Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Global Prospective on Underwater Munitions

This article introduces an issue of the Marine Technology Society Journal focused on the understanding and ongoing exchange of information on underwater munitions. In June 2003, the Canadian Standing Senate Committee for Fisheries and Oceans on Fish Habitat listened to a panel of witnesses urgently request greater federal involvement from entities other than the Department of National Defense in addressing the issue of underwater munitions in both Canadian and international waters. When there was a lack of response from governments, as well as the United Nations, the First International Conference on Chemical and Conventional Munitions convened in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in October 2007. Over 190 delegates from 14 countries affected by underwater munitions attended the conference and collectively submitted more than 50 papers. The author discusses the history of underwater munitions and explores relationships among international stakeholders which allow them to build on each others' experiences. The increasing awareness of and interest in identification and assessment of potential risks to human health and the environment by underwater munitions is explored.
Interaction and usability considerations in the design of mobile phones

Interactive systems play a crucial role in modern life and such reliance on technology is demonstrated in the relationship between users and their mobile phones. As the complexity of services has increased over the last ten years the multimodal interactions of mainstream mobile phones have influenced the usability of the hardware and software interfaces. This research considers how current conventions of interaction design affect the usability among four different mobiles phones. An analysis of the test data identified that the barriers to learning experienced by users were largely due to a lack of convergence from entry-level mobile phones to personal digital assistants (PDA). The terminology used in the interface of the PDA was the main barrier to learning as the operating system was Windows Mobile. This system employs several elements present in desktop computing, which are discussed.
Average current control of three-phase PWM boost rectifier

Average current control of three-phase PWM boost rectifiers with three linear current compensators and six-step PWM is a very attractive solution for its simplicity. The performance of the closed-loop control depends on the compensator design. This paper presents a modeling, analysis and design procedure for the average current control scheme. The current compensator design is verified experimentally on a high-frequency 6 kW boost rectifier, through current waveforms. <<ETX>>
A load-routeing problem in a tandem-configuration automated guided-vehicle system

Abstract Automated guided vehicles are commonly employed in modern automated material-handling systems or flexible manufacturing systems. A new configuration for an automated guided-vehicle system (AGVS), called a tandem AGVS, has been proposed recently. Efficient use of this configuration is required to solve the load-routeing problem (LRP), a specific operational issue which affects the production system performance. In this paper, LRPs are studied and a two-phase approach is proposed to solve it. Phase 1 consists of an analytical approach based on the steady state. The output of phase 1 provides an adequate estimate and recommendation of routeing decisions of an operational system. Phase 2 is a simulation model which accepts the results from phase 1 to realize the impact of another operational performance such as the queue length of each station. It has been established that the LRP affects the operational performance of the AGVS.
The Impact of Human Resources Management Practices (HRMPs) on Job Burnout among Faculty Members in Public and Private Universities in Jordan

This study aimed to identify the impact of human resources management practices on job burnout among faculty members of various academic ranks working in public and private universities in Jordan, as well as knowing the percentage of faculty members who would like to leave their universities if they had the opportunity to work in another university. (305) questionnaires were analyzed out of (375) distributed ones, forming the study sample. The study found that the overall level of human resources management practices and the overall level of job burnout feeling were moderate. And that human resources management practices has an impact on the feeling of job burnout among faculty members. The results also showed that job burnout among faculty members in private universities is slightly higher than their counterparts in public universities. The study revealed that (50.5%) of the respondents will consider leaving their universities if they had the opportunity to work in another university, because of their job burnout feeling due to human resources management practices applied in their universities. The study highly recommended the development and improvement of human resources management practices in Jordanian public and private universities.
An Optimal Consensus Control for Multiple Agents System with Time-Delay and Disturbances

The optimal disturbance rejection control problem is considered for a kind of consensus with control time-delay affected by external persistent disturbances and noise. An transformation method is used to convert the consensus with control time-delay to the consensus system without time-delay. The optimal estimated values of the converted consensus system states are obtained by recursive filtering with Kalman filter. Then the feedforward-feedback optimal control law is deduced by solving the Riccati equations and matrix equations. Lastly, simulations show the result is effectiveness to the consensus system with time-delay with respect to external persistent disturbances and noise.
SDRE Based Integrated Roll, Yaw and Pitch Controller Design for 122mm Artillery Rocket

