bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Semi-passive Piezoelectric Structural Damping by Synchronized Switching on Voltage Sources
Authors: Lefeuvre Elie , Badel Adrien , Petit Lionel , Richard Claude , Guyomar Daniel
Published: May 2006

Semi-passive damping techniques have been developed recently to address the problem of structural damping. Contrary to the standard passive piezoelectric damping, these new techniques adapt to environmental variations. Moreover, they present interesting multimodal damping performances. However, their efficiency is strongly correlated with their electromechanical coupling. The enhanced semi-passive damping technique presented herein compensates for this drawback. It reinforces the electromechanical coupling by artificially increasing the voltage amplitude delivered by the piezoelectric patches. Theoretical predictions and experimental results show a −24 dB attenuation on the vibration of a resonant cantilever steel beam, while reducing the piezoelectric material volume by 83%.
Identification of Delaminations in Composite Laminates
Authors: Hu Ning , Fukunaga Hisao , Kameyama Masaki
Published: May 2006

In this article, an identification technique for detecting delaminations in composite laminates is proposed, which uses the distributed piezoelectric actuators/sensors and the conception of transfer function. In this technique, the configuration of arrays of actuators/sensors is carefully designed to enhance the efficiency of the identification algorithm based on the transfer function. A beam example is employed to study the characteristics and effectiveness of the present identification approach, numerically. The experimental data are simulated from a FEM technique of higher-order plate theory for adaptive composite laminates, which is extended for delaminated laminates by implementing the displacement continuity conditions at the delamination front.
Experimental Study on RAINBOW Actuators made of PSZT
Authors: Shen Xing , Wang Xinwei , Lee In
Published: May 2006

A new type of large-displacement actuator called RAINBOW (Reduced And Internally Biased Oxide Wafer) has been fabricated by the chemical reduction of PSZT antiferroelectric ceramics and its properties are investigated. It is found that PSZT is easily reduced and the optimal conditions for producing RAINBOW samples were determined to be 870°C for 2-3 h. The AFE-FE phase transitions occur at a lower field strength in the RAINBOW actuators compared with normal PSZT actuators. Larger axial displacement (about 190 mm) have also been obtained from the RAINBOW actuators by application of electric fields exceeding the phase switching level. However, the field-induced displacement of the RAINBOW actuator is dependent on the manner of application of load on the samples.
Online Deflection Monitoring System for Dafosi Cable-Stayed Bridge
Authors: Zhu Yong , Fu Yumei , Chen Weimin , Huang Shanglian
Published: May 2006

A health monitoring system was designed and installed on Dafosi Bridge, the largest cable-stayed bridge across the Yangtze River in western China. This article briefly describes an online deflection monitoring system, the most important sensing subsystem of the health monitoring system. It can be divided into two major components, one for measurement, and one for control and data processing. The measurement system itself includes two types of deflection sensors to monitor the lateral displacement of the two towers and the flexural and torsional displacement of the main girder. Sensor outputs are pre-processed locally and sent to the host computer at the management center via the Internet. The system design and implementation are reviewed, and the results of data from two kinds of sensors are presented.
Automatic Defect Characterization using Artificial Neural Networks and Deconvolution Techniques
Authors: Jian X. , Guo N. , Du H. , Li M. X. , Zhang H. L.
Published: May 2006

An automatic defect testing system is dealt with in this article. It includes two parts, defect feature extraction, and defect classification and sizing. Defect feature extraction is carried out by adaptive filter deconvolution. The time delay between two consecutive taps of the adaptive filter is one half cycle of the ultrasonic echo to be processed. Wideband ultrasonic defect echoes of center frequency 1.2 MHz generally have 2-4 cycles and 100-200 data points for a 50 MHz sampling rate. After deconvolution, data are reduced to 4-8 points, and the frequency bandwidth is greatly extended. As a result, the defect features stand out. The deconvolved defect echoes are presented to an artificial neural network (ANN) for automatic defect classification and sizing. Two application examples are given in this article, exact classification and reasonable sizing accuracy have been achieved.
Magnetic Swimming Mechanism in a Viscous Liquid
Authors: Sudo S. , Segawa S. , Honda T.
Published: May 2006

A new type of micro swimming mechanism is examined for the development of medical microrobots working in human blood vessels. The magnetic micro swimming mechanism without the wire for supplying the energy is driven by the alternating magnetic field. The magnetic swimming mechanism is examined in a transparent polyvinylchloride pipe filled with a viscous liquid. The test fluid used in the experiment is glycerin. The Helmholtz coil and a bipolar power supply are used to apply the alternating magnetic field in the experiment. Locomotive characteristics of the swimming mechanism in a viscous liquid are analyzed by a high-speed video camera system. The dynamic behavior of a micro swimming robot in a viscous liquid is revealed.
Adhesion Characteristics of Polyurethane for Bionic Hairy Foot
Authors: Dai Zhendong , Yu Min , Gorb Stanislav
Published: May 2006

