text:
Development and validation of a propensity to trust scale
M. Lance Frazier, Paul D. Johnson, Stav Fainshmidt
Though trust researchers recognise the importance of a dispositional component to forming trusting relationships in the workplace, there has been comparatively little research on propensity to trust in the literature. We review the literature, discuss prior measures of propensity to trust, and integrate them to develop a propensity to trust scale. Results of four validation studies suggest that this propensity to trust scale demonstrates strong psychometric properties and is empirically related to other constructs within a theoretically derived nomological network of trust. The consequence is a concise, rigorously developed, and consistently reliable scale of propensity to trust. Scholarly and practical implications are discussed along with several avenues for future research.
Journal of Trust Research
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Propensity Business & Economics 100%
psychometrics Social Sciences 49%
workplace Social Sciences 42%
Psychometrics Business & Economics 25%
Work Place Business & Economics 23%
Validation Studies Medicine & Life Sciences 18%
Workplace Medicine & Life Sciences 15%
Frazier, M. L., Johnson, P. D., & Fainshmidt, S. (2013). Development and validation of a propensity to trust scale. Journal of Trust Research, 3(2), 76-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/21515581.2013.820026
Development and validation of a propensity to trust scale. / Frazier, M. Lance; Johnson, Paul D.; Fainshmidt, Stav.
In: Journal of Trust Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, 01.10.2013, p. 76-97.
Frazier, ML, Johnson, PD & Fainshmidt, S 2013, 'Development and validation of a propensity to trust scale', Journal of Trust Research, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 76-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/21515581.2013.820026
Frazier ML, Johnson PD, Fainshmidt S. Development and validation of a propensity to trust scale. Journal of Trust Research. 2013 Oct 1;3(2):76-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/21515581.2013.820026
Frazier, M. Lance ; Johnson, Paul D. ; Fainshmidt, Stav. / Development and validation of a propensity to trust scale. In: Journal of Trust Research. 2013 ; Vol. 3, No. 2. pp. 76-97.
@article{2b70bc8040e44e5da2a5bd0cd0bb8744,
title = "Development and validation of a propensity to trust scale",
abstract = "Though trust researchers recognise the importance of a dispositional component to forming trusting relationships in the workplace, there has been comparatively little research on propensity to trust in the literature. We review the literature, discuss prior measures of propensity to trust, and integrate them to develop a propensity to trust scale. Results of four validation studies suggest that this propensity to trust scale demonstrates strong psychometric properties and is empirically related to other constructs within a theoretically derived nomological network of trust. The consequence is a concise, rigorously developed, and consistently reliable scale of propensity to trust. Scholarly and practical implications are discussed along with several avenues for future research.",
author = "Frazier, {M. Lance} and Johnson, {Paul D.} and Stav Fainshmidt",
journal = "Journal of Trust Research",
T1 - Development and validation of a propensity to trust scale
AU - Frazier, M. Lance
AU - Johnson, Paul D.
AU - Fainshmidt, Stav
N2 - Though trust researchers recognise the importance of a dispositional component to forming trusting relationships in the workplace, there has been comparatively little research on propensity to trust in the literature. We review the literature, discuss prior measures of propensity to trust, and integrate them to develop a propensity to trust scale. Results of four validation studies suggest that this propensity to trust scale demonstrates strong psychometric properties and is empirically related to other constructs within a theoretically derived nomological network of trust. The consequence is a concise, rigorously developed, and consistently reliable scale of propensity to trust. Scholarly and practical implications are discussed along with several avenues for future research.
AB - Though trust researchers recognise the importance of a dispositional component to forming trusting relationships in the workplace, there has been comparatively little research on propensity to trust in the literature. We review the literature, discuss prior measures of propensity to trust, and integrate them to develop a propensity to trust scale. Results of four validation studies suggest that this propensity to trust scale demonstrates strong psychometric properties and is empirically related to other constructs within a theoretically derived nomological network of trust. The consequence is a concise, rigorously developed, and consistently reliable scale of propensity to trust. Scholarly and practical implications are discussed along with several avenues for future research.
