A Consumer Logistics Framework for Understanding Preferences for High-Speed Rail Transportation, MTI Report 05-04

The prospect for high-speed rail (HSR) service for the San Francisco-Los Angeles corridor and beyond first arose eight years ago. The plan remains to connect California’s major cities in the next 15 years at a total cost of $25 billion. The purpose of this study is to reach a fuller understanding of consumers’ perceptions of such a service. Consumer logistics theory is used in the study as a framework to begin to provide this understanding of consumer perceptions and to inform future efforts to develop and market HSR service. This study uses the consumer logistics framework to help understand how various demographic groups, various groups defined by public transportation usage frequency, and various groups defined by HSR usage intention level perceive various logistical aspects of HSR service. The consumer logistics framework is also be used to develop a macro model that examines the relationship between performance of consumer logistics functions, perceptions of HSR travel value (consisting of travel efficiency and effectiveness), and HSR travel intention for intercity business commuters. The results show the manner and the extent to which the logistics of HSR are likely to lead to customer intentions to use it for inter-city transportation and how HSR service providers, by enhancing their consumer logistics capabilities, can encourage intended HSR usage between San Francisco and Los Angeles for business commuter

Prediction Of The Mechanical Behaviour Of A Closed Cell Aluminium Foam Using Advanced Nonlinear Finite Element Modelling

Cellular materials like aluminum foam which is the subject of interest here are generally characterized by high energy absorption capacity per unit weight. Materials of this category can be ideal for applications such as packaging and vehicle body structures for enhanced impact safety. A particularly well-known variety of closed-cell aluminum foam is designated as Alporas, which is studied here. From a viewpoint of mechanical behavior, the foam being considered can be represented using either a detailed cellular approach capturing the voids present in foam structure or a phenomenological approach in which experimental stress-strain response is assigned a-priori to solid elements filling up the space occupied by a foam geometry. Both modeling approaches are studied in the present work. It has been shown for the first time that stress-strain behavior under compression including densification can be predicted well with a Kelvin cell-based model, although scope for further improvement exists. Based on a novel combination of compression tests at low strain rates in a UTM and medium strain rates in low velocity impact tests, a relation between foam strength and strain rate has been proposed. This effect of strain rate on strength is captured in a finite element model for analysis using an explicit code with contact simulation capabilities and the predictions for projectile impact tests at higher strain rates using a gas gun-based device have been found to match commendably with results obtained from the said tests

Effect of Irrigation and Potash Levels on Keeping Quality of Potato

Irrigation and fertilizer are the most dominating factors, in deciding the keeping quality of potato. It is, therefore, essential to formulate the efficient, reliable and economically viable irrigation management strategy with the use of potassium nutrient in order to produce better keeping quality. The investigation comprising four levels of irrigation (25, 30, 35 and 40 mm CPE (Cumulative pan evaporation) and four levels of potash (0, 100, 125 and 150 kg/ha) was carried out at Research Farm of the Department of Vegetable Science, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, (Haryana) Hisar, India during two years to find out the optimum level of irrigation and potash for obtaining higher yield of potatoes with better keeping quality at ambient room temperature. The potato variety used for the investigation was Kufri Bahar. The treatments were laid out in a split plot design with three replications. The increasing levels of irrigation and potash showed significant improvement in keeping quality parameters of potato. Likewise, the values for physiological loss in weight and decay loss of potato tubers (%) at 15, 30, 45 and 60 days after harvest were the lowest with irrigation level 40 mm CPE and application of potash @ 150 kg/ha. The two years results suggest that the irrigation level 40 mm CPE along with potash @ 150 kg/ha has shown the best treatment combination for the storage of potato at ambient room temperature under semiarid conditions of Hisar (Haryana)

NMR investigation of contextuality in a quantum harmonic oscillator via pseudospin mapping

Physical potentials are routinely approximated to harmonic potentials so as to analytically solve the system dynamics. Often it is important to know when a quantum harmonic oscillator (QHO) behaves quantum mechanically and when classically. Recently Su et. al. [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 85}, 052126 (2012)] have theoretically shown that QHO exhibits quantum contextuality (QC) for a certain set of pseudospin observables. In this work, we encode the four eigenstates of a QHO onto four Zeeman product states of a pair of spin-1/2 nuclei. Using the techniques of NMR quantum information processing, we then demonstrate the violation of a state-dependent inequality arising from the noncontextual hidden variable model, under specific experimental arrangements. We also experimentally demonstrate the violation of a state-independent inequality by thermal equilibrium states of nuclear spins, thereby assessing their quantumness.Comment: 5 Pages, 3 Figures, context dependency illustrated, error below eq. 5 correcte

The assessment and evaluation of on-line courses to determine their content vilidity

Plan BIn looking ahead into the new millennium, technology based training appears to be an integral and vital solution to the challenges of hospitality training. As modern technology is utilized in training, teaching and the delivery of distance learning courses, a close evaluation is needed to assess and analyze the content of the on-line courses, to see that they meet industry requirements. Course evaluations should be used to ensure that the course content is meeting the needs of the students who complete the course and can use their knowledge at a professional level, and is also approved by the industry. It is also essential to ensure that the courses provide quality learning and is relevant to enhance the required skills of the end user. The study will provide an overview on the importance of distance learning and the need for on-line delivery through the Internet. The various facets of the on-line program will be discussed. A review of literature detailing the impacts of on-line education in the future and its influence on education and training will be provided. The sample for the study consists of two groups. A random list of hospitality industry professional who will be willing to evaluate the courses and who would be contacted prior to sending out the survey instrument. The second group will be the supervisors of the students who are currently enrolled in the on-line program promoted by the department. The sample population will be given the course outline along with the course objectives and they will be required to evaluate them on a likert scale (survey instrument enclosed). This study is expected to evaluate and analyze two courses that are to be delivered on-line by the Department of Hospitality and Tourism–UW-Stout. The evaluation will be done by senior professionals from the hospitality industry. The findings of the study will be used by the Department of Hospitality and Tourism at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. These findings will assist the department in reevaluating the course content and delivering a better product for the student and tailoring it to meet the professional needs of the industry

Robustness of Estimators and Tests with Directional Data

Not availabl