Hairy adhesive pads are used by many animals and insects which can move on the ceilings and walls, such as gecko, spider, fly and some beetles. The effects of material properties and contact geometry were experimentally studied. The softest material has the highest adhesion and the surface roughness has hardly any effects on adhesion. The contact geometry and surface roughness influence adhesion heavily. The adhesion increases with the increase of normal force for a flat-to-flat contact, but does not get affected for a spherical sapphire ball to flat polyurethane contact. The adhesion is not affected by contact angles for soft connections, but heavily decreases for hard connections. The results are important data for bionic hairy foot design.
Experimental Studies on Active Shape Control of Composite Structures using SMA Actuators
Authors: Yang Seung-Man , Roh Jin-Ho , Han Jae-Hung , Lee In
Published: May 2006

In this article, the experimental modeling and active shape control of hybrid composite structures actuated by shape memory alloy (SMA) wires are presented and discussed. The thermomechanical properties of the SMA wires are experimentally measured. SMA actuators with residual strains are prepared by loading-unloading tensile tests. Hybrid composite structures are established by attaching the SMA actuators on the surface of a graphite/epoxy composite beam and plate by bolt-joint connectors. The first-order numerical model is used to model the response of the hybrid composite structures attached to the SMA actuators. The parameters of the first-order model are experimentally determined and the response is compared with experimental data. For faster and more accurate shape/deflection control of the hybrid composite structure, feedforward and proportional integral derivative (PID) feedback controllers are designed and applied to the hybrid composite structure. The PID feedback controller significantly improves the performance of the SMA actuators.
A Closed-loop Transcutaneous Power Transmission System with Thermal Control for Artificial Urethral Valve Driven by SMA Actuator
Authors: Tanaka Mami , Wang Feng , Abe Kazuhiro , Arai Yoichi , Nakagawa Haruo , Chonan Seiji
Published: May 2006

This article presents the development of an implanted artificial urethral valve that is used for the treatment of urinary incontinence, with emphasis on a transcutaneous power transmission system with closed-loop thermal control function. The valve uses a shape memory alloy (SMA) plate as the actuator, which is activated with batteries placed outside a patient’s body using a transcutaneous power transmission system. The power transmission system is equipped with an implanted temperature monitor circuit and a temperature controller to prevent the SMA actuator from being overheated during a prolonged urination. Laboratory experiments and animal experiments, both in vitro and in vivo, show that the developed power transmission system can successfully control the temperature of the SMA actuator to activate the valve without excessive heating of the SMA actuator.
Experimental Investigation on the Dynamic Behavior of a Disk-type Damper based on Magnetorheological Grease
Authors: Changsheng Zhu
Published: May 2006

In order to greatly reduce the sedimentation in magnetorheological fluids (MRF), which will result in variable-time dynamic behaviors of MRF based vibration-damping devices, a kind of magnetorheological grease (MRG), whose rheological property can also be significantly changed on the application of an external magnetic field, is presented, and a MRG based disk-type damper in shear operation for rotational machinery is developed. This article reports the experimental results about the controllability of the disk-type MRG damper on the dynamic behavior of a rotor system, the effectiveness of the disk-type MRG damper for attenuating the rotor’s vibration, and the suitability of the MRG damper for a feedback vibration control of rotor systems in a flexible rotor. It is shown that the dynamic behavior of the disk-type MRG damper can be controlled on the application of an external magnetic field produced by a low voltage electromagnetic coil. The disk-type MRG damper can significantly change the dynamic characteristics of a rotor system, and is suitable for an actuator to actively control the vibration of rotor systems.
Application of Fiber Optic Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor for Measuring Liquid Refractive Index
Authors: Zeng Jie , Liang Dakai
Published: May 2006

An optical fiber sensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon that can be used for liquid refractive index testing is presented in this article. The effect of various parameters like the refractive index of the core and the liquid type on the shape of the SPR spectrum is analyzed, utilizing relative spectrum measurement technology. The relationship curves between several kinds of liquids with the same refractive index with their resonance wavelengths are also obtained using the sensing probe. Furthermore, experimental results of liquids with high refractive index reveal that the improved probe with SiO film has the ability to extend the detection upper limit of refractive index and keep the toughness of optical fiber at the same time.
Influences of Electron Beam Irradaiton on Misting and Related Surface Condition on Sapphire Lens
Authors: Oguri Kazuya , Irisawa Yuto , Tonegawa Akira , Nishi Yoshitake
Published: May 2006

