Measurement of the neutral plane of an internal fire whirl using the background-oriented Schlieren technique for a vertical shaft model of a high-rise building

Since the height of the neutral plane is related to the direction of the high-temperature smoke and airflow diffusion of fires in high-rise buildings, the identification of the neutral plane is important for both the evacuation of residents and the safety of fire fighters. As yet, there are no effective methods for directly measuring the constantly changing neutral plane position. There are complex internal fire whirl phenomena in the inner space in particular cases. In this study, the background-oriented Schlieren (BOS) technique was used to visualize the neutral plane when a fire whirl occurs in a vertical shaft with a single corner gap. With n-propanol used as the fuel, the scale modeling experiments of fuel trays 5.8 cm and 7 cm in diameter were tested in a 34 cm (W) × 35 cm (L) × 145 cm (H) model for open and covered roof types. It is observed in the experimental process that the height of the neutral plane changes dynamically as the fire whirl is formed. The thermocouples were used to measure the temperature variation at different heights of openings to validate the measurement accuracy of the BOS technique. It is found that once a fire whirl occurs in the inner space of a high-rise building, the height of the neutral plane increases instantly. The experimental results demonstrate that the BOS technique can measure the neutral plane position of a large-scale model of a high-rise building fire scene directly, immediately and accurately.     

Development of a scale to measure skepticism toward electronic word-of-mouth

In recent years, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has become an influential factor affecting Internet users' perceptions and behaviors (Chatterjee 2001; Lee et al. 2009). However, as more evidence demonstrating the utilization of fake eWOM has been discovered (Forrest and Cao 2010; Malbon 2013), Internet users' trust of eWOM may have been severely undermined, and they may have developed skepticism about this kind of communication in general. Current measurement scales for evaluating Internet users' suspicions/distrust toward eWOM messages are adopted from the marketing discipline and developed for advertising skepticism, which is contextually different from skepticism toward eWOM. The purpose of this study is to create a new measurement scales for eWOM skepticism. Using data from a preliminary survey, new measurement items for eWOM skepticism were established. Then, the new items were validated using a second survey dataset. The reliability and validity of the new scales suggested that the new instrument is suitable for measuring eWOM skepticism. This study contributes to the eWOM literature by highlighting the importance of investigating eWOM situations from the perspective of suspicion and distrust.     

Ways to open innovation: Main agents and sources in the Portuguese case

Facing increasing open innovation trends, Portuguese enterprises are considering the related processes and impacts. Thus, this work aims to identify the sectors whose enterprises most engage in open innovation (such as cooperation on this issue) and which sources/agents are most used. This is analyzed by sector and type of innovation as an interesting way of differentiation for better open innovation strategy delineation. Using the data from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS-2012), it first appraises the nature of the innovation process, either cooperative or firm-based, as the starting level of analysis. Then, it differentiates the results by sector illustrating which cooperation sources/agents are most used (scope) and relative intensity of use (scale). This is important to assess levels of openness and related factors. Results show that main innovating sectors in Portugal are of three types: research-based, knowledge-based and service-based. They reveal an increasing focus on knowledge and services, trends that have been leading to more active openness towards innovation. For instance, health and construction are increasing their openness for innovating and internationalizing processes. However, Portuguese innovation is still more firm-based (in-house) than cooperation-based, especially concerning new products' launching. This work and future analyzes around it can contribute to encourage the open innovation strategy in more sectors of the economy as an easy and effective way to cope with rapid trends and changes.     

Scale effect on the behaviour of geogrid-reinforced soil under repeated loads

One of the most useful geosynthetics in soil reinforcement is geogrid due to its high tensile strength, having a great influence on soil skeleton reinforcement and eventually, increasing bearing capacity of the foundation. In this research, a series of 36 repeated plate load tests have been carried out to investigate the scale effect on geogrid-reinforced soil, tending to further understanding of the behaviour of geogrid-reinforced soil system. Four different soil grains sizes, two different geogrid's aperture sizes (with roughly the same tensile strength) and three different loading plate sizes are the variables considered. During the tests, the applied loading and soil surface settlements were recorded to evaluate the systems' response. As it was expected, the reinforced soil exhibited higher bearing capacity than the unreinforced status, up to 635%. The results show that increasing loading plate size and soils' particle size fortify the response of foundation, especially in reinforced status, against the loading plate penetration. The results further focused on the important role of scale effect on the response of reinforced foundation. It was understood that the optimum nominal aperture size of geogrids should be about 4 times of medium grain size of soil. Also, it was found out that in order to acquisition of highest reinforcement benefits, the footing's width should be in the range 13–25 (20 in average) times of medium grain size of the backfill. Finally, to achieve the best results, it is recommended that the aperture size of geogrids should be selected roughly 0.2 times of footing width.     

