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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of reinforcing particles (B₄C, TiB₂ and TiC) on the physical, corrosion and wear behaviour of copper matrix composite coatings.

Coatings were produced by cold gas dynamic spraying process, and the contribution of reinforcements (B₄C, TiB₂ and TiC) to the coating characteristics was detected through microstructural examinations (scanning electron microscope examinations and X-ray diffraction analyses), hardness and electrical conductivity measurements, corrosion tests in Cl⁻ environment with potentiostat/galvonostat apparatus and wear tests which were performed under dry conditions by reciprocating wear tester.

Coatings with high density, good bonding at the coating and substrate interface were obtained by cold gas dynamic spray process. The electrochemical polarisation test in a Cl⁻ environment clearly indicated that the type of reinforcing particles did not significantly affect the corrosion performances of pure copper coating. In terms of the wear performances of the coatings, the best wear performance has been obtained for pure copper coating. Wear performance reduction of the composite coatings was related to the inhibition of continuous oxide layer formation on the worn surfaces due to third-body abrasion mechanism and delamination of oxide layer during wear tests.

Contrary to expectations, wear tests results of the study revealed the inverse effect of ceramic particle addition to the copper matrix in cold spray coating applications due to poor bonding between matrix and reinforcing particles.

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), which are used in high temperature applications of gas turbines, are damaged due to fuels and airborne minerals under working conditions. Stable zirconia coatings, which are usually used as topcoat materials in TBCs, are damaged by interacting at high temperatures with elements such as vanadium and sulfur from low quality fuels. The purpose of this paper is to see the failure mechanism of TBC systems after hot corrosion damages.

CoNiCrAlY metallic bond coatings of TBC samples were produced by cold gas dynamic spray method which is a new trend production method and stabilized zirconia ceramic top coating was produced by atmospheric plasma spray method. In total, 50% by weight of V₂O₅ and 50% Na₂SO₄ salt mixtures were placed on TBC samples and subjected to hot corrosion test at 1000°C.

Hot corrosion behaviors of TBC samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy, elemental mapping analysis, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis. TBC samples were damaged at the end of 12-h cycles.

The paper provides to understand the mechanism of hot corrosion of TBCs with cold sprayed metallic bond coat.

Based on agency theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants on the dissemination level of corporate governance disclosure (CGD).

The sample of the study incorporates listed companies in Nifty 500 Index for the period 2009-2014. The Governance Disclosure Score calculated by Bloomberg is used as a proxy for the dissemination level of corporate governance information. In total, eight explanatory variables are uses, namely, board’s size, number of board meetings, CEO duality, presence of women on the board, company’s size, financial performance, Tobin’s Q ratio and financial leverage.

The results of study suggest a need for improvement in CGDs by Indian companies, as they fail to comply the majority of the proposed disclosure items. Furthermore, it is revealed that the number of board director, the value of company, the financial leverage and the presence of women affect negatively the dissemination level of corporate governance information. While, the size of company is the only determinant that positively affects the extent of CGD.

The results are valuable because they reveal the attributes that determines which companies needs less or extra monitoring by shareholders and investors regarding the applied corporate governance practices. In addition, the study can be valuable to policy makers responsible for the regulation of company’s accountability in relation to corporate governance practices.

The study extents previous studies by incorporating for the first time Bloomberg’s rating approach regarding the dissemination level of CGD in Indian context.

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the impact of public agricultural Research and Development (R&D) investments on agricultural productivity and long-term food security to derive policy recommendations. The methodological approach is based on the application of the state-of-the art Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to R&D. By endogenizing R&D in global CGE models, it is possible to assess the impact of different public R&D policies on the food availability and food access of food security. This study found that R&D investments bring positive effects on the food access dimension of food security, particularly in places such as Sub-Saharan Africa where prices are expected to grow significantly by 2050, as agricultural land becomes scarcer and more expensive. Doubling the R&D intensity would soften the land constraints and substantially decelerate food prices, thus preventing the deterioration of living standards of rural households and leading to a gain in daily caloric consumption. The impact of alternative agricultural R&D policies on the various dimensions of food security has not been analyzed using a CGE framework, which enables capturing both the benefits and costs from R&D investments. Modeling the dynamic accumulation of R&D stocks makes it possible to analyze the effects of R&D on food security over time.