JO - Journal of Trust Research
JF - Journal of Trust Research


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text:
Justia Patents Stopping Or StartingUS Patent for Spinning machine and method for interrupting yarn production on a spinning machine Patent (Patent # 8,919,091)
Spinning machine and method for interrupting yarn production on a spinning machine
Sep 14, 2012 - Rieter Ingolstadt GmbH
A method is provided for interrupting yarn production on a spinning machine upon detecting a defined deviation of a monitored yarn parameter from a target value, upon changing bobbins at a winding device, and/or prior to switching off the spinning machine. The feed speeds of the delivery device, the take-off device, and the winding device are gradually reduced to a stop in order to interrupt the yarn production, wherein the reducing takes place such that an end of the produced yarn is located within the spinning point after the reducing is completed.
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In general, for example, stopping the spinning process in the case of a detected yarn defect by interrupting fiber infeed is known, for example for rotor or air-jet spinning machines. The end of the yarn on the winding side is then wound up by the bobbin continuing to turn, while the cut end of the yarn is drawn off by vacuum. When spinning is subsequently restarted by piecing, the end of the yarn on the bobbin must then be detached from the surface of the bobbin, such as by means of a corresponding suction device, in order to be able to feed it back against the actual spinning direction to the spinning point again. Locating the end of the yarn is, however, typically very time-consuming and is also afflicted by a mechanical effect, particularly for very fine and highly spun yarns, so that the process of piecing can lead to a significant delay in continuing the spinning process.
An object of the present invention is therefore to accelerate the piecing process after a controlled interruption of yarn production.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
The invention relates to a method for interrupting yarn production on a spinning machine, wherein the spinning machine includes at least one spinning point having an inlet for a fiber material and an outlet for the yarn made from the fiber material. The spinning machine includes a delivery device for feeding the fiber material into the spinning point, a take-off device for drawing off the yarn out of the spinning point, a winding device for winding up the produced yarn, and a yarn monitoring unit for monitoring at least one yarn parameter (such as in the form of the yarn thickness or another parameter representative of the quality of the yarn). Yarn production is interrupted upon detecting a defined deviation of the monitored yarn parameter from a target value, upon changing bobbins at the winding device, and/or prior to switching off the spinning machine.
The invention further relates to a spinning machine for producing a yarn, wherein the spinning machine comprises at least one spinning point having an inlet for a fiber material and an outlet for the yarn produced from the fiber material, and wherein the spinning machine comprises a delivery device for feeding the fiber material into the spinning point, a take-off device for drawing off the yarn from the spinning point, a winding device for winding up the produced yarn, and a yarn monitoring unit for monitoring at least one yarn parameter.
According to the invention, the method is characterized in that the feed speeds of the delivery device, the take-off device, and the winding device are gradually reduced to a stop in order to interrupt the yarn production, wherein the reducing takes place such that the end of the produced yarn is located within the spinning point after the reducing is completed. In contrast to the method described above, wherein the end of the produced yarn is inevitably wound onto the bobbin until spinning is stopped, because the bobbin cannot be stopped abruptly due to the inertia thereof, such winding can be effectively prevented by the method according to the invention.
The operated spinning machine is preferably an air-jet or rotor spinning machine. Both types of spinning machine are characterized in that particular conditions must be maintained with respect to the feed speed of the delivery device and take-off device. Said speeds must exceed particular threshold values for producing a high-quality yarn, in order to be able to impose the desired twist of the fiber material in the interior of the spinning chamber. If the indicated feed speeds are reduced gradually, that is, preferably within a few seconds, then ultimately the point is reached at which no more yarn production takes place, because either too little fiber material is transported into the spinning chamber, or the yarn is drawn off from the spinning chamber too fast relative to the delivery of the fiber material. At this point in time, an end of the yarn is ultimately produced and moves according to the residual feed speed of the take-off device in the direction of the winding device.
