Effect of alloy chemistry and exposure conditions on the oxidation of titanium

Multiwall is a new thermal protection system concept for advanced space transportation vehicles. The system consists of discrete panels made up of multiple layers of foil gage metal. Titanium is the proposed candidate metal for multiwall panels in the reentry temperature range up to 675 C. Oxidation and embrittlement are the principal concerns related to the use of Ti in heat shield applications. The results of a broad study on the oxidation kinetics of several titanium alloys subjected to different exposure conditions are described. The alloys include commercially pure titanium, Ti-6Al-4V, and Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-2Mo. Oxidation studies were performed on these alloys exposed at 704 C in 5-760 torr air pressure and 0 to 50% relative humidity. The resulting weight gains were correlated with oxide thickness and substrate contamination. The contamination depth and weight gains due to solid solutioning were obtained from microhardness depth profiles and hardness versus weight percent oxygen calibration data

Collaborative recommendations with content-based filters for cultural activities via a scalable event distribution platform

Nowadays, most people have limited leisure time and the offer of (cultural) activities to spend this time is enormous. Consequently, picking the most appropriate events becomes increasingly difficult for end-users. This complexity of choice reinforces the necessity of filtering systems that assist users in finding and selecting relevant events. Whereas traditional filtering tools enable e.g. the use of keyword-based or filtered searches, innovative recommender systems draw on user ratings, preferences, and metadata describing the events. Existing collaborative recommendation techniques, developed for suggesting web-shop products or audio-visual content, have difficulties with sparse rating data and can not cope at all with event-specific restrictions like availability, time, and location. Moreover, aggregating, enriching, and distributing these events are additional requisites for an optimal communication channel. In this paper, we propose a highly-scalable event recommendation platform which considers event-specific characteristics. Personal suggestions are generated by an advanced collaborative filtering algorithm, which is more robust on sparse data by extending user profiles with presumable future consumptions. The events, which are described using an RDF/OWL representation of the EventsML-G2 standard, are categorized and enriched via smart indexing and open linked data sets. This metadata model enables additional content-based filters, which consider event-specific characteristics, on the recommendation list. The integration of these different functionalities is realized by a scalable and extendable bus architecture. Finally, focus group conversations were organized with external experts, cultural mediators, and potential end-users to evaluate the event distribution platform and investigate the possible added value of recommendations for cultural participation

Making automated computer program documentation a feature of total system design

It is pointed out that in large-scale computer software systems, program documents are too often fraught with errors, out of date, poorly written, and sometimes nonexistent in whole or in part. The means are described by which many of these typical system documentation problems were overcome in a large and dynamic software project. A systems approach was employed which encompassed such items as: (1) configuration management; (2) standards and conventions; (3) collection of program information into central data banks; (4) interaction among executive, compiler, central data banks, and configuration management; and (5) automatic documentation. A complete description of the overall system is given

The Programmable Web: Agile, Social, and Grassroots Computing

Web services, the semantic Web, and Web 2.0 are three somewhat separate movements trying to make the Web a programmable substrate. While each has achieved some level of success on their own right, it is becoming apparent that the grassroots approach of the Web 2.0 is gaining greater success than the other two. In this paper we analyze each movement, briefly describing its main traits, and outlining its primary assumptions. We then frame the common problem of achieving a programmable Web within the context of distributed computing and software engineering and then attempt to show why Web 2.0 is closest to give a pragmatic solution to the problem and will therefore likely continue to have the most success while the other two only have cursory contributions

Ethical Fashion Africa Project Update

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.FLA_Ethical_Fashion_Africa_Update.pdf: 317 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

The Single-Case Reporting Guideline In BEhavioural Interventions (SCRIBE) 2016 statement

We developed a reporting guideline to provide authors with guidance about what should be reported when writing a paper for publication in a scientific journal using a particular type of research design: the single-case experimental design. This report describes the methods used to develop the Single-Case Reporting guideline In BEhavioural interventions (SCRIBE) 2016. As a result of 2 online surveys and a 2-day meeting of experts, the SCRIBE 2016 checklist was developed, which is a set of 26 items that authors need to address when writing about single-case research. This article complements the more detailed SCRIBE 2016 Explanation and Elaboration article (Tate et al., 2016) that provides a rationale for each of the items and examples of adequate reporting from the literature. Both these resources will assist authors to prepare reports of single-case research with clarity, completeness, accuracy, and transparency. They will also provide journal reviewers and editors with a practical checklist against which such reports may be critically evaluated. We recommend that the SCRIBE 2016 is used by authors preparing manuscripts describing single-case research for publication, as well as journal reviewers and editors who are evaluating such manuscripts.Funding for the SCRIBE project was provided by the Lifetime Care and Support Authority of New South Wales, Australia. The funding body was not involved in the conduct, interpretation or writing of this work. We acknowledge the contribution of the responders to the Delphi surveys, as well as administrative assistance provided by Kali Godbee and Donna Wakim at the SCRIBE consensus meeting. Lyndsey Nickels was funded by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT120100102) and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and Its Disorders (CE110001021). For further discussion on this topic, please visit the Archives of Scientific Psychology online public forum at http://arcblog.apa.org. (Lifetime Care and Support Authority of New South Wales, Australia; FT120100102 - Australian Research Council Future Fellowship; CE110001021 - Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and Its Disorders)Published versio

Process Personalization Framework for Service-Driven Enterprises

Service functions and service activities are integral part of enterprises. Although technologies have improved for developing service functions, errors persist in service activities. Noted computer scientist Ramamoorthy describes personalization, customization, and humanization of service functions as an effective approach for reducing error in service activities. This paper argues that current personalization approaches does not effectively address the entire spectrum of service functions. The proposed personalization framework can advance current state of personalization through enabling tools as services and services as tools. We discuss the framework utilizing biological research as a service-driven enterprise example. The proposed framework is based on our enterprise process personalization patent

Cross-commodity analysis and applications to risk management.

The understanding of joint asset return distributions is an important ingredient for managing risks of portfolios. Although this is a well-discussed issue in fixed income and equity markets, it is a challenge for energy commodities. In this study we are concerned with describing the joint return distribution of energy-related commodities futures, namely power, oil, gas, coal, and carbon. The objective of the study is threefold. First, we conduct a careful analysis of empirical returns and show how the class of multivariate generalized hyperbolic distributions performs in this context. Second, we present how risk measures can be computed for commodity portfolios based on generalized hyperbolic assumptions. And finally,we discuss the implications of our findings for risk management analyzing the exposure of power plants, which represent typical energy portfolios. Our main findings are that risk estimates based on a normal distribution in the context of energy commodities can be statistically improved using generalized hyperbolic distributions. Those distributions are flexible enough to incorporate many characteristics of commodity returns and yield more accurate risk estimates. Our analysis of the market suggests that carbon allowances can be a helpful tool for controlling the risk exposure of a typical energy portfolio representing a power plantCommodities; Risk;