Optimal shock isolation with minimum settling time

It is shown how unique isolator forces and corresponding forces can be chosen by superimposing a minimum settling time onto the limiting performance of the shock isolation system. Basically, this means that the system which has reached the peak value of the performance index is settled to rest in minimum time

Editorial and Critical Reflections on the future of identity moments and social media in China and beyond

This Special Issue of Global Media and China responds in part to Stuart Hall’s famous 1996 invocation, ‘Who needs identity?’ – to study ‘specific enunciative strategies’ utilized within ‘specific modalities of power’ so as to consider identity discourses of the present and of the future. This issue draws upon empirical observations presented and debated at the 2019 Chinese Internet Research Conference held in Singapore in May 2019, as well as theoretical contributions in identity politics and social media, the chosen site or ‘modality of power’. This editorial and critical essay reflects upon, complemented and supported by the papers in this issue, the critical and conceptual frameworks that are emerging to critique the global and local complexities, diversity and dynamics resulting from the deeper integration of social media into the everyday lives of Chinese Internet users. It presents an overview of the 2019 Chinese Internet Research Conference proceedings in terms of how social media is used to wrap personal politics into a widening range of identity groupings around gender, class, citizens, pop culture and religion in ways that signal the future of newer forms of identity politics among Internet users in China. Since social media posts and exchanges, while geographically sourced and situated, often transcend their boundaries, the arguments presented here goes beyond China and are global. The shareability of identity mediated by individual, state and public discourses on social and ‘anti-social’ media during the COVID-19 pandemic within China, Singapore and Australia leads to novel ways of understanding identity politics in globalizing China and strategic uses of Chinese identity

Image interpolation using Shearlet based iterative refinement

This paper proposes an image interpolation algorithm exploiting sparse representation for natural images. It involves three main steps: (a) obtaining an initial estimate of the high resolution image using linear methods like FIR filtering, (b) promoting sparsity in a selected dictionary through iterative thresholding, and (c) extracting high frequency information from the approximation to refine the initial estimate. For the sparse modeling, a shearlet dictionary is chosen to yield a multiscale directional representation. The proposed algorithm is compared to several state-of-the-art methods to assess its objective as well as subjective performance. Compared to the cubic spline interpolation method, an average PSNR gain of around 0.8 dB is observed over a dataset of 200 images

Measurement of Spin Polarization by Andreev Reflection in Ferromagnetic In1-xMnxSb Epilayers

We carried out Point Contact Andreev Reflection (PCAR) spin spectroscopy measurements on epitaxially-grown ferromagnetic In1-xMnxSb epilayers with a Curie temperature of ~9K. The spin sensitivity of PCAR in this material was demonstrated by parallel control studies on its non-magnetic analog, In1-yBeySb. We found the conductance curves of the Sn point contacts with In1-yBeySb to be fairly conventional, with the possible presence of proximity-induced superconductivity effects at the lowest temperatures. The experimental Z-values of interfacial scattering agreed well with the estimates based on the Fermi velocity mismatch between the semiconductor and the superconductor. These measurements provided control data for subsequent PCAR measurements on ferromagnetic In1-xMnxSb, which indicated spin polarization in In1-xMnxSb to be 52 +- 3%

Enhancement of plasticity in Ti-based metallic glass matrix composites by controlling characteristic and volume fraction of primary phase

In this study, Ti-based metallic glass matrix composites with high plasticity have been developed by controlling characteristic and volume fraction of primary phase embedded in the glass matrix. By careful alloy design procedure, the compositions of ß/glass phases, which are in metastable equilibrium have been properly selected, therefore the mechanical properties can be tailored by selecting the alloy compositions between the composition of ß and glass phases. The relation between the compressive yield strength and volume fraction of ß phase is well described using the rule of mixtures

In Search of the Right Trousers Pattern - Comparison of Four Different Pattern Making Methods in Affordance with Different Body Shapes

Clothing comfort is one of the major concerns in the clothing industry. Various pattern making methods have been introduced to the industry with consideration to clothing comfort. This study evaluates four pattern making methods known as the ESMOD, Bunka, Aldrich, and Armstrong methods. The work focuses on trouser patterns and uses two subjects who have similar height, weight and BMI but have different body shapes and body sizes. The body measurement data of the two subjects were collected using a three-dimensional body scanner and patterns of the four different methods were developed accordingly. The fit of experimental garments were examined by two subjects and experts using questionnaires and were analysed