Effects of category prototypes on performance-rating accuracy.

Two studies examined whether the accessibility of performance prototypes influences performance appraisals. Pilot studies revealed students used performance prototypes when rating instructor performance. Study 1 manipulated the accessibility of these prototypes and the time delay of performance ratings. Results showed no effect of the prime on rating error and accuracy; however, discrimination accuracy decreased over time and recognition bias became more conservative. Study 2 manipulated prototype accessibility and type of rating stimuli (videotape vs. vignette). Rating accuracy and recall were higher for vignette than videotape stimuli, and only those participants exposed to the vignette exhibited priming effects. Results supported transfer-appropriate processing and implied that cognitive primes may have a stronger effect on performance ratings based on "paper-people" than videotaped stimuli. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mode I Fracture Resistance of a Laminated Fiber-Reinforced Ceramic

The mode I fracture resistance of a ceramic matrix composite has been measured. Simultaneous observations have revealed that the resistance is dominated by frictional dissipation upon the pullout of fibers that fracture in the crack wake off the crack plane. Numerical and analytical crack growth simulations have been compared with the experimental results. One important feature in this comparison concerns the occurrence of large-scale bridging. With these effects taken into account, the simulations and the experiments are found to be in good correspondence for acceptable magnitudes of the interface sliding stress.     

Shifting perceptions of food security and land in the context of labour out-migration in rural Nepal

This paper presents the results of a survey of the livelihoods of people living in the eastern part of the subtropical plains of Nepal, known as the terai. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in the survey and further data were obtained through focus group discussions, in-depth interviews with key informants and participant observations. Changes were recorded both in the perception of agricultural and residential land for a secure living and the meaning given to food security. The principal drivers causing these changes were voluntary out-migration for remunerative employment, urbanization and the reluctance of members of the younger generation to farm, which they regard as a “dirty job”. In consequence, people’s livelihood practices and access to food are gradually shifting from an agriculture-based economy to an economy that is based on other sources of income, including remittances from out-migrants. This development threatens not only the role of agriculture in rural livelihoods but also the food security of the country.     

Flame retardancy,antifungal efficacies,and physical–mechanical properties for wood/polymer composites containing zinc borate

This work aimed to examine flame retardancy, antifungal performance and physical–mechanical properties for silane‐treated wood–polymer composites (WPCs) containing zinc borate (ZnB). ZnB with content from 0.0 to 7.0 wt% was added to WPCs, and silane‐treated wood contents were varied. The polymers used were poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and high‐density polyethylene (HDPE). The decay test was performed according to the European standard EN 113. Loweporus sp., a white‐rot fungus, was used for antifungal performance evaluation. Antifungal performance was observed to decrease with wood content. Incorporation of ZnB at 1.0 wt% significantly increased the antifungal performance of WPCs. ZnB content of greater than 1.0 wt% lowered the antifungal properties of WPCs. The results suggested that the wood/PVC composite exhibited better antifungal performance than the wood/HDPE composite. The addition of wood flour to PVC and HDPE decreased flame retardancy, whereas the incorporation of ZnB retained the flame retardancy. ZnB was found to be more appropriate for wood/PVC than wood/HDPE as a result of hydrogen chloride generated from the dehydrochlorination reaction of PVC. The results indicated that the addition of ZnB did not affect the physical‐mechanical properties of neat polymers and the composites. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Brick and mortar treatment by cream emulsion for improved water repellence and thermal insulation

A novel polymer cream was applied to brick and mortar in an attempt to reduce water absorption and to improve thermal insulation for household heating energy saving. Tests were carried out on surface energy, water contact angle, thermal conductivity and sorptivity of brick and mortar with and without cream treatment. A model house was built and a heating and monitoring system was developed to quantitatively evaluate the heating energy consumption in different conditions before and after cream treatment. It was found out that cream treatment can successfully impart good water repellence and enhanced the thermal insulation of the brick and mortar. The results from contact angle and surface energy measurements showed that the materials became highly hydrophobic. Experimental results from the model house showed approximately 9% heating energy consumption reduction in dry conditions and approximately 50% in wet conditions. In addition, the internal humidity typically was reduced to almost 1/3 of that of the control. It has been demonstrated that the novel cream treatment on masonry buildings can help reduce damp problems and save household heating energy consumption which can make a significant contribution to addressing social, environmental, ecological and economic problems resulting from climate change and global warming.     

Effects of drilling parameters and aspect ratios on delamination and surface roughness of lignocellulosic HFRP composite laminates

Hemp fibre‐reinforced polycaprolactone (HFRP) composite has inherent good mechanical properties and benefits which include remarkably high specific strength and modulus, low density, and renewability. No doubt, these properties have attracted wider applications of HFRP composite in engineering applications. This paper presents an investigation on the influence of drilling parameters and fibre aspect ratios, AR (0, 19, 26, 30, and 38) on delamination damage factor and surface roughness of HFRP composite laminates utilising high speed steel twist drills under dry machining condition. Taguchi's technique was used in the design of experiment. The results obtained show that increase in cutting speed reduces delamination factor and surface roughness of drilled holes, whereas increase in feed rate causes increase in both delamination factor and surface roughness. Feed rate and cutting speed had the greatest influence on delamination and surface roughness respectively when compared with aspect ratio, while an increase in fibre aspect ratios leads to a significant increase in both delamination factor and surface roughness. The optimum results occurred at cutting speed and feed rate (drilling parameters) of 20 mm/min and 0.10 mm/rev, respectively, when drilling sample of AR 19. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 42879.     

Rainbow refractometry: simultaneous measurement of temperature, refractive index, and size of droplets

The capabilities and limitations of rainbow refractometry, specifically the minimum measurable droplet size and the errors in the refractive index (temperature), have been studied. We evaluate what we believe is a new method of indirectly applying the Lorenz-Mie theory to rainbow refractometry. The results show that this new method reduces the errors and eliminates the biases that may occur if the Airy theory is used. A more precise method to filter the high-frequency oscillations associated with the measurement signals was developed. Finally, it was discovered that the errors associated with rainbow refractometry are such that a single droplet measurement is unreliable. A mean refractive index should be determined on the basis of multiple droplet measurements.     

Modeling resonance tests for electrostrictive ceramics

The electromechanical coupling coefficient represents a useful figure-of-merit for comparing the quality of different electroactive materials. However, the coupling coefficient for an electrostrictive ceramic is not a unique material parameter, because it depends strongly on the applied DC bias field, AC field amplitude and frequency, and stress. These dependencies make direct comparison between electrostrictors and piezoelectrics somewhat ambiguous. In this paper, we developed a pair of coupling parameters for electrostrictors that were strictly material constants and completely characterized the material's electromechanical quality. We proposed relatively simple, inexpensive resonance testing to measure these new parameters from the electrical admittance of a vibrating electrostrictive rod. The electromechanical coupling coefficient for a specific loading condition is computed from these parameters, allowing direct comparison between electrostrictive and piezoelectric materials.     

Design and manufacturing advisor for turbine disks

The design and manufacturing advisor (DMA) is a generic architecture for an expert system which assists in the process of product design. It integrates various parts of the production environment which affect the final product—such as fabrication, assembly, inspection and inventory. The design process can be partitioned into four stages: problem specification, feature specification, testing and generation. DMA facilitates the development of tractable designs, defined by the intersection of three spaces relating to specifications, features and productibility. The system consists of a domain-independent module and a domain-dependent module, each of which contains subcomponents; this modular structure facilitats system modification, expansion, and portability. The DMA has been validated by specializing the architecture to the design of gas-turbine disks for jet engines.