Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Discharge plasma processes of ring-cusp ion thrusters

This study has increased the viability of miniature ion thruster technology, advanced state-of-the-art discharge modeling, and revealed important aspects of discharge plasma processes. These extensions of existing ion thruster technology and understanding are necessary to fulfill the needs of future space missions. Experimental comparisons of the discharge performance of an array of miniature (3cm diameter) ion thruster discharge configurations were conducted and showed that a 3-ring configuration with length-to-diameter of 1.0 exhibited the best performance. A compact and lightweight version of this configuration, using small accelerator grid holes, exhibited discharge losses of 250-550eV/ion and propellant efficiency of as much as 87%. This performance represents a significant advancement in miniature (less than 5cm diameter) ion thruster technology and demonstrates that a miniature ion thruster of low magnet and thruster weight can yield desirable performance. A multi-component hybrid 2-D computational Discharge Model was developed to help identify important ion thruster discharge processes and investigate miniaturization issues. Combining experimental and computational results reveals that magnetic field optimization for a miniature ion thruster is bracketed by considerations of primary electron utilization and discharge stability. Discharge Model analysis of the larger (30cm diameter) NSTAR thruster revealed that the peak observed in the NSTAR beam profile is due to double ions that are created by over-confinement of primary electrons on the thruster axis. Design sensitivity results show that, at the NSTAR thruster scale, efficient confinement of primary electrons is relatively easy to achieve; therefore, efforts to improve thruster performance should focus on effectively utilizing the primary electrons to minimize double ion production and maximize the number of single ions extracted to the beam. The observations from this study have furthered the understanding of discharge processes and should improve future ion thruster design and modeling efforts. The Discharge Model advances state-of-the-art ion thruster modeling and provides a framework for a complete thruster model that can be used for long-life performance assessment and life validation.
Online social networks: changing the face of business education and career planning

Online social networks have become increasingly popular in recent years, providing an efficient and user-friendly way to maintain social connections and share information. They have been shown to facilitate business relationships and building of social capital using electronic media. Graduates who are coming into business for the first time are almost expected to be comfortable with interactions using social networks. This brings new challenges to graduates in the way they use social networks and how they enhance their career development and relationships with employers. This study reports the findings of a survey of 272 UK and international business school students on career development and entrepreneurship as a part of a wider study of online social networking. The results of the study reveal key differences between undergraduate, postgraduate and international student populations. The paper discusses differences across gender, educational level and nationality that have implications for social networking practices and argues for a pressing need to raise the awareness of graduates in the use of social networks to enhance their career prospects. The conclusions of the study offer better understanding of motivations and barriers to an effective application of social networks in business.
The Business of Projects: Managing Innovation in Complex Products and Systems

© Andrew Davies and Michael Hobday 2005 and Cambridge University Press 2009. This volume breaks new ground by showing how leading businesses create and implement projects to drive strategy and innovation. Projects are used to coordinate activities with customers and suppliers and ensure that organizations become more dynamic and adaptable. The book extends the resource-based view of the firm to focus on the business lessons learned from the design and production of high-value complex products and systems (CoPS), which have always been project-based. As well as new frameworks and management tools, it provides case studies of high-technology industries--such as telecommunications, flight simulation and medical devices.
A practical introduction to the bootstrap: a versatile method to make inferences by using data-driven simulations

The bootstrap is a versatile technique that relies on data-driven simulations to make statistical inferences. When combined with robust estimators, the bootstrap can afford much more powerful and flexible inferences than is possible with standard approaches such as t-tests on means. In this R tutorial, we use detailed illustrations of bootstrap simulations to give readers an intuition of what the bootstrap does and how it can be applied to solve many practical problems, such as building confidence intervals for many aspects of the data. In particular, we illustrate how to build confidence intervals for measures of location, including measures of central tendency, in the one-sample case, for two independent and two dependent groups. We also demonstrate how to compare correlation coefficients using the bootstrap and to perform simulations to determine if the bootstrap is fit for purpose for a particular application. The tutorial also addresses two widespread misconceptions about the bootstrap: that it makes no assumptions about the data, and that it leads to robust inferences on its own. The tutorial focuses on detailed graphical descriptions, with data and code available online to reproduce the figures and analyses in the article (https://osf.io/8b4t5/).
Partially bonded fiber‐reinforced elastomeric isolators (PB‐FREIs)

