Copper Stabilization in Beneficial Use of Waterworks Sludge and Copper-laden Electroplating Sludge for Ceramic Materials

Session 8: Thermal Treatment & Recyclingpublished_or_final_versio

Equilibrium or Simple Rule at Wimbledon? An Empirical Study

We follow Walker and Wooders’(2001) empirical analysis to collect and study a broader data set in tennis, including male, female and junior matches. We find that there is mixed evidence in support of the minimax hypothesis. Granted, the plays in our data pass all the tests in Walker and Wooders (2001). However, we argue that not only the test on equal winning probabilities may lack power, but also the current serve choices may depend on past serve choices, the performance of past serve choices, or the time that the game has elapsed. We therefore examine the role that simple rules may play in determining the plays. For a significant number of top tennis players, some simple low-information rules outperform the minimax hypothesis. By comparing junior players with adult players, we find that the former tend to adopt simpler rules. The result of comparison between female and male players is inconclusiveminimax, learning, low-information

Copper aluminate spinel in the stabilization and detoxification of simulated copper-laden sludge

This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of stabilizing copper-laden sludge by the application of alumina-based ceramic products. The processing temperature, material leaching behaviour, and the effect of detoxification were investigated in detail. CuO was used to simulate the copper-laden sludge and X-ray Diffraction was performed to monitor the incorporation of copper into the copper aluminate spinel (CuAl2O4) phase in ceramic products. It was found that the development of CuAl2O4 increased with elevating temperatures up to and including 1000°C in the 3h short-sintering scheme. When the sintering temperature went above 1000°C, the CuAl2O4 phase began to decompose due to the high temperature transformation to CuAlO2. The leachability and leaching behaviour of CuO and CuAl2O4 were compared by usage of a prolonged leaching test modified from US EPA's toxicity characteristic leaching procedure. The leaching results show that CuAl2O4 is superior to CuO for the purpose of copper immobilization over longer leaching periods. Furthermore, the detoxification effect of CuAl2O4 was tested through bacterial adhesion with Escherichia coli K12, and the comparison of bacterial adhesion on CuO and CuAl2O4 surfaces shows the beneficial detoxification effect in connection with the formation of the CuAl2O4 spinel. This study demonstrates the feasibility of transforming copper-laden sludge into the spinel phase by using readily available and inexpensive ceramic materials, and achieving a successful reduction of metal mobility and toxicity. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.postprin

The effects of modeling, prompting, and reinforcement in deictic gesture instruction of a student with autism

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of gesture instruction on the communication abilities of a student with autism. The multiple probe across settings of the single-case approach was conducted. The independent variable was gesture instruction, and the dependent variable was communication behaviour including the frequency of motoric gesture communication and deictic gesture communication. The participant accepted the experimental treatment of baseline, processing and maintenance phase one by one. Visual inspection was employed to assess the treatment effects of gesture instruction on this student. Results of this study showed that gesture instruction enhanced the frequency of the student’s deictic gesture communication behaviour. The treatment effects could be maintained for two weeks and be generalized to another situation. Additionally, gesture instruction decreased the frequency of the student’s motoric gesture communication behaviour and the treatment effects could be maintained for two weeks. After intervention, both teachers and parents interviewed indicated positive attitudes toward the gesture instruction, and confirmed the improvement on communication performance of this student

The Impact of IT Capability and E-Business on the Supply Chain Performance

This research has developed an analytical framework based on resource-based theory. It intends to find out the impact of different attributes on supply chain performance and financial performance under different IT capabilities and application degrees. The hypothesis test model incorporating five measuring variables is conducted; they are strategy of e-business, application degree of e-business, information technology capability, supply chain performance and financial performance. The results indicate that e-business strategy will affect the application degree for either high-tech industry or traditional industry; and higher IT capability will make the application degree impact on supply chain performance more significant while financial performance is not obviously activated. E-business should be a strategic policy. The managerial full support and involvement, cautious selection of new operational strategy, as well as the integration of e-business process and information, will make IT application, e-business process and readiness collaborate closely, so as to create business value and promote operational performance of supply chain