Evaluation of Adaptive Interaction Systems for Virtual Museum Development

Virtual Museum (VM) is an application of Virtual Reality (VR) technology generating realistic visualization and sensation to convince museum visitors to interact with digital content. There are many immersive VR devices that support interactive VM applications. We investigate appropriate devices for interaction within VM. We proposed a Storytelling platform to achieve device organization without modification, the story and interaction were self-adapted to the selected device. Three types of interactive content were designed on our Storytelling platform to be applied on different interaction systems: a 2D standard display, a 3D stereoscopic display and a full immersive CAVE. The results showed different performances of each system supporting VM developers to select an appropriate interaction system. The evaluation contributes to the design of content and interaction of VM development with more efficiency based on user requirements. HIGHLIGHTS Three types of interactive content were designed on our Storytelling platform to be applied on different interaction systems: A 2D standard display, a 3D stereoscopic display, and a full immersive CAVE The 2D Powerwall system with a wide range of views provides immersion. However, with two-dimensional displays, users lack depth perception Users spent more time in selection and manipulation in the 3D stereoscopic system because depth perception is added The CAVE system has user attraction or holding power, users spent more interacting time GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Polymer Composite Fabrication Reinforced with Bamboo Fiber for Particle Board Product Raw Material Application

Bamboo particles as reinforcement in composite materials are prospective to be applied to particleboard products in the industry. This study aimed to synthesize bamboo particle reinforced polymer composites as a substitute for particleboard products, which still use wood as a raw material. The parameters of the composite synthesis process were varied with powder sizes of 50, 100, and 250 mesh, each mesh with volume fractions of 10, 20, and 30%, matrix types of polyester and polypropylene, Tali Bamboo, and Haur Hejo Bamboo as reinforcements. Characterization included tensile strength, flexural strength, and morphology. Particleboard products were tested based on JIS A 5908-2003, including density testing, moisture content, thickness expansion after immersion in water, flexural strength in dry and wet conditions, bending Young’s modulus, and wood screw holding power. The results showed that the maximum flexural and tensile strength values of 91.03 MPa and 30.85 MPa, respectively, were found in polymer composites reinforced with Tali bamboo with the particle size of 250 mesh and volume fraction 30%. Particleboard made of polypropylene and polyester reinforced Tali Bamboo with a particle size of 250 mesh and a volume fraction of 30% composites meets the JIS A 5908-2003 standard.

EFFECT OF DIFFRENT LOADS ON THE WEAR BEHAVIORS OF 5Cr5Mo2V STEEL AT 700 °C

The effect of different loads on the high-temperature wear behavior of 5Cr5Mo2V steel at 700 °C was investigated. Wear morphologies, oxide compositions and matrix evolution were studied. The results showed that the wear rate increased with an increased test load, and the wear mechanism transformed from abrasive-oxidative wear to adhesive-oxidative wear. The relation between a delaminated oxide layer and cracks in the matrix were investigated. The exfoliation of carbides and displacement difference between the matrix and carbides caused a crack initiation. The wear rate strongly related to carbides, and coarse M6C carbides with poor holding power led to a high wear rate. Besides, a diagram of wear characteristics under different loads was suggested in this work.

Human third-party observers accurately track fighting skill and vigour along their unique paths to victory

Sexual selection via male-male contest competition has shaped the evolution of agonistic displays, weaponry, and fighting styles, and is further argued to have shaped human psychological mechanisms to detect, process, and respond appropriately to cues of fighting ability. Drawing on the largest fight-specific dataset to date across the sports and biological sciences (N = 2,765), we examined how different indicators of fighting ability in humans reflect unique paths to victory and indicate different forms of perceived and actual resource-holding power (RHP). Overall, we discovered that: (1) both striking skill and vigour, and grappling skill and vigour, individually and collectively predict RHP; (2) different RHP indicators are distinguished by a unique path to victory (e.g., striking skill is a knockout-typical strategy, whereas grappling vigour is a submission-typical strategy); and (3) third-party observers accurately track fighting skill and vigour along their unique paths to victory. Our argument that different measures of RHP are associated with unique paths to victory, and third-party observers accurately track fighting vigour and skill along their unique paths to victory, advance our understanding not only of human contest competition, but animal contest theory more broadly.