Although stable unbonded fiber‐reinforced elastomeric isolators (SU‐FREIs) have desirable characteristics for seismic isolation, the unbonded application also introduces limitations in comparison with bonded elastomeric isolators. SU‐FREIs are not capable of resisting tensile forces, making SU‐FREIs unsuited for situations where overturning is of concern or where large vertical accelerations are anticipated. Furthermore, as SU‐FREIs rely on friction to transfer horizontal forces, the isolator could potentially slip under certain loading conditions, resulting in permanent displacements. This paper proposes that concerns over the transfer of tensile forces and potential slip can be addressed by partially bonding the SU‐FREI to the upper and lower supports. In this way, partially bonded FREIs (PB‐FREIs) not only retain the beneficial characteristics of an unbonded FREI but also inherit characteristics of a bonded isolator; notably tensile and horizontal forces can be transferred through the partial bond. Experimental results from isolators tested unbonded and partially bonded under vertical compression are used to evaluate a finite element model. The experimental data and finite element analysis demonstrate that portions of a FREI can be bonded without substantially altering the rollover characteristics of the isolator within the range of average vertical compressive and tensile stresses considered. Despite an unconventional deformed shape under tensile vertical stress, the horizontal force–displacement relationship exhibits negligible deviation from a conventional unbonded SU‐FREI under a compressive vertical stress. It is postulated that with further development, partially bonded FREIs can retain the beneficial characteristics of unbonded FREIs while addressing concerns over tensile forces and slip. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Conventional Treatment of Surface Water Using Moringa Oleifera Seeds Extract as a Primary Coagulant

The present study involved the use of a model pilot scale water treatment plant to treat turbid surface water from a stream using processed Moringa oleifera seed with 25 % w/w oil extracted as primary coagulant. The water treatment plant was made up of four unit operations: coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration (rapid sand filter). Test runs were carried out for three hours per run over a three-month period with turbidities ranging from 18 to 261 NTU. The turbidity, pH, and alkalinity as well as the filter head loss were measured every 30 minutes during the experimental runs. Average turbidity removal of up to 96 % at an effective doses of 20 and 30 mg/l of oil extracted M. oleifera for low ( 100 NTU) water. M. oleifera seed extract was found to have no significant effect on pH or alkalinity of the water. The residual turbidities measured during most of the test runs satisfied the Malaysian Guideline for Drinking Water Supplies. Key Words: Moringa oleifera, primary coagulant, coagulation, pilot plant, filtration.
A critical review of lean supply chain management frameworks: proposed framework

Lean supply chain management (LSCM) is one of the emergent fields of research. The present study objective is to perform review on existing LSCM frameworks and proposes a new LSCM framework. The study collected 30 LSCM frameworks with the help of extensive literature survey. The sample of LSCM frameworks have been classified based on novelty of the framework, contribution of various researchers to develop LSCM framework, verification status and modes of verification methodology used by the researchers, and also the degree of standardisation of LSCM elements. The study found that many researchers have proposed novel frameworks, lack of participation of practitioners and to some extent consultants in the field of LSCM framework development. It was also found that a huge number of incoherent elements were used to propose the LSCM frameworks. The study findings will give direction to the future researchers to propose a unified LSCM framework that will help to find out the coherent set of elements in the field of LSCM frameworks. Finally, the study proposes a comprehensive LSCM framework with the help of standard elements in the field of LSCM.
Feasibility Protocol for OER and OEP: A decision making tool for higher education

This summary document is written for the senior executives of higher education institutions, mostly Australian institutions. It explores the Feasibility Protocol, which is a key outcome of a research project titled "Adoption, use and management of Open Educational Resources to enhance teaching and learning in Australia", primarily funded by the Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT), but with support from DEHub also. Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) have been receiving global attention, especially in the last ten years, as the demand for open resources increases in all aspects of education and knowledge sharing and distribution. Despite some important Australian initiatives and policy developments regarding OER and OEP (discussed in detail in the full project report), the lack of explicit educationally‐oriented government policies appear to be limiting the process of OER adoption in Australia. To date, there have been few policy levers or enablers to encourage universities and other tertiary providers to pursue OER initiatives to better support current students, attract new ones and compete against other Australian and international institutions. We believe that the Feasibility Protocol is a valuable instrument to assist senior executives in making decisions regarding institutional adoption of OER and OEP. The Feasibility Protocol is a set of guiding principles that prompts questions and raises issues to be considered by universities and tertiary institutions wishing to take advantage of OER and OEP. More specifically, the protocol aims to assist senior executives, managers and policy makers to make informed decisions about the adoption of OER and OEP at several levels within their institution. Even though we are aware that the introduction of OER and OEP into mainstream higher education in Australia could have not only a global impact on the sector (e.g. meeting some of the Paris OER Declaration recommendations), but could also impact on small and isolated communities, as well as individuals outside the university sphere, this study is focused primarily on the higher education sector.
Rut Depth Prediction on Flexible Pavements - Calibration and Validation of Incremental-Recursive Models

