Ultrasonic scanning system for imaging flaw growth in composites

A system for measuring and visually representing damage in composite specimens while they are being loaded was demonstrated. It uses a hobbiest grade microcomputer system to control data taking and image processing. The system scans operator selected regions of the specimen while it is under load in a tensile test machine and measures internal damage by the attenuation of a 2.5 MHz ultrasonic beam passed through the specimen. The microcomputer dynamically controls the position of ultrasonic transducers mounted on a two axis motor driven carriage. As many as 65,536 samples can be taken and filed on a floppy disk system in less than four minutes

Return on shares of steel companies under the influence of mergers and acquisitions

The present article intends to asses returns on shares of the steel companies that were formed based on either merger or acquisition. The analysis included 14 operations in the steel industry. Attention was paid to returns of the companies performing acquisitions, as well as to the returns on shares that presented the acquisition target. The analysis was performed based on the “event study” method, and the analysed event was the announcement or notification of realization of an acquisition. Shares of the target steel companies as well as acquirers are attaining higher returns, but the change was not statistical significant

Problematic internet use (PIU): Associations with the impulsive-compulsive spectrum. An application of machine learning in psychiatry.

Problematic internet use is common, functionally impairing, and in need of further study. Its relationship with obsessive-compulsive and impulsive disorders is unclear. Our objective was to evaluate whether problematic internet use can be predicted from recognised forms of impulsive and compulsive traits and symptomatology. We recruited volunteers aged 18 and older using media advertisements at two sites (Chicago USA, and Stellenbosch, South Africa) to complete an extensive online survey. State-of-the-art out-of-sample evaluation of machine learning predictive models was used, which included Logistic Regression, Random Forests and Naïve Bayes. Problematic internet use was identified using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). 2006 complete cases were analysed, of whom 181 (9.0%) had moderate/severe problematic internet use. Using Logistic Regression and Naïve Bayes we produced a classification prediction with a receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (ROC-AUC) of 0.83 (SD 0.03) whereas using a Random Forests algorithm the prediction ROC-AUC was 0.84 (SD 0.03) [all three models superior to baseline models p < 0.0001]. The models showed robust transfer between the study sites in all validation sets [p < 0.0001]. Prediction of problematic internet use was possible using specific measures of impulsivity and compulsivity in a population of volunteers. Moreover, this study offers proof-of-concept in support of using machine learning in psychiatry to demonstrate replicability of results across geographically and culturally distinct settings.This research received internal departmental funds of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Chicago.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2016.08.010

Training the Trainers in Embedding Assessment Literacy into Module Design: A Case Study of a Collaborative Transcreation Project

Translator trainers are being asked to respond in their course and module design to a variety of changing requirements, including institutional, professional and pedagogical ones. This paper proposes a way that translator trainers can respond to two sets of these new requirements. The first are those for a widening conception of translation brought about by the rapid globalisation of markets and the needs for intercultural mediators (Katan, 2016; Massey et al., 2017; Massey & Wieder, 2019). Indeed, Katan finishes the paper with the startling statement ‘There is really no question about it: if T/Is are going to survive they must make the transcreational turn’ (ibid.: 378). The second set of requirements comes from the process of articulating what attributes a graduate should possess and how these attributes are developed (Hughes, 2010). As the Higher Education Academy (HEA, 2012; see also Elkington, 2016) state, one way to ensure that the graduate skills are developed is through new assessment practices based on assessment for learning and assessment literacy. New assessment practices mean that assessment ‘does not just contribute to learning at university, but develops learning and evaluative skills essential for employment and lifelong learning’ (ibid.: 10). This paper offers translation trainers an approach to module design which can address both these sets of demands. The module is designed with a collaborative transcreation project at its core and has incorporated assessment literacy into the design. The study is supported with quantitative and qualitative data gained from a survey of participating students. By introducing the case study of our module design and linking the design to the underlying theories which informed it, the paper provides trainers with a set of concepts which could be applied to their own curricula needs in order to future proof their students in the changing employment market

"Roll back the years": A study of grandparent special guardians' experiences and implications for social work policy and practice in England

Growing numbers of grandparent special guardians (GSGs) are assuming responsibility for increasing numbers of children in the care system in England. Special guardianship arrangements are increasingly used as a permanency option as they allow children to remain in their kinship networks, rather than in local authority care or be adopted; yet there is a scarcity of research on GSG carers’ experiences. This article reports a small qualitative research study where ten sets of grandparents were interviewed to explore their journey to becoming GSGs and to theorise their subsequent experiences. Two themes emerge. Firstly, experiences of the assessment process are elaborated, decisions often being made at a time of family crisis, impacting on GSGs: financial, employment, relational. Secondly, GSGs’ experiences of managing often-challenging relationships and contact arrangements between the grandchildren and the parents reveal three main relationship management approaches emerging: containing-flexible; containing-controlled and; uncontained/defeated approaches. Anthropological concepts of affinity help theorise the GSGs’ ambivalent responses to becoming carers in later life, enabling reconfigured kinship relationships in new family forms. Family policy and social work practice is critiqued as GSGs appear often left alone to ‘roll back the years’, to heal previous harms done to the grandchildren who end-up in their care