bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification of service failures of cylinder valves of ship piston combustion engines
Authors: Korczewski Zbigniew
Published: May 2008

Identification of service failures of cylinder valves of ship piston combustion engines

This paper presents selected diagnostic problems of charge exchange system of ship piston combustion engines. Theoretical background of wear process of cylinder valves was highlighted in the aspect of identification and sources of known and identifiable states of unserviceability. The presented results of endoscopic examinations concern failures of cylinder valves of the engines installed on Polish Navy ships.
Application of fuzzy inference to assessment of degree of hazard to ship power plant operator
Authors: Kowalewski Tomasz , Podsiadło Antoni , Tarełko Wiesław
Published: May 2008

Application of fuzzy inference to assessment of degree of hazard to ship power plant operator

This paper presents application of fuzzy logic to assessment of degree of hazard to ship power plant operator. For the assessment a system of computer-aided identification of hazardous zone within ship power plant, was used. The system's variables representing the subject-matter knowledge in safety design area were transformed into fuzzy sets by means of appropriate linguistic variables and membership functions. The assessing of safety level of operator with the use of fuzzy inference was performed by means of an expert system programmed in the PROLOG LPA language.
An analysis of possible assessment of hazards to ship shaft line, resulting from impulse load
Authors: Grządziela Andrzej
Published: May 2008

An analysis of possible assessment of hazards to ship shaft line, resulting from impulse load

This paper presents a proposal of identification of a degree of hazard to ship shaft line due to impulse load caused by underwater explosion. A theoretical analysis was made of influence of changes in co-axiality of shafts on second-kind critical velocities resulting from elastic deformations of hull structure in vicinity of shaft bearing foundations. Results are presented of pilotage tests of underwater explosion performed on training water area. A preliminary mathematical model of underwater explosion is given with taking into account mass of explosives and distance from the tested object. The drawn conclusions show a way of identification of hazard to shaft line by using spectral analysis and time - runs of vibration signals recorded at shaft bearings.
Approximation of the index for assessing ship sea-keeping performance on the basis of ship design parameters
Authors: Cepowski Tomasz
Published: May 2008

Approximation of the index for assessing ship sea-keeping performance on the basis of ship design parameters

This paper presents a new approach which makes it possible to take into account seakeeping qualities of ship in the preliminary stage of its design. The presented concept is based on representing ship's behaviour in waves by means of the so called operational effectiveness index. Presented values of the index were calculated for a broad range of design parameters. On this basis were elaborated analytical functions which approximate the index depending on ship design parameters. Also, example approximations of the index calculated by using artificial neural networks, are attached. The presented approach may find application to ship preliminary design problems as well as in ship service stage to assess sea-keeping performance of a ship before its departure to sea.
Modelling the characteristics of axial compressor of variable flow passage geometry, working in the gas turbine engine system
Authors: Wirkowski Paweł
Published: May 2008

Modelling the characteristics of axial compressor of variable flow passage geometry, working in the gas turbine engine system

This paper concerns application of mathematical modelling methods to analyzing gas-dynamic processes in marine gas turbines. Influence of geometry changes in axial compressor flow passage on kinematical air flow characteristics, are presented. The elaborated mathematical model will make it possible to realize - in the future - simulative investigations of gas-dynamic processes taking place in a compressor fitted with controllable guide vanes.
A method for selection of parameters of ship propulsion system fitted with compromise screw propeller
Authors: Michalski Jan
Published: May 2008

A method for selection of parameters of ship propulsion system fitted with compromise screw propeller

This paper concerns an algorithmic method for preliminary selection of parameters of ship propulsion system fitted with fixed screw propeller in the case when the ship's operation is associated with significant changes of waterway depth and width, hull resistance of the ship and its service speed. Mathematical model arguments of the considered design problem are main ship design parameters identified in the preliminary design stage. Structure of the formulated model complies with formal requirements for continuous- discrete mathematical optimization problems. The presented examples of application of the method concern an inland waterways ship fitted with compromise screw propeller optimized in the sense of minimization of fuel consumption for passing a given route distance within a given time. The elaborated method may be especially useful in designing such ships as: coasters, inland waterways ships, tugs, pushers, trawlers, mine sweepers, icebreakers etc.
Mean long-term service parameters of transport ship propulsion system: Part I Screw propeller service parameters of transport ship sailing on a given shipping route
Authors: Szelangiewicz Tadeusz , Żelazny Katarzyna
Published: May 2008

Mean long-term service parameters of transport ship propulsion system: Part I Screw propeller service parameters of transport ship sailing on a given shipping route

During ship sailing on a given shipping route in real weather conditions all propulsion system performance parameters of the ship change along with changes of instantaneous total resistance and speed of the ship. In this paper results of calculations are presented of distribution function and mean statistical values of screw propeller thrust, rotational speed and efficiency as well as propulsion engine power output and specific fuel oil consumption occurring on selected shipping routes. On this basis new guidelines for ship propulsion system design procedure are formulated.
Prediction of power demand for ship motion control system of sea mining ship fitted with tubular winning system
Authors: Bortnowska Monika
Published: May 2008

