Derivation of near-optimal pump schedules for water distribution by simulated annealing

The scheduling of pumps for clean water distribution is a partially discrete non-linear problem with many variables. The scheduling method described in this paper typically produces costs within 1% of a linear program-based solution, and can incorporate realistic non-linear costs that may be hard to incorporate in linear programming formulations. These costs include pump switching and maximum demand charges. A simplified model is derived from a standard hydraulic simulator. An initial schedule is produced by a descent method. Two-stage simulated annealing then produces solutions in a few minutes. Iterative recalibration ensures that the solution agrees closely with the results from a full hydraulic simulation

Hydrodynamic air lubricated compliant surface bearing for an automotive gas turbine engine. 1: Journal bearing performance

A 38.1 mm (1.5 inch) diameter Hydresil Compliant Surface Air Lubricated Journal Bearing was designed and tested to obtain bearing performance characteristics at both room temperature and 315 C (600 F). Testing was performed at various speeds up to 60,000 rpm with varying loads. Rotating sensors provided an opportunity to examine the film characteristics of the compliant surface bearing. In addition to providing minimum film thickness values and profiles, many other insights into bearing operation were gained such as the influence of bearing fabrication accuracy and the influence of smooth foil deflection between the bumps

\u3ci\u3eFeminist Interpretations of David Hume\u3c/i\u3e by Anne Jaap Jacobson (Book Review)

In this latest addition to the Re-reading the Canon series (a series of collections each devoted to feminist interpretations of a single philosopher), we are offered thirteen essays on Hume\u27s philosophy, covering his views on metaphysics, epistemology, moral philosophy, religion, aesthetics politics, and history. They address all of his main works and many of his less discussed essays. This diverse collection is bound together by the theme of feminism, but how this theme works itself in varies considerably from essay to essay. There are, broadly, four different ways that feminism enters into the interpretations

Believing Against the Evidence: Agency and the Ethics of Belief

The question of whether it is ever permissible to believe on insufficient evidence has once again become a live question. Greater attention is now being paid to practical dimensions of belief, namely issues related to epistemic virtue, doxastic responsibility, and voluntarism. In this book, McCormick argues that the standards used to evaluate beliefs are not isolated from other evaluative domains. The ultimate criteria for assessing beliefs are the same as those for assessing action because beliefs and actions are both products of agency. Two important implications of this thesis, both of which deviate from the dominant view in contemporary philosophy, are 1) it can be permissible (and possible) to believe for non-evidential reasons, and 2) we have a robust control over many of our beliefs, a control sufficient to ground attributions of responsibility for belief.https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/1133/thumbnail.jp

Examining the Impact of Pay-for-Time and Pay-for-Performance Compensation on Measures of Productivity

Problem: Previous research on pay-for-performance (PFP) and pay-for-time (PFT) employee compensation has determined employees are more productive under PFP compensation schedules; however, research concerning employee preference and off-task behavior between PFP and PFT schedules have yielded inconclusive results. Procedure: Participants engaged in a check-processing task, which consisted of entering sample checks containing a value between $1 and$999. The check-processing task remained the same throughout all pre-experimental and experimental conditions. The check background was white during baseline, but alternated between four colors during subsequent phases. Each background color was associated with a monetary schedule: orange (EXT), green (FT 15 s), blue (FR 1), and yellow (FR 5). The pre-experiment consisted of two phases: baseline and a Stability Phase. During baseline, participants received zero monetary compensation. During the Stability Phase, the four monetary schedules were alternated and participants were paid according to the monetary scheduled they were working under. The pre-experiment was used to determine the stability criteria implemented in the actual experiment. The experiment consisted of three phases: baseline, Phase 1, and Phase 2. Baseline and Phase 1 remained the same as during the pre-experiment, but with the inclusion of the stability criteria. Phase 2 lasted 16 min and used the same four monetary schedules; however, all checks began with a white-colored background. Phase 2 introduced the observing response as a measure of reinforcement value. To engage in the observing response, participants pressed the spacebar on the keyboard, which changed the check’s background color from “white” to the color associated with the current schedule for 1 s. Findings: Results showed that the majority of the nine experimental participants produced higher rates of check processing under PFP conditions. Similarly, results from Phase 1 demonstrated that all participants spent more time on-task under PFP conditions; however, Phase 2 results indicated that the majority (67%) of participants that engaged in off-task behavior were off-task the most under PFP conditions. Sixty-seven percent of the participants that engaged in the observing response observed the most under the denser PFP schedule (i.e., FR 1), although observing tended to be variable both within and across participants. The study concluded with an overview of the results and a discussion on potential limitations and areas of future PFP/PFT research

Responsible Believing

In most of our decisions as parents or educators concerning how we should talk to children about difficult subjects, the question turns to what degree we should withhold the truth, how much information we should provide, or what details are appropriate. We, as adults, know the answer to the child\u27s question, and the difficulty arises in figuring out what to convey and how. Questions about death and the afterlife are not like this. We - and by we;\u27 I mean especially educated adults of the Western world - are often as confused about what we should believe about these matters as are our children. It seems that an initial step in our thinking about how to engage with children on this topic is to become clearer about how we ought to think about it. I will discuss this matter by engaging with the question of which norms ought to govern the formation and maintenance of our beliefs in general. We can then see how these norms would apply to beliefs about anything supernatural. What we ought to believe does not settle the question of how we should talk to children about our beliefs; we do not always want our children\u27s beliefs to match our own. There may be particular reasons we want our children to believe things we do not (like Santa Claus brings them presents) or not believe things we do (like their noncustodial parent is a jerk); but I will concentrate on how one is a responsible believer in general, which will provide insight into how we can educate children to be responsible believers

Hospital Costs for Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients Receiving Perfect Compliance of Evidence-Based Care Bundle

An estimated 565,000 new myocardial infarctions and 300,000 recurrent myocardial infarctions will occur each year (AHA, 2006). This study sought to find if there was a difference in hospital costs between those acute myocardial infarction patients that received 100% of eligible core measures (evidence-based care bundle) and those that did not. There is limited research on actual hospital costs (vs. charge data) for acute myocardial infarction evidence-based treatment in the United States. The results of the study did not show any statistically significant difference in hospital costs between those patients that received 100% of core measures and those that did not. Hospital costs were mostly driven by length of stay, APR-DRG severity and gender. The study did evidence a statistically significant difference in hospital costs between men and women that could not be explained by length of stay, age, race, APR-DRG severity or mortality. As more quality data is publicly reported and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services places more finances behind reaching performance indicators evidence-based core measures will come under greater review

An Annotated Bibliography on Music and Painting

The purpose of the study is to determine how many publications, in the Rochester area libraries, consider the common characteristics of art and music, and to analyze their content for relationships of music to visual art