Assessment of fibre orientation in ultra high performance fibre reinforced concrete and its effect on flexural strength

Fibre distribution and orientation in a series of round panel specimens of ultra high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) was investigated using electrical resistivity measurements and confirmed by X-ray CT imaging. By pouring specimens in different ways, the orientation of steel fibres was influenced and the sensitivity of the electrical resistivity technique was investigated. The round panels were tested in flexure and the results are discussed in relation to the observed orientation of fibres in the panels. It was found that the fibres tended to align perpendicular to the direction of flow. As a result, panels poured from the centre were significantly stronger than panels poured by other methods because the alignment of fibres led to more fibres bridging the radial cracks formed during mechanical testing.

Excitation of the 3p^4(4s,3d,4p) Ar^+ states during Ar photoionization:Intensity, alignment, and orientation

Ar photoionization is studied using the R-matrix formalism with emphasis on the simultaneous excitation of the residual A^r+ ion. Cross sections have been obtained for excitation of the 3p^4(3d,4s,4p) states. A comparison with experiments having a resolution of 70 meV shows reasonable agreement for the position and shape of resonance structures. The relative magnitude of the resonances proves to be more elusive. The partial cross section for excitation of the 3p^4(3Pe)4p(2P_3/2^o) and (2D_3/2^o) levels is treated in more detail. A comparison of LS-coupling calculations with high-resolution experimental results shows good agreement for both the excitation cross sections and the polarization of the fluorescence. We also predict the orientation for both levels. We demonstrate that the polarization of the fluorescence originating from the (2D_3/2^o) level can be employed to study spin-orbit effects in Ar photoionization.

Managing i-branding to create brand equity

Purpose: Given the emergent nature of i-branding as an academic field of study and a lack of applied research output, the aim of this paper is to explain how businesses manage i-branding to create brand equity.

Design/methodology/approach: Within a case-study approach, seven cases were developed from an initial sample of 20 food businesses. Additionally, utilising secondary data, the analysis of findings introduces relevant case examples from other industrial sectors.

Findings: Specific internet tools and their application are discussed within opportunities to create brand equity for products classified by experience, credence and search characteristics. An understanding of target customers will be critical in underpinning the selection and deployment of relevant i-branding tools. Tools facilitating interactivity – machine and personal – are particularly significant.

Research limitations/implications: Future research positioned within classification of goods constructs could provide further contributions that recognise potential moderating effects of product/service characteristics on the development of brand equity online. Future studies could also employ the i-branding conceptual framework to test its validity and develop it further as a means of explaining how i-branding can be managed to create brand equity.

Originality/value: While previous research has focused on specific aspects of i-branding, this paper utilises a conceptual framework to explain how diverse i-branding tools combine to create brand equity. The literature review integrates fragmented literature around a conceptual framework to produce a more coherent understanding of extant thinking. The location of this study within a classification of goods context proved critical to explaining how i-branding can be managed.

An orientation free adaptive step detection algorithm using a smart phone in physical activity monitoring

In this paper we present an Orientation Free Adaptive Step Detection (OFASD) algorithm for deployment in a smart phone for the purposes of physical activity monitoring. The OFASD algorithm detects individual steps and measures a user’s step counts using the smart phone’s in-built accelerometer. The algorithm considers both the variance of an individual’s walking pattern and the orientation of the smart phone. Experimental validation of the algorithm involved the collection of data from 10 participants using five phones (worn at five different body positions) whilst walking on a treadmill at a controlled speed for periods of 5 min. Results indicated that, for steps detected by the OFASD algorithm, there were no significant differences between where the phones were placed on the body (p > 0.05). The mean step detection accuracies ranged from 93.4 % to 96.4 %. Compared to measurements acquired using existing dedicated commercial devices, the results demonstrated that using a smart phone for monitoring physical activity is promising, as it adds value to an accepted everyday accessory, whilst imposing minimum interaction from the user. The algorithm can be used as the underlying component within an application deployed within a smart phone designed to promote self-management of chronic disease where activity measurement is a significant factor, as it provides a practical solution, with minimal requirements for user intervention and less constraints than current solutions.

Present orientation, future orientation and alcohol use in Northern Irish adolescents

Earlier initiation into more problematic drinking behaviour has been found to be associated with more problematic drinking later in life. Research has suggested that a lower future time perspective (and higher present time perspective) is associated with health-compromising behaviours such as problematic alcohol use in college student, University undergraduate and general population samples. This study used a cross-sectional design to examine whether consideration of future consequences (CFC), assessed by the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale, was significantly related to drinking behaviour in a large sample (n=707) of Northern Irish adolescents. Alcohol use was self-reported by means of a composite measure of drinking behaviour. Demographic data were also gathered. After controlling for year in school (proxy for age), sex and for clustering at school level, lower future orientation and higher present orientation were found to be significantly associated with more problematic self-reported drinking behaviour. These results extend recent findings of a significant relationship between a foreshortened future time perspective and more problematic self-reported drinking behaviour in a UK sample of University undergraduates, to a large UK sample of adolescents. Given the relationship between early-onset drinking and more problematic use in later life, health promotion interventions might explore using the CFC construct in targeting adolescent drinkers.

Understanding the migratory orientation program of birds: extending laboratory studies to study free flying migrants in a natural setting

For many years, orientation in migratory birds has primarily been studied in the laboratory. Although a laboratory-based setting enables greater control over environmental cues, the laboratory-based findings must be confirmed in the wild in free-flying birds to be able to fully understand how birds orient during migration. Despite the difficulties associated with following free-flying birds over long distances, a number of possibilities currently exist for tracking the long distance, sometimes even globe-spanning, journeys undertaken by migrating birds. Birds fitted with radio transmitters can either be located from the ground or from aircraft (conventional tracking), or from space. Alternatively, positional information obtained by onboard equipment (e.g., GPS units) can be transmitted to receivers in space. Use of these tracking methods has provided a wealth of information on migratory behaviors that are otherwise very difficult to study. Here, we focus on the progress in understanding certain components of the migration-orientation system. Comparably exciting results can be expected in the future from tracking free-flying migrants in the wild. Use of orientation cues has been studied in migrating raptors (satellite telemetry) and thrushes (conventional telemetry), highlighting that findings in the natural setting may not always be as expected on the basis of cage-experiments. Furthermore, field tracking methods combined with experimental approaches have finally allowed for an extension of the paradigmatic displacement experiments performed by Perdeck in 1958 on the short-distance, social migrant, the starling, to long-distance migrating storks and long-distance, non-socially migrating passerines. Results from these studies provide fundamental insights into the nature of the migratory orientation system that enables experienced birds to navigate and guide inexperienced, young birds to their species-specific winter grounds.