Effects of Strands Pre-treatment and Adhesive Type on the Properties of Oriented Strand Board Made from Gmelina (Gmelina arborea) Wood

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of steam treatment of strands on the physical and mechanical properties of oriented strand board (OSB) from gmelina wood (Gmelina arborea) bonded with two types of adhesive. Strands of gmelina wood were steamed at 126°C and pressure of 0.14 MPa for 1 h. OSBs were prepared with a 0.6 g/cm3 target density using two types of adhesives, namely methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins. The resin content used was 5% for MDI and 10% for PF. The physical and mechanical properties of the OSB were evaluated referring to the JIS A 5908-2003 standard, and the values were compared with CSA 0437.0 (Grade O-1) standard. The results showed that the steam treatment improved the dimensional stability of OSB, as shown from the decrease of water absorption and thickness swelling. Steam treatment also increased the mechanical properties of the OSB, such as modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture, internal bonding strength, and screw holding power. The results revealed that gmelina wood OSB bonded with MDI adhesives produced better OSB than bonded with PF resin. Keywords: gmelina, methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, oriented strand board, phenol-formaldehyde, steam treatment

Watchdogs under pressure: Pacific Islands journalists’ demographic profiles and professional views

While global scholarship on journalists’ professional views has expanded tremendously over recent decades, the Pacific Islands remains somewhat of a blind spot, with only sporadic research. To address this gap in our knowledge, this study reports the results of a comprehensive survey of 206 Pacific Islands journalists in nine countries, providing a much-needed update of journalists’ demographic profiles, role conceptions, ethical views and perceived influences. Our analysis finds that while journalists are now older, more experienced and better educated than 30 years ago, they are still younger and less well-educated than their counterparts in many other parts of the globe. In the digital age, some old challenges persist in relation to their roles: While journalists are committed to holding power to account and aiding in the development of their countries, they continue to face political and economic challenges that make their tasks difficult and sometimes even perilous.

Feasibility of Processing Hot-Melt Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive (HMPSA) with Solvent in the Lab

Hot-melt pressure-sensitive adhesive (HMPSA) is an environmentally benign adhesive which is typically processed without solvent in industries. However, casting solution method is commonly used for experimental purposes in the lab for convenience. Therefore, seven types of solvent with different polarities, including toluene as the most commonly used solvent, were investigated in this work to study the feasibilities. Quick bond strength and holding power were tested with different types of solvents and different adhesive weight percent in the prepared solutions. Through viscosity measurement, thermal analysis, and compositional analysis, the correlation between the chosen solvents and adhesive performance was further explored. It was found that the differences in the obtained bond strength of HMPSA treated with a variety of solvents were due to physical reasons instead of chemical reactions, and a solvent with similar polarity to toluene (e.g., tetrachloride, octane) should be considered as an option because a similar polymer chain relaxation could be maintained as the original HMPSA without solvent treatment. In this study, the mechanism of choosing toluene as common solvent for HMPSA testing was analyzed, and the feasibility of optional solvents was discussed.

Pengaruh Asam Itakonat terhadap Properti Polimer Perekat Akrilik Berbasis Air

Acrylic-based polymer adhesive is a type of adhesive that can be used for pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA). Itaconic acid (IA) is a type of acid with 2 (two) OH groups which can form hydrogen bonds. The acrylic base can be used purely from its class. In some cases, however, the acrylic base can be used together with another base. Therefore acrylic-based adhesive with variable addition of itaconic acid was introduced in this study. In this application, the holding power property is one of the important parameters of a PSA. Therefore, holding power is the main parameter in this study. This research includes the preparation of tools and materials, mixing the main raw materials of acrylic monomer and itaconic acid with the types of surfactants and water, and product characterization. The polymerization process is carried out at a pressure of 1 atm with a temperature of 75°C - 80°C accompanied by stirring with a rotation rate of ± 500 rpm. The characterization of this research resulted in a PSA product with a holding power of 2 kg for 30 seconds to 620 minutes. While the resulting peel strength is 1.12 kgf / inc to 0.76 kgf / inc. Keywords: itaconic acid, acrylic PSA, holding power

Influence of Four Ageing Methods on the Mechanical Properties of Bamboo Scrimber

In this study, the six-cycle accelerated ageing method (method I), the 6 h boiling-freezing-drying method (method II), the wet circulation method (method III), and the boiling-testing method (method IV), which are accelerated ageing testing methods, were used to study the ageing resistance of bamboo scrimber. Changes in the nail-holding power of the plane, the side, and the end face of untreated/treated bamboo scrimber were analyzed systematically, including other changes in mechanical properties, such as the horizontal shear strength, the modulus of rupture (MOR), and the modulus of elasticity (MOE) along the smooth grain, etc. The results show that all mechanical properties decreased after treatment with the four accelerated ageing testing methods: the nail-holding power decreased by 4%~42% on the plane, 8%~40% on the side, and 5%~66% on the end face. The horizontal shear strength decreased by 3.1%~16.7%, the MOR decreased by 15%~27.2%, and the MOE decreased by 2.6%~12.8%. The nail-holding power of the three sides and the MOR were the most affected properties after treatment. So, the nail-holding power and the MOR can be chosen as important indices to evaluate bamboo scrimber’s weather resistance. For the four accelerated ageing testing methods, the degree of influence on the nail-holding power was in this sequence: method I > method III > method IV > method II. However, after comprehensive consideration, the degree of influence on the mechanical properties was in this sequence: method I > method IV > method III > method II.