Prediction of power demand for ship motion control system of sea mining ship fitted with tubular winning system

One of the crucial systems of sea mining ship for poly-metallic concretions is its motion control system (SMC). Power of such system depends on sea environment characteristics and main dimensions of the ship. It can be expected that it will have important influence on total power of the ship's power plant and in effect on the mining ship's dimensions. In this paper is presented one of the possible ways of preliminary estimation of design power of SMC system for sea mining ship. Since details of design solution of such system for the ship in question are unknown (ships of the kind have not been built so far) the presented results should be considered to be the first estimation of the order of the power demand.
Application of artificial neural networks to approximation and identification of sea-keeping performance of a bulk carrier in ballast loading condition
Authors: Cepowski Tomasz
Published: May 2008

Application of artificial neural networks to approximation and identification of sea-keeping performance of a bulk carrier in ballast loading condition

This paper presents an application of artificial neural networks to approximation and identification of additional wave-generated resistance, slamming and internal forces depending on ship motion and wave parameters. The analysis was performed for a typical bulk carrier in ballast loading conditions. The investigations were carried out on the basis of ship response data calculated by means of exact numerical methods. Analytical functions presented in the form of artificial neural networks were analyzed with a view of their accuracy against standard values. Possible ways of application of the artificial neural networks were examined from the point of view of accuracy of approximation and identification of the assumed ship response parameters.
Identification of hydro-acoustic waves emitted from floating units during mooring tests
Authors: Kozaczka Eugeniusz , Domagalski Jacek , Grelowska Grażyna , Gloza Ignacy
Published: May 2008

Identification of hydro-acoustic waves emitted from floating units during mooring tests

Measurements of hydro-acoustic noise emitted from vessels are a.o. a subject of the tests carried out in the control measurement ranges of the Navy. The measurements are performed both on anchored and floating vessels. Acoustic field of vessels is changing along with their speed changing and is associated with acoustic activity of wave sources installed in vessel's hull (main engines, electric generating sets, reduction gears, pumps, shaft-lines, piping, ventilating ducts etc) as well as hydro-dynamic sources such as screw propellers and water flow around the hull [5, 7]. Vibration energy generated by the onboard devices is transferred through ship structural elements to water where it propagates in the form of hydro-acoustic waves of a wide frequency band.
An analysis of lubricating medium flow through unsymmetrical lubricating gap of conical slide bearing
Authors: Koprowski Mariusz
Published: May 2008

An analysis of lubricating medium flow through unsymmetrical lubricating gap of conical slide bearing

This paper presents a computer analysis of lubricating medium flow through unsymmetrical lubricating gap of conical slide bearing. Numerical calculations were carried out with the use of the software Matlab 7.1 and Mathematica 5.2 for example conical slide bearings of different values of cone apex angles of pin and sleeve and set values of relative eccentricity and skewing angle as well as dimensionless bearing length equal to 1.
The influence of organic polymer on properties of mineral concentrates: Part I
Authors: Popek Marzenna
Published: May 2008

The influence of organic polymer on properties of mineral concentrates: Part I

The property is evaluated when acceptance for loading of solid bulk cargoes is judged prior to shipment. The liquefaction can be prevented by means of limiting the moisture content of the cargo by introducing the safety margin, regardless of the condition of stresses. It is rational to limit the moisture content of cargoes, which may liquefy, because liquefaction is not liable to occur when the degree of saturation is low, even if the permeability of the material is low. To prevent sliding and shifting of ore concentrates in storage biodegradable thermoplastic materials were added to the ore. The polymer absorbs water from the particle pore in mineral concentrates and its moisture content goes down. In consequence, polymer prevents: drainage of water from the particle pore, sliding and shifting of ore concentrates in storage.
An overview of the didactic and scientific activity at the faculty of mechanical and electrical engineering of the Polish Naval Academy
Authors: Korczewski Zbigniew
Published: May 2008

An overview of the didactic and scientific activity at the faculty of mechanical and electrical engineering of the Polish Naval Academy

The article characterises the didactic and scientific activity at the Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering of the Polish Naval Academy. The current didactic offer and the areas of current research work are presented, along with main characteristics expected from the naval-specialisation graduate majoring in mechanics and machinery construction, in the context of the Polish Navy technical staff education system. Discussed are the subjects of research activities initiated in particular Faculty units, and leading scientific problems which have been studied for years within the field of widely understood utilisation of naval technology.
Serbo-Croat Clitics and Word Grammar
Authors: Čamdžić Amela , Hudson Richard
Published: May 2008

