How activists and target organizations collaborate in the face of emerging contingencies:setbacks and inaction: constraining or enablers of change?

In this paper, we attempt to examine the sources of agency of target organizations when engaged in collective change processes organized by activists concerned with environmental issues and sustainable development in the eastern part of the Netherlands. In combining social movement and institutional entrepreneurship literature, we examine why and how target organizations engage in collective action, change their practices, and adopt new ones in the pursuit of solving a common issue with the help of activists. We found that motivations and intentions to contribute to collective action were instrumental in the beginning of their participation. However, as the project evolves, intentions changed through a reorientation of existing practices and positions in the collective change process of target organizations. This shift was caused by inaction and other setbacks where target organizations and activists were exposed. These changes in turn, set in new practice development and organizational forms necessary to continue collective change. With these findings, we contribute to an understanding of network mobilization by showing the emergent and dynamic character of collective change and especially indicate setbacks and inaction as both constraining and necessary condition for change

The High-Acceptance Dielectron Spectrometer HADES

HADES is a versatile magnetic spectrometer aimed at studying dielectron production in pion, proton and heavy-ion induced collisions. Its main features include a ring imaging gas Cherenkov detector for electron-hadron discrimination, a tracking system consisting of a set of 6 superconducting coils producing a toroidal field and drift chambers and a multiplicity and electron trigger array for additional electron-hadron discrimination and event characterization. A two-stage trigger system enhances events containing electrons. The physics program is focused on the investigation of hadron properties in nuclei and in the hot and dense hadronic matter. The detector system is characterized by an 85% azimuthal coverage over a polar angle interval from 18 to 85 degree, a single electron efficiency of 50% and a vector meson mass resolution of 2.5%. Identification of pions, kaons and protons is achieved combining time-of-flight and energy loss measurements over a large momentum range. This paper describes the main features and the performance of the detector system

The HADES-at-FAIR project

After the completion of the experimental program at SIS18 the HADES setup will migrate to FAIR, where it will deliver high-quality data for heavy-ion collisions in an unexplored energy range of up to 8 A GeV. In this contribution, we briefly present the physics case, relevant detector characteristics and discuss the recently completed upgrade of HADES. © 2012 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd. 75 5 589 593 Cited By :

Silver/diamond composite material - powder metallurgical route and thermo-physical properties

To meet the need of high-performance thermal management materials in the field of electronic applications, heat sink materials reinforced with synthetic diamonds have been prepared via powder metallurgy. A matrix of a silver alloy with a silicon content of 0.45 wt.% was chosen out of the prediction of the thickness of a final carbide layer of about 180 nm. The volume content of the diamonds and the diamond size were kept constant. The mixed powders were consolidated by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) using different sintering temperatures between 800 and 870 °C with a holding time of 30 min. The maximum thermal conductivity of 680 W/(mK) measured at room temperature and 620 W/(mK) at 275 °C was obtained at 810 °C sintering temperature. The degradation of the most promising sample after one thermal cycle up to 275 °C was determined below 1 percent of the value after sintering

Reaction temperatures within Mo-Si powder mixtures and their influencing factors

Within Mo-Si powder mixtures exhibiting different Si amounts the silicide formation reactions were governed by Si mobility within Mo. The influence of different experimental parameters on the completeness of silicide forming reactions was observed in detail. With increasing Si amount the reaction temperatures as measured within DSC runs were more affected by Si particle size and milling-mixing times. The more Si was available the more pronounced exothermic behaviour was observed

TFP reinforced metal - one way to increase the specific strength

The integration of fibers, especially tailor fiber placement (TFP), in metal matrices offers one way to generate composite materials with increased specific strength compared to the unreinforced metal matrix. The TFP can be adapted according to the final load paths through the component and can be covered partially or fully with the metal. Following this approach load transfer elements can be built, transferring much load and having low mass. First fields of application are identified in building and automotive industry. This work includes the powder metallurgical manufacturing process using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technique, the characterization of the microstructure and the tensile test of different specimens (sintered copper, TFP (as received) and TFP (Cu covered) reinforced copper). Experimental result on 19.5 vol.% TFP (Cu covered) reinforced copper shows an increase of specific strength around a factor of 2.2 compared to pure copper