Microstructural properties of six samples, prepared by rapid hydrolysis of aluminum secbutoxide, were investigated at RT using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry. The results of structural analysis show that, regardless of a significant difference in the processing parameters (pH, temperature, ...

Currently available distributed platforms such as CORBA, DCE, DCOM, etc. offer middleware services for the support of client-server based distributed applications. This paper investigates what “middleware services” are required in a “group support platform” for the support of an important class of distributed applications -the group-based distributed applications. These services are called grou...

Application-specific, parameterized local search algorithms (PLSAs), in which optimization accuracy can be traded-off with run-time, arise naturally in many optimization contexts. We introduce a novel approach, called simulated heating, for systematically integrating parameterized local search into global search algorithms (GSAs) in general and evolutionary algorithms in particular. Using the f...

Global Software Alliances (GSAs) are a relatively new organizational form that firms are increasingly adopting to meet their software development needs. These relationships are fraught with complexity given the temporal, spatial and cultural separation of the firm contracting out the software development work and the firm doing the development. In this paper, we focus on the challenge of standa...

Global strategic alliances have become a major research topic within all areas of management research. However, existing studies focus on performance rather than on partner search and selection; and even the research on partner selection does not analyze the situation of an “existing” global strategic alliance evaluating potential new members. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we s...

The crystal structure of anhydrous d-D-mannitol (C6H14O6) was solved from high-resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data collected on a mixture containing 20% and 80% w/w of band d-D-mannitol, respectively. The direct space simulated annealing program PSSP, and Rietveld analysis employing GSAS were used to determine and refine the structure. The polymorph has monoclinic symmetry, spa...