Serbo-Croat has a complex system of clitics which raise interesting problems for any theory of the interface between syntax and morphology. After summarising the data we review previous analyses (mostly within the generative tradition), all of which are unsatisfactory in various ways. We then explain how Word Grammar handles clitics: as words whose form is an affix rather than the usual ‘word-form’. Like other affixes, clitics need a word to accommodate them, but in the case of clitics this is a special kind of word called a ‘hostword’. We present a detailed analysis of Serbo-Croat clitics within this theory, introducing a new distinction between two cases: where the clitics are attached to the verb or auxiliary, and where they are attached to some dependent of the verb.
Discrete Entailment-Based Linking and -EE Nouns in English
Authors: González Luis
Published: May 2008

Barker (1998) argues that since the referent of an -ee noun can be an indirect object, a direct object, a prepositional object, or a subject, -ee nouns cannot be described as a syntactic natural class. Portero Muñoz (2003) concurs and offers a semantic analysis based on Logical Structure (LS) in the framework of Role and Reference Grammar (RRG). This article proposes that RRG’s macroroles (Actor and Undergoer) can be derived with two entailments and without any need for LS. Its analysis improves Portero Muñoz’s, presenting additional evidence that subjects that allow -ee noun formation are Undergoers. It also explains why most -ee nouns are direct objects in spite of the fact that the suffi Xoriginated as a referent for indirect objects. Finally, it offers an explanation for nouns like amputee, pluckee, twistee, benefactee, malefactee, biographee, catapultee, razee, standee, attendee.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Copula in Latin: on a Textual Problem in Cicero’s Oration „In Defence of Publius Sestius”
Authors: Jakielaszek Jarosław
Published: May 2008

A textual problem from Cicero’s oration In defence of Publius Sestius is discussed in order to determine syntactic and semantic consequences of editorial choices. The discussion involves semantic and syntactic properties of Latin past participles within a minimalist setting. A detailed investigation of the passage indicates that a textual variant not accepted by most editors is to be preferred.
Optimality Theoretic Analysis of Non-Rhoticity in English
Authors: Ostalski Przemysław
Published: May 2008

The paper intends to describe various rhotic phenomena within a unified phonological framework of Optimality Theory. This description encompasses “standard” rhotic phenomena, such as linking and intrusive r. Additionally both hyper- and hypo-rhoticity are discussed. The paper serves primarily two points. First, it proves practical workability of constraint mechanism, as proposed by Optimality Theory. Second, it presents an integrated account of seemingly unrelated phonological facts observed in various accents of English. The paper discusses also previous accounts of rhoticity in English in connection with an attempt of presenting solid evidence for the choice of underlying forms. Furthermore two competing theoretical descriptions of rhotic insertions (epenthesis vs. gliding/spreading) are compared and evaluated. Finally, the spreading account is shown to be formally superior to the anti-hiatus approach. Moreover, the paper demonstrates a way in which r-liaison might be incorporated in the synchronic grammar of non-rhotic accents. Simply put, r-liaison could be perceived as another instantiation of VSPREAD conspiracy, where vowels tend to spread their melodic content onto the following segments. The OT machinery was also employed to account for the differences between various subtypes of non-rhotic accents, in terms of re-ranking of several constraints. The peculiar phenomena of hyper-rhoticity have, too, been demonstrated to fit the proposal.
Topological Modelling of Grammatical and Lexical Aspect in English
Authors: Skrzypczak Waldemar
Published: May 2008

This paper stems from a broader research project entitled Analog-based Modelling of Meaning Representations in English (Skrzypczak 2006), and aims to present grammatical aspect and lexical aspect as two modes of encoding the temporal profiles within the conceptualisation of processes (terminologically, in Langackerian sense, imperfective and perfective processes, otherwise, variously labelled as stative and dynamic verbs, i. e. states vs. discrete ‘unitary’ events and nondiscrete ‘unbounded’ processes). It is assumed that aspect in both cases – as a process-profiling category – is analogous to the profiling of things and atemporal relations (in the sense of Langacker 1987, 1990, 2000), given the maximisation of the temporal domain in the characterisation of processes (perfective and imperfective, hence: dynamic and stative), and minimalisation of the temporal domain during the conceptualisation of things (conceptually independent entities) and atemporal relations (conceptually dependent atemporal configurations). The analogy between nouns and verbs in terms of ‘granularity’ has been so far variously addressed by Langacker (1990), Jackendoff (1991) and Talmy (2001), and also constitutes the core assumption in my research on topological modelling.
A Note on Iconicity and Motivation of Expression
Authors: Pawelec Andrzej
Published: May 2008

While iconic effects can be detected at all levels of linguistic analysis, according to the standard position they have little, if any, relevance for the system of language. I would like to show that iconicity seems marginal only in static approaches. Motivation of form is central whenever a new way of expressing things is looked for. Once we see that language is about finding new means of expression, the obvious question to ask is what makes these means suitable: why they are accepted as satisfactory ‘vehicles’ of meaning. From this point of view, the issue of iconicity – correspondence of form and meaning – turns out to be an instance of a more general phenomenon: adequacy of symbols for novel tasks. The interactive theory of metaphor will be presented to substantiate the claim that conventional forms and meanings can be viewed as a reservoir of motives for expressive purposes.
Book Reviews
Authors: Åfarli Tor A. , Jakielaszek Jarosław , Witczak-Plisiecka Iwona , Pskit Wiktor , Szpyra-Kozłowska Jolanta , Ostalski Przemysław , Majewicz Alfred F.
Published: May 2008

