How do people with different attachment styles balance work and family? A personality perspective on work–family linkage.

This study explored whether different models of work–family relationship were possible for individuals with different attachment styles. A mail survey was conducted using employees (N?=?481) at a midwestern university in the United States. Results suggested that (a) individuals with a preoccupied attachment pattern were more likely to experience negative spillover from the family/home to the work domain than those with a secure or dismissing style, (b) securely attached individuals experienced positive spillover in both work and family domains more than those in the other groups, and (c) preoccupied individuals were much less likely to use a segmentation strategy than the other 3 attachment groups. However, when the conventional job satisfaction–life satisfaction relationship was examined, the data provided unique support for the spillover model. Implications of the findings for both attachment and work–family relationship literatures are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multi-enzymatic Systems with Designed 3D Architectures for Constructing Food Bioanalytical Sensors

The present study reports an approach to the development of multi-enzymatic systems for constructing food bioanalytical sensors with predesigned oriented three-dimensional (3D) architectures. The first enzyme layer was covalently immobilized to surface-functionalized solid supports using a bifunctional linker, while the second and third enzyme layers were assembled using the protein affinity method based on the strong “avidin–biotin” interaction. Each enzyme was biotinylated before incorporation into the system; avidin was used as the intermediate linker for the consecutive enzyme layer-by-layer process. The model of building multi-enzymatic systems was evaluated using alternating structures of glucose oxidase, horseradish peroxidase, and invertase. Mono-, bi-, and tri-enzyme arrangements have demonstrated biocatalytic activity when specific substrates were added to the systems. Furthermore, the biocatalytic response was dependent on the relative position of enzymes within the 3D architectures. Finally, the concept was tested using nonalcoholic beverages added to alternating bi-enzyme systems, which have effectively behaved as glucose bioanalytical sensors.

Effect of pre-setting pressure applied to mechanical behaviours of reactive powder concrete during setting phase

In this study, mixing rates, fiber content and pre-setting pressure of reactive powder concrete (RPC) were examined. Mixing ratios were determined by different mixing techniques in literature using material characteristics via computer software. The samples were prepared according to these mixing ratios. The fresh (plastic) concrete samples were filled in a specified mould. Six different (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 MPa) pre-setting pressure were applied. It is observed that application of pre-setting pressure increased compressive strength of the samples about twice.     

Performance of self-compacting concrete containing different mineral admixtures

This paper presents experimental study on the properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC). Portland cement (PC) was replaced with fly ash (FA), granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS), limestone powder (LP), basalt powder (BP) and marble powder (MP) in various proportioning rates. The influence of mineral admixtures on the workability, compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, density and sulphate resistance of SCC was investigated. Sulphate resistance tests involved immersion in 10% magnesium sulphate and 10% sodium sulphate solutions for a period of 400 days. The degree of sulphate attack was evaluated using visual examination and reduction in compressive strength. The test results showed that among the mineral admixtures used, FA and GBFS significantly increased the workability and compressive strength of SCC mixtures. Replacing 25% of PC with FA resulted in a strength of more than 105 MPa at 400 days. Moreover, the presence of mineral admixtures had a beneficial effect on the strength loss due to sodium and magnesium sulphate attack. On the other hand, the best resistance to sodium and magnesium sulphate attacks was obtained from a combination of 40% GBFS with 60% PC.     

Kinetics and mechanistic analysis of caustic magnesia hydration

The kinetics of magnesia hydration to produce magnesium hydroxide is crucial for process design and control, and for the production of an Mg(OH)₂ powder with desirable particle morphology. In this study, highly pure magnesia has been hydrated in a batch reactor. The effects of the following variables were evaluated experimentally: temperature (308–363 K), reaction time (0.5–5 h), initial slurry density (1–25%wt) and particle size in the ranges ?212 + 75 µm and ?45 + 38 µm. Experimental data indicate increasing magnesia hydration rates with increasing temperature, as expected. In addition, it has been observed that the hydration of magnesia increases significantly up to about 4–5%wt initial slurry density, stabilising afterwards. On the other hand, the reaction was almost unaffected when magnesia with different particle sizes were hydrated because of similar specific surface areas involved. A reaction mechanism to explain the oxide dissolution and the hydroxide precipitation has been proposed, assuming no significant change in the initial solids size and dissolution rate as the controlling step. The calculated activation energy value of 62.3 kJ mol^?1 corroborates the mechanism proposed in this study and compares well with values previously reported in the literature. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Psychological factors surrounding disagreement in multicultural design team meetings

Abstract

Our research contrasts two theories of creativity in multicultural teams. The dual-process model focuses on the degree of diversity, whereas cross-cultural psychology focuses on specific cultural compositions. In individualistic cultures, team members express more conflicts and benefit from it, compared to in collectivistic cultures that emphasise harmony. The relative representation of members from these cultures may affect team dynamics, conflict and creativity. We coded over 3100 speaker turns in the 11th Design Thinking Research Symposium data-set for the presence of disagreements and examined the effects of conflict phase and team diversity on creativity, promotion and prevention approaches using Linguistic Inquiry Word Count measures. We found that micro-conflicts increased insight words in the moment of the conflict. Individuals in more diverse team meetings of Scandinavians and South-East Asians expressed fewer conflicts than teams dominated by Scandinavians and were less likely to focus on potential gains when experiencing micro-conflicts. Regardless of conflict, the more culturally diverse teams were more likely to use insight and promotion words overall. There were no effects for prevention. These findings extend extant theory to different types of heterogeneous teams in a real-world design setting. This study is novel in combining theory on team cultural diversity with a micro-process method.     

Development of a three-component dynamometer to measure turning force

This work is focused on the design, construction and testing of a strain gauge dynamometer devised to measure the three components of the turning force. For this purpose, an elastic element sensitive to torsion and flexion was developed. The effect of the cutting parameters (cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut) on the force components was investigated. Additionally, the performance of the dynamometer was compared with a commercial piezoelectric device. The results indicated that the three components of the turning force decrease slightly as cutting speed was elevated and increase linearly with feed rate and depth of cut. Furthermore, the analysis of variance indicated that the three components are not significantly affected by cutting speed; however, they are significantly affected by feed rate and depth of cut. The comparative tests indicated that the strain gauge dynamometer presented a satisfactory performance, providing closer values to the piezoelectric dynamometer at higher depth of cut values.