Ultra‐fast‐switching flexoelectric liquid‐crystal display with high contrast

Abstract— The flexoelectro‐optic effect provides a fast‐switching mechanism (0.01–0.1 msec), suitable for use in field‐sequential‐color full‐motion‐video displays. An in‐plane electric field is applied to a short‐pitch chiral nematic liquid crystal aligned in the uniform standing helix (or Grandjean) texture. The switching mechanism is experimentally demonstrated in a single‐pixel test cell, and the display performance is investigated as a function of device parameters. A contrast ratio of 2000:1 is predicted.     

Individual characteristics and the intention to continue project escalation

The factors leading to the continuing problems with information system (IS) project failure are of importance to both the research and practitioner communities. The psychological factors that lead project managers to escalate troubled projects are investigated. Theoretical grounding is presented for a research model consisting of Need for Achievement as an antecedent trait for implementation mindset, internal locus of control, preference for consistency, and time urgency, which in turn predict the Intention to Continue a troubled IS project. Using responses from 232 IS project stakeholders, the model is tested using structural equation modeling. The results support Need for Achievement as an antecedent to the other independent variables. Implementation mindset and internal locus of control were found to be significant predictors of the project managers’ intention to continue the IS projects. Based on the findings, suggestions for project re-evaluation milestones (PRMs) are presented.     

Introducing the IA-64 architecture

Microprocessors continue on the relentless path to provide more performance. Every new innovation in computing-distributed computing on the Internet, data mining, Java programming, and multimedia data streams-requires more cycles and computing power. Even traditional applications such as databases and numerically intensive codes present increasing problem sizes that drive demand for higher performance. Design innovations, compiler technology, manufacturing process improvements, and integrated circuit advances have been driving exponential performance increases in microprocessors. To continue this growth in the future, Hewlett Packard and Intel architects examined barriers in contemporary designs and found that instruction-level parallelism (ILP) can be exploited for further performance increases. This article examines the motivation, operation, and benefits of the major features of IA-64. Intel's IA-64 manual provides a complete specification of the IA-64 architecture     

Pilot mental workload: how well do pilots really perform?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of increasing mental demands on various aspects of aircrew performance. In particular, the robustness of the prioritization and allocation hierarchy of aviate-navigate-communicate was examined, a hierarchy commonly used within the aviation industry. A total of 42 trainee pilots were divided into three workload groups (low, medium, high) to complete a desktop, computer-based exercise that simulated combinations of generic flight deck activities: flight control manipulation, rule-based actions and higher level cognitive processing, in addition to Air Traffic Control instructions that varied in length from one chunk of auditory information to seven chunks. It was found that as mental workload and auditory input increased, participants experienced considerable difficulty in carrying out the primary manipulation task. A similar decline in prioritization was also observed. Moreover, when pilots were under a high mental workload their ability to comprehend more than two chunks of auditory data deteriorated rapidly.     

Software component certification

Although the stringent requirements of some critical applications may require independent certification, the authors see software developer self-certification as a viable alternative in many other cases. They accept that using software certification laboratories (SCLs) may work well for certain software distribution models, but they cannot be applied to all types of software development. The approach has several drawbacks. For example, an SCL may work well for larger software houses that ship mass-marketed software applications to the public, but it is less satisfactory for smaller developers who make reusable components or safety-critical software or for developers who belong to the freeware community     

A theory of bunches

A bunch is a simple data structure, similar in many respects to a set. However, bunches differ from sets in that the data is not packaged up or encapsulated, and in particular in that a bunch consisting of one element is the same as that element. Bunches are attractive for handling nondeterminacy and underspecification, by which is meant that for any particular input to the program or specification, the associated output is not fully determined. The acceptable outputs for any given input can be described by a bunch. This approach nicely generalises traditional single-output programs and specifications. We present a formal theory of bunches. It includes an axiomatisations of boolean and function types whose behaviour is well-known to be complicated by the presence of nondeterminacy. The axiomatisation of the booleans preserves most of the laws of classical predicate calculus. The axiomatisation of functions accommodates higher-order functions in all their generality, while avoiding the dangers of inconsistency when functions and nondeterminacy intermix. Our theory is presented as a Hilbert-style system of axioms and inference rules for a small specification language. We prove consistency. Received: 23 December 1998 / 2 November 1999     

The effect of grain size and retained austenite on the ductile-brittle transition of a titanium-gettered iron alloy

The effect of microstructural changes on the ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) was studied in a titanium-getter ed Fe-8Ni-2 Mn-0.15 Ti alloy. A fairly strong grain size dependence of the transition temperature, 8°C/mm^?1/2, was found. Grain size refinement from 38 μm (ASTM #6.5) to 1.5 μm (ASTM #15.5) through a four-step thermal treatment lowered the transition temperature by 162°C. A small amount of retained austenite was introduced into this grain-refined microstructure, and the transition temperature was reduced by an additional 120 ~ 150°C. The reduction of the DBTT due to retained austenite was smaller when the austenite was in a large-grained structure (64°C). The distribution and stability of retained austenite were also studied.     

Biogenesis of cellulolytic enzymes by Trichoderma ligorum on media with "inductor"

Identical distribution of C2- and Cx-cellulase activities of enzyme complexes produced by Trichoderma lignorum on a medium with lactose, a soluble "inductor", and on a medium with cellulose was found by means of disc elestrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel. The maximum rate of synthesis of cellulases on the medium with lactose was registered during the highest deceleration, and even complete cessation, of the fungal growth. During this phase, only one electrophoretically homogeneous cellulase component with Rf of 0.44 possessing all types of the cellulase activity is present in the cultural broth. In the course of growth of the fungus on cellulose after 48 hours, also only one electrophoretically homogeneous component with Rf of 0.44 was found in the cultural broth when the rate of the substrate degradation was highest. The appearance of minor protein components with the activity of cellulase at later stages of cultivation after cessation of the fungal growth is supposed to be caused by modification of the main cellulase component with Rf of 0.44 by the growth medium.     

Influence of the dentate fascia on the sensory responses of neurons in hippocampal field CA3

In experiments with unanaesthetized rabbits the influences of electric stimulation of the dentate fascia (DF) on the extracellularly recorded spontaneous and evoked activity of the CA3 neurones were investigated. Stimulation of a fixed locus in the DF during recording in the CA3 by a microelectrode, shifted along the longitudinal axis of the hippocampus, supported the notion of the topical, "segmental" organization of connections between the DF and CA3. A relatively narrow "active zone" (approximately 700 nm) appeared in the CA3 during the threshold DF stimulation: it was bordered by zones with predominantly inhibitory responses to stimulation. The CA3 neurones in the "active zone" rapidly lost their reactivity to sensory stimuli. In the "inhibitory" and "zero" zones the normal level of reactivity to sensory stimuli was preserved.