Nikolaus P. Himmelmann, Eva F. Schultze-Berndt (eds), Secondary Predication and Adverbial Modification: The Typology of Depictives, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. xxv + 448 pages Edward L. Keenan, Edward P. Stabler, Bare Grammar: Lectures on Linguistic Invariants. Stanford: CSLI Publications, 2003. 192 pp. Siobhan Chapman, Thinking about Language. Theories of English. Houndsmills and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. X + 174 pages. pb (Series: Perspectives on the English Language) Judith Rodby, W. Ross Winterowd, The Uses of Grammar, Oxford: Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. xiv + 274 pp. Laura J. Downing, Alan T. Hall and Renate Raffelsiefen (eds), Paradigms in Phonological Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. 349 pages. Max W. Wheeler, The Phonology of Catalan. (The Phonology of the World’s Languages). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. XI + 387 pp. Jan-Olof Svantesson, Anna Tsendina, Anastasia Karlson, and Vivan Franzén, The Phonology of Mongolian. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Pp. xix + 314. Cliff Goddard, The Languages of East and Southeast Asia. An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. pp. xvi + 315.
Book Notices
Authors: Stalmaszczyk Piotr
Published: May 2008

Donald Davidson The Essential Davidson (with an introduction by Ernie Lepore and Kirk Ludwig). Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006, 282 pp.

Claudia Maienborn and Angelika Wöllstein (eds), Event Arguments: Foundations and Applications (Linguistische Arbeiten 501). Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 2005, vi + 368.
Performance Of Static Positioning For Medium Distances Based On Data From A Virtual Reference Station And ASG-PL Network
Authors: Bakuła M.
Published: May 2008

Performance Of Static Positioning For Medium Distances Based On Data From A Virtual Reference Station And ASG-PL Network

The use of a network of reference stations instead of a single reference station allows the modelling of some systematic errors in a region and allows a user to increase the distance between the rover receiver and reference stations. In some countries, GPS reference stations exist and GPS observations are available for users in real-time mode and in postprocessing. Observations from several GPS reference stations in a regional network enable modelling spatially-correlated errors and their modelling on an epoch-by-epoch and satellite-by-satellite basis. As a result, observations of a virtual reference station can be created at a rover's approximate position and its observations can be used in the precise baseline positioning of the rover. This paper presents the performance of the static positioning of a rover station, its quality and reliability for two different baselines. Single-baseline and network static solutions are presented and compared. Network solutions are based on data from a virtual reference station (VRS) obtained by the Wasoft/Virtuall software. In both cases, the same strategy of ambiguity resolution was used. These approaches have been tested with the use of 24-hour GPS data from the Polish Active Geodetic Network (ASG-PL). The data from three reference stations with medium-range separation were used in the process of generating VRS data. GPS data of the rover station were divided into 20, 10 and 5-min. sessions with a sampling interval of 5 sec. Practical calculations and analyses of horizontal and vertical accuracy of coordinates clearly show the improvement of static positioning in terms of time observation span and ambiguity reliability.
Performance of Open Source Precise Point Positioning Software Using Single-Frequency GPS Data
Authors: Satirapod Chalermchon , Kriengkraiwasin Somchai
Published: May 2008

Performance of Open Source Precise Point Positioning Software Using Single-Frequency GPS Data

This research aims to assess the performance of GPS Precise Point Positioning (PPP) with code and carrier phase observations from L1 signal collected from geodetic GPS receiver around the world. A simple PPP software developed for processing the single frequency GPS data is used as a main tool to assess a positioning accuracy. The precise orbit and precise satellite clock corrections were introduced into the software to reduce the orbit and satellite clock errors, while ionosphere-free code and phase observations were constructed to mitigate the ionospheric delay. The remaining errors (i.e. receiver clock error, ambiguity term) are estimated using Extended Kalman Filter technique. The data retrieved from 5 IGS stations located in different countries were used in this study. In addition, three different periods of data were downloaded for each station. The obtained data were then cut into 5-min, 10-min, 15-min and 30-min data segments, and each data segment was individually processed with the developed PPP software to produce final coordinates. Results indicate that the use of 5-min data span can provide a horizontal positioning accuracy at the same level as a pseudorange-based differential GPS technique. Furthermore, results confirm effects of station location and seasonal variation on obtainable accuracies.
Sensitivity of Adop to Changes in the Single-Baseline GNSS Model
Authors: Odijk D. , Teunissen P.
Published: May 2008