According to the invention, the feed speeds are ultimately reduced to zero in the course of interrupting the yarn production, such that the yarn end is located within the spinning point after the individual feed devices have stopped. The yarn formation within the spinning point is thus interrupted gradually, and thus not abruptly, reducing the individual feed speeds. The corresponding end of the yarn is thus produced by correspondingly matching the individual feed speeds. The yarn production is thereby interrupted so that the yarn detaches from the subsequent fiber material. It may be necessary for complete detachment of the yarn to briefly accelerate or to more intensely brake the delivery device and/or the take-off device, particularly during the reduction of the corresponding feed speeds, in order bring about complete detachment of the yarn. Because the feed speeds at this point are significantly lower than during the actual yarn production, the winding device can also be slowed at a targeted rate, so that a defined end state arises wherein the end of the yarn is located at the described position, and thus not on the surface of a corresponding bobbin of the winding device. In order to ensure uniform winding of the produced yarn on the bobbin even at reduced feed speeds, it can also be useful to slow down (or to stop in the middle) any device for guiding the yarn. The end of the yarn can then be moved to the corresponding location intended for piecing, without requiring a prior search process on the bobbin surface for finding the end of the yarn. Similarly, the above applies to rotor spinning machines as well, wherein the yarn production is also interrupted if the corresponding feed speeds fall below particular threshold values
It is further advantageous if the delivery device is formed by a pair of delivery rollers and/or the take-off device is formed by a pair of take-off rollers. Such rollers allow precise control of the corresponding feed speeds by adjusting the rotary speeds thereof accordingly. The rotary speeds can thus be reduced within a prescribed time span in the course of the method according to the invention, typically between one and a plurality of seconds, without causing the yarn to tear.
It is further advantageous if the spinning point includes a vortex chamber and a hollow spindle protruding into the vortex chamber, through which the produced yarn is drawn off out of the vortex chamber in the direction of the outlet of the spinning point during yarn production, and that the reducing of the feed speeds takes place such that the end of the produced yarn is located within the spinning jet after the reducing is complete. In this case, the end of the yarn no longer has to be threaded into the spinning jet opposite the actual spinning direction, so that a large portion of the thread handling and thread guiding tasks that are required in the state of the art prior to the piecing process are no longer necessary. The end of the yarn must thus be displaced (e.g., pushed or sucked) opposite the spinning direction only far enough that the end of yarn, optionally prepared for the piecing process in an intermediate step, can be brought into contact with the subsequent fiber material. The actual piecing process, that is, the connection of the fiber material and the end of the yarn, can then be performed in the conventional manner.
It is further very advantageous if the feed speeds are reduced continuously, preferably linearly. Abrupt changes in speed and potential tearing of the yarn are thereby avoided. In addition to a linear reduction in speed, any other arbitrary reduction is also conceivable, of course. Even if it is entirely possible to reduce the feed speeds of the delivery device and the take-off device simultaneously, and to stop said devices at the same point in time, it has been found to be advantageous to reduce the corresponding feed speeds at staggered times. For example, it is advantageous to reduce the feed speed of the delivery device prior to reducing the feed speed of the take-off device. It is further advantageous to stop the take-off device after stopping the delivery device in order to ensure that the end of the produced yarn is located at the location of the spinning machine according to the invention. As a result, it is therefore advantageous if the drives of the delivery device and the take-off device can be actuated separately.
It should also be noted here that in general it can be advantageous to change the air pressure in the spinning point (or in individual areas thereof) or to change the air pressure of the introduced air, during or even before interrupting the yarn production, in order to adapt the pressure ratios to the corresponding feed speeds. For example, in the case of an air-jet spinning machine, it would be conceivable to reduce (or increase) the air pressure of the air being introduced into the vortex chamber of the corresponding spinning point during the interruption of yarn production, relative to the pressure during yarn production. The vacuum present within spinning chamber enclosing the spinning rotor during yarn production can also be changed correspondingly during or even before the interruption of yarn production, in order to prevent excessive winding up of the yarn end present in the spinning chamber.