State-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) based controller design is an emerging trend in real world applications. This paper describes the design of an integrated roll, yaw and pitch attitude controller for a fin stabilized and canard controlled 122mm artillery rocket using SDRE technique. The rocket configuration considered is with front canards and foldable straight tail fins, and is given initial spin at the time of launch. Tails fins are deployed immediately after launch and offer high roll damping moment thereby reducing the spin rate to zero within six seconds of flight. The canards are then deployed and the roll orientation of rocket is regulated to zero with the canard deflection commands generated by the SDRE based roll autopilot. Once the roll orientation of rocket is brought to zero, the full state integrated roll, yaw and pitch autopilot comes into action. Elements of the state weighing matrix for Riccati equation have been chosen to be state dependent to exploit the design flexibility offered by the Riccati equation technique. Simulation results show significant reduction in impact point dispersion with the attitude controlled trajectory as compared to uncontrolled trajectory. Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to prove the efficacy of the proposed controller design even in the presence of wide range of deviations in rocket parameters.
Indoor Robot Localisation with Active RFID

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology of location determination and data capture. An RFID based system relies on the interaction between readers (also known as interrogator) and tags (transponders). Active RFID technology is suitable for tracking costly assets or moving objects such as mobile robots. Once affixed with RFID tags, a robot can be localised. However, there is a tendency for accuracy to vary greatly as well as delay in readings. Those problems may be enlarged in real time applications. This paper provides an overview of implementing RFID in precision tracking of mobile robots. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.11591/ijra.v1i3. 487
An improved evaluation of the DC performance of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors

A self-consistent Schrödinger–Poisson solver is used to improve upon a recent evaluation of the attainable DC performance of coaxial carbon nanotube field-effect transistors. The earlier evaluation, which was based on the predictions of a compact model, is shown to be optimistic because of the model’s inadequate treatment of quantum mechanical reflection of thermionically injected carriers. This deficiency of the compact model is remedied, to a large extent, by incorporating a new, short expression for quantum mechanical reflection under phase-incoherent conditions.
VALERIE: A Guide to Qualitative Evaluation of Player Experience in Location-Based Games Using Interviews

Location-based games (LBGs) differ from conventional digital games because they blur the boundaries between real and virtual worlds as they turn the physical space into part of the game scenario. LBGs have characteristics that distinguish them from conventional games, such as mobility, pervasiveness, and spatiality. For their complexity and potential of new applications, LBGs pose new challenges to industry and academy, and one of these challenges lies in evaluating the player interaction with an LBG. Thus, it is necessary to create and adapt methods that allow us to evaluate player interaction considering LBGs characteristics and provide a deeper comprehension of the player experience (PX). This paper presents VALERIE (eVAluation of Location-based games and player Experience Interview guidE), a guide to qualitative evaluations of PX in LBGs through the application of semi-structured interviews. VALERIE provides a set of techniques, 60 topics, and orientations that can help students, practitioners, and researchers plan and conduct qualitative interviews for this purpose.
Thermal zoning in speculative office buildings: discussing the connections between space layout and inside temperature control

This paper discusses how different office space layouts affect the predicted heating and cooling energy demands in speculative office buildings. The discussion is based on energy simulations of a case study office floor plan layout situated in London. Significant variations in predicted energy demands were found. Examining the free-float inside air temperature profiles led to the conclusion that the thermal behaviour of each zone is mainly influenced by the relationships between different combinations of floor area, window area and internal gains. This means that different ways of describing the building other than its zoning are necessary to assess the potential ranges of thermal behaviour in speculative office buildings.
A methodology for determination of piezoelectric actuator and sensor location on beam structures

In the design of actively controlled structures, the determination of the actuators and sensors location is a very important issue. In this way, the purpose of this paper is to propose a new approach to find the optimal location of piezoelectric actuators and sensors on beam structures. More precisely, first the optimization criteria are defined: it is proposed here to find the optimal actuators location by minimizing the mechanical energy integral of the system and the optimal sensors location by maximizing the energy of the state output. In the two cases, a sensitivity method applied to the discrete equations is used. Several results are presented. This methodology is used to find the optimal location of one actuator and one sensor on a cantilever beam, and on a three-beam structure. When there are different optimal locations, several performance measures are considered in order to keep one location.
Sharing of nonlinear load in parallel connected three-phase converters

In this paper a new control method is presented which enables equal sharing of linear and nonlinear loads in paralleled three-phase power converters without communication between the converters. The paper focuses on solving the problem that arises when two converters with harmonic compensation are connected in parallel. Without the new solution they are normally not able to distinguish the harmonic currents that flow to the load and harmonic currents that circulate between the converters. Analysis and experimental results on two 90 kVA 400 Hz converters in parallel are presented. The results show that both linear and nonlinear loads can be shared equally by the proposed concept.
Comparing Si and SiC diodes performance in a commercial AC-to-DC rectifier with power factor correction

