Social network use and personality

Studies have shown a connection between the individual personality of the user and the way he or she behaves on line. Today many millions of people around the world are connected by being members of various Internet social networks. Ross et al. (2009) studied the connection between the personality of the individual users and their behavior on a social network. They based their study on the self-reports of users of Facebook, one of the most popular social networks, and measured five personality factors using the NEO-PI-R (Costa & McCrae, 1992) questionnaire. They found that while there was a connection between the personalities of surfers and their behavior on Facebook, it was not strong. This study is based on that of Ross et al. (2009), but in our study the self-reports of subjects, were replaced by more objective criteria, measurements of the user-information upload on Facebook. A strong connection was found between personality and Facebook behavior. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Electrodeposition of nanocrystalline chromium-carbon alloys from electrolyte based on trivalent chromium sulfate using pulsed current

The effect of the parameters of pulsed electrolysis on the current efficiency, nanocrystal size, composition, hardness, friction coefficient, and wear resistance of nanocrystalline Cr-C coatings obtained from electrolyte based on Cr(III) sulfate containing carbamide and formic acid is studied. It is shown that coatings contain ∼9 wt % of carbon; the current density and pulse ratio produce practically no effect on their composition. It is found that a maximum appears on the dependence of current efficiency on pulse ratio in the case of the pulse ratio of ∼1.05–1.1. Thereby, current efficiency greatly exceeds the value implemented in the steady-state current mode. It is shown that, if the microhardness of Cr-C deposits obtained at constant current is close to 850–900 HV, the microhardness may increase to ∼1200−300 HV when pulsed electrolysis is used in certain modes. It is found that application of pulsed electrolysis allows a significant decrease in the friction coefficient of chromium-carbon coating (steel counterbody) both under the dry friction conditions and in the case of boundary lubrication and also results in an increase in the deposit wear resistance.     

The impact of the Internet on the social lives of users: A representative sample from 13 countries

One of the most vociferous criticisms of the Internet has always been that it contributes to loneliness among its users. This study analyses results from the World Internet Project, comprised of representative samples from 13 countries (22,002 participants). Thus creating an exceptional international representative sample. In analyzing those results, we argue that in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the Internet’s influence over individuals’ social lives; it is essential to consider the different types of social connections that might be influenced by the Internet. We assess the influence of Internet use over social interactions in separate life domains (e.g. with family members; friends; colleagues). Our analysis confirms that Internet usage can actually enhance the social lives of its users. Qualifications to the research are discussed while highlighting the different life domains in which we found significant correlations between Internet usage and increased social interactions.     

Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional leadership.

How do leadership ratings collected from units operating under stable conditions predict subsequent performance of those units operating under high stress and uncertainty? To examine this question, the authors calculated the predictive relationships for the transformational and transactional leadership of 72 light infantry rifle platoon leaders for ratings of unit potency, cohesion, and performance for U.S. Army platoons participating in combat simulation exercises. Both transformational and transactional contingent reward leadership ratings of platoon leaders and sergeants positively predicted unit performance. The relationship of platoon leadership to performance was partially mediated through the unit's level of potency and cohesion. Implications, limitations, and future directions for leadership research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Replacement of Electrofilters in an External Cyclone System for Dust Removal from Regeneration Stack Gases on the 1A/1M Unit

Replacement of electrofilters in a external cyclone system for dust removal from regeneration gases on the 1A/1M unit allowed significantly reducing operating costs while maintaining emission of catalyst dust into the atmosphere at the previous level.     

Super resolution pitch determination of speech signals

Based on a new similarity model for the voice excitation process, a novel pitch determination procedure is derived. The unique features of the proposed algorithm are infinite (super) resolution, better accuracy than the difference limen for F₀, robustness to noise, reliability, and modest computational complexity. The algorithm is instrumental to speech processing applications which require pitch synchronous spectral analysis. The computational complexity of the proposed algorithm is well within the capacity of modern digital signal processing (DSP) technology and therefore can be implemented in real time