It is further advantageous if the take-off device comes to a stop after the delivery device. A defined distance thus arises between the end of the yarn and the previously stopped fiber material after yarn production is interrupted, whereby it can be prevented, in the case of an air-jet spinning machine, that fiber material enters the spinning jet along with the end of the yarn. A defined end of the yarn, clearly separated from the fiber material, is thus obtained and is then available for the piecing process.
It is further advantageous if the yarn is fixed by means of a yarn storage after the reducing of the feed speeds is complete. A yarn storage comprises, for example, a hollow cylinder connected to a vacuum source such that a vacuum can be generated in the hollow cylinder as needed (for example by applying the vacuum source in a target manner.) If the take-off device is stopped later than the winding device, then yarn drawn off from the spinning point after the winding device has stopped can be sucked into the hollow cylinder and thus retained at a defined position, wherein precisely enough yarn is sucked in so that the end of the yarn is positioned at the position according to the invention within the spinning point. After yarn production has been interrupted, the piecing process starts, wherein the end of the yarn must thereby generally be displaced opposite the actual spinning direction in order to be able to be gripped by a service robot performing the piecing process. Alternatively or in addition to fixing by means of the yarn storage, of course, other fixing devices, such as a gripper device, can also be used.
It is further advantageous if the take-off device comes to a stop after the winding device. It is thereby possible, for example, that the segment of the yarn produced during the reducing of the feed speeds is not wound up onto the bobbin of the winding device. If the segment is then to be removed prior to the piecing process, then a corresponding unwinding from the bobbin is no longer necessary. Rather, it would be conceivable, for example, for the segment to be stored intermediately within a separate yarn storage and to be removed prior to the actual piecing process.
It can, however, also be advantageous if the take-off device and the winding device come to a stop at the same time. In this case, the yarn then runs from the spinning point to the winding device without being deflected. It is therefore helpful for the piecing process to operate the take-off device and the winding device at first such that the end of the yarn is displaced opposite the actual spinning direction. If the end of the yarn is then located outside of the spinning point or the twist generating means of the same (e.g., outside of the spinning jet of an air-jet spinning machine), then the piecing process can then be started.
It is further advantageous if the yarn is fixed by means of the take-off device after reducing the feed speeds. If the take-off device is corresponding take-off rollers, then the yarn can be reliably clamped between the corresponding rollers. To this end, it is necessary only to stop the take-off rollers as soon as the end of the yarn is located within the spinning point. If the end of the yarn is captured manually or automatically for piecing, then the clamping is relieved and the end of the yarn is released again, wherein prior to the release a (renewed) defined transport of the end of the yarn by the take-off rollers can take place in or opposite to the spinning direction.
It is particularly advantageous if the end of the produced yarn moves within an area between the inlet of the spinning point and the delivery device or in an area between the delivery device and a roller pair of a drawing unit after interrupting yarn production, and is then connected to the fiber material during a piecing process. To this end, the robot comprises corresponding yarn handling devices, such as a gripper device and/or corresponding suction or blowing devices, in order to guide the end of the yarn opposite to the actual spinning direction to the area where the actual piecing process is to take place, which can also be performed by means of the robot. It is, of course, also possible to equip the individual spinning points with individual yarn handling devices each separately associated with the spinning points, so that the use of a robot may not be necessary. It is ultimately also conceivable that the end of the produced yarn is not connected to the fiber material fed into the spinning point in the course of a piecing process, but rather used for forming a fixed end of the thread (wherein the end of the yarn is placed at a particular location on the full bobbin, typically at the side edge thereof.) In order to make accidental release of the correspondingly placed end of the yarn more difficult during bobbin transport, the yarn can be unwound from the full bobbin by a certain amount prior to placement. The unwound segment is then wrapped around the previously non-wound side part of the bobbin core several times and then fed back to the bobbin surface and placed to the side there.