In order to explain the misting-free treatment by sheet electron beam irradiation (SEBI) for sapphire lens setting on endoscope top, influences of SEBI on surface energy are investigated. The SEBI increases surface energy, resulting in force-distance curve used for atomic force microscope. Based on the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the SEBI enhances the bonding rates of -C-O- and -C-O-O- and decreases -C-C- bonding rate. On the other hand, influences of SEBI on surface water wettability are investigated. The SEBI enhances the wettability of the sapphire surface for water, n-hexadecan, and 1-bromonaphthalene. Since the adhesion molecular change coincides with the surface energy change, the dipole of adhesion molecular is the dominant factor to control the surface energy. In order to explain to the dipole factor change, the electron charge is measured, too. From the results, the surface energy change can be explained by the adhesion molecular change and electron charging.
Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting using a Synchronized Switch Technique
Authors: Badel Adrien , Guyomar Daniel , Lefeuvre Elie , Richard Claude
Published: May 2006

This article describes a new approach to harvest electrical energy from a mechanically excited structure equipped with piezoelectric elements. Standard harvesting circuits using piezoelectric elements as an electric generator consist of an AC-DC converter coupled to a load. The technique proposed herein is fully compatible with the standard approach. The difference consists in adding up an electrical switching device connected in parallel with the piezoelectric elements. The switch device is triggered on the maxima or minima of the displacement and realizes a voltage inversion through an inductor. This method allows the artificial increase of the piezoelements’ output voltage, resulting in a significant increase of the electrical power flow. It is shown that the power flow transfer strongly depends on the structure electromechanical coupling coefficient. For a weakly coupled structure using this new technique, the electrical power can be increased by over 400%.
Study on MR Semi-active Suspension System and its Road Testing
Authors: Yu Miao , Liao C. R. , Chen W. M. , Huang S. L.
Published: May 2006

A magnetorheological (MR) damper model is established and linearized based on theory analyses and real testing. Since the mathematical model of the suspension system is nonlinear and complicated, a model-free fuzzy control algorithm is employed to design a controller for achieving vibration isolation. As a pilot study, two MR dampers are used to replace the passive ones of the front half-car. A quarter-car fuzzy intelligent controller is employed to control the two MR independent suspension systems, respectively. The performance of the MR suspension system is evaluated by road testing. The test results indicate that the vibration of the vehicle body and unsprung mass are both reduced significantly.
A Prototype of an Exercising Bicycle based on Electrorheological Fluids
Authors: Tian Yu , Yu Hao , Meng Yonggang , Wen Shizhu
Published: May 2006

A prototype of an exercising bicycle with a key part of concentric cylinders has been designed and characterized employing electrorheological (ER) fluids based on zeolite and silicone oil. The radius and width of the cylinders have been optimized so that there is minimum power consumption from the high voltage power source. The performance of the prototype has been experimentally determined. Experimental results show that the resistance increases significantly with the increase of applied electric field and the power consumption of the exercising bicycle is <0.5 W. The research shows the advantages of using ER fluids in this kind of an apparatus.
Effect of Microscale Contact State of Polyurethane Surface on Adhesion and Friction
Authors: Yu Min , Ji Aihong , Dai Zhendong
Published: May 2006

The effect of microscale contact of rough surfaces on adhesion and friction under negative normal forces is experimentally investigated. The adhesion do not vary with the normal forces on the condition of single point contact - sapphire ball to flat polyurethane (PU). The adhesion increased with the normal forces according to logarithmic relation in the circumstances of rough surface contact, which was assumed as a great number of point contacts. Under negative normal forces - adhesion, the tangential forces increased with the decrease of negative normal forces linearly. The results reveal why a gecko’s toe must slide slightly on the target surface when it contacted the ceiling and suggest how the biomimetic gecko foot is designed.
A Magnetic Design Method of MR Fluid Dampers and FEM Analysis on Magnetic Saturation
Authors: Zhang H. H. , Liao C. R. , Chen W. M. , Huang S. L.
Published: May 2006

The research on magnetorheological (MR) damping technology is booming in recent years. Especially on application to vehicles, both good ride comfort and steering stability must be taken into account. Accordingly, high scalability of MR dampers and their magnetic design are of significance. In this article, the magnetic design of an MR damper is proposed, and a finite element (FE) analysis on the magnetic saturation is discussed for the utmost improvement of the high force. Through experimental verification, the damper force is effectively scaled by the magnetic design.
Design and Analysis of a Biosensor Transducer with Multifunctions
Authors: Li Fenlan , Jiang Zhongwei
Published: May 2006

This study deals with the development of a simple and multifunctional piezoelectric transducer, which can detect two or more species at one time. The transducer for testing consists of an aluminum cantilever beam and a piezoceramic patch. A piezoelectric impedance-based measurement technique is proposed for detecting a very small biospecies mass sensitively. Furthermore, two different types of biomembranes are coated on the beam so that they can detect two kinds of species without causing interference with each other. The problem as to how to determine the optimal positions for coating the membranes are investigated in detail by the finite element method (FEM). The numerical simulations showed a good agreement with the experimental results. Further, a concept for the design of a multifunctional transducer is proposed based on the mode function, and its validation is proved experimentally.
High Performance Electroactive Polymers and Nano-composites for Artificial Muscles
Authors: Zhang Shihai , Huang Cheng , Klein Rob J. , Xia Feng , Zhang Q. M. , Cheng Z.-Y.
Published: May 2006