Improvements in power electronics are basically the result of research in two main fields: new topologies and new devices. A researcher's efforts to bring about improvement because of topologies are always limited by the characteristics of the devices, so both facts must advance at one and the same time. This paper studies the impact of a new device on a classic structure of power factor correction: the boost converter.
Modified one-cycle-controlled three-phase pulse-width modulation rectifiers under low-output DC voltage conditions

The saddle pulse-width modulation (PWM) that can be obtained by injecting third harmonic current into sampled three-phase input currents is proposed to introduce in the conventional one-cycle control (OCC) strategy-based three-phase PWMrectifier on this study. In addition, for the three-level boost-type neutral-point-clamped structure rectifiers such as three-phase Vienna rectifier, the fluctuation in the neutral-point-potential (NPP) is analysed under modified OCC strategy. The proposed control scheme can not only improve the utilisation of DC bus voltage and the efficiency of converter without sacrificing the advantages of the conventional OCC scheme, such as no phase-locked loop and constant switching frequency, but also is beneficial to suppress the ripple in the DC-link voltage. Moreover, the neutral-point voltage loop is added in the proposed OCC scheme, and the neutral-point voltage controller is employed for controlling the unbalance DC voltage in the NPP which caused by the non-uniformity of parameters of components. The validity of the theoretical analysis and feasibility of the modified OCC strategy are verified by system simulation and experimental results based on a 5-kW prototype.
Investigation of thermal effects on the single-finger heterojunction bipolar transistors

We will first derive a physics-based, analytical single-finger heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) model which takes into account the thermal effect. Next, the model is used to calculate the three figures of merit of HBT, i.e., current gain, cut-off frequency and maximum frequency. Their variation against the collector current density under the influence of thermal effect is presented and the calculation results are discussed.
AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING PRACTICES AND INNOVATION PERFORMANCE ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

This study analyzes the causal relationship between sustainable manufacturing practice (SMP) and environmental sustainability as well as determines the mediating effect of innovation performance (IP) on the relationship between SMP and environmental sustainability. Adaptation from the changing business environment, manufacturing firms are facing great challenge on producing more products with less resource consumption, pollution emitted and waste generated. Using structural equation modeling, the survey data collected from 150 Malaysian manufacturing firms has been analyzed in this study. The empirical results show that both types of SMP have a positive and significant impact on environmental sustainability with external SMP is greater than internal SMP. However, there is no significant evidence to prove IP as a mediator for SMP-environmental sustainability linkage. The findings of this paper have important implication in both theoretical and practical perspectives. While provide better understanding of the phenomena by simultaneously analyzing a series of dependence relationships among SMP, IP and environmental sustainability, these results could help managers to understand the types of practices that would improve their environmental performance.
Oriented graphene films for use as high-performance thermal and electrical interconnects

Carbon thin films can be prepared with properties that make them suitable for applications in electronics including heat sinks, electrical interconnects transistors and chemical sensors. In this work, we examine the microstructure and normalised through film electrical resistance of oriented and non-oriented carbon films deposited onto silicon substrates at room temperature using a Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc (FCVA). Electrical measurements have also been performed on carbon films which were lithographically patterned to produce test structures resembling vertical interconnects. Twopoint, through-film current-voltage measurements of NiCr/Carbon/Si structures showed that the electrical resistance of the carbon films could be varied by several orders of magnitude simply by selecting different substrate bias voltages. Importantly, carbon films composed of vertically aligned graphene sheets were found to provide low resistance, linear current-voltage characteristics, indicating the formation of Ohmic junctions at the NiCr and Si interfaces of the NiCr/Carbon/Si structure.
NAVIG: Guidance system for the visually impaired using virtual augmented reality

Finding ones way to an unknown destination, navigating complex routes, finding inanimate objects; these are all tasks that can be challenging for the visually impaired. The project NAVIG (Navigation Assisted by artificial VIsion and GNSS) is directed towards increasing the autonomy of visually impaired users in known and unknown environments, exterior and interior, large scale and small scale, through a combination of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and rapid visual recognition with which the precise position of the user can be determined. Relying on geographical databases and visually identified objects, the user is guided to his or her desired destination through spatialized semantic audio rendering, always maintained in the head-centered reference frame. This paper presents the overall project design and architecture of the NAVIG system. In addition, details of the new type of detection and localization device are presented in relation to guidance directives developed through participative design with potential users and educators for the visually impaired. A fundamental concept in this project is the belief that this type of assistive device is able to solve one of the major problems faced by the visually impaired: their difficulty in localizing specific objects.
A monolithic variable inductor network using microrelays with combined thermal and electrostatic actuation