It is further advantageous if the piecing process takes place outside of the spinning point, particularly between the delivery device and a roller pair of a drawing unit. In this area, the fiber material to be spun is typically fixed by means of corresponding delivery rollers, or in the case of an air-jet spinning machine, by means of a roller pair of a drawing unit connected upstream, after the delivery device has been stopped. Because contact between the fiber material and the returned end of the yarn must be accomplished when piecing, it is thus convenient to perform the piecing process in the area.
It is advantageous if at least the yarn segment produced during the reduction of the feed speeds is removed prior to the piecing process. As a rule, the yarn that is produced during the reduction of the individual feed speeds will namely be of lower quality. If the interruption of yarn production takes place due to the detection of a yarn defect, then it should also be ensured that the segment comprising the yarn defect detected by the monitoring unit is also removed. The length of the yarn segment to be removed in this case therefore corresponds to at least the length of the yarn present between the produced end of the yarn and the yarn defect after the interruption of yarn production. It can then be necessary for removal to operate the winding device prior to piecing such that the yarn already wound on the bobbin is unwound until the bobbin contains only yarn that was produced prior to the reduction in the feed speeds (or prior to the occurrence of the yarn defect.) It would also be possible to accumulate the lower-quality yarn in the yarn storage described above and to cut it off prior to the piecing process. A separate cutting device can be used to this end, for example. It is also noted that it can also be advantageous if a relatively thick yarn is produced immediately prior to the interruption of yarn production according to the invention. The yarn can then be found and/or captured particularly quickly and reliably by the robot.
It can be further advantageous if the reduction of the feed speeds takes place as a function of physical and/or chemical properties of the fiber material (type of fiber material, strength, fiber length, etc.) and/or characteristic parameters of the spinning machine, in order to be able to optimize for particular conditions. The characteristic parameters of the spinning machine can thereby include rotary speeds, delivery speeds, or corresponding parameters of the drawing unit in use. Humidity and/or temperature values at defined locations of the spinning machine or in the rooms around the spinning machine can also be taken into consideration.
Not least, it is advantageous if the end of the produced yarn is retained within the spinning point, particularly by means of a vacuum source, after the reducing of the feed speeds is complete. The retaining or fixing of the end of the yarn has the advantage that the end remains in the desired position until the next process step of the piecing process (which can also be monitored by means of a sensor if needed.)
The spinning machine according to the invention is ultimately characterized in that the machine comprises a control and/or regulation unit designed for operating the spinning machine in accordance with one or more aspects of the preceding description, wherein the interruption of yarn production can take place at individual spinning points or at all spinning points of the spinning machine in the manner according to the invention. With respect to each of the advantages and potential variations, reference is made to the previous description.
Ultimately, further method steps or characteristics of the spinning machine can be implemented, resulting in an advantageous delineation from the known state of the art.
It would be conceivable, for example, that in case of a yarn break (that is, an interruption of the spinning process that was initiated in a controlled or uncontrolled manner), yarn handling devices would be used that can grip the end of the yarn that may have been wound up on the bobbin of the corresponding winding device and can feed the end of the yarn to the subsequent piecing process. The yarn handling devices can thereby be part of a service robot patrolling between the corresponding spinning points, or can be individually associated with each spinning point. It is also conceivable to equip the individual spinning points with corresponding yarn handling devices and nevertheless to use one or more service robots in order to thereby achieve a certain level of work distribution.
A further potential for optimizing the method according to the invention or the described spinning machine can be achieved in that the method for interrupting the yarn production is implemented to be "self-teaching." It would be conceivable, for example, that individual parameters (amount and start of the reduction of the corresponding speeds, time of stopping the delivery device, the take-off device, and/or the winding device, characteristic parameters of the piecing process, etc.) are adapted as a function of the data provided by the corresponding sensors in a preferably continuous process performed by the control and/or regulation device of the spinning machine.
Further advantages of the invention are described in the following implementation examples. They show:
FIG. 1 a side view of a segment of a spinning machine according to the invention during yarn production, and
FIG. 2 a side view of a segment of a spinning machine according to the invention after interruption of yarn production.