Electroactive polymers with high dielectric constant ( K) can generate a large strain response under an electric field and they are promising candidate materials for artificial muscles. By introducing carefully controlled defects, normal ferroelectric polymer poly (vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] can be converted into a relaxor ferroelectric material with electrostrictive strain up to 7% and room temperature dielectric constant above 50. These defects can be created by either high-energy electron irradiation or copolymerization with a third bulky comonomer chlorofluoroethylene. Furthermore, giant K can be achieved in all-polymer percolative composites with organic semiconductor copper-phthalocyanine or conducting polymer as the filler. The recently developed nano-composites have K up to 1000 and electromechanical strain above 10%.
Electrically Active Non-ionic Artificial Muscle
Authors: Hirai Toshihiro
Published: May 2006

The author has been studying the electrical actuation of non-ionic dielectric polymeric materials, ranging from highly swollen polymer gels to non-solvent containing elastomers. In this presentation, the present situation of the kind of ‘artificial muscles,’ is summarized, and an attempt is made to define the future prospects of the artificial muscle. Dielectric polymer solutions show characteristic flow behavior in the electrical field that is different from that of the intact solvent itself. Polymeric gels that contain a large amount of solvent can be deformed in two processes, one is by Maxwell force and the other by ‘charge injected solvent drag’. Plasticizer plays a slightly different role in the electrical deformation. In the case of a plasticized polymer, instead of the solvent drag, creep deformation occurs in which plasticized polymer gel body deforms with charge injection. It looks like an amoeba-like ‘pseudoplasmic flow,’ and is known as ‘electrotaxis’. The strain was found to reach over 400%. In the case of a non-solvent system, a dielectric elastomer is the possible candidate for actuator. In this case, it is proposed that the electrically induced deformation is asymmetric on both electrodes and usually deforms with bending. Although the strain is much smaller than that found in gels and plasticized materials, it is adequate for the study of space charge distribution in materials. The phenomena observed in elastomers are consistent in gels or plasticized materials.
Bio-potential Neural Activation of Artificial Muscles
Authors: Kottke Ethan A. , Partridge L. Donald , Shahinpoor Mohsen
Published: May 2006

Electrical activation of non-biological artificial muscles, such as biocompatible polymeric synthetic artificial muscles, by means of action potential produced by a biological nerve, may become important for people with muscular atrophy or dystrophy or general muscular weakness and deficiency, in the near future. This short article reports on how to stimulate and activate a non-biological muscle such as an ionic polymeric metal composite (IPMC) electro-active artificial muscle with the biological action potential generated by a mammalian nerve such as a mouse sciatic nerve. The investigation further describes the settings to generate optimal movement and force in artificial muscle due to the application of a nerve action potential. The investigation uses the action potential produced by the sciatic nerve of a mouse to generate a voltage, which is subsequently amplified and applied to a sample of an electro-active ionic polymeric artificial muscle to cause it to bend, flex, and deform. The sciatic nerve, in this investigation, is stimulated by a separate signal to cause it to generate an action potential in the range of a few millivolts, which is captured by the platinum electrodes attached to the nerve. These electrodes carry the action potential voltage to an amplifier to amplify it to a few volts and subsequently are input to the ionic polymeric artificial muscle sample to cause it to flex and deform. Different frequencies of stimulation are tried to optimize the motion and force generated by the sciatic nerve action potential in the polymeric artificial muscles.
Internet-scale Sensing: Are Biomimetic Approaches the Answer?
Authors: Ramirez-Garcia Sonia , Diamond Dermot
Published: May 2006

Throughout history, many inventions have been inspired by nature. For example, there are numerous examples of machines that imitate the shape or mechanism of animals and plants. Recently, scientists have named this phenomenon as ‘biomimetics’ and now actively search in nature for solutions to many complex problems. Living creatures have been optimized through thousands of years of evolution to achieve maximum efficiency with minimum energy consumption. This is also the goal that modern analytical devices are aiming for. We are looking for long-term deployment platforms to be applied, for example, for environmental monitoring and control or even for biomedical implants. For autonomous, field deployed systems, low power consumption is critical, in terms of detection, reagent control, and communications.

