A Decision Making Construct for Complex Situations

The uncertainty inherently associated with complexity challenges decision-making processes, indicating a need for a construct for decision making in complex situations. A review of the literature on systems, complexity, and paradigms indicates that such a construct must be internally consistent with well-defined philosophical foundations and further that systems and complexity (as used in complex situations) are not necessarily internally consistent with traditional philosophical foundations. Therefore, a decision making construct for complex situations requires research into different foundations. This research addresses these gaps, deriving axiological and methodological components based on a set of principles consistent with the ontology and epistemology of Sousa-Poza and Correa-Martinez (2005). The combination of these four philosophical components is asserted to establish a Complex Situations Paradigm providing a foundational perspective for complexity and systems. The characteristics of this research require particular attention to the appropriate research methodology. Canons for research are typically based on philosophical foundations of rationalism or empiricism; hence this research derives a set of generalized canons based on a specific definition of knowledge, which must be instantiated as specific research canons for a given philosophical foundation. The methodology for this research must be consistent with said canons and the associated definition of knowledge. The product of the research is an internally consistent philosophical foundation for complex situations based on a research methodology using instantiated generalized canons, and an application of the associated methodology to derive a decision making construct. The contributions to the literature are the maturation of underlying theory for complex situations and the generalized research canons. The contribution to theory is the internally consistent philosophical foundation for complex situations, the Complex Situations Paradigm, and the associated discussion of canons. Finally, the contribution to practice is the decision making construct itself, applying the elements of the paradigm to frame action at diverse levels in complex situations. Areas for further research include the derivation of methods based on the CSP methodology; applications of the underlying constructs to facilitate understanding of complexity through a method designated forensic complexity, and exploration of CSP principles to explore ramifications of cognitive aspects

Comparison of Porcelain Surface and Flexural Strength Obtained by Microwave and Conventional Oven Glazing

Statement of problem. Although the superior qualities of microwave technology are common knowledge in the industry, effects of microwave glazing of dental ceramics have not been investigated. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the surface roughness and flexural strength achieved by glazing porcelain specimens in a conventional and microwave oven. Material and methods. Thirty specimens of each type of porcelain (Omega 900 and IPS d.Sign) were fabricated and sintered in a conventional oven. The specimens were further divided into 3 groups (n=10): hand polished (using diamond rotary ceramic polishers), microwave glazed, and conventional oven glazed. Each specimen was evaluated for surface roughness using a profilometer. The flexural strength of each specimen was measured using a universal testing machine. A 2-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD post hoc analysis were used to determine significant intergroup differences in surface roughness (α=.05). Flexural strength results were also analyzed using 2-way ANOVA, and the Weibull modulus was determined for each of the 6 groups. The surfaces of the specimens were subjectively evaluated for cracks and porosities using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results. A significant difference in surface roughness was found among the surface treatments (P=.02). Follow-up tests showed a significant difference in surface roughness between oven-glazed and microwave-glazed treatments (P=.02). There was a significant difference in flexural strength between the 2 porcelains (P Conclusions. The surface character of microwave-glazed porcelain was superior to oven-glazed porcelain. Omega 900 had an overall higher flexural strength than IPS d.Sign. Weibull distributions of flexural strengths for Omega 900 ovenglazed and microwave-glazed specimens were similar. SEM analysis demonstrated a greater number of surface voids and imperfections in IPS d.Sign as compared to Omega 900

Penile Rehabilitation Therapy with PDE-V Inhibitors Following Radical Prostatectomy: Proceed with Caution

Penile rehabilitation therapy following radical prostatectomy is a much debated topic. Erectile dysfunction is still a significant contributor to postoperative morbidity following radical prostatectomy, despite meticulous nerve-sparing technique. Secondary smooth muscle changes in the penis have been identified as the underlying causes of penile atrophy, veno-occlusive dysfunction, and fibrosis. Initial observations that intracavernous injection therapies used on a regular basis postoperatively resulted in improvements in the return of spontaneous erectile function led to the development of penile rehabilitation protocols. Chronic dosing of PDE-V inhibitors is now commonly used by urologists after radical prostatectomy. Despite the current enthusiasm of penile rehabilitation therapy, current scientific evidence with clinical trials is still limited

Customer Service Challenges in Omni-Channel Retailing—An Exploratory Study of Vague Language in Retailer Customer Service Policies

Retailers are interacting with customers via an ever-increasing number of touchpoints. The addition of social media and mobile devices to the traditional physical and virtual retail platforms has created an evolving consumer practice of using several such touchpoints in the course of a single purchase (the omni-channel”). The difficulty of providing high levels of customer service has increased with the necessity of managing multiple channels under the retailer’s control and coordinating formally or informally with touchpoints not directly within the retailer’s own operations. Multiple sources of potentially conflicting information (e.g., order fulfillment) can lead to miscommunication, and thus poor service experience for customers. The purpose of this paper is to describe two preliminary studies that explore how well retailers are prepared for this increasing complexity via a content analysis of retailer website language regarding customer service policies. Implications of our findings and recommendations for further research are then discussed

Life at low Reynolds number Re-visited: The efficiency of microbial propulsion

It has for over 40 years been taken as a truth universally acknowledged that microbial swimming efficiency by flagellar propulsion is fixed by fluid mechanical limitations at 1–2%. And that the missing 98% dissipated as heat is inefficient or wasted. Estimates of such low swimming efficiency make no sense. Microbes have had billions of years to evolve highly efficient swimming; images of microbes in motion show movement with alacrity and maximum speeds of up to 10 body lengths per second, equivalent to the running and swimming speeds of far larger animals. This paradox can be resolved by taking into account the hydrogen-bonded nature of water and how efficient viscous flow over the surface of the animal is established. The minimal requirement for viscous flow is that the activation energy barrier be overcome. The activation energy for viscous flow in water and sea water is the amount of energy required to break 2 hydrogen bonds—breaking apart the dominant water pentamer into the single H2O species, thus greatly reducing the size of the molecular hole required for flow. Microbial swimming efficiency is made highly efficient by devoting some 95% of the energy expended (some must be lost to entropy) into the breaking of hydrogen bonds

Life at low Reynolds Number Re-visited: The apparent activation energy of viscous flow in sea water

In a 1976 lecture entitled “Life at low Reynolds Number,” Edward Purcell examined constraints on mobility of small aquatic animals defining the energetic challenge as “to move far enough to beat diffusion.” We show that the essential requirement is the need to do sufficient work to overcome the activation energy of viscous flow. Raman spectroscopy shows that sea water is dominated (78–85%) by the hydrogen bonded forms, primarily as the large (H2O)5 tetrahedral pentamer form. Two hydrogen bonds must be broken to disrupt this structure. The strength of the hydrogen bond in water is ~8.4 kJ/mol and the experimentally determined activation energy of viscous flow (~16.7 kJ/mol) is approximately equal to that required to break two hydrogen bonds in water. For viscous flow to occur a molecular vacancy must form for a flowing molecule to move into; the smaller the vacancy needed the less energy required. The heat created by a small animal swimming breaks hydrogen bonds thus forming a layer of small non-hydrogen bonded H2O molecules around the animal. These “lubricate” the surface yielding far more efficient viscous flow. The activation energy of the viscous flow of water decreases with pressure most likely due to the weaker strength of the hydrogen bond under pressure – lab and field data support this observation. The dissipation of tidal energy as heat, often attributed to “intermolecular forces,” is directly related to the breaking of hydrogen bonds

A general transformation method to solve the Schroedinger equation.

Dept. of Physics. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1984 .B748. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 40-07, page: . Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1984