基于简化SIFT的口服液杂质检测防抖方法

在口服液灯检机杂质检测系统中,口服液瓶体由于履带搓瓶的急停会有轻微的抖动,造成高速工业摄像机拍摄的前后两帧口服液瓶体图像中位于相同空间位置的像素无法重合在一起,导致前后两帧图像做差分结果出现错误。由于口服液中的杂质很小,一般会达到微米级别,因此机械的扰动以及口服液瓶体上的污点都有可能因位置偏差对检测结果造成影响。采用尺度不变特征检测（SIFT）对系统采集的前后两帧图像进行位置配准。SIFT算法稳定性精度很高,适用于高精度口服液杂质检测系统。基于抖动幅度微弱,对该算法进行了一定的改进与简化,以获得最佳配准结果。在实际检测过程中算法稳定,检测结果准确率很高。     

Motivational,emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out

Social media utilities have made it easier than ever to know about the range of online or offline social activities one could be engaging. On the upside, these social resources provide a multitude of opportunities for interaction; on the downside, they often broadcast more options than can be pursued, given practical restrictions and limited time. This dual nature of social media has driven popular interest in the concept of Fear of Missing Out – popularly referred to as FoMO. Defined as a pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent, FoMO is characterized by the desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing. The present research presents three studies conducted to advance an empirically based understanding of the fear of missing out phenomenon. The first study collected a diverse international sample of participants in order to create a robust individual differences measure of FoMO, the Fear of Missing Out scale (FoMOs); this study is the first to operationalize the construct. Study 2 recruited a nationally representative cohort to investigate how demographic, motivational and well-being factors relate to FoMO. Study 3 examined the behavioral and emotional correlates of fear of missing out in a sample of young adults. Implications of the FoMOs measure and for the future study of FoMO are discussed.     

On the Determination of Single Sampling Attribute Plans Based upon a Linear Cost Model and a Prior Distribution

The linear cost model previously formalized by Hald [4], [5], [9] is reviewed. Techniques are described which permit easy determination of sampling plans based on that model. The degenerate, the beta, and the two point distributions are considered as prior distributions of p, the process fraction defective. For calculations only standard tables and a desk calculator are required.     

Is there more to email negotiation than email? The role of email affinity

Email has profoundly influenced the way we communicate personally and professionally and, for many, email negotiations have become a common, every day experience. While many studies have investigated email negotiations by relying on and discussing the characteristics of the medium, this paper focuses on the user’s attitude toward the medium and its respective influence on email negotiation. Specifically, we investigate which dimensions make up negotiators’ attitude toward email, i.e. their email affinity, and how these attitudes, in turn, influence the negotiation outcomes. In our scale development, three facets of email affinity are theoretically considered, empirically explored and validated: email preference, email comfort and email clarity. Our negotiation study contains a quasi-experimental email negotiation exercise where subjects were paired according to their email affinity. Email comfort emerged as a significant predictor of individual profit, joint gain, and different dimensions of subjective value. Theoretical implications and further research are discussed.     

Factorial invariance of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale across gender.

The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS; G. B. Spanier, 1976) is the most widely used inventory of relationship satisfaction in the social sciences, yet the question of whether it is measuring the same concept in men and women has never been addressed. In the current study, the authors examined the factor structure of the DAS in a sample of 900 currently married couples who participated in the Minnesota Twin Family Study. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to a second-order factor solution with Spanier’s four factors (Dyadic Consensus, Dyadic Satisfaction, Dyadic Cohesion, Affectional Expression) loading on one higher order factor (Relationship Adjustment), to test for measurement invariance across gender. The second-order solution was relatively invariant across gender, even when taking into account the nonindependent nature of the data. This suggests that the best conceptualization of the DAS is one of a gender-invariant measure of marital adjustment with four distinct subfactors and that differences between men and women on any of these constructs can be interpreted by both clinicians and researchers as true mean differences rather than measurement bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)