Reference will now be made to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are shown in the drawings. Each embodiment is provided by way of explanation of the invention, and not as a limitation of the invention. For example features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be combined with another embodiment to yield still another embodiment. It is intended that the present invention include these and other modifications and variations to the embodiments described herein.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a segment of an air-jet spinning machine according to the invention. The air-jet spinning machine generally comprises a drawing unit 16 supplied with a fiber material 3, such as in the form of a doubled sliver. The air-jet spinning machine shown further comprises in principle a spinning point 1 spaced apart from the drawing unit 16 and having an inlet 2 for the fiber material 3 and an internal vortex chamber 14.
The fiber material 3 is introduced into the spinning point 1 by means of a delivery device 6 implemented as a delivery roller pair 11, which in turn can be part of the drawing unit 16. The fiber material 3 or at least part of the fibers of the fiber material 3 are provided with a rotation within the vortex chamber 14 for producing the desired yarn 5. The rotation thereby arises from the targeted air flow in the area of a spindle 17, wherein the air flow is generated by nozzles, not shown, opening tangentially into the vortex chamber 14.
The spinning machine shown further comprises a take-off device 7 formed by a take-off roller pair 12 and a winding device 8 connected downstream of the take-off roller pair 12 for the yarn 5 drawn off out of the spinning point 1 through the outlet 4.
The spinning machine is finally equipped with a yarn monitoring unit 9 monitoring previously defined parameters of the yarn 5 (such as the yarn thickness, yarn strength, or other parameters representative of the quality of the yarn 5.) The yarn monitoring unit 9 thereby operates preferably in a non-contacting manner.
The device according to the invention need not necessarily comprise a drawing unit 16 as is shown in FIG. 1. The take-off roller pair 12 is also not absolutely necessary. The spinning machine according to the invention can also be implemented as a rotor spinning machine, wherein the spinning point 1 in this case comprises a rotor in place of the spindle 17 shown, by which the yarn 5 produced at the tip of the spindle 17 is drawn off out of the spinning point 1.
The method according to the invention for interrupting the yarn production can be seen in the combination of FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 first shows the route of the fiber material 3 and the yarn 5 produced in the area of the spindle 17 during the actual spinning process.
If a defined deviation of the monitored parameter or parameters from corresponding target values is detected by means of the yarn monitoring unit 9 (which can also be located at a different position), or if a bobbin change is imminent, then the feed speeds of the delivery device 6, the take-off device 7, and the winding device 8 are gradually reduced. The reduction can also take place before the spinning machine is switched off.
The reduction does not have to be simultaneous or continuous. In any case, the corresponding feed speeds should be reduced, however, such that the spinning process can be maintained for as long as possible. Tearing of the yarn 5, as is typical for the state of the art, can be prevented in this manner. The goal of reducing the feed speeds, rather, is that the stable spinning process collapses when the speed drops below defined feed speeds, and no more yarn 5 is produced from the fiber material 3 after a particular point in time. At said point in time, the desired interruption of yarn production occurs, wherein the yarn is released from the yarn 5 without a separate application of force. This can be achieved, for example, in that the feed speed of the delivery device 6 is reduced until the amount of fiber material 3 being delivered is not sufficient for making yarn 5 out of said fiber material. It is also possible to reduce the feed speed of the take-off roller pair 12 more slowly (or if needed, also more quickly) than the feed speed of the delivery roller pair 11 and/or the winding device 8.
After the yarn production has been interrupted, it is then possible to operate the take-off roller pair 12 further for a brief period of time, until the resulting end 10 of the yarn 5 reaches a position as shown in FIG. 2, after the final stop of the delivery device 6, the take-off device 7, and the winding device 8. Part of the produced yarn 5 can thereby be retained in a yarn storage 13 (such as in the form of a tube connected to a vacuum source) shown only in FIG. 2, in order to prevent the yarn 5 produced during the reduction of the feed speeds from being wound up on the winding device 8 (the yarn storage 13 is of course not shown to scale, but only schematically.)