In later years the development of pavement design has gone towards more and more analytically based methods. Future design will probably be based on incremental deterioration models. The objective is to evaluate different types of rut depth prediction models for an incremental design process. Two different models were chosen for further studies: One model that calculates the plastic strain through the whole pavement, and one model that calculates a critical response. The models were calibrated to accelerated pavement tests. The energy model can probably be used for normal flexible pavements. The most important model parameter has almost the same value in two different studies, which indicates that that value is probably close to the best possible value. To get a good calibration of the plastic strain model, measurements of permanent deformations of each layer should be used. (Less)
Photoconductive semiconductor switch (pcss) recovery

Attempts to use photoconductive semiconductors as high-power (10-100 kV, 0.1-2 kA) toggling switches with recovery times of 5-100 ns have stimulated the exploration of their recovery mechanisms. We have observed that optically triggered GaAs switches exhibit "lock-on," i.e., when triggered, they do not recover as long as they are holding more than 4-8 kV/cm. Experiments are being performed to determine the minimum recovery time of these switches after lock-on. by immediately reducing their fields or currents. As an alternative to GaAs, Si is a semiconductor that does not exhibit lock-on. It has a very long recovery time (> 100 /spl mu/s) that can be shortened to less than 100 ns with highly concentrated gold doping (/spl ges/10/sup 15//cm/sup 3/). Device models that predict the behavior of PCSS and experiments on the recovery of GaAs and Au:Si switches are presented.
Influence of Bruxism In Children Visiting A University Dental Hospital - A Retrospective Study

: Sleep bruxism is classified as a movement disorder related to sleep. Despite a function is characterised by non-functional teeth contact, manifesting by grinding or tension of teeth. It is not a disease, but when exacerbated may lead to an imbalance of the stomatognathic System. Several therapeutic modalities have been suggested, but there is no consensus about the most efficient. The aim of the study was to access the various symptoms of bruxism in children. The study was based on the date of patients reported to the Department of Pediatric & Preventive Dentistry in a private Dental Hospital, India. The data was obtained from analysing the patient reports for the time frame of June 2019 and March 2020. Various symptoms were diagnosed among which prevalence of pain in tooth and sensitivity was the most common when compared to other symptoms. The study reveals that sensitivity is the most common symptom among the children having bruxism.
Barriers and Gaps Affecting mHealth in Low and Middle Income Countries: Policy White Paper

There is growing momentum and enthusiasm to capitalize on the rapid spread of telecommunications infrastructure and uptake of mobile phones and mobile broadband services in low and middle income countries to support the achievement of global, national, district, community, and individual level health priorities. Still in its infancy, mHealth, the use of mobile technologies for health, runs the risk of not realizing its full potential due to small‐scale implementations and pilot projects with limited reach. To help shed light on these issues, the mHealth Alliance commissioned an in‐depth exploration of the policy barriers and research gaps facing mHealth. This White Paper, written by a team of researchers at the Center for Global Health and Economic Development at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, examines and synthesizes the existing mHealth literature to assess the current state of mHealth knowledge and identify barriers and gaps.
Model for Understanding, Preventing, and Resolving Project Disputes

Based on the comparative analysis of 24 construction disputes, this paper presents a process model that explains the development of disputes. The model examines the combined effect of project uncertainty, contract, working relations, and problem solving effectiveness on the development of disputes. The model develops a classification of problem situations, and identifies the problem-solving requirements and the potential for dispute in each situation. The model indicates that the prevention of complex, high cost disputes depends more on the planning and problem solving ability of the project organization, and less on the contractual terms. The paper identifies the following actions that can reduce the number and severity of claims: reduction of project uncertainty, reduction of contractual problems, reduction of opportunistic behavior, increased the project organization's problem-solving ability, and use of alternative dispute resolution methods to reduce resolution costs.
Appreciation of the use of Blackboard at the Police Academy of the Netherlands using the Technology Acceptance Model

This research covers appreciation of the use of Blackboard among students and teachers at the Police Academy of the Netherlands in the period from 2008 up to and including 2011, using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). From questioning the students, it became clear that the unclear structure of Blackboard was a problem. Therefore, a heliview (a homepage featuring an overview of the entire training course) was introduced, and this resulted in a clear improvement of the structure. The research was subsequently repeated in 2011. The results show a significant improvement of appreciation of the use of Blackboard by students. Teachers also complained about the use of Blackboard. Therefore, the research was carried out among teachers again in 2011. Teachers scored significantly lower at behavioural intention than students. The data show that Blackboard it better appreciated by students than by teachers.
To be or not to be sustainable in an emerging market? Conjoint analysis of customers' behavior in purchasing denim jeans

