Introduction - Professor Jim Rhodes, Founding Editor

This special edition of the Journal comprises the collection of papers presented at a conference held at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, to celebrate the work of Professor Jim Rhodes. The conference theme, Thin Walled Structures, encapsulates the technical field in which Professor Rhodes has been at the forefront for over 40 years. Indeed, it is appropriate that the conference bore the same name as the present Journal, which Professor Rhodes founded in 1983. The special event, held over 2 days, focussed on five specific technical themes, which Professor Rhodes has contributed to over the years, namely Cold Formed Steel (6 papers)-Chaired by Dr. Martin MacDonald, Glasgow Caledonian University; Buckling and Thin Walled Systems (7 papers)-Chaired by Professor Joe Loughlan, Loughborough University; Impact and Dynamical Systems (5 papers)-Chaired by Dr. Marcus Wheel, University of Strathclyde; Composites (5 papers)-Chaired by Professor William M. Banks, University of Strathclyde; Plates and Shells (9 papers)-Chaired by Dr. David Nash, University of Strathclyde

Congruency sequence effects and previous response times: conflict adaptation or temporal learning?

In the present study, we followed up on a recent report of two experiments in which the congruency sequence effect-the reduction of the congruency effect after incongruent relative to congruent trials in Stroop-like tasks-was observed without feature repetition or contingency learning confounds. Specifically, we further scrutinized these data to determine the plausibility of a temporal learning account as an alternative to the popular conflict adaptation account. To this end, we employed a linear mixed effects model to investigate the role of previous response time in producing the congruency sequence effect, because previous response time is thought to influence temporal learning. Interestingly, slower previous response times were associated with a reduced current-trial congruency effect, but only when the previous trial was congruent. An adapted version of the parallel episodic processing (PEP) model was able to fit these data if it was additionally assumed that attention "wanders" during different parts of the experiment (e.g., due to fatigue or other factors). Consistent with this assumption, the magnitude of the congruency effect was correlated across small blocks of trials. These findings demonstrate that a temporal learning mechanism provides a plausible account of the congruency sequence effect

The Potential of Critical E-Applications for Engaging SMEs in E Business: A Provider Perspective

YesAgainst a background of the low engagement of SMEs in e-business this paper investigates the emergence of, and potential for, critical e-applications defined as `an e-business application, promoted by a trusted third party, which engages a significant number of SMEs by addressing an important shared business concern within an aggregation.¿ By a review of secondary data and empirical investigation with service providers and other intermediaries the research shows that such applications can facilitate the e-business engagement of SMEs. There are three key findings, namely: the emergence of aggregation specific e-business applications; the emergence of collaboratively based `one to many¿ business models; and the importance of trusted third parties in the adoption of higher complexity e-business applications by SMEs. Significantly this work takes a deliberately provider perspective and complements the already considerable literature on SME IT adoption from a user and network perspective. In terms of future research the importance of a better conceptual understanding of the impact of complexity on the adoption of IT by SMEs is highlighted

AUTOMATIC DOOR DAM PROTOTYPE BASED MICROCONTROLLER ATMEGA 16

Writing of this final project aims to build a prototype system that functions to control the process of opening and closing dam’s door automatically. Making these tools also to provide information on water levels in the dam. Automatic door dam prototype based microcontroller and atmega 16 is a tool that designed specifically to simulate automatically dam doors. This tool will work in accordance with the conditions of the water level. When the water level go up, the door dam will open automatically dam the door will close when the water level drops. The method used in constructing the dam door prototype based automated ATmega 16 using the method of design that consists of several stages: (1) identification of requirements, (2) Needs Analysis, (3) design of hardware and software, (4) tool-making, (5) Testing Tool and (6) Operational Equipment. The hardware consists of (1) The minimum ATmega16 as the main controller, (2) water level sensor (water level control) as the water level detector, (3) and infrared light sensor photodiode as a detector height of the dam doors, (4) DC motors as driver door dam and (4) LCD as the viewer height and the height of the dam door. Based on the results of testing that has been done, it can be concluded that a prototype tool based automatic door ATmega 16 dams can work well in accordance with the working principles designed. The performance of the tool is observed by looking at the condition of the sensor exposed to water. If the condition of the water in the dam go up to the maximum condition, then the motor will move "open" the door dam in stages according to water conditions in the tank. If the condition of the water in the dam down to the minimum, then the motor will move "close" the door dam in stages according to water conditions in the tank and the high information and high water doors will be displayed on the LCD. There is an average percentage error of 0.15%. Keywords: Door dam, water level sensor, LCD, ATmega1

