This technical summary discusses the application of a recently introduced technique, based on magnetic imaging tomography, to determine the thickness of freshly placed concrete. This technique may be used for process testing and for acceptance testing during construction of new concrete pavements. The technique is applicable only to plain (nonreinforced) concrete pavements. The results of recen...

HotMesh 2012 has received 18 submissions, on a similar scale as last year edition. The review process was organized and overviewed by PC chair Stefano Avallone. Each paper was assigned to three Program Committee members for a first round of reviews. The most promising papers were selected for further discussion in an online PC meeting, and were later reviewed and ranked by the Chairs. Finally, ...

Theoretical speculations and experimental data suggesting the possibility of observing disoriented chiral condensates at a Full Acceptance Detector are reviewed.

Abstract Reverse pricing is a market mechanism under which a consumer’s bid for a product leads to a sale if the bid exceeds a hidden acceptance threshold the seller has set in advance. The seller faces two key decisions in designing such a mechanism: First, he must decide where in the process to collect the revenue—that is, whether to commit to a minimum markup above cost (and thus define the ...

This research examines asynchronous participatory examinations, a new technology-mediated assessment strategy especially suitable for online courses. The participatory exam innovation utilizes information technology to support engaging students in the entire examination lifecycle, including creating and solving problems, and grading solutions. These learning processes enable students to not onl...

In today’s hypercompetitive business environments hardly anyone questions the important role that information technology plays. The conventional wisdom is that IT is necessary for business survival and that careful deployment and management of IT resources and capabilities leads to enhance value for the business (Ying and Ram, 2004). Despite this recognition of information technology as a key e...

An extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was applied by means of Structural Equation Modelling to testing various hypotheses on attitudes and intentions of dairy farmers towards three novel sustainable production strategies, as well as the influence of organic practices and collaborative behaviours, such as information sharing with supply-chain partners. Data on the acceptan...

The artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm is a popular swarm based technique, which is inspired from the intelligent foraging behavior of honeybee swarms. This paper proposes a new variant of ABC algorithm, namely, enhanced ABC with solution acceptance rule and probabilistic multisearch (ABC-SA) to address global optimization problems. A new solution acceptance rule is proposed where, instead o...

Community acceptance of and compliance with annual ivermectin treatment in Shao, a sub-urban community in Kwara State, Nigeria, were remarkably high. Of 890 subjects from 204 randomly selected households, 832 (93.5%) had taken ivermectin at least once during the six-year treatment period. An average community acceptance rate (ACAR) of 88.77% (range 85.4 - 91.9%) was recorded during this period;...

BACKGROUND Hip protectors represent an attractive strategy for reducing hip fractures among high-risk fallers in long-term care facilities. However, clinical studies yield conflicting results regarding their clinical value. This is mainly due to poor acceptance and adherence among users in wearing these devices. As a result, there is an urgent need to identify potential barriers and facilitator...