Guidelines to select suitable parameters for contour method stress measurements

The contour method is one of the promising techniques for the measurement of residual stresses in engineering components. In this method, the cut surfaces deform, owing to the relaxation of residual stresses. The deformations of the two cut surfaces are then measured and used to back calculate the 2-dimensional map of original residual stresses normal to the plane of the cut. Thus, it involves four main steps; specimen cutting, surface contour measurement, data analysis and finite element simulation. These steps should perform in a manner that they do not change the underlying features of surface deformation especially where the residual stress distribution varies over short distances. Therefore, to carefully implement these steps, it is important to select appropriate parameters such as surface deformation measurement spacing, data smoothing parameters (‘knot spacing’ for example cubic spline smoothing) and finite element mesh size. This research covers an investigation of these important parameters. A simple approach for choosing initial parameters is developed based on an idealised cosine displacement function (giving a self-equilibrated one-dimensional residual stress profile). In this research, guidelines are proposed to help the measurer to select the most suitable choice of these parameters based on the estimated wavelength of the residual stress field

Reflections on Mira : interactive evaluation in information retrieval

Evaluation in information retrieval (IR) has focussed largely on noninteractive evaluation of text retrieval systems. This is increasingly at odds with how people use modern IR systems: in highly interactive settings to access linked, multimedia information. Furthermore, this approach ignores potential improvements through better interface design. In 1996 the Commission of the European Union Information Technologies Programme, funded a three year working group, Mira, to discuss and advance research in the area of evaluation frameworks for interactive and multimedia IR applications. Led by Keith van Rijsbergen, Steve Draper and myself from Glasgow University, this working group brought together many of the leading researchers in the evaluation domain from both the IR and human computer interaction (HCI) communities. This paper presents my personal view of the main lines of discussion that took place throughout Mira: importing and adapting evaluation techniques from HCI, evaluating at different levels as appropriate, evaluating against different types of relevance and the new challenges that drive the need for rethinking the old evaluation approaches. The paper concludes that we need to consider more varied forms of evaluation to complement engine evaluation

Happiness At Workplace Based on Demographic Factors of Teachers

Happiness is a psychological condition that is quite important for everyone, including teachers, because it can affect work behavior – individuals who are happy at work will feel satisfied at work, have better performance, and be more involved in the organization. Happiness also has an impact on student welfare and performance, can maintain a positive classroom climate and good relationships among students. This research uses a quantitative approach. The study aims to provide an overview of happiness at work for teachers based on demographic factors. The research subjects were 119 elementary, middle, and high school teachers. Research subjects were selected through accidental sampling. The data collection instrument was the happiness at work scale. The statistical analysis technique used is descriptive analysis, t-test, and product–moment correlation. The results of the analysis show that happiness in the teacher’s workplace is high, and there are differences in happiness in the workplace in terms of the level of school. There is a positive relationship between age, years of service, and happiness at work

Ending the State-Building Impasse: What Can Be Learned from Previous EU Enlargements that Might Offer Solutions for Bosnia and Herzegovina. ACES Working Paper No. 10, 2007

On the basis of the success of the two previous waves of European Union enlargement to post-communist states, EU accession is the international community's solution for ending the state-building impasse in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through a literature review of analysis of the recent EU enlargements, this paper compares those countries' experiences with the current situation in Bosnia, and raises questions about the ability of the EU to address state-building issues through the accession process. The paper concludes that the previous enlargements do not provide a model for state-building in Bosnia. Because the EU's attempts to help along the process of state building in Bosnia is a new type of policy project, the paper proposes how the enlargement process might be adapted to address the specific problems in Bosnia, particularly in terms using human rights norms to compel Bosnian leaders to adopt necessary reforms

Nutritional and lifestyle risk behaviors and their association with mental health and violence among Pakistani adolescents: results from the National Survey of 4583 individuals

Background: Unhealthy behaviors are associated with mental health problems and violence in adolescents, yet their combined association has been understudied. Using the Global School Health Survey, this study examined the association between combined unhealthy behaviors (including fast food, soft drink, smoking, other tobacco products and physical inactivity) and anxiety, suicidal ideation and involvement in physical fight among Pakistani adolescents. Methods: Data were obtained from the Global School Health Survey conducted in Pakistan (2009). The study population consisted of school going adolescents aged 13 to 15 years. Association of combined unhealthy behaviors with anxiety, suicidal ideation and involvement in physical fight were studied through secondary analysis. We used univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis by complex sample method, accounting for cluster sampling technique used for data collection. Results: Of the total 4583 students, weighted percentage and unweighted count for one, two, three and four or more unhealthy behaviors was 39.4% (n = 1770), 22.1% (n = 963), 5.9% (n = 274) and 1.2% (n = 62) respectively. The weighted prevalence for anxiety, suicidal ideation and involvement in physical fight were 8.4%, 7.3% and 37.4% respectively. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis after adjustment showed that students who had four or more unhealthy behaviors had higher odds of; being anxious (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.31-4.59, p value 0.004), suicide ideation (OR 4.56, 95% CI 2.58-8.07, p value &lt;0.001) and being involved in physical fight (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.63–6.08, p value &lt;0.001) as compared to those who had not adopted any unhealthy behaviors. Conclusions: This study suggests that the co-occurrence of unhealthy behaviors is associated with anxiety, suicidal ideation and physical fight among adolescents. These findings should be considered when developing interventions to combat detrimental outcomes of unhealthy behaviors during adolescence.</p