Douglas W. Bray (1918-2006).

Presents an obituary for Douglas W. Bray, the inventor of the modern-day assessment center, a method used by thousands of organizations around the world to identify the best people for critical roles and to guide individuals in optimizing their talents. Bray's death in Englewood, New Jersey, on May 9, 2006, ended the extraordinary career of a pioneer in industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology who optimized the interplay of research and application. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

DSS research and practice in perspective

The aim of this paper is to assess the state-of-the-art in the Decision Support Systems (DSS) field from both a research and a practice perspective. Three main dimensions of DSS research and practice are addressed: 1) supporting human decision-making processes, 2) integrating DSS into the organizational context, and 3) identifying new application domains. The related analysis and discussion provides a better understanding of past developments in the DSS field and insights into future evolution patterns.     

钢中非金属夹杂物显微评级方法的定量化探讨

应用ＩＢＡＳ系列图像分析系统，对建立一套与国家标准ＧＢ１０５６１─８９兼容的钢中非金属夹杂物显微评级方法的自动化和定量化标准作了可行性分析，结果表明建立这套标准是切实可行的。     

球罐活性缺陷的模糊评定方法

根据国内外有关标准和文献,利用模糊数学中的模糊描述和隶属度等概念,首次采用多级模糊综合评定理论,分层次地把活性缺陷的主要监测信息(即声发射源信息)和专家们的经验考虑在内,建立在用球形贮罐声发射源严重度多级模糊综合评定模型和方法,并编制计算机数据分析和处理程序,使评定结果趋于更合理和可靠.并给出在用球形贮罐声发射源严重度多级模糊综合评定算例,结果表明,该评定方法可以达到定量化的程度,与局部无损复验结果有良好的一致性.     

Information systems effectiveness: research designs for causal inference

Abstract. This paper examines the capacity of the research designs of 37 empirical studies of information systems (IS) effectiveness to provide a basis for the development of theories about behaviour related to IS effectiveness. The power of each study to support causal inference was evaluated in terms of (a) its handling of the time dimension, (b) its ability to weigh differences and (c) its resistance to internal validity threats that pose alternative explanations for its reported findings. Of the reviewed studies, 29.7% could account for the time dimension, 32.4% employed a comparison group and 16.2% were not susceptible to any internal validity threats. Only 13.5% of the studies combined an accounting for the time dimension with the use of a comparison group. Of these, however, only 5.4% were also invulnerable to internal validity threats. The research designs of nearly 95% of these published studies were deficient in supporting causal inference. In those studies, suggestions that one variable was causally related to another variable could not be substantiated. Encouragement for the future capacity of IS effectiveness research to support causal inference was found in a trend towards the use of quasiexperimental designs. Recommendations are made regarding ways to increase the inferential capacity of research designs employed in the study of IS effectiveness.     

大坝施工混凝土质量的评价体系

本文介绍了大坝施工混凝土质量的评价系统软件的设计思路和设计成果。它利用现代计算机技术和应用模糊数学理论评价混凝土重力坝和拱坝单块和整体的质量。在采用模糊综合评价工程质量中，对不同工艺环节，对坝体不同部位，鉴于其质量要求的差异应赋予不同的权重，在权重的取值上采用了专家调查排序，定量转化的方法是比较适宜的。在程序设计中，评价数学模型采用了BASIC程序，访膜块通过*TXT文件实现了与整个大坝混凝土质量微机管理系统的接口及数据传递。操作运行方便灵活。     

Verification of wind resource study of a Scottish region

In a survey of the practical wind energy resource present in the Tayside Region of Scotland it was estimated that over 1500 km² of land is suitable for wind energy development in the Region after consideration of a range of physical, technical and institutional factors. Wind speed data for this survey was obtained from the Energy Technology Support Unit (ETSU) UK Wind Speed Data Package. To verify the wind speeds obtained from the ETSU package a representative sample of sites in and around the identified areas of potential in Tayside were modelled for mean annual wind speed using the Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WA^sP). The wind speeds for the sites obtained from the WA^sP analysis were compared with those obtained from the ETSU UK Wind Speed Data Package and conclusions drawn as to the reliability of the Tayside wind energy survey and the general applicability of the ETSU package for broad wind energy resource assessment.     

