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As a standard procedure of human factors engineering, the design of complex systems (e.g., operator interfaces) starts with analyses of system objectives, missions, functions, and tasks. Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) provides a theoretical framework for guiding this process. PCT is founded on notions from control theory, in which closed-loop, negative-gain, feedback systems can be used to build powerful models of goal-directed behavior and for implementing complex systems (Powers, 1973). One of the strengths of PCT over competing human behavior theories is that it explains how humans can control systems that are subject to a wide variety of external influences. UAV control is through the operators’ interaction with the interfaces in remote control stations. A closed-loop feedback system is crucial for both operators and control systems to understand the states and goals of each other. It is likely that advanced UAV control systems will require operators to interact with automated systems such as IAIs. IAIs are sophisticated and will require knowledge about mission goals, the operators’ goals, and states, as well as the UAV and environmental states. Thus, the methods of analysis used in this research were based on PCT given its engineering origins in control theory and advantages accommodating various external disturbances.

The purpose of this paper is to propose the interaction integral method combing with a XFEM-based local mesh replacement method to evaluate both the stress intensity factors (SIFs) and T-stress at the crack tip near a circular inclusion.

Special attention is pay to the effect of T-stress on crack initiation angle in 2D composite medium. The generalized maximum tangential stress criterion is employed during the simulation which simultaneously involves the effects of the mixed-mode SIFs, the T-stress and a physical length scale r_c (the size of the fracture process zone).

It is shown that T-stress could affect the crack initiation angle significantly for mixed-mode conditions. Varies types of material mismatch are also considered and their influences on T-stress are given quantitatively.

The proposed numerical method allows a considerable flexibility for such problems and provides a basic framework for quasi-static crack growth in materials containing complex interfaces.

The purpose of this paper is to provide the historical background of genealogical records and analyze the value of Chinese genealogical research through the study of names and genealogical resources.

The paper examines the historical evolution and value of Chinese genealogical records, with the focus on researching the Islamic Chinese names used by the people living in Guilin. The highlight of this paper includes the analysis and evolution of the Islamic Chinese names commonly adopted by the local people in Guilin. It concludes with the recommendations on emphasizing and making the best use of genealogical records to enhance the research value of Chinese overseas studies.

The paper covers the history of Islam and describes how the religion was introduced into China, as well as Muslims' ethnicity and identity. It also places focus on the importance of building a research collection in Asian history and Chinese genealogy.

This research study has a strong subject focus on Chinese genealogy, Asian history, and Islamic Chinese surnames. It is a narrow field that few researchers have delved into.

The results of this study will assist students, researchers, and the general public in tracing the origin of their surnames and developing their interest in the social and historical value of Chinese local history and genealogies.

The study of Chinese surnames is, by itself, a particular field for researching the social and political implications of contemporary Chinese society during the time the family members lived.

Very little research has been done in the area of Chinese local history and genealogy. The paper would be of value to researchers such as historians, sociologists, ethnologists and archaeologists, as well as students and anyone interested in researching a surname origin, its history and evolution.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the implications of and assess the economic and sustainable impact of environmentally friendly technological packages introduced into agribusiness players in the centre of chilli-producing regions of Indonesia.

This study used a theory of optimisation in production as a fundamental analysis. Producers are assumed to maximise profit by allocating rational amounts of inputs as the components of technological packages. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. The rate of technology adoption was evaluated, and agribusiness performance was measured using an economic advantage and technical efficiency. Data were compiled using group discussions and individual surveys.

The packages of technologies improved economic and sustainability performance of agribusiness resulting from efficient use of agrochemicals and water resource, and increase the production. Socio-economic and technical factors influenced performance farmers, as agribusiness players responded positively towards the ecological technology packages.

The sustainability of agribusiness was indicated by the reduction in agrochemical use and by the efficient use of water irrigation. There are other measures of sustainability, which are beyond this study. Additional studies are expected to fill the gap.

Considerable potential exists for broad adoption of these technological packages in Indonesia if they are disseminated effectively and in a close partnership with local extension agencies, farmers’ organisations, local non-governmental organisations and private sectors.

This study provides a realistic representation of a current condition because this is an empirical study conducted at the grass-root level. Sustainability of agribusiness practices was achieved with ecological technological packages.

This study aims to analyze and explain the characteristics and findings in previous studies of switching behavior and identifies the developments within this topic in order to improve its current understanding.

The authors construct a literature database of studies published in prominent business and management journals from 1996 to 2013 and conduct an analysis using the variables in the data fields. Furthermore, we execute meta-analysis to combine the research goals of tracing the history of customer switching behavior studies.

Satisfaction switching costs and attractiveness of alternatives are the most commonly used predictor variables to explain switching intentions. Switching costs subjective norms and interpersonal relationships moderate the relationship between switching intentions and its antecedents. Customer switching behavior in mobile telecommunication services has received a lot of attention.

This study assists researchers by examining the type and topic of these studies and the research tools and findings reported in theory. The authors ultimately identify the developmental trend in the literature on switching behavior and propose a direction for future studies.

This study clarifies the characteristics and findings of previous studies on switching intention from a literature review and improves the current understanding.

This paper aims to deal with the problems of failure dependence and common cause failure (CCF) that arise in reliability analysis of complex systems.

Firstly, a dynamic fault tree (DFT) is used to capture the dynamic failure behaviours and converted into an equivalent generalized stochastic petri net (GSPN) for quantitative analysis. Secondly, an efficient decomposition and aggregation (EDA) theory is combined with GSPN to deal with the CCF problem, which exists in redundant systems. Finally, Birnbaum importance measure (BIM) is calculated based on the EDA approach and GSPN model, and it is used to take decisions for system improvement and fault diagnosis.

In this paper, a new reliability evaluation method for dynamic systems subject to CCF is presented based on the DFT analysis and the GSPN model. The GSPN model is easy to capture dynamic failure behaviours of complex systems, and the movement of tokens in the GSPN model represent the changes in the state of the systems. The proposed method takes advantage of the GSPN model and incorporates the EDA method into the GSPN, which simplifies the reliability analysis process. Meanwhile, simulation results under different conditions show that CCF has made a considerable impact on reliability analysis for complex systems, which indicates that the CCF should not be ignored in reliability analysis.

The proposed method combines the EDA theory with the GSPN model to improve the efficiency of the reliability analysis.

This paper aims to understand the effect of water jet cavitation peening (WJP) on stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of alloy 600 and alloy 182 in high temperature water.

Surface and cross-section morphology, grain boundary microstructure, residual stress and strain distribution, hardness and surface roughness in water jet cavitation peened alloy 600 and alloy 182 were characterized.

A superior stress corrosion cracking resistance was obtained in 600MA, which can be attributed to the formation of the ultrafine grain layer and the higher magnitude residual compressive stress.

Relationship between WJP-induced microstructure and stress state change and SCC susceptibility was conducted. It could provide a theoretical basis for developing application of WJP in nuclear power plants.

Quantitative gait analysis is an important research area to enable physiotherapist to perform systematic studies and health diagnosis of the lower extremity of patients throughout the rehabilitation. The quantitative measurement of ambulatory gait can be performed by using convenient and economical wearable sensors outside specialized motion laboratories. In this paper, a sensor system consisting of three tri-axial accelerometers, two flex sensors and four force sensors was developed. Subject testing were carried out to obtain temporal and spatial gait parameters. The performance of the sensor suite is compared to results from camera videos analysed by Kinovea motion tracking software.