As a result, the end 10 of the yarn 5 required for the piecing process is located at a defined position within the spinning point 1, so that the piecing process can be started without previously having to search for the end 10 of the yarn 5, such as on the surface of a bobbin 18 of the winding device 8 (as is typical in the state of the art.)
For the piecing process, the end 10 of the yarn 5 is then pushed opposite the actual spinning direction into the vortex chamber 14, between the inlet 2 of the spinning point 1 and the delivery device 6 or between the delivery device 6 and an adjacent roller pair 15 of the drawing unit 16 by means of a service robot, by means of a yarn handling device dedicated to the spinning point, or manually. There, the end can be brought into contact with the fiber material 3 and fed back into the spinning point 1. The spinning process then starts again from the beginning.
The yarn 5 can thus be fixed by means of the take-off roller pair 12 after interrupting yarn production, as is also shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in addition to or alternatively to the yarn storage 13. Said step can also serve to displace the end 10 of the yarn 5 opposite the spinning direction by means of a change in direction prior to piecing. A cutting and/or disposal device 19 can also be disposed between the drawing unit 16 and the spinning point 1, or at the spinning point 1 itself, by means of which the end 10 of the yarn 5 can be corresponding prepared prior to piecing. As a rule, a part of the yarn 5 is thereby cut off and disposed of by means of the cutting and/or disposal device 19 using a vacuum, said device also functioning as a draw-off device in this case.
The invention is also not limited to the embodiments shown. Rather, any and all combinations of the individual features described, as shown in the figures or described in the claims or description, and to the extent that a corresponding combination appears possible and sensible, are subject matters of the invention.
1. A method for interrupting yarn production on a spinning machine, wherein the spinning machine includes: the method comprising:
a spinning point having an inlet for fiber material;
an outlet for yarn made from the fiber material;
a delivery device for feeding the fiber material into the spinning point;
a take-off device for drawing off the yarn out of the spinning point;
a winding device for winding up the produced yarn; and
a yarn monitoring unit configured to monitor at least one yarn parameter of the produced yarn;
interrupting yarn production upon detection by the yarn monitor of a defined deviation of the monitored yarn parameter from a target value, upon changing bobbins at the winding device, or prior to switching off the spinning machine;
for the interruption of yarn production, reducing the speed of the delivery device, the take-off device, and the winding device all to a stop; and
controlling the reduction of the delivery device, take-off device, and winding device such that an end of the produced yarn is located within the spinning point after the reductions are complete.
2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the delivery device is defined by a delivery roller pair, and the take-off device is defined by a take-off roller pair, wherein reducing the feed speed of the delivery device comprises reducing the speed of the delivery roller pair, and reducing the rate of the take-off device comprises reducing the speed of the take-off roller pair.
3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the spinning point includes a hollow spindle protruding into a vortex chamber, the produced yarn being drawn out through the hollow spindle in the direction of the outlet during yarn production, wherein the reduction of the delivery device, the take-off device, and the winding device is controlled such that the end of the produced yarn is located with the hollow spindle after the reductions are complete.
4. The method as in claim 1, wherein the reduction of the delivery device, the take-off device, and the winding device is reduced in a continuous linear manner.
5. The method as in claim 1, wherein the take-off device is brought to a stop after the delivery device.
6. The method as in claim 1, further comprising fixing a portion of the produced yarn in a yarn storage device after the reductions are complete.
7. The method as in claim 1, wherein the take-off device is brought to a stop after the winding device.
8. The method as in claim 1, wherein the take-off device and the winding device are brought to a stop at the same time.
9. The method as in claim 1, further comprising fixing the produced yarn with the take-off device after the reductions are complete.
10. The method as in claim 1, further comprising moving the end of the produced yarn into an area between the inlet of the spinning point and the delivery device or between the delivery device and a roller pair of a drawing unit upstream of the delivery device after interruption of yarn production, and subsequently connecting the end of the produced yarn to the fiber material during a piecing process.
11. The method as in claim 10, wherein the piecing process takes place outside of the spinning point between the delivery device and the roller pair of the drawing unit.
