Fabrication of porous Al2O3-based ceramics using combustion synthesized powders

Porous Al2O3-based ceramics were fabricated from powders synthesized via a solution combustion process using starch and urea as fuels. Effects of the relative fuel-to-oxidant ratio (φe = 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0, respectively) on open porosity, pore size distribution and flexural strength of the as-prepared porous Al2O3-based ceramics were investigated. Experimental results revealed that the densification ability of the as-synthesized powders increased significantly as φe increased, and open porosity, pore size distribution and flexural strength of the porous ceramics exhibited remarkable dependence on the densification ability of the powders instead of the weight fraction of the charred organic residuals in the powders. SEM micrographs disclosed that the porous ceramics from the precursors with φe = 1.8 or 2.0 exhibited significantly homogenous microstructures including pore size and pore distribution

Student Work Placement: Friend or Foe? A study of the perceptions of university students on industrial work placement

At the National University of Ireland Maynooth, Computer Science and Software Engineering students are required to undertake an industrial work placement module as part of their course. The work placement is typically six to eighteen months long and takes place in the penultimate year of the degree. This paper evaluates students’ perception of the quality of the learning experience they received through work placement. The voice of many key players involved in the process is captured, including, the students themselves, members of the academic department and the Industrial Work Placement Office; and importantly this paper is authored by representatives of each of these groups. In particular, the paper evaluates the types of preparations students make prior to commencing a placement, the transferable skills acquired and improved during their placement, and student perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of their placement. A mixed data acquisition model is used for gathering data including questionnaires, interviews and focus groups. The gathered data is analysed and a critique on the findings is presented. The paper concludes with recommendations and considerations for any institution that is interested in offering an industrial work placement component

Rethinking Modern Communication from Semantic Coding to Semantic Communication

Modern communications are usually designed to pursue a higher bit-level precision and fewer bits while transmitting a message. This article rethinks these two major features and introduces the concept and advantage of semantics that characterizes a new kind of semantics-aware communication framework, incorporating both the semantic encoding and the semantic communication problem. After analyzing the underlying defects of existing semantics-aware techniques, we establish a confidence-based distillation mechanism for the joint semantics-noise coding (JSNC) problem and a reinforcement learning (RL)-powered semantic communication paradigm that endows a system the ability to convey the semantics instead of pursuing the bit level accuracy. On top of these technical contributions, this work provides a new insight to understand how the semantics are processed and represented in a semantics-aware coding and communication system, and verifies the significant benefits of doing so. Targeted on the next generation's semantics-aware communication, some critical concerns and open challenges such as the information overhead, semantic security and implementation cost are also discussed and envisioned.Comment: Accepted by IEEE Wireless Communication

Analisis Adopsi Inovasi Teknologi Pertanian Berbasis Padi di Sumatera Selatan dalam Perspektif Komunikasi

Analysis of Adoption of Agricultural Technology Innovation Rice-based Farming in Sumatra inthe perspective of communications. Assessment Institute of Agricultural Technology (AIAT) South Sumatrahas produced innovative rice-based farming technology in various agroecosystem. However, adoption ratesare still relatively low. Evaluation of four assessments aimed to identify the factors that predominantly affectthe adoption of technological innovation based local-specific farming rice and to know the level of adoption.This activity is carried out in OKI, East OKU and Banyuasin regencies with 67 respondents interviewedin July-September 2007. The results of this assessment showed that the factors that influence the adoption oftechnological innovations such as the level of selective exposure of technology innovation, cosmopolite,triability, complexity of technology and agricultural extension intensity. The average adoption index for thepacket of rice cultivation technology was 50.32%. As many as 93.02% of respondents have positive perceptionsof the researcher-extension AIAT South Sumatra as the communicator in delivering information technology.Most respondents (80%) expressed a desire to obtain agricultural information generated AIAT South Sumatra.Key words: Adoption, innovation, rice, communication Balai Pengkajian Teknologi Pertanian (BPTP) Sumatera Selatan sudah menghasilkan inovasi teknologipertanian berbasis padi di berbagai agroekosistem. Namun tingkat adopsinya masih relatif rendah. Evaluasi terhadapempat pengkajian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi faktor-faktor yang dominan mempengaruhi proses adopsiinovasi teknologi pertanian spesifik lokasi berbasis padi dan mengetahui tingkat adopsinya. Kegiatan ini dilakukan diKabupaten OKI, OKU Timur dan Banyuasin dengan mewawancarai 67 orang responden pada bulan Juli – September2007. Berdasarkan hasil analisis deskriptif kualitatif diketahui bahwa (1) adopsi inovasi teknologi budidaya tanamanpadi di Sumatera Selatan dipengaruhi oleh tingkat kebutuhan petani terhadap inovasi teknologi, sifat kekosmopolitanpetani, triabilitas dan kompleksitas teknologi dan intensitas pembinaan, (2) indeks adopsi inovasi petani terhadappaket teknologi budidaya padi kondisinya beragam tergantung pada jenis kegiatan, (3) petani di Sumatera Selatanumumnya memberikan apresiasi positif terhadap peneliti-penyuluh BPTP Sumatera Selatan, terlihat dari tingginyaminat petani untuk mendapatkan berbagai media informasi pertanian BPTP Sumatera Selatan, dan (4) temuankajian ini mengindikasikan faktor komunikasi memegang peran utama yang dapat mempengaruhi adopsi teknologi

WeaverBird: Empowering Financial Decision-Making with Large Language Model, Knowledge Base, and Search Engine

We present WeaverBird, an intelligent dialogue system designed specifically for the finance domain. Our system harnesses a large language model of GPT architecture that has been tuned using extensive corpora of finance-related text. As a result, our system possesses the capability to understand complex financial queries, such as "How should I manage my investments during inflation?", and provide informed responses. Furthermore, our system incorporates a local knowledge base and a search engine to retrieve relevant information. The final responses are conditioned on the search results and include proper citations to the sources, thus enjoying an enhanced credibility. Through a range of finance-related questions, we have demonstrated the superior performance of our system compared to other models. To experience our system firsthand, users can interact with our live demo at https://weaverbird.ttic.edu, as well as watch our 2-min video illustration at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyV2qQkX6Tc