In this article, we explore options for detecting colored analytes in microfluidic systems using low power LEDs, and the use of soft actuators for low power fluid control.
Fatigue Resistant Miniature Piezoceramic Actuators
Authors: Hooker S. , Mueller J. , Kostelecky C. , Womer K.
Published: May 2006

Piezoelectric ceramics are desirable actuator materials for many biomedical applications due to their ability to generate precise, controlled motion with applied voltage. Herein, we report the fabrication of miniature piezoceramic actuators and their subsequent performance testing under high electric fields. Actuators were produced by tape casting sub-micrometer lead zirconate titanate (PZT) powder, followed by electroding, laminating, and dicing to form multilayer devices. The resulting devices consisted of ten active PZT layers, each of which was -50 mm thick. To evaluate the effect of microstructure on performance, the components were heated to seven different temperatures ranging from 1175 to 1325°C and held at each temperature for 24 min. Fatigue resistance was determined by monitoring changes in polarization during continuous cyclic operation. Actuators sintered at lower temperatures possessed smaller grains and exhibited improved fatigue resistance. In these specimens, polarization decreased by <15% compared to more than 50% for devices processed at higher temperatures. These results indicate that sintering control can be effectively used to minimize performance degradation, improve reliability, and promote long-term stability.
Development of a Tendon Driven System using a Pneumatic Balloon
Authors: Saga Norihiko
Published: May 2006

The development of a robot, which is gentle to people in nursing and welfare, has been increasingly considered due to the aging of society. For a robot often in contact with people and requiring safety and flexibility in nursing and welfare, the development of a soft actuator that is compact and lightweight has been suggested. Therefore, in this work a tendon driven robot hand using a pneumatic balloon as a directly operated actuator, satisfying these needs has been developed. In this report, the basic constitution of the tendon driven system and the results of the basic characteristics as a pneumatic actuator are revealed.
Mechanical Devices for Snail-like Locomotion
Authors: Chan Brian , Ji Susan , Koveal Catherine , Hosoi A. E.
Published: May 2006

We have constructed two mechanical snails, Robosnail 1 and Robosnail 2, inspired by the propulsion mechanisms of live gastropods. Each uses a different mechanical strategy to move on a thin layer of viscous fluid. Robosnail 1 uses a flexible flapping sheet to generate lubrication pressures in a viscous Newtonian fluid which in turn propels the snail. Robosnail 2 uses a compressible sliding sheet on a layer of Laponite, a non-Newtonian, finite-yield stress fluid.
Ionic Polymer-metal Composites for Underwater Operation
Authors: Kim Kwang J. , Yim Woosoon , Paquette Jason W. , Kim Doyeon
Published: May 2006

The ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) for flexible hydrodynamic propulsor blades can provide many new opportunities in navy platforms, especially in unmanned, robotic vehicles used in surveillance and combat. When in operation, the IPMC materials are very quiet since they have no vibration causing components, i.e., gears, motors, shafts, etc. For small autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), this feature is truly attractive. IPMCs are friendly to solid-state electronics and have digital programming capabilities; thus, active control is possible. Another advantage of these materials is that they can be operational in a self-oscillatory manner. However, there are several issues that still need to be addressed: propulsor design, testing, robotic control, and the theoretical modeling of the appropriate design. Currently, the IPMC is being investigated for propulsor blade applications and a propulsor model with a robust control scheme. An analytical model of a segmented IPMC propulsor was formulated to be a building block for accommodating the relaxation behavior of IPMCs and for describing the dynamics of the flexible IPMC bending actuator.
Bending Actuators with Maximum Curvature and Force and Zero Interfacial Stress
Authors: Shapiro Benjamin , Smela Elisabeth
Published: May 2006

Stress at the interface of a bilayer actuator can lead to delamination, and this stress increases with the difference in the Young’s moduli of the two layers. In this study, an actuator that includes a third ‘buffer’ layer is modeled, and it is shown how optimization of the thickness and modulus of this layer can reduce stress at that interface to zero, with no loss of curvature and only a small loss in force. A polypyrrole (PPy)/conducting polymer/gold trilayer is used as a model system, with the aim of reducing stress at the weak polymer/gold interface. For a 450 nm thick PPy layer with a Young’s modulus of 0.2 GPa, an intermediate layer of 150 nm thickness with a modulus of 5 GPa reduces the stress to zero with no loss of curvature and only a 7% loss in force compared to the bilayer case.
A Qualitative Exploration of the Nature of Domestic Violence in Pregnancy
Authors: Bacchus Loraine , Mezey Gill , Bewley Susan
Published: May 2006

This article presents a small, qualitative study of 16 women who had experienced domestic violence in the previous 12 months. The violence was perpetrated by a current or former partner in all but one case. Ten of the 16 women had experienced domestic violence during their recent pregnancy, of whom four women had also been assaulted in at least one previous pregnancy. Three women had been assaulted by their partners in a previous pregnancy but not during their recent pregnancy, and three had experienced domestic violence outside of pregnancy only. Some women reported increased feelings of insecurity, jealousy, and possessiveness in their partner during their pregnancy. Abuse within the relationship centered around the arrival and care of the new baby: financial worries, the woman's lessening physical and emotional availability during pregnancy, the lack of practical and emotional support from the male partner, and doubts about paternity.
Who Listens? The Voices of Domestic Violence Survivors in Service Provision in the United Kingdom
Authors: Hague Gill , Mullender Audrey
Published: May 2006

