Community OR — Five Years of Organised Activities and Beyond

What has become known as Community Operational Research has been around in the UK for many years. The election of Jonathan Rosenhead as President of the UK OR Society in 1986–87 was the catalyst for bringing together and expanding activities which had been carried out largely by individuals working in isolation on a voluntary basis. The following five years have seen the establishment of the Community OR Unit at Northern College, the Centre for Community OR at Hull University and the Community OR Network, which supports the activities of volunteer OR workers across the UK. This paper reviews the range and types of work which have been undertaken by various practitioners. An assessment of the success of community OR is made and a number of issues which have arisen are discussed. Finally, given the diverse nature of community OR, its practice and practitioners, there is some discussion about the future of the area.     

Kinetic study of the hydrolysis of isocyanic acid in the gas phase

The hydrolysis of isocyanic acid in the gaseous phase has been investigated at temperatures between 553 and 613 K by mass spectrometry and evaluated to obtain the corresponding kinetic data. The reaction order and reaction constant have been determined. Finally, the influence of water on the catalysed formation of melamine from isocyanic acid under the operating conditions employed has been investigated in order to determine whether there is a need to try the process gas.     

Studies on the interactions of metal oxides and Na2 SO4 at 1100 and 1200 K in oxygen

The interaction of different metal oxides such as Co₃O₄, NiO, Al₂O₃, Cr₂O₃, Fe₂O₃ and SiO₂ with Na₂SO₄ at a temperature of 1100 and 1200 K in flowing oxygen has been studied. The thermogravimetric studies for each system were carried out as a function of Na₂SO₄ in the mixture. The presence of different constituents in the reaction products were identified by X-ray diffraction analysis and the morphologies of the reaction products were characterized using metallography and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The formation of products was also investigated by thermodynamic computation of free energies of the reactions and the study of relevant equilibrium phase diagrams. The soluble species in the aqueous solutions of the reaction products were determined quantitatively using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The high temperature interaction products usually contain a 3-phase structure namely, Na₂O·M₂O _x , M₂O _x and metal sulphide and/or metal sulphate. The formation of Na₂O·M₂O _x depends upon the solid state solubility of metal oxide in the molten salt at high temperatures. Under limited solubility conditions Na₂O·M₂O _x is invariably formed, but as soon as this condition is relaxed the oxide. M₂O _x , precipitates and forms a separate phase.     

A generalized approach to the reconstruction of a restricted class of digitized planar curves

Reconstruction of an original continuous curve and the estimation of its parameters from the digitized version of the curve is a challenging problem, as quantization always causes some loss of information. In this paper, we have developed a scheme for reconstruction which is applicable to a class of curves having at the most two parameters. The class of curves for which the scheme works has also been characterized. We have shown that for one-parameter curves the exact domain of values of the parameter can be obtained. But in the two-parameter case, only the smallest rectangle containing the domain can be realised. The distinctive feature of our scheme is that it provides a unified approach to solve the reconstruction and the domain-finding problem for a class of curves.     

Editorial.

With this volume, the 47-year old Canadian Journal of Psychology takes a new name and makes a renewed commitment. In retitling the journal the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, the intention is to reflect more clearly what has always been the major goal of the journal--to publish the best new research in experimental psychology, both Canadian and international, in both French and English. I am honoured to become the tenth editor of the major journal for experimental psychology in Canada. CJP has served the field very well; my primary goal is to ensure that CJEP continues to do so. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of uncertainties on estimations of heat pump cycle performance

Sensitivity analysis is used to show how uncertainties in basic factors, such as heat transfer, pressure drop, compressor efficiency, and thermophysical properties, influence the result of heat pump cycle performance estimations. By comparing the results of this analysis with uncertainty levels of estimations and experimental determinations, it is established to what extent improvements in accuracy are needed. The investigation was carried out for several different applications and, as working fluids, both pure substances and non-azeotropic mixtures were examined. It was found that evaporation heat transfer and compressor efficiency are two areas where improvements are needed. It is also shown that estimates using very accurate, substance-specific, equations of state differ from those using more general types by up to 1 % for COP and 2% for capacity.     

A semi-analytic boundary element method for parabolic problems

A new semi-analytic solution method is proposed for solving linear parabolic problems using the boundary element method. This method constructs a solution as an eigenfunction expansion using separation of variables. The eigenfunctions are determined using the dual reciprocity boundary element method. This separation of variables-dual reciprocity method (SOV-DRM) allows a solution to be determined without requiring either time-stepping or domain discretisation. The accuracy and computational efficiency of the SOV-DRM is found to improve as time increases. These properties make the SOV-DRM an attractive technique for solving parabolic problems.     

浅谈程序设计中一题多解的教学方法

中等职业学校一般开设VB、VC及数据库等涉及程序设计的计算机课程。本文拟就程序设计中一题多解的教学方法进行探讨。     

Subdivision of work on construction projects

In order to control a project, construction management requires project information. This is obtained through accounting, estimating, cost management and scheduling functions which produce project reports. These reports are best obtained by subdividing the project into small parts. The ways in which each of these functions subdivides a project in order to produce its reports is discussed, together with a means of interrelating this information with a technique known as the work breakdown structure.