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.     

无机高分子絮凝剂聚硫酸铁合成条件的研究

实验研究了以工业硫酸亚铁及废硫酸为原料,分别采用NaClo_3、KClO_3、H_2O_2及(o_2+NaNO_2)为氧化剂成聚硫酸铁的条件。在以(O_2+NaNO_2)为氧化剂的合成过程中,发现添加微量助催化剂(型号为HG-1、HG-2和HG-3),对提高合成速度及反应过程的稳定性具有重大作用。     

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.     

Effect of surfactants and liquid hydrocarbons on gas hydrate formation rate and storage capacity

Hydrate formation rate plays an important role in making hydrates for the storage and transport of natural gas. Micellar surfactant solutions were found to increase gas hydrate formation rate and storage capacity. With the presence of surfactant, hydrate could form quickly in a quiescent system and the energy costs of hydrate formation reduced. Surfactants (an anionic surfactant, a non‐ionic surfactant and their mixtures) and liquid hydrocarbons (cyclopentane and methylcyclohexane) were used to improve hydrate formation. The experiments of hydrate formation were carried out in the pressure range 3.69–6.82 MPa and the temperature range 274.05–277.55 K. The experimental pressures were kept constant during hydrate formation in each experimental run. The effect of anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS)) on natural gas storage in hydrates is more pronounced compared to a non‐ionic surfactant (dodecyl polysaccharide glycoside (DPG)). The induction time of hydrate formation was reduced with the presence of cyclopentane (CP). Cyclopentane and methylcyclohexane (MCH) could increase hydrate formation rate, but reduced hydrate storage capacity The higher methylcyclohexane concentration, the lower the hydrate storage capacity. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.