This article discusses, in the context of the United Kingdom, service user participation in domestic violence services and how much the voices of domestic violence survivors are heard in policy and service development. If services addressing domestic violence are to continue to develop and to effectively meet abused women's needs, then the views of those using them need to be heeded and acted on. In the UK, these views have been mainly overlooked in the past. Now, however, as in some other countries, domestic violence survivor participation has been addressed to a small extent. This article discusses some of the pioneering techniques being tried out and the sensitivity and difficulties involved, within a context of an understanding of empowerment and the activist movement against gender violence. The article considers the participation of UK women experiencing violence in both shelter and advocacy services, in wider interagency forums and in policy development.
Putting a Stop to Domestic Violence in the United Kingdom
Authors: Harwin Nicola
Published: May 2006

In this article, the director of Women's Aid, the national domestic violence charity in England, reflects on the role of Women's Aid and activism in the development of responses to domestic abuse and in the Economic and Social Research Council Violence Research Program. The article also reflects on the relationship between researchers and domestic violence activist services.
Theorizing About Violence
Authors: Stanko Elizabeth A.
Published: May 2006

The director of the Economic and Social Research Council Violence Research Program (VRP) in the United Kingdom discusses and debates the impacts of the program in the context of contemporary ideas about violence and current U.K. policy and practice in the field. The projects in the program included 2 historical studies and 18 contemporary studies of violence in the home, schools, prisons, neighborhoods, leisure establishments, massage parlors, and on the street. For example, studies focusing on the nighttime economy in U.K. cities, on paramilitary punishment beatings in Northern Ireland, and on violence experienced and perpetrated by girls are discussed here. Five projects addressed gendered violence, and three addressed domestic violence specifically. Lessons from the VRP are drawn out in this article in a personal account. These lessons include the fact that violence is not hidden, that the meanings of violence are gendered, and that people's accounts of violence matter.
A General Inductive Approach for Analyzing Qualitative Evaluation Data
Authors: Thomas David R.
Published: May 2006

A general inductive approach for analysis of qualitative evaluation data is described. The purposes for using an inductive approach are to (a) condense raw textual data into a brief, summary format; (b) establish clear links between the evaluation or research objectives and the summary findings derived from the raw data; and (c) develop a framework of the underlying structure of experiences or processes that are evident in the raw data. The general inductive approach provides an easily used and systematic set of procedures for analyzing qualitative data that can produce reliable and valid findings. Although the general inductive approach is not as strong as some other analytic strategies for theory or model development, it does provide a simple, straightforward approach for deriving findings in the context of focused evaluation questions. Many evaluators are likely to find using a general inductive approach less complicated than using other approaches to qualitative data analysis.
An Assessment of Evaluation Designs
Authors: Howell Embry M. , Yemane Alshadye
Published: May 2006

This article provides a critical review of the quality of 12 recent large federal program evaluations. The review focused on elements of the evaluation design, inclusion of evaluation expertise among those who have oversight of the evaluation, and evaluation dissemination. Overall, the process analyses from these evaluations provide good models for how to assess implementation and provide feedback to grantees. However, other features of these evaluations require improvement. For example, program monitoring often did not include adequate outcome data and few evaluations had solid impact analyses. Efforts to disseminate findings to grantees, government stakeholders, and academic audiences were also weak. The authors provide recommendations to improve the evaluations of large federal programs.
Developing Evaluation Capacity in Extension 4-H Field Faculty
Authors: Arnold Mary E.
Published: May 2006

Developing evaluation capacity in organizations is a complex and multifaceted task. This article outlines a framework for building evaluation capacity. The framework is based on four strategic methods for teaching evaluation: (a) using logic models for sound program planning, (b) providing one-on-one help, (c) facilitating small-team collaborative evaluations, and (d) conducting large-scale multisite evaluations. The article also reports the results of using the framework successfully with Extension 4-H field educators. 4-H educators who were trained using this method significantly increased their evaluation knowledge and skill and reported feeling more positively about evaluation. In addition, the results show that the 4-H organization as a whole has developed a more positive evaluation culture. This framework for teaching evaluation has potential value for all organizations interested in developing evaluation capacity in regional educators as well as developing a positive culture of evaluation within the organization.
Developing a Stakeholder-Driven Anticipated Timeline of Impact for Evaluation of Social Programs
Authors: Sridharan Sanjeev , Campbell Bernadette , Zinzow Heidi
Published: May 2006

The authors present a stakeholder-driven method, the earliest anticipated timeline of impact, which is designed to assess stakeholder expectations for the earliest time frame in which social programs are likely to affect outcomes. The utility of the anticipated timeline of impact is illustrated using an example from an evaluation of a comprehensive community initiative in which such a timeline was developed using the concept-mapping methodology. The benefits of such a timeline, including for planning programs and evaluations, are explored. Some potential problems that might arise when developing a stakeholder-driven timeline of impact are also discussed.
The Power of Why
Authors: Friedman Victor J. , Rothman Jay , Withers Bill
Published: May 2006

