Early-age monitoring of fresh cementitious material by acoustic emission

Concrete properties are mainly affected by the fresh state since it has a significant impact on the long-term concrete performance. In this study, acoustic emission (AE) was applied to monitor the behavior of fresh cement paste. AE is based on the detection of high-frequency elastic waves originating from different material sources. This highly sensitive technique provides data that contribute to a deeper understanding of the different ongoing processes for fresh concrete, as the possible AE sources are many. Characterization of each different source type is difficult and therefore, a combined methodology of AE, capillary pressure in the matrix and specimen deformation was applied to monitor the fresh cement paste

Monitoring early-age acoustic emission of cement paste and fly ash paste

In this study, a combined approach of several monitoring techniques was applied to allow correlations between the AE activity and related processes such as shrinkage and settlement evolution, capillary pressure and temperature development in fresh cementitious media. AE parameters related to frequency, energy, and cumulative activity which exhibit sensitivity to the particle size distribution of cement paste are compared with inert fly ash (FA) leading to isolation of the mechanical sources from the chemical ones. Characterization of the origin of different processes occurring in cement paste during hydration is complex. Although acoustic emission (AE) monitoring has been used before, a qualitative relation between the microstructural formation or other early-age processes and the number or parameters of AE signals has not been established. The high sensitivity of AE enables the recording of elastic waves within the cementitious material, allowing the detection of even low-intensity activities

Structural Transformation, Culture, and Women’s Labor Force Participation in Turkey

Turkey has experienced important structural and social changes that would be expected to facilitate women’s participation in market work. Social attitudes toward working women have changed in recent years; women are becoming more educated; they are getting married at a later age; and fertility rates are declining. Despite these factors, women’s labor force participation rates are very low in comparison to the countries at a similar development stage. This dissertation analyzes the underlying causes of low female labor force participation in Turkey. In addition to a background chapter (Chapter 2) analyzing structural transformation and employment generation patterns, the dissertation has three main chapters. In Chapter 3, I investigate the role of patriarchal norms and religiosity in constraining women’s labor force participation using 2008 Demographic and Health Survey data. Employing an instrumental variable estimation, I find that internalization of patriarchal norms has a negative impact on female labor force participation. In Chapter 4 I use qualitative data from in-depth interviews based on field research in 2013 to investigate women’s preferences as well as their actual behavior. I analyze women’s labor force participation decisions, past schooling decisions and fertility decisions in light of their individual preferences and aspirations on one hand, structural constraints and household dynamics on the other, and I question the common assumption that paid employment leads to empowerment of women. I find that women are not given equal opportunity to make their life choices from an early age. Many women express a preference for work outside the home but face constraints including the burden of care work and husband’s disapproval. The interviews with working wives, on the other hand, reveal that the gender division of labor in the household is not changed substantially by the employment status of women. In Chapter 5 I examine the impact of an employment subsidy enacted in Turkey in 2008 on women’s employment, accounting for variations across culturally diverse provinces. I estimate a difference-in-differences model using a monthly panel of province-level employment data from the Social Security Administration of Turkey. I find that the employment package increased the female share of employment in the provinces where positive discrimination was effective. Moreover, I find that there is not a statistically significant difference between conservative and progressive provinces in terms of the effectiveness of the policy: a demand-side policy can increase women’s employment despite cultural constraints that are normally thought to prohibit female labor supply. The findings of the dissertation support the premise that understanding the low female labor force participation in Turkey requires taking into account complex social, economic, and cultural factors. Using complementary quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the dissertation shows that both supply-side and demand-side constraints are in play, implying need for policy-makers to address both sides of the labor market to raise women’s employment

Mechanization of first stage graphitization in Fe- C-Si- alloys

The purpose of this investigation was to study the mechanism of first stage graphitization in iron-carbon-silicon alloys in the light of results obtained by Taub, and to propose a new mechanism of graphitization. The results of preliminary experiments confirmed the findings of Taub as regards the precipitation of secondary carbides. Therefore, it was decided to extend the investigation so as to include the study of growth of secondary carbides. In order to know the chief factor responsible for the growth of secondary carbides, the activation energy was calculated. Another factor which was investigated was the site of graphite nuclei formation”--Purpose of Investigation, page 2

Multi-Unit Franchising: A Comparative Case Analysis

The objective of this study is to explain the franchisor’s choice between single-unit and multi-unit franchising. We employ a comparative case analysis method to compare the theoretical patterns with the empirical patterns of the governance forms. We selected two multi-national franchise networks based in Austria. Our findings suggest that franchisor’s multi-unit franchising strategy can be explained by monitoring costs, franchisee’s transaction-specific investments, franchisor’s system-specific assets, and franchisor’s financial resources scarcity

Online Video Advertisement Avoidance: Can Interactivity Help?

The objective of this research is to explain the factors contributing toward consumers online video advertisement (OVA) avoidance behavior. Empirical data from 207 online consumers in France supports the hypotheses concerning the effect of relevance of contents, perceived authenticity and interactivity of OVAs. The findings suggest that consumers avoid OVAs by using ad blocker software due to irrelevant advertisement contents, lack of perceived authenticity of advertisement contents and most importantly due to the lack of interactivity. We conclude the study by offering some suggestions for reducing consumers avoidance of OVAs by increasing interactivity

Explaining Franchisors Tendency To Use Multi-Unit Franchising: Development Of A Theoretical Model

In this theoretical paper, we give an overview of the development of literature on multi-unit franchising, discuss the theoretical and methodological deficits, and develop a model for empirical test. The main focus of existing franchising research has been on single unit franchising. Although several empirical studies were published on multi-unit franchising in the last decade, the research deficit primarily results from the lack of theoretical foundation of this ownership strategy in franchising networks. As an attempt to address this research gap, we develop an integrative model.  The propositions explain the franchisor’s tendency to use multi-unit franchising in context of transaction cost theory (franchisee’s specific investments and market uncertainty), resource based view (financial resources scarcity), organizational capabilities view (local market know-how and system specific assets) and agency theory (behavioral uncertainty). We plan to empirically test the proposed model in the near future

How Do The Relational Investments Affect Relational Outcomes?

The paper integrates insights from transaction cost economics and relational exchange theory to discuss the efficacy of value-creating relational investments in affecting certain relational outcomes in context of supplier-intermediate buyer dyadic relationships. After performing PLS path modelling on a data set of 284 dyadic relationships, it has been found that value-creating relational investments made by the focal suppliers in their (intermediate) buyers positively affect various facets of satisfaction, trust and commitment (altogether, the relationship quality) of the intermediate buyers. It has been further argued that an enhancement in the relationship quality ultimately translates into an enhancement in performance of the inter-firm relationships