* Aerospace Engineer, Structural Mechanics Branch. Member, AIAA. † Head, Structural Mechanics Branch. Fellow, AIAA Copyright ©1999 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. No copyright is asserted in the United States under Title 17, U. S. Code. The U. S. Government has a royalty-free license to exercise all rights under the copyright claimed herein for Governmental Purpo...

This paper addresses the design of control charts for both variable ( x chart) andattribute (u and c charts) quality characteristics, when there is uncertainty about the processparameters or sample data. Derived control charts are more flexible than the strict crisp case, dueto the ability of encompassing the effects of vagueness in form of the degree of expert’spresumption. We extend the use o...

In an endemic area of North-East Brazil (the town of Picos, State of Piauí), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) supported the activity against leprosy in connection with governmental health organizations and local agents. The indicators of leprosy elimination were compared over time (within Picos) and across space (Picos versus Piauí). The case detection rate, above 8 per 10,000 people in the...

As the next generation of business model, ubiquitous commerce (u-commerce) triggered a lot of attention among the academic circle, enterprises and governmental agencies. We review the literature on u-commerce, and suggest directions for research in this still emerging field. The 171 papers about u-commerce (2000–2009) are classified and the results are presented based on a scheme that consists ...