A protocol for evaluating mobile applications

The number of applications available for mobile phones is growing at a rate which makes it difficult for new application developers to establish the current state of the art before embarking on new product development. This chapter outlines a protocol for capturing a snapshot of the present state of applications in existence for a given field in terms of both usability and functionality. The proposed methodology is versatile in the sense that it can be implemented for any domain across all mobile platforms, which is illustrated here by its application to two dissimilar domains on three platforms. The chapter concludes with a critical evaluation of the process that was undertaken

Comparison of crash dynamics of articulated and non-articulated trains

This paper presents a comparison of impact dynamic performance between articulated trains and non-articulated trains. This is carried out by investigation of the characteristics of the two trains types and analysis of their effects on impact dynamics. The analysis shows that the differences in bogie support positions on the carbody and coupling devices lead to differences in several structural and compositional characteristics. These characteristics result in different impact responses for the two types of train and are directly related to their impact stablity. Articulated trains have stiff connection and integral performance in collisions but with less capability for absorbing impact energy between carriages, whereas non-articulated trains show loose connection and scattered performance in collisions but with more options for energy absorber installation between carriages