Sensitivity of Adop to Changes in the Single-Baseline GNSS Model

The ADOP (Ambiguity Dilution Of Precision) is a measure for the precision of the carrier phase ambiguities involved in precise relative GNSS positioning. By computing the ADOP one may get knowledge in whether ambiguity resolution can be expected successful or not, already in a stage before the GNSS data are collected. In Odijk and Teunissen (2008) compact closed-form expressions have been derived for the ADOP of single-baseline GNSS models. In this paper these expressions are used to study the impact of certain changes in these models, as there are the observation time span, the weighting of the ionospheric delays, the number of frequencies, the weights of the phase and code data, the number of satellites, elevation-dependent observation weights and taking linear combinations of data.
Normativity: Approaches, Polemics, Problems
Authors: Popper Miroslav
Published: May 2008

Normativity: Approaches, Polemics, Problems
Naturalistic Descriptions and Normative-Intentional Interpretations
Authors: Prien Bernd
Published: May 2008

Naturalistic Descriptions and Normative-Intentional Interpretations

Normative pragmatists about linguistic meaning such as Sellars and Brandom have to explain how norms can be implicit in practices described in purely naturalistic terms. The explanation of implicit norms usually offered in the literature commits pragmatists to equate actions with naturalistic events. Since this is an unacceptable consequence, I propose an alternative explanation of implicit norms that avoids this identification. To do so, one has to treat the normative-intentional concepts such as "norm", "action", "sanction", "belief", "desire" as a holistic system, in the sense that one has to apply all of them to a given naturalistic practice simultaneously. This result might be taken to imply that the pragmatist strategy of explaining the content of assertions and beliefs in terms of norm-governed use is misguided because it presupposes that one can account for the concept "norm" independently of the concept "belief". I argue that this consequence does not follow.
Mortality as a Philosophical-Anthropological Issue: Thanatology, Normativity, and "Human Nature"
Authors: Pihlström Sami
Published: May 2008

Mortality as a Philosophical-Anthropological Issue: Thanatology, Normativity, and "Human Nature"

This paper examines mortality—the fact that we humans are all going to die—as an issue in philosophical anthropology, by applying a fourfold typology of some key forms of philosophical anthropology to the topic of death and mortality. First, this typology, originally suggested by Heikki Kannisto, is outlined; the mortality issue is, then, viewed from the perspective it opens. Finally, the challenges to our understanding of death and mortality that this perspective may help us meet are discussed. The treatment of mortality from the perspective of philosophical anthropology may make it more understandable in a manner that will highlight the importance of the concept of normativity in the philosophical examination of any such humanly relevant issue.
Rorty and Normativity
Authors: Kremer Alexander
Published: May 2008

Rorty and Normativity

The paper summarizes some of the main ideas in Rorty's philosophy and indicates the views he holds on normativity. As a neopragmatic thinker, Rorty wants as little normativity as possible, but this does not mean that he rejects all types of normativity.
Social Theory, Performativity and Professional Power—A Critical Analysis of Helping Professions in England
Authors: Powell Jason , Carey Malcolm
Published: May 2008

Social Theory, Performativity and Professional Power—A Critical Analysis of Helping Professions in England

Drawing from interviews and ethnographic research, evidence is provided to suggest a sense of "anxiety" and "regret" amongst state social workers and case managers working on the "front-line" within local authority social service departments. There have been a number of theoretical approaches that have attempted to ground the concept of "power" to understand organizational practice though Foucauldian insights have been most captivating in illuminating power relations and subject positioning. In order to theoretically interrogate the relationship between social theory and professional power, we draw from the neo-Foucauldian work of American Social Philosopher Judith Butler—especially regarding Butler's (1990, 1993 and 1998) powerful work on "performativity" and its relationship to social work. We also attempt to examine the "distances" between the social work role and social workers narratives through an examination of notions of "anxiety" and "regret" in the face of the professionalisation of state social work.
Recruitment and Reproduction: The Careers and Carriers of Digital Photography and Floorball
Authors: Shove Elizabeth , Pantzar Mika
Published: May 2008

Recruitment and Reproduction: The Careers and Carriers of Digital Photography and Floorball

The claim that social practices have a relatively durable existence in space and time, and that their persistence depends upon their recurrent reproduction through necessarily localised performances is theoretically plausible, but what of the detail? How do the careers of practices and those who "carry" them actually intersect? In this paper we have two related ambitions. One is to show how selected practices are concurrently shaped by the ebb and flow of recruits and defectors and by what it is that cohorts of practitioners actually do. The second is to learn more about the relation between recruitment and reproduction by comparing the ways in which these processes play out in different situations. In taking these two ambitions forward through a discussion of digital and film photography and of floorball (a team game in which players use plastic sticks to hit a small ball into a goal) we explore ways of concretely examining processes that are implied in Giddens' theory of structuration (1984) and in Bourdieu's concept of habitus (1984). This exercise generates insights into the internal dynamics of practice and the methodological challenges of pinning them down.
Praxis, Language, Dialogue
Authors: Claycomb Brandon , Mulberry Greig
Published: May 2008

