Classical and numerical approaches to determining V-section band clamp axial stiffness

V-band clamp joints are used in a wide range of applications to connect circular flanges, for ducts, pipes and the turbocharger housing. Previous studies and research on V-bands are either purely empirical or analytical with limited applicability on the variety of V-band design and working conditions. In this paper models of the V-band are developed based on the classical theory of solid mechanics and the finite element method to study the behaviour of the V-bands under axial loading conditions. The good agreement between results from the developed FEA and the classical model support the suitability of the latter to model V-band joints with diameters greater than 110 mm under axial loading. The results from both models suggest that the axial stiffness for this V-band cross section reaches a peak value for V-bands with radius of approximately 150 mm across a wide range of coefficients of friction. Also, it is shown that the coefficient of friction and the wedge angle have a significant effect on the axial stiffness of V-bands

Global Facilitation of Attended Features Is Obligatory and Restricts Divided Attention

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Behavioural mHealth in developing countries: what about culture?

International audienceIn the absence of political action to address behavioural health in many developing countries (Lachat et al., 2013) one could suggest to simply make use of infrastructure that is already available – the mobile technology infrastructure. This seems sensible considering that modern mobiletechnology has reached almost every person on our planet. Additionally, the digital divide between developed and developing countries is closing and in 2016 95% of the global population has access to a mobile phone network while the number of mobile broadband subscriptions grows rapidlyespecially in developing countries (International Telecommunication Union, 2016). Mobile technology ownership is also not limited to any specific demographic because it is increasingly affordable and hence, there is potential to utilise behavioural mHealth approaches to successfully deal with NCDs in developing countries (Beratarrechea et al., 2014; Stephani, Opoku, & Quentin, 2016)

Basic principles of temporal dynamics

All ecological disciplines consider temporal dynamics, although relevant concepts have been developed almost independently. We here introduce basic principles of temporal dynamics in ecology. We figured out essential features that describe temporal dynamics by finding similarities among about 60 ecological concepts and theories. We found that considering the hierarchically nested structure of complexity in temporal patterns (i.e. hierarchical complexity) can well describe the fundamental nature of temporal dynamics by expressing which patterns are observed at each scale. Across all ecological levels, driver–response relationships can be temporally variant and dependent on both short- and long-term past conditions. The framework can help with designing experiments, improving predictive power of statistics, and enhancing communications among ecological disciplines

Attentional selection of feature conjunctions is accomplished by parallel and independent selection of single features

Date of Acceptance: 31/05/2015 This work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (AN 841/1-1, MU 972/20-1). We thank Renate Zahn and Norman Forschack for help with data collection. The authors declare no competing financial interestsPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Understanding the Telematic Apparatus

Under the conditions of its geographic distribution, the “telematic performance” can be regarded as a remediation of traditional concert, theater or dance formats. Conversely, and as this paper argues, the telematic performance can also be understood as an artistic format of its own right, one which then can serve as a trope for social interaction under the conditions of critical posthumanism. To gain a wider perspective, this paper analyzes Alan Turing’s “Imitation Game” from his seminal article Computing Machinery and Intelligence, 1950, proposing it as an early conceptualization of a telematic performance. This against-the-grain reading of Turing’s text reveals certain attributes that are distinctive to this type of performance. Following a descriptive and analytic critique of the “Turing Test,” Vilém Flusser’s theoretical considerations of digitization and technical apparatuses comes into play. In the second and main part of the paper, these findings are applied to a series of artistic practices with telematic performances developed by a research team at Zurich University of the Arts. The section details the construction of telematic apparatuses and demonstrates the multilayered interaction between human and nonhuman agents

Would i use my personal blog for commercial exchange?

As information-based processes are usually independent of the location or even the processor, they can be oftentimes either automated or relocated to foreign sites to profit from differences in wages. Both strategies bear enormous micro-economic potential in terms of cost savings. However, with the main focus on cost reduction, risk due to the uncertain development of effective labor costs or future transaction volumes are oftentimes either inadequately considered or neglected. This systematically leads to false decisions, in particular since the two strategies – relocation and automation – result in different risk profiles. In this paper, we analyze the conditions for automating or relocating parts of business processes and propose a decision model that suggests a risk/return efficient allocation to the alternatives. In particular, we consider how uncertainties of effective labor costs and transaction volumes influence the decision. As shifting tasks to other locations has effects on the workload at the original location, we also take into account costs for social effects. The practicability of our approach is demonstrated with an example that is based on real data of a major financial services provider