Output feedback control of linear multipass processes

An error actuated output feedback controller for a sub-class of linear multipass processes designated as 'differential unit memory' is defined. Further, the design of this controller for closed-loop stability is considered. In particular, a recently developed computationally feasible stability tesits used to present some preliminary work on this problem

Ring-resonator-based wavelength filters

Microring resonators (MR) represent a class of filters with characteristics very similar to those of Fabry–Perot filters. However, they offer the advantage that the injected and reflected signals are separated in individual waveguides, and in addition, their design does not require any facets or gratings and is thus particularly simple. MRs evolved from the fields of fibre optic ring resonators and micron scale droplets. Their inherently small size (with typical diameters in the range between several to tens of micrometres), their filter characteristics and their potential for being used in complex and flexible configurations make these devices particularly attractive for integrated optics or VLSI photonics applications.\ud MRs for filter applications, delay lines, as add/drop multiplexers, and modulators will be covered in detail in this chapter, while other applications such as in optical sensing, in spectroscopy or for coherent light generation (MR lasers) are outside the scope of this chapter.\ud This chapter focuses primarily on 4-port microrings, while 2-port devices will play a minor role here and are covered in more detail in Chap. 9. The present chapter starts with design considerations, the functional behaviour, and key characteristics of a single microring resonator and continues with the design of cascaded MRs allowing the implementation of higher order filters. Finally, complex devices like add-drop filters, tuneable dispersion compensators, all-optical wavelength converters, and tuneable cross-connects are treated.\u

The buckling and collapse behaviour of saddle-supported cylinders - Keynote Lecture

Recent work by the present authors on the collapse conditions for horizontal cylindrical saddle supported storage vessels is described and reviewed. Attention is directed to a range of geometries, typically R/t < 200, where plastic collapse type failure may be relevant. A series of forty tests on end-supported model cylinders loaded centrally by a rigid saddle were performed and a variety of theoretical methods were used for comparison with the test results. It was found that the best agreement was obtained by using an elasticplastic finite element analysis approach. The results of a parametric survey based on the elastic-plastic finite element method are summarised. The paper reports some validation checks, which have been performed to support the parametric results

Using finite element method in preoperative planning for wrist surgery

The wrist has a wide variation of 'normal' anatomy, which may explain the discrepancy seen in success rates of some clinical procedures between patients with similar symptoms. Previously published finite element models of the wrist joint have been based on a single geometry and/or single loading condition which does not give a full representation of the spectrum of normal wrists. In this study, three finite element models of the wrist were created and used subject specific boundary conditions thus building a set of models which can be identified as a part of a larger population. Systematic variations in anatomy and bone position were studied and the effect they have on the general load transfer through the normal wrist joint. That information can prove to be important for future surgical planning on the wrist joint

The practice of discounting in economic evaluations of healthcare interventions

Objectives: Discounting of costs in health-related economic evaluation is generally regarded as uncontroversial, but there is disagreement about discounting health benefits. We sought to explore the current recommendations and practice in health economic evaluations with regard to discounting of costs and benefits. Methods: Recommendations for best practice on discounting for health effects as set out by government agencies, regulatory bodies, learned journals, and leading health economics texts were surveyed. A review of a sample of primary literature on health economic evaluations was undertaken to ascertain the actual current practice on discounting health effects and costs. Results: All of the official sources recommended a positive discount rate for both health effects and costs, and most recommended a specific rate (range, 1% to 8%). The most frequently specified rates were 3% and 5%. A total of 147 studies were reviewed; most of these used a discount rate for health of either 0% (n = 50) or 5% (n = 67). Over 90% of studies used the same discount rate for both health and cost. While 28% used a zero rate for both health and cost, in 64% a nonzero rate was used for both. Studies where the health measure was in natural clinical units (direct) were significantly more likely to have a zero discount rate. Conclusion: The finding that 28% of studies did not discount costs or benefits is surprising and concerning. A lower likelihood of discounting for benefits when they are in natural units may indicate confusion regarding the rationale for discounting health effects

Iterative learning control for constrained linear systems

This paper considers iterative learning control for linear systems with convex control input constraints. First, the constrained ILC problem is formulated in a novel successive projection framework. Then, based on this projection method, two algorithms are proposed to solve this constrained ILC problem. The results show that, when perfect tracking is possible, both algorithms can achieve perfect tracking. The two algorithms differ however in that one algorithm needs much less computation than the other. When perfect tracking is not possible, both algorithms can exhibit a form of practical convergence to a "best approximation". The effect of weighting matrices on the performance of the algorithms is also discussed and finally, numerical simulations are given to demonstrate the e®ectiveness of the proposed methods