Praxis, Language, Dialogue

Human engagement with the world develops and evolves into increasingly social, complex, and explicit modes. This essay examines the evolution of meaningful human engagement from simple embodied activity, to language-less social praxis, and then to praxis incorporating increasingly rich forms of linguistic action, culminating in theory. Each mode of meaningful engagement creates a space in which new modes of meaning can develop. These new ways of experiencing, acting, and communicating create their own meaning contexts, which provide the settings for the further evolution of humans' phenomenological, hermeneutic, and practical involvements. Each mode of meaning gives rise to its successors, allowing humans to acquire new powers to understand and manipulate their environments and each other. This increase and refinement of human power raises ethical issues that we address using the Gadamerian concept of dialogue.
Dis/Abling Practices: Rethinking Disability
Authors: Schillmeier Michael
Published: May 2008

Dis/Abling Practices: Rethinking Disability

The paper discusses how ordinary acts of everyday life make up the complex and contingent scenarios of disabilities that create enabling and disabling (dis/abling) practices. Drawing on qualitative empirical data the societal visibility and relevance of dis/abling practices are analyzed by connecting disability studies and sociological ideas with insights from Science and Technology Studies (STS). The essay explores how (visual) dis/ability is the outcome of human and non-human configurations and suggests that dis/ability can be understood neither as an individual bodily impairment nor as a socially attributed disability. Rather, dis/ability refers to complex sets of heterogeneous practices that (re-)associate bodies, material objects, and technologies with sensory practices. These practices, the paper concludes, draw attention to the multiple processes that (re-) concatenate the conduct of human affairs.
"Trust" and Professional Power: Towards a Social Theory of Self
Authors: Powell Jason , Gilbert Tony
Published: May 2008

"Trust" and Professional Power: Towards a Social Theory of Self

This paper sets out to delve into the relationship trust and professional authority in the context of health care. Understood in its micro-political terms and conceived as impacting on individualorganisational levels and the socio-political; this relationship stands at the interface of competingpressures working to produce the increasing complexity of social life. “Trust” is inextricably linked withuncertainty and complexity while professional authority rests on the specialist knowledge claimed bythe range of experts and technologists that inhabit the spaces through which social life is governed andcomplexity managed.
Sense of Community and its Sustenance in Africa
Authors: Oyeshile Olatunji
Published: May 2008

Sense of Community and its Sustenance in Africa

There is no gainsaying the fact that Africa is inundated with many problems which have made the development and the attainment of social order, conceived in normative terms, daunting tasks. It is also a fact that there are many causes of this scenario such as political marginalization, ethnic chauvinism, economic mismanagement, religious bigotry and corruption in its various facets. However, in this disquisition we identify the lack of the development, internalization and application of the sense of community, loosely tagged community consciousness, as a major factor that has aggravated the African crisis and which if addressed can reverse the order of things positively. It is the contention of this paper that fundamentally in the case of Africa, as shown in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria, there has been a blind pursuit of private or individual interests to the detriment of the public sphere or public good. Ironically too, when leaders put up repressive laws in the pretense to pursue the public good, the underlying motive has always been the pursuit of selfish private whims and caprices. We noted that in contemporary Africa a major way towards a desired level of social order and development consists in engendering the required sense of community (a situation in which there is mutual co-operation, interdependence and fellow-feeling) on which other developments can be predicated. Although, the quest and realization of the sense of community is not a grand solution to our myriad of problems in Africa, at least it forms the basis on which we can start to address our problems in Africa in a meaningful way.
The influence of the catalyst on the kinetics of ethyl metacrylate synthesis
Authors: Grzesik Mirosław , Witczak Teresa
Published: May 2008

The influence of the catalyst on the kinetics of ethyl metacrylate synthesis

The synthesis of ethyl metacrylate in the liquid phase was studied. Tungstophosphoric and molybdophosphoric acids, which belong to heteropolyacids group, were used as a catalyst. The chemical compounds from this group are often utilized in the catalysis with regard to their activity and selectivity. The rate equations, reaction rate constants and equilibrium constants have been determined. The reaction order and the kinetic parameters of the kinetic relations were determined by the integral method. All rate equations are formulated with activities taking the non ideal effects of the compounds into consideration. It was found that the kinetics of the esterification of the presented reactions was non-elementary
The effect of supports on coke deposition on supported platinum and platinum-tin catalysts investigated by FT-IR spectroscopy
Authors: Sarbak Zenon
Published: May 2008

The effect of supports on coke deposition on supported platinum and platinum-tin catalysts investigated by FT-IR spectroscopy

Coke deposit is produced from ethylene on the surface of the platinum and platinum-tin catalysts supported on two various Al2 O3, SiO2 and SiO2 -Al2O3. The coke amount and the structure depend on the type and the amount of the components introduced onto the catalyst support and on the type of the support. It has been found that the surface area of the support has no significant effect on the type of species in the coke deposit. The analysis of the FT-IR spectra has shown the presence of different species on the surface of the catalysts, including carboxyl groups, pseudo-graphite (polyaromatic) structures, polyphenylene groups, acetyl groups, carbonyl groups of acetone and formate type, enol species.
The influence of organic diluents and solvents on the stability of PVC plastisol water dispersions
Authors: Makarewicz Edwin , Jan´czak Krzysztof
Published: May 2008