Wind energy resource assessment for five locations in Saudi Arabia

The analysis of recently collected wind data at five sites in Saudi Arabia namely, Dhulum, Arar, Yanbu, Gassim and Dhahran is presented. The five sites represent different geographically and climatologically conditions. The data collected over a period spanned between 1995 and 2002 with different collection periods for each site. Daily, monthly and frequency profiles of the wind speed at the sites showed that Dhulum and Arar sites have higher wind energy potential with annual wind speed average of 5.7 and 5.4 m/s and speeds higher than 5 m/s for 60 and 47% of the time, respectively. The two sites are candidates for remote area wind energy applications. The costal site's, i.e. Yanbu and Dhahran wind speed data indicated that the two sites have lower annual wind speed averages and wind blows at speed higher than 5 m/s during afternoon hours. That makes the two sites candidates for grid connected wind systems for electrical load peak shaving. The data of Gassim site showed that the site has the lowest wind energy potential compared to the others. The annual energy produced by a Nordex N43 wind machine is estimated to be 1080, 990, 730, 454 and 833 MWh for Dhulum, Arar, Yanbu, Gassim and Dhahran, respectively. The analysis showed that the estimated annual energy produced by the machine based on 10 min averaged data is 2.5% higher than the estimated energy based on 30 min averaged data.     

Simulation of the VVER-1000 pump start-up experiment of the OECD V1000CT benchmark with CATHARE and TRAC-PF1

In the framework of joint effort between the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of OECD, the United States Department of Energy (US DOE), and the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA), France a coupled three-dimensional (3D) thermal-hydraulics/neutron kinetics benchmark for VVER-1000 was defined. The benchmark consists of calculation of a pump start-up experiment labelled V1000CT-1 (Phase 1), as well as a vessel mixing experiment and main steam line break (MSLB) transient labelled V1000CT-2 (Phase 2), respectively. The reference nuclear plant is Kozloduy-6 in Bulgaria. The overall objective is to assess computer codes used in the analysis of VVER-1000 reactivity transients. A specific objective is to assess the vessel mixing models used in system codes. Plant data are available for code validation consisting of one experiment of pump start-up (V1000CT-1) and one experiment of steam generator isolation (V1000CT-2). The validated codes can be used to calculate asymmetric MSLB transients involving similar mixing patterns. This paper summarizes a comparison of CATHARE and TRAC-PF1 system code results for V1000CT-1, Exercise 1, which is a full plant point kinetics simulation of a reactor coolant system (RCS) pump start-up experiment. The reference plant data include integral and sector average parameters. The comparison is made from the point of view of vessel mixing and full system simulation. CATHARE used a six-sector multiple 1D vessel thermal-hydraulic model with cross flows and TRAC used a six-sector, 18-channel coarse-mesh 3D vessel model. Good agreement in terms of integral parameters and inter-loop mixing is observed.     

School-Based Child-Centered Play Therapy with Hispanic Children: Outcomes and Cultural Consideration.

Hispanic children are the fastest growing segment of the population. Numerous factors place them at-risk for school success. This study examined the effects of Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) compared to a curriculum-based small group intervention with 29 Hispanic children referred for school counseling due to behavior problems. Children were assigned to treatment groups by random drawing within grade levels. Treatment was provided by Hispanic bilingual counselors. Statistical analysis revealed that, according to parent report, children receiving CCPT showed statistically significant decreases in externalizing behavior problems, compared to the curriculum-based treatment group. Effect size calculations revealed that CCPT demonstrated a large treatment effect on externalizing behavior problems and a moderate treatment effect on internalizing behavior problems. Cultural considerations and recommendations for practice and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)