An adjustable inductor which is digitally controlled by microrelays has been made using combined surface and bulk micromaching technology. The microrelays were fabricated using a TaSi2/SiO2 bimorph cantilever beam, a gold-to-gold electrical contact, aluminum as sacrificial layer and a combined thermal and electrostatic actuation mechanism. The silicon substrate under the inductor region was etched out to reduce the parasitic oxide capacitors and the eddy current power loss in the substrate semiconductor bulk. Sixteen different inductance values ranging from 2.5 nH to 324.8 nH were obtained using a planar rectangular spiral coil and four microrelays. The minimum self-resonant frequency is 1.9 GHz. The lowest measured combined thermal power and electrostatic voltage for the actuation of microrelays are 8.0 mW and 20 V, respectively. The highest operation frequency of microrelays is 10 kHz limited by the mechanical self-resonance. The measured contact resistance typically ranges from 0.6 ohms to 0.8 ohms. The dimensions of the chip measure 3150×930 µm2.
Design restrictions for patterning with off-axis illumination

Patterning of dense gratings with sub-wavelength pitches presents a challenge that can be addressed using Resolution Enhancement Techniques (RETs) such as dipole illumination, with the dipole axis perpendicular to the dense line orientation. However, this approach leads to pitch and orientation limitations that must be accommodated in layout practices and design rules. In this work we evaluate the impact that dipole illumination has on the process window of isolated lines and loose pitch lines parallel and orthogonal to the dipole axis, and demonstrate the use of OPC and design restrictions to minimize this impact. Semi-dense and isolated features need to be treated as a function of their orientation with respect to the dipole. Specifically, isolated features oriented along the axis of the dipole have larger process margins than the same feature oriented perpendicular to this axis. We systematically explore the process margins for various CDs, pitches and orientations, and compare the results with simulations. We demonstrate that the dipole illumination restricts the ranges of sizes, pitches and orientations that can be printed with sufficient process margin. Knowledge of these restrictions and comparing them with simulation enables us to evaluate the suitability of simulations as a predictor for design rules to restrict layout. The results enable us to propose design rules that would enable single-mask solutions for layers using dipole illumination.
Modeling the effects of agricultural BMPs on sediments, nutrients, and water quality of the Beaurivage River watershed (Quebec, Canada)

Agriculture has evolved into the largest non-point source of surface water pollution in Canada as a result of intensification over the past forty years. The Canadian WEBs project (Watershed Evaluation of Beneficial Management Practices, BMPs) was launched to evaluate the environmental and economic performance of BMPs as a means to mitigate agricultural sediment and nutrient issues. In this paper, the Gestion Intégrée des Bassins versant à l’aide d’un Système Informatisé (GIBSI) (or Integrated Watershed Management using a Computer System) integrated modeling framework was used to evaluate the effects of different BMPs on sediment and nutrient yields, as well as water quality in the Beaurivage River watershed in the province of Quebec. A reference scenario was developed that describes the current situation (i.e., base case scenario) of the watershed by calibrating the models used within GIBSI, namely HYDROTEL for hydrology, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) for soil erosion, the Erosion-the Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for contaminant transport and fate, and QUAL2E for stream water quality. The effects of four BMPs were studied: (1) vegetated riparian buffer strips, (2) precision slurry application, (3) grassland conversion of cereal and corn fields, and (4) no-till (on corn fields). Simulation results indicate that BMPs can be effective in reducing nutrient and suspended sediment loads in both surface runoff and stream flow. More specifically, buffer strip and crop rotation showed better efficiency than hog-slurry management and no-till on corn BMPs. Moreover, results highlight the need for further investigation of sediment dynamics in the stream network as well as in the riparian buffer strips.
Memory Behavior in a Floating-Gate Avalanche-Injection MOS (famos) Structure

A novel charge‐storage structure is described. The floating‐gate avalanche‐injection MOS (FAMOS) structure is shown to exhibit memory behavior in the form of long‐term charge storage on the floating conductive gate of an insulated gate field‐effect device. Charge is stored in the floating polysilicon gate by avalanche injection of electrons from an underlying p‐n junction.