The influence of organic diluents and solvents on the stability of PVC plastisol water dispersions

The work presents the research, the aim of which is to specify the influence of organic diluents and solvents such as xylene, toluene, n-butyl acetate and butanol as well as cyclohexanone on the stability of water dispersions of the PVC plastisol containing various surface-active agents (SAA). The applied surfactants were characterised by a specific ethoxylation number, molecular mass, the Hildebrand parameter, hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance, surface activity, the limiting viscosity number, the Haller interaction constant, the limiting equivalent conductivity and the Kohlrausch-Onsager equation "b" constant. Basing on the molar refraction and the Hildebrand parameter, the interactions between the plastisol constituents and the constituents of water dispersions of the PVC plastisol were established. The sedimentation tests on the PVC plastisol water dispersions stabilized by various surface-active agents with an organic diluent or solvent added indicated that the addition resulted in the dispergation yield, a reduction in the PVC plastisol molecular size in water dispersion and the increased Huggins interaction constant, showing both surface lyophilisation and higher adsorption of surface-active agents.
Mathematical modelling of wet oxidation of excess sludge
Authors: Chacuk Andrzej , Imbierowicz Mirosław
Published: May 2008

Mathematical modelling of wet oxidation of excess sludge

A mathematical model enabling a quantitative description of wet oxidation of excess sludge in continuous bubble columns is proposed. The model consists of mass and heat transfer kinetic equations and material and heat balance equations of gas and liquid phases flowing through the absorber. The equations of material and heat balance refer to a parallel, co- current flow of gas and liquid phase and take into account a complex chemical reaction in the liquid phase core. The proposed model was used in a numerical simulation of wet oxidation in a bubble absorber for different process conditions: flow rate and composition of the gas and liquid phase, temperature and pressure, and different heights and diameters of the column.
Synthesis of photoreactive solvent-free acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives in the recovered system
Authors: Milker Roland , Czech Zbigniew , Wesołowska Marta
Published: May 2008

Synthesis of photoreactive solvent-free acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives in the recovered system

The present paper discloses a novel photoreactive solvent-free acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) systems, especially suitable for the so much adhesive film applications as the double-sided, single-sided or carrier-free technical tapes, self-adhesive labels, protective films, marking and sign films and wide range of medical products. The novel photoreactive solvent-free pressure-sensitive adhesives contain no volatile organic compounds (residue monomers or organic solvent) and comply with the environment and legislation. The synthesis of this new type of acrylic PSA is conducted in common practice by solvent polymerisation. After the organic solvent are removed, there remains a non-volatile, solvent-free highly viscous material, which can be processed on a hot-melt coating machine at the temperatures of about 100 to 140°C.
The Influence of Urea on the KHCO3 and NH4VO3 Solubility in the KHCO3 + NH4VO3 + H2O System
Authors: Kiełkowska Urszula , Trypuć Mieczysław , Mazurek Krzysztof , Drużyński Sebastian
Published: May 2008

The Influence of Urea on the KHCO3 and NH4VO3 Solubility in the KHCO3 + NH4VO3 + H2O System

The influence of urea on the vanadium(V) and potassium ion concentrations in the KHCO3 + NH4VO3 + H2O system was determined in the temperature range of 293 K to 303 K. Additionally, the solution density dependence versus the urea concentration was presented. These data are essential for the assessment of optimum operating conditions for the new production process of potassium carbonate.
Mass transfer in the bath reactor of the adsorption process of 1,2-dichloropropane from aqueous solution onto the activated carbon
Authors: Pełech Robert
Published: May 2008

Mass transfer in the bath reactor of the adsorption process of 1,2-dichloropropane from aqueous solution onto the activated carbon

A pseudo-second order rate equation describing the kinetics of the adsorption of 1,2-dichloropropane from aqueous solution onto the activated carbon at different initial concentrations, adsorbent dose, temperature, particle diameter and the rate of stirring have been developed. The rate constant was calculated. The rate constant correlation in a good mixing conditions was described as a function of the temperature.
Application of fly ash agglomerates in the sorption of arsenic
Authors: Polowczyk Izabela , Bastrzyk Anna , Koźlecki Tomasz , Rudnicki Piotr , Sawiński Wojciech , Sadowski Zygmunt , Sokołowski Adam
Published: May 2008

Application of fly ash agglomerates in the sorption of arsenic

The scope of this contribution was to investigate in detail an application of fly ash adsorbent for the removal of arsenite ions from à dilute solution. The experiments have been carried out using fly ash from black coal burning power plant "Siersza" and brown coal burning power plant "Turów" (Poland), which was wetted, then mixed and tumbled in the granulator with a small amount of cement to increase the mechanical strength of agglomerates. The measurements of arsenic adsorption from the aqueous solution were carried out in the flask (with shaking), as well as in the column (with circulation), in order to compare two different methods of contacting waste with adsorbent. The adsorption isotherms of arsenic were determined for granulated material, using the Freundlich model. Kinetics studies indicated that the sorption follows a pseudo-first-order (PFO) model (Lagergren) and the Elovich-type model.
The new method of 1,2-epoxy-3-butanol production over titanium silicalite catalysts
Authors: Wajzberg Joanna , Wróblewska Agnieszka
Published: May 2008