This chapter is a reflective evaluation of the preexisting and emerging issues and challenges which mediate contemporary efforts to sustain gender justice in the Caribbean. I use the perspectives of undergraduate feminist theory students and online feminist activists to establish how contemporary Caribbean feminist advocacy is situated. I also evaluate this situatedness by considering the salience of perspectives and sentiments inherited from a legacy of collective consciousness raising through developed Caribbean feminist theorizing and vibrant women’s movements in the region. I assert that student responses reflect an awareness of this legacy with an understanding of self as inheriting a secure agency as a collective, particularly as a collective group of women, but at the same time expressing a preoccupation with the individualistic, particularly in terms of concerns over bodily autonomy. This suggests a turn from their legacy. In addition, online feminist activists lament that change is not as evident as needed; that they still live limits, are still subject to gendered structures of power, and that struggles over legitimacy and for freedom from gender-based violence continue to undermine the attainment of gender justice. Their sentiments suggest that the “there” has been engaged but by no means arrived at as a fixed end point; while some agency can be accessed, gender justice in the region continues to be a journey that is complex and requires response to an ever changing social, political and economic landscapes.

This study aims to examine the influence of corporate governance (CG) mechanisms and ownership structures on corporate governance disclosure (CGD) in listed Mauritian companies.

Multivariate regression techniques, both static and dynamic panel data models, were employed to analyse the effect of the determinants on the CGD level of 42 Mauritian listed companies (38 non-financial and four financial firms) from 2009 to 2019.

In the static model comprising 42 firms, CG attributes such as board size, board meeting frequency, CG committee meeting frequency and audit committee meeting frequency are major determinants of CGD, whereas ownership structure variables such as managerial ownership and institutional ownership do not influence CGD. In the dynamic model, only the CG meeting frequency is a major determinant. The determinants of CGD vary between non-financial and financial firms.

This study is limited to CGD in listed firms, excluding mandatory disclosures and unlisted firms. Future research can use qualitative approaches to better understand CGD behaviour with an extension to mandatory disclosures and non-listed firms.

Policymakers can rely on determinants to draw policy measures to raise CG standards further. Domestic and foreign investors may also depend on the determinants of their expectations of CGD while making investment and credit decisions.

This study contributes to the extant literature by examining a new determinant of CGD: CG committee meeting frequency. It also investigates any differences in the determinants between financial and non-financial firms with different listing status.

Cooperation of a pilot with an automated aircraft control and monitoring systems is a problem which should be solved designing the whole system. The method of design, which creates an assistant of a pilot, is the purpose of this study.

An analysis of human factors shows demands for working environment. An integration method for various technological systems and algorithms is searched.

It is possible to make the whole system to become a pilot assistant, which has ability to exchange information with pilot by a dialogue. Structural flexibility is obtained in multi-agent system structure.

Proposed approach is a solution of how to integrate increasing amount of aircraft systems. It is expected that new form of cooperation fits to human features. Proposed methodology solves problem of simultaneous control by two controllers and cooperative making decisions.

Dialogue between human and the system proposed in this solution will change perception of machines.

New abilities of machines and proposition of their realisation are presented. Presented solution of simultaneous control and decision-making during aircraft control is a novel approach to human–machine cooperation.

The study aims to identify the gaps and the potentialities of citizen-generated data in four axes of warning system: (1) risk knowledge, (2) flood forecasting and monitoring, (3) risk communication and (4) flood risk governance.

Research inputs for this work were gathered during an international virtual dialogue that engaged 40 public servants, practitioners, academics and policymakers from Brazilian and British hazard and risk monitoring agencies during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The common challenges identified were lack of local data, data integration systems, data visualisation tools and lack of communication between flood agencies.

This work instigates an interdisciplinary cross-country collaboration and knowledge exchange, focused on tools, methods and policies used in the Brazil and the UK in an attempt to develop trans-disciplinary innovative ideas and initiatives for informing and enhancing flood risk governance.

A survey of the current state of documentation practice in museums is presented. This concentrates on the broad themes of the practice, making comparisons with analogous library procedures, where appropriate. A brief introduction to museums and their organizational framework within the United Kingdom is given. With this as background, the methods of documentation used by museums are reviewed, and a survey presented of current developments on an international and national scale.