Gaming Social Capital: Exploring Civic Value in Multiplayer Video Games

Recent research suggests that social interactions in video games may lead to the development of community bonding and prosocial attitudes. Building on this line of research, a national survey of U.S. adults finds that gamers who develop ties with a community of fellow gamers possess gaming social capital, a new gaming‐related community construct that is shown to be a positive antecedent in predicting both face‐to‐face social capital and civic participation.     

A mathematical approach to assess research diversity: operationalization and applicability in communication sciences,political science,and beyond

Scientometrics - With today’s research production and global dissemination, there is growing pressure to assess how academic fields foster diversity. Based on a mathematical problem/solve...     

Steel Microstructure Effect on Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Behavior of High Strength Low Carbon Steel

Different thermomechanical treatments were applied to a high strength low carbon steel with a novel chemical composition. As a result, three different microstructures were produced with dissimilar mechanical and corrosion properties. Subsequently, a tempering heat treatment was applied to redistribute the phases in the steel. Microstructure A with 56 pct martensite and 32 pct bainite presented high strength but medium ductility; microstructure C with 95 pct ferrite and 3 pct martensite/austenite resulted in low strength and high ductility, and finally microstructure B with 98 pct bainite and 2 pct martensite/austenite resulted in high strength and ductility. Alternatively the corrosion behavior obtained by polarization curves was characterized in 0.1 M H₂SO₄, 3 M H₂SO₄, 3.5 wt pct NaCl, and NS4 solutions resulting in similar magnitudes, while the corrosion behavior acquired by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy had slightly differences in 3 M H₂SO₄.     

Stumbling upon news on the Internet: Effects of incidental news exposure and relative entertainment use on political engagement

Contemporary concerns that the Internet might lead to political apathy are based on suggestions that people would use the Internet for entertainment purposes rather than news consumption. However, what if someone stumbles upon news when surfing the Internet? Would this incidental news exposure online be helpful in promoting citizens’ political engagement? This study tests whether and how incidental news exposure (INE) and relative entertainment use (REU) on the Internet are associated with political participation. Drawing from US national data, results revealed a significant and positive relationship between INE and offline and online political participation while REU was negatively associated with offline and online political participation. More importantly, the role of INE in facilitating citizens’ online political participation was stronger for those who consume less entertainment online, indicating that incidental news exposure may increase existing gaps in political participation between people who prefer news and people who prefer entertainment online.     

Lithium fuel cells:: I. Lithium/poly(organophosphazene) membrane anodes in KOH and seawater

The main goal of our research project is to design safe, high energy and power density lithium/water systems. We explored the feasibility of substituting the natural bilayer (formed on the lithium surface when lithium is in contact with water), for a thin polymeric film. By substituting the natural bilayer film we hope to reduce the parasitic reactions occurring at the lithium/water interface, thus yielding an increase in the anodic efficiency. We investigated the effect of placing or casting a thin, (lithium/ion-conducting) polymer layer on the lithium metal surface. This paper is part one in a series of two papers. Paper I presents the results obtained with a lithium/polymer system, where the polymer was a monolayer of a polyphosphazene with 90% trifluoromethylphenoxy and 10% lithium carboxyphenoxy side groups (Polymer 4), or a multilayer film formed of one layer of poly[bis(methoxyethoxyethoxy)phosphazene] (MEEP) and one to three layers of Polymer 4 containing from 0 to 75 wt.% of lithium triflate salts. Paper II presents results obtained when the polymer layers were prepared using a polymer with equal amounts of methoxyethoxyethoxy and phenoxy side groups containing from 0 to 75 wt.% of lithium triflate salts. Phosphazene membranes have been designed and tailored to allow lithium ion conduction and prevent water migration to the surface of lithium metal. The phosphazene membranes enhance the safety of an aqueous lithium cell by inhibiting (or reducing) the reaction of lithium with water that evolves hydrogen at the anode. Original tests of lithium/phosphazene systems led to unpredictable open circuit voltages (OCVs). When the adhesion of the membrane to the lithium metal was improved, the OCV stabilized. The OCVs for the half-cell of lithium polymer aqueous electrolytes varies between −3.1 and −2.8 V_SCE, depending on the membrane. The current densities for this polymer system are in the range of 10⁻⁶-10⁻³ A/cm². The Columbic anodic efficiency is assumed to be near 100%—as hydrogen evolution is not measurable. Some of the polymeric membranes developed pinholes with use. Layered systems have also been designed to avoid the development of pinholes over time. In this paper, we present the results obtained by using polyphosphazenes with a 9:1 ratio of trifluoromethylphenoxy and p-carboxyphenoxy side groups and the lithium salt of the carboxylate function. Poly(organophosphazene) membranes with a single layer and a multilayer structure were tested in 8 M KOH or synthetic seawater for up to 5 days.     

Reactive ion etching of PECVD silicon nitride in SF6 plasma

The reactive ion etching of PECVD silicon nitride thin films has been investigated using SF₆ plasma. Effects of variations of process parameters such as pressure (50–350 mTorr), RF power (50–250 W), gas flow rate (3–130 sccm) and additions of O₂ and He (0–50%) in SF₆, on the PECVD silicon nitride etch rate and selectivity to the AZ 1350J photoresist were examined. An etch rate of 1 μm/min has been obtained under the condition of 150 mTorr, 100 W and 60 sccm. Experimental results also indicated a maximum etch rate at approximately 30% O₂ while addition of He showed only dilution effect. A nitride/photoresist selectivity ranging from 1 to 3:1 has been obtained.     

Prediction of Speech Quality Based on Resilient Backpropagation Artificial Neural Network

The paper presents a system for monitoring and assessment the speech quality in the IP telephony infrastructures using modular probes. The probes are placed at key nodes in the network where aggregating packet loss data. The system dynamically measures speech quality and results are collected on a central server. For data analysis we applied four-state Markov model for modeling the impact of network impairments on speech quality, afterwards, the resilient back propagation (Rprop) algorithm was used to train a neural network. Information about the speech quality are displayed in the form of automatically generated graphs and tables. The proposed solution has been tested with selected codecs and further generalizes the already presented concepts of the speech quality estimation in the IP environment.

     

Oxidation behaviour of Fe–40 at.-% Al intermetallics with Li or Cu additions at high temperature

Fe–40?at.-% Al intermetallics with the addition of Li (1 and 3?at.-%) and Cu (3 and 5?at.-%) were produced using standard casting techniques. The oxidation behaviour was obtained using thermogravimetric analyses in an atmosphere of 99.99% oxygen at 800, 900, 1000, and 1100°C. The oxidation product layers on the top and cross-sectional views were characterised using SEM and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping. The different alumina phases can produce a double layer with different mechanical and chemical properties. The results showed that the addition of 1% Li assisted the activation of the oxide production at 1000 and 1100°C, while the rest of the third element additions slightly modified the oxidation resistance.     

A study on corrosion‐fatigue behavior of AA7075‐T651 subjected to different surface modification treatments

Two corrosive media were used (3.5 wt% NaCl aqueous solution and distilled water) to examine the corrosion‐fatigue behavior of AA 7075‐T651, subjected to various surface modifications (wire‐EDM, blasting, and anodizing). An in‐situ corrosion‐fatigue device was used to test the corrosion‐fatigue durability. The apparatus is able to generate cyclic loads within a corrosive solution. The mechanical loading is simulated with the aid of finite element method (FEM). At both corrosive environments, a prolongation of the corrosion‐fatigue life was achieved by the blasting procedure, compared with the as‐machined specimens under same conditions. Anodizing had a deleterious impact in all examined cases.