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate to what extent sustainable and nonsustainable attributes can be used to characterize different clusters of consumers in an emerging market, where economic conditions can increase the relevance of price. Consumers seem reluctant to engage frequently in pro-sustainable behavior, mainly for financial reasons. However, purchasing decisions can be understood as a multidimensional process.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted quantitative and descriptive research employing a choice-based conjoint/hierarchical Bayes (CBC/HB) experiment in malls in a low-income city in northeast Brazil with 1,287 potential buyers of denim jeans. The conjoint analysis therefore collected data on preferences in the course of actual decision-making. The authors then took the individual part-utility from each respondent and ran a cluster analysis to identify similar groups in the sample. The classification and regression tree (CART) method was used to determine the relationship between the conjoint attributes and the sociodemographic characteristics.FindingsThe data demonstrate that buying decisions constitute a complex process of interplay between many different factors, often involving trade-offs between a wide variety of nonsustainable and sustainable attributes. The survey confirmed that price is still of paramount importance when it comes to consumer choices. The authors also found that sustainable attributes played a relatively more significant role than brand or origin of production. The authors identify notable differences between groups of consumers in the “pro-sustainable” and “non-pro-sustainable” clusters and different levels of importance regarding the sociodemographic characteristics.Originality/valueAlthough price emerged as the most significant attribute, the research also demonstrates that there is a market in Brazil for products and practices based on a genuine commitment to the natural environment and social issues. The findings suggest that marketing managers and policymakers should consider different combinations of concerns over sustainability with product attributes and include sociodemographic variables rather than considering the textile market as uniform or thinking that there is no space for sustainability in fashion.
Energy Efficiency Maximization for UAV-Enabled Hybrid Backscatter-Harvest-Then-Transmit Communications

Wireless powered communication via backscatter and/or harvest-then-transmit (HTT) has been considered a promising solution to connecting nodes in the Internet-of-things (IoT) networks. However, the harvested energy at an IoT node is heavily limited by the distance between the node and the power beacon (PB) due to the high propagation loss. In this paper, we propose to employ an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as a mobile PB to provide energy signals on demand to the IoT nodes, which convey their information to a reader via backscattering or active transmission using the harvested energy. We maximize the total energy efficiency (EE) of all the IoT nodes powered by the UAV by jointly optimizing the UAV’s transmit power and trajectory, the IoT nodes’ backscatter reflection coefficients and their transmit power for active transmission, and the time allocation between backscattering and active transmission. To solve the formulated non-linear fractional programming problem, we use the generalized fractional programming theory and a block coordinated decent method to decompose it into two sub-problems: one optimizes the communication resource allocation under a fixed UAV trajectory, and the other optimizes the UAV trajectory for given communication resource allocation. We then devise a Dinkelbach-based iterative algorithm to solve the two sub-problems by employing a Lagrangian dual method and a successive convex programming technique, respectively and iteratively. Simulation results show that our proposed iterative algorithm converges very fast, and the optimized UAV-enabled hybrid backscatter-HTT communication achieves a much higher EE of all the IoT nodes than the benchmark schemes including the UAV-enabled backscatter, UAV-enabled HTT, and hybrid BackCom-HTT with a fixed PB.
3.5/5.5 Ghz dual band-notch ultra-wideband antenna

A compact and simple design of a CPW-fed planar antenna for ultra- wideband application with dual band-notch characteristics is presented. The proposed antenna yields an impedance bandwidth of 3.1- 10.6 GHz with VSWR < 2, except the bandwidths of 3.3-3.9 GHz for WiMAX and 5-6 GHz for WLAN. The antenna is successfully simulated, designed, and measured, showing broadband matched impedance, stable gain and omnidirectional radiation patterns.
Using diamond layout style to boost MOSFET frequency response of analogue IC

A way to improve the metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) analogue electrical performance, still little explored, is to modify their aspect form or ratio (AR) by the use of innovative layout styles. The diamond MOSFET (DM) is an example of this approach. It presents hexagonal gate geometry. This new layout structure for MOSFET induces two additional effects in comparison with the conventional (i.e. rectangular gate geometry) MOSFET (CM) counterpart, which improves the device’s electrical performance: the longitudinal corner effect (LCE) and parallel association of MOSFET with different channel length effect (PAMDLE). How the diamond layout style (DLS) can significantly enhance the device’s frequency response (FR) by using two different integrated circuits’ (IC) complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing process technologies (bulk and silicon-on-insulator (SOI)) is demonstrated.