The new method of 1,2-epoxy-3-butanol production over titanium silicalite catalysts

The results of 1-butene-3-ol (1B3O) epoxidation over the titanium silicalite catalysts: TS-1, Ti-Beta, Ti-MCM-41 has been presented. The optimal parameters obtained for the individual catalyst were compared. The main functions describing the process were: the selectivity of transformation to 1,2-epoxy-3-butanol (1,2E3B) in relation to 1B3O consumed, the conversions of 1B3O and hydrogen peroxide and the selectivity of the transformation to organic compounds in relation to the H2O2 consumed. The main product of the epoxidation process was 1,2-epoksy-3-butanol, the chemical compounds having a lot of applications.
The pressure method of 1-butene-3-ol epoxidation over Ti-beta catalyst
Authors: Wróblewska Agnieszka , Wajzberg Joanna , Milchert Eugeniusz , Grzmil Barbara , Ziebro Janusz
Published: May 2008

The pressure method of 1-butene-3-ol epoxidation over Ti-beta catalyst

The investigations of 1-buten-3-ol (1B3O) epoxidation by 30% hydrogen peroxide over Ti-Beta catalyst were performed. The experiments were carried out under the autogenic pressure and at the presence of methanol as a solvent. The influence of the following technological parameters on the course of epoxidation: temperature (20 - 120°C), the molar ratio of 1B3O/H2O2 (0.5:1 - 5:1), methanol concentration (5 - 90 wt%.), Ti-Beta concentration (0.1 - 5.0 wt%) and the reaction time (0.5 - 5.0 h) was investigated. The main functions describing the process were: the selectivity of transformation to 1,2-epokxy-3-butanol in relation to 1B3O consumed, conversions of substrates as well as the selectivity of transformation to organic compounds in relation hydrogen peroxide consumed.
Application of catalysts in the treatment of selected waste chloroorganic compounds
Authors: Żarczyński Andrzej , Zaborowski Marcin , Paryjczak Tadeusz , Gorzka Zbigniew , Kaźmierczak Marek
Published: May 2008

Application of catalysts in the treatment of selected waste chloroorganic compounds

Tetrachloromethane (TCM) and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TChE) were oxidized in the temperature range from 300 to 600°C and at contact time of 0.36 s. The following catalysts were applied during the process: the granular one - platinum (0.12%) at the TiO2-SiO2 carrier, platinum ZChO-80 (0.15%) at γ-Al2O3 carrier, palladium (1%) at γ-Al2O3 carrier and monolithic platinum-rhodium catalyst (Pt - 0.09% and Rh - 0.04%) at the cordierite carrier.

The substrates were oxidized in the presence of the above mentioned catalysts with various efficiencies depending on the molecular structure and the type of the catalyst. Palladium contact appeared to be the most active among the others. In the presence of this catalyst, total oxidation of TCM and TChE proceeded at the temperature of 425 and 500°C, respectively. The content of PCDD/Fs in gaseous products obtained during the oxidation of both substrates, was significantly lower than the admissible value of the toxicity equivalent (0.1 ng TEQ/m3).
The impact of composts prepared from different organic waste on the total number of soil microorganisms
Authors: Michalcewicz Wiera , Wołoszyk Czesław , Balcer Krzysztof
Published: May 2008

The impact of composts prepared from different organic waste on the total number of soil microorganisms

In a two-factor pot experiment impact of two doses of six types of composts prepared from the municipal sewage sludge with an addition of canteen waste, wheat straw and cocoa husk on the total number of bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi in the soil were exmined. The light soil used in the experiment was taken from the Ap level of an arable field. On all the objects with composts there was mineral NPK fertilization applied, the control object was fertilized with the NPK only. The test plant was grass Festulolium which was harvested three times and after the third cut the samples of the soil were taken for microbiological analyses.

The conducted research shows that the number of microorganisms in soil was dependent on the dose and the type of the compost. The second dose of the compost, in comparison with the control object, in most composts considerably increased the number of bacteria and the first dose increased the number of actinomycetes. However, the number of fungi, in most cases, with both doses of composts, was lower than in the soil from the control object. The highest number of bacteria was noticed on the object with the co-most prepared from 35% sewage sludge + 35% canteen waste + 30% straw and actinomycetes on the object with the compost prepared from 35% sewage sludge + 35% canteen waste + 30% cocoa husk. The development of the soil fungi was restrained in the highest degree by the first dose of the compost prepared from 35% sewage sludge + 35% canteen waste + 15% straw + 15% cocoa husk and by the second dose of the compost prepared from 70% sewage sludge + 30% straw.