. I. Characteristics of crosslinked HDPE

Blending a crosslinked high‐density polyethylene (xHDPE) enhances melt strength and strain hardening behavior in elongational viscosity of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) to a great degree. Gel fraction of xHDPE has a stronger effect on the strain hardening than sol fraction, although sol fraction also enhances the strain hardening to some degree. Further, the xHDPE crosslinked by peroxide in a compression mold exhibits more pronounced effect than xHDPE by radiation, which is attributed to the difference in the amount of the gel fraction. The xHDPE, which enhances the strain hardening, has sparse crosslink points in the network. Moreover, it was found from linear viscoelastic measurements, such as oscillatory modulus and relaxation modulus, that the xHDPE is characterized as a critical gel, which was also supported by the result of tensile testing. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 73–78, 2002     

Enhanced corrosion prevention effect of polysulfone–clay nanocomposite materials prepared by solution dispersion

A series of polymer–clay nanocomposite (PCN) materials containing polysulfone (PSF) and layered MMT clay were successfully prepared by effectively dispersing inorganic nanolayers of MMT clay in an organic PSF matrix via a solution dispersion technique. The synthesized PCN materials were subsequently investigated with a series of characterization techniques, including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, wide‐angle powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The prepared PCN coatings with low clay loading (1 wt %) on cold‐rolled steel (CRS) were found to be superior in corrosion prevention to those of bulk PSF, based on a series of electrochemical measurements of corrosion potential, polarization resistance, corrosion current and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in a 5 wt % aqueous NaCl electrolyte. The effects of material composition on the molecular barrier, mechanical strength and optical clarity of PSF and PCN materials, in the form of membranes, was also studied by molecular permeability analysis (GPA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and UV‐Visible transmission spectra, respectively. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 631–637, 2004     

Surface and thermal characteristics of rubber‐modified aromatic polyamide

Polyamide/epoxysilane (coupling agent) composites were reacted with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), a condensation product of diethoxydimethylsilane (DEDMS), by a sol–gel process. Polyamide–PDMS nanocomposites were obtained. The existence of the condensation product of DEDMS and the reaction between the epoxy group and the polyamide were confirmed with Fourier transform infrared, attenuated total reflection, and wide‐scanning X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopy and contact‐angle measurements showed that the surface properties of polyamide were greatly improved by the addition of PDMS. The pyrolysis temperature of polyamide with PDMS was approximately 400°C, and the pyrolysis temperature was similar to that of pure polyamide. Also, the char contents increased with the addition of PDMS. The glass‐transition temperature of polyamide with or without PDMS was approximately 140°C according to differential scanning calorimetry. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 1947–1955, 2004     

Kinetic and molecular weight control for methyl methacrylate semibatch polymerization. II. Open control

The gel effect will bring a violent increase of conversion for methyl methacrylate (MMA) polymerization in a short time. It will be very dangerous for the reactor, as it causes an increase of molecular weight and broadens the molecular weight distribution. To unify the kinetics, molecular weight, and its distribution, on the basis of the mathematical models for semibatch polymerization of MMA, three controlled objectives that are the heat load distribution index, the change in molecular weight, and molecular weight distribution index are presented. Three materials (monomer, solvent, and chain transfer agent) and their flow rate and feeding mode are analyzed for the open control of kinetics, molecular weight, and its distribution. The optimum flow rate and mode are obtained. The heat load distribution index and molecular weight distribution index are even less than 2.0 and 2.2, respectively. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 4399–4405, 2006