Clearly defined and measurable goals are commonly considered prerequisites for effective evaluation. Goal setting, however, presents a paradox to evaluators because it takes place at the interface of rationality and values. The objective of this article is to demonstrate a method for unlocking this paradox by making goal setting a process of evaluating goals, not simply defining them. Goals can be evaluated by asking program stakeholders why their goals are important to them. Systematic inquiry into goals also prepares the ground for setting consensual goals that express what stakeholders really care about. This article describes the method, provides a case illustration, offers guidelines for practice, and discusses the method in the context of the evaluation literature on goals and goal setting.
Online Diaries for Qualitative Evaluation
Authors: Cohen Deborah J. , Leviton Laura C. , Isaacson Nicole , Tallia Alfred F. , Crabtree Benjamin F.
Published: May 2006

Interactive online diaries are a novel approach for evaluating project implementation and provide real-time communication between evaluation staff members and those implementing a program. Evaluation teams can guide the lines of inquiry and ensure that data are captured as implementation develops. When used together with conventional evaluation strategies, interactive online diaries allow for an in-depth understanding of project implementation, as well as the challenges program staff members confront and the solutions they develop. Interactive online diaries also can help evaluators address challenges such as self-reporting bias, documenting project evolution, and capturing implementers’ ongoing insights as they develop. These insights might otherwise be lost to the evaluation process. The authors describe the development and use of this online approach in the evaluation of a foundation-sponsored program to improve the provision of preventive care in physicians’ offices. The program included 17 practice-based research networks and their participating primary care practices.
Culturing Cells, Reproducing and Regulating the Self
Authors: Kent Julie , Faulkner Alex , Geesink Ingrid , Fitzpatrick David
Published: May 2006

The emergence of a new tissue economy raises issues for the governance of risk and concepts of the body and self. This article explores the development of autologous cell therapies as a form of tissue engineering and considers how and why autologous applications are seen as less risky and more socially and politically acceptable. In a careful analysis of contemporary debates around the need for new international policies to regulate these technologies, we critically assess the discursive strategies employed to support ideas of the body as a natural entity. Central to these debates are assumptions that autologous applications do not threaten the moral or corporeal integrity of the individual and that they are ‘an ethics-free zone’. Analysis reveals that concepts such as intercorporeality need to be refined if they are to assist our understanding of these cell-based therapies. We consider the biopolitics of Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI) in order to show the linkages between the culturing of cells, regulation and the reproduction of the self.
‘A Land that Devours its People’: Mizrahi Writing from the Gut
Authors: Tsoffar Ruth
Published: May 2006

The title of the article refers to the excessive ideological force deployed in Zionism to foster national and religious unity. As a closed and totalizing system, the Zionist enterprise precludes the representation of minority cultures and has yet to provide, if it ever can, an adequate definition of Palestinians, Mizrahim (Jews of Middle Eastern and North African origins) and other minorities – Karaites, Bedouins and Samaritans – much less one of gender sexuality, religion or personhood. Ironically, it was through the contemporization of Hebrew that a distinctive Israeli society was forged, which set the limits of the imagined geography of the body. Modern Hebrew also produced a hierarchy of different literatures, each with its own ideological parameters of inclusion and exclusion. Paradoxically, as I argue, the cacophonous intertextualiy of the Hebrew canon drowns out the voices of minority Jewish writers, who are ‘relegated to constantly repositioning themselves’ within dominant (Ashkenazi) Israeli culture and society. Eli Bachar and Shelly Elkayam are among the Mizrahi poets I introduce here, whose work powerfully illustrates the colonizing aspects of hunger, eating and feeding through the trope of the ma'akhelet, Abraham's sacrificial knife, as a way to rethink intertextuality.
The Great Ephemeral Tattooed Skin
Authors: MacCormack Patricia
Published: May 2006

The skin is always and already a serietl of planes which signify race, gender, age and such. Tattooing creates a new surface of potential significance upon the body. Tattooing can call into question concepts of volition in reference to the power to inscribe and define one's subjectivity through one's own skin, and the social defining of the subject. Skin is the involution or event between subject and object, will and cultural inscription, the social and the self. Feminists, particularly corporeal feminists, have attempted to think ways in which the female flesh may be recognized and self-defined without risking essentialism through reification of the meaning of ‘woman's body’. Thinking a tattooed female body thus resonates with some of the risks and benefits feminism has found in theorizing a marginalized body. Using Deleuze, Guattari, Lyotard and other major influences on corporeal feminists, this article explores ways in which significance is sought in skin, and possible configurations of skin and world, which challenge the desire to read the flesh as a legible incarnation of subjectivity.
‘Always Ready and Always Clean’?: Competing Discourses of Breast-feeding, Infant Illness and the Politics of Mother-blame in Bolivia
Authors: Tapias Maria
Published: May 2006

