Innovation in construction: a sociology of technology approach

An alternative approach to understanding innovation is made using two intersecting ideas. The first is that successful innovation requires consideration of the social and organizational contexts in which it is located. The complex context of construction work is characterized by inter-organizational collaboration, a project-based approach and power distributed amongst collaborating organizations. The second is that innovations can be divided into two modes: 'bounded', where the implications of innovation are restricted within a single, coherent sphere of influence, and 'unbounded', where the effects of implementation spill over beyond this. Bounded innovations are adequately explained within the construction literature. However, less discussed are unbounded innovations, where many firms' collaboration is required for successful implementation, even though many innovations can be considered unbounded within construction's inter-organizational context. It is argued that unbounded innovations require an approach to understand and facilitate the interactions both within a range of actors and between the actors and technological artefacts. The insights from a sociology of technology approach can be applied to the multiplicity of negotiations and alignments that constitute the implementation of unbounded innovation. The utility of concepts from the sociology of technology, including 'system building' and 'heterogeneous engineering', is demonstrated by applying them to an empirical study of an unbounded innovation on a major construction project (the new terminal at Heathrow Airport, London, UK). This study suggests that 'system building' contains outcomes that are not only transformations of practices, processes and systems, but also the potential transformation of technologies themselves.     

Non-pinched, minimum energy distillation designs

Non-pinched, minimum energy solutions are important class of distillation designs that offer the potential advantage of a better trade-off between capital investment and operating costs. In this paper, two important tasks associated with non-pinched distillation designs are studied. Thus the novel contributions of this work to the literature are

(1) A comprehensive methodology for finding non-pinched minimum energy designs.

(2) Understanding of the reasons for the existence of non-pinched distillation designs.

It is shown that the recent shortest stripping line distance approach of Lucia et al. [Lucia, A., Amale, A. and Taylor, R., 2007, Distillation pinch points and more. Comput Chem Eng, available on-line] is capable of systematically and reliably finding non-pinched, minimum energy distillation designs. In addition, we provide an understanding of the reasons behind the existence of non-pinched designs, which include trajectories that follow unstable branches of a pinch point curve in azeotropic systems, the inherent looping structure of trajectories in hydrocarbon separations, and the presence of ancillary constraints in multi-unit processes like extraction/distillation. Several distillation examples are studied and many numerical results and geometric illustrations are presented that show the shortest stripping line distance methodology is indeed a powerful and systematic tool for computing non-pinched, minimum energy designs and that support the underlying reason we provide for the existence of non-pinched designs.     

重视过程控制工程安装材料的选择

本文结合工程介绍了自动化仪表工程设计中常用安装材料的正确选择方法和选择不当可能造成的危害。     

在系统可编程通用数字开关ispGDS14的原理及应用

介绍了Lattice公司生产的在系统可编程通用数字开关芯片ispGDS14的内部结构和性能特点，并通过实例说明了在GDS开发环境下对ispGDS14进行编程的方法。     

基于VW2010芯片的嵌入式多媒体监控系统压缩/解压卡设计

在简要分析了多媒体监控系统发展现状的基础上，提出了一种基于VW2010压缩／解压芯片的多媒体压缩／解压卡的设计方案，给出了基于VW2010的多媒体监控系统压缩和解压卡的硬件结构图以及在Linux系统下VW2010的驱动程序，同时给出了在Linux Redhat7．3下编写的测试程序，并进行了全面的测试。     

32位MIPS微处理器中乘法器的设计和实现

在Booth算法的基础上,结合MIPS 4KC微处理器中的流水线结构和乘法器的工作过程,提出了一种改进的Booth乘法器的设计方法,并采用全制定方法实现,用这种方法实现的乘法器单元具有面积小、单元电路可重复性好、版图设计工作量小、功耗低等特点.     

提高塑封双列直插式光耦合器绝缘耐压的设计和工艺要点

介绍了研制出其性能达国际先进公司同类产品水平的塑封双列直插式光耦合器的工作原理和提高绝缘耐压的技术难点，从引线框架设计、加工精度控制、内包封材料选型、理想内包封形状控制、塑封气密性的实现、环境条件的完善等方面讨论了提高绝缘耐压的设计和工艺要点。     

IPv6和基于IPv6的网络设计

对IPv6协议的主要内容进行了简要介绍,并针对IPv6的特点对基于IPv6的网络设计进行了探讨。     

Changing our view on design evaluation meetings methodology: a study of software technical review meetings

By contrast to design meetings, design evaluation meetings (DEMs) have generally been considered as situations in which, according to DEM methodologies, design activities are quite marginal. In a study of DEMs in software development, i.e. in technical review meetings following a particular review methodology, we showed: (i) the occurrence of design activities as part of an argumentation process; (ii) the relative importance of cognitive synchronisation as a prerequisite for evaluation; (iii) the important role played in evaluation by argumentation that makes explicit the underlying design rationale (DR). On the basis of our results, we discuss the potential for using DR methodologies in this kind of meetings.     

High-load, squeeze action linear bearings with beam deflection

The literature provides little information on high-speed, high-normal-load, plain linear bearings, although the case for two rigid surfaces in relative linear motion can readily be solved by assuming squeeze action resistance. A new genus of internal combustion engines based on the Stiller-Smith mechanism incorporates connecting rods constrained by linear bearings, with the central normal load on the rod restricted by an oil film. A general analysis takes into account the bending of the rod, when the distributed oil film pressure resists the distributed load on the elastic rod. Design charts result that yield the dimensionless velocity at which the rod sinks in the oil as a function of the dimensionless load and the bearing clearance, and predict the deflection of the beam. The rod clearance history simulations for the Stiller-Smith engine compare favourably with computations for the rigid beam, confirming the analysis technique.