In this article I explore the multiple and at times conflicting public health and folk discourses which shape breast-feeding practices in Punata, Bolivia. I examine why women may cease to breast-feed despite active efforts made by the healthcare system to promote breast-feeding. Breast-feeding practices are saturated with meaning and circumscribed by time and economic constraints as well as numerous cultural factors. These include conceptualizations of the body, emotions and illnesses that affect infants who are breast-fed, as well as constructions of the mother–infant bond and attitudes about what constitutes ‘good mothering’ and its relationship to gender and class expectations. In this locality, the emotions of lactating women are said to find release through their breast milk and are seen to cause illness in their breast-feeding infants. I explore how mothers accepted, challenged or contested such views, and how they negotiated the politics of blame that emerged regarding who was at fault for their infant's illnesses. I demonstrate how breast-feeding is an embodied experience intrinsically linked to ideas about motherhood and show how the deployment of blame for these illnesses can strategically obfuscate or shed light on the numerous social and economic constraints under which women may find themselves.
The Politics of Viagra: Gender, Dysfunction and Reproduction in Japan
Authors: Castro-Vázquez Genaro
Published: May 2006

The introduction of Viagra in Japan is largely associated with the construction of ‘abject masculinities’. The approval of the drug comes amidst worries about hormones polluting the environment and Japanese men's unwillingness to perform their ‘appropriate gender role’ in a country coping with problems in the economy, a growing number of unmarried people, an ageing population and declining birth rates. In this article, I analyse how impotence, gender and reproduction are entangled in the ways in which Japanese physicians report erectile dysfunction (ED) and prescribe Viagra. The accounts of physicians, taken from the media and scientific reports, show that medical doctors tend to uphold ‘the Viagrization of ED’, which will lead to the Viagrization of Japan. Despite discourses on medicalized sexuality, reproductive behaviour and promotion of childbirth, the politics of Viagra largely promote male recreational sex with substantial benefits for the pharmaceutical and sex industries. Also, the politics of Viagra seem to underpin the commodification of a sexualized male body that ignores the reproductive health concerns of Japanese men.
Statistical Interpretation of Weekday/Weekend Differences of Ambient Particulate Matter, Vehicular Traffic and Meteorological Parameters in an Urban Region of Kolkata, India
Authors: Karar Kakoli , Gupta A. K. , Kumar Animesh , Biswas Arun Kanti , Devotta Sukumar
Published: May 2006

An air quality sampling program was designed and implemented to collect data on ambient PM10, TSP, vehicular traffic and meteorological parameters at weekdays and weekends from November 2003 to November 2004 in Kolkata. Educational institutions and most offices and small-scale industries are closed during weekends. Meteorological parameters were measured by the Indian Meteorological Department, Kolkata. Air quality monitoring was performed weekly for 24-h periods at residential (Kasba) and industrial (Cossipore) sites in an urban region of Kolkata and weekday/weekend differences were compared at both the monitoring sites. Significantly higher weekday values of PM10 and vehicular traffic were observed. The daily average PM10 concentrations on weekdays and at weekends were, respectively, 147.7 and 125.5 g·m 3 at the residential site and 212.3 and 186.3 g·m 3 at the industrial site. Corresponding TSP concentrations were 288.4 and 391.9 g·m 3 and 229.6 and 344.9 g/m3. Average traffic flow for weekdays and weekends were 2.3 104 and 1.9 104 vehicles at the residential site and 2.8 104 and 2.4 104 vehicles at the industrial site. There was a strong linear relationship between PM10 and TSP (R2 >0.90) during weekdays at the residential site and at weekends at the industrial site. TSP had moderate (R2 >0.50) linear relationship with PM10 during weekends at the residential site and good (R2 >0.75) linear relationship during weekdays at the industrial site. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient showed that measured particulate pollutants had an inverse correlation with rainfall, temperature and relative humidity at both sites. Average PM10/TSP ratio was moderately correlated (r>0.50) with average vehicular traffic.
CFD Analysis of the Performance of a Local Exhaust Ventilation System in a Hospital Ward
Authors: Chau Oliver K. Y. , Liu Chun-Ho , Leung Michael K. H.
Published: May 2006

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of nosocomial infection as they frequently perform medical procedures on infectious patients that may generate bioaerosols. For example, emergency endotracheal intubations for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients. Due to the high zonal bioaerosol concentration close to infection sources (e.g. patient’s breathing zone) local exhaust ventilation (LEV) has been identified as a practical solution to reduce the bioaerosol concentration in hospital wards. In this study, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models have been developed to simulate the transport of infectious droplets and bioaerosols in a hospital ward to aid the design and control of a LEV system. This paper reports the details of the CFD mathematical models as well as the analyses of the distribution and suspension time of droplets and bioaerosols with respect to their size, emission direction, and emission speed. It is shown that the operation of a well-designed LEV system can effectively remove infectious droplets and bioaerosols from the breathing zone of a HCW.