12. The method as in claim 10, further comprising removing a segment of the produced yarn that was produced during the reductions prior to the piecing process.
13. The method as in claim 1, wherein the reductions are controlled as a function of a physical or chemical property of the fiber material.
14. The method as in claim 1, further comprising retaining the end of the produced yarn within the spinning point with a vacuum source after the reductions are complete.
15. A spinning machine, comprising:
a winding device for winding up the produced yarn;
a yarn monitoring unit configured to monitor at least one yarn parameter of the produced yarn; and
a control system configured to interrupt yarn production upon detection by the yarn monitor of a defined deviation of the monitored yarn parameter from a target value, upon changing bobbins at the winding device, or prior to switching off the spinning machine;
wherein, for the interruption of yarn production, the control system reduces the speed of the delivery device, the take-off device, and the winding device all to a stop in such a manner that an end of the produced yarn is located within the spinning point after the reductions are complete.
3501905 March 1970 Landwehrkamp et al.
4638625 January 27, 1987 Lovas et al.
4845936 July 11, 1989 Artzt et al.
4944145 July 31, 1990 Stahlecker
5163279 November 17, 1992 Stahlecker
5167114 December 1, 1992 Stahlecker
5327712 July 12, 1994 Dallmann et al.
5484116 January 16, 1996 Horak et al.
7464529 December 16, 2008 Stahlecker et al.
20130067878 March 21, 2013 Stephan et al.
436 057 November 1967 CH
10 2007 009 074 August 2008 DE
German Patent Office Search Report, Mar. 15, 2012.
Filed: Sep 14, 2012
Assignee: Rieter Ingolstadt GmbH (Ingolstadt)
Inventors: Adalbert Stephan (Beilngries), Gernot Schäffler (Wäschenbeuren), Evzen Pilar (Litomysl), Martin Novak (Usti nad Orlici), Vítezslav Kubes (Usti nad Orlici), Josef Ludvícek (Usti nad Orlici), Vladimir Krycner (Usti nad Orlici)
Primary Examiner: Shaun R Hurley
Current U.S. Class: Stopping Or Starting (57/78)
International Classification: D01H 4/50 (20060101); D01H 1/24 (20060101); D01H 13/14 (20060101);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
L'esperimento Lunar Laser Ranging (misura laser lunare) è un esperimento che prevede la misurazione continuata della distanza fra la Terra e la Luna mediante il laser.

Primi esperimenti

Le prime misurazioni furono eseguite nel 1962 da un team del Massachusetts Institute of Technology, che riuscì ad osservare le riflessioni di impulsi laser di un millisecondo.
Un'analoga misurazione venne ottenuta lo stesso anno da un team sovietico dell'Osservatorio astrofisico della Crimea utilizzando un laser a rubino Q-switched.

Il 21 luglio 1969 l'equipaggio dell'Apollo 11 installò uno specchio catarifrangente, tramite il quale fu possibile ottenere un'eccezionale accuratezza delle misurazioni. Successivamente anche le missioni Apollo 14 e Apollo 15 contribuirono all'esperimento installando altri due pannelli catarifrangenti.

I due rover lunari automatici sovietici Lunochod 1 e Lunochod 2 portarono anch'essi due piccoli pannelli catarifrangenti. Mentre l'apparato del Lunochod 2 continuò a funzionare riflettendo i segnali verso la Terra, quello del Lunochod 1 venne perduto nel 1971, anno dopo il quale non risultò più ricevibile il segnale riflesso; solo nell'aprile del 2010 un team dell'Università della California - San Diego, utilizzando le immagini provenienti dal Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter della NASA, ha localizzato nuovamente l'apparato.

I riflettori sovietici soffrono di un calo di prestazioni quando vengono esposti alla luce diretta del sole, fenomeno che è invece stato considerato nei riflettori statunitensi installati dalle missioni Apollo.

Il pannello catarifrangente installato dalla missione Apollo 15 è tre volte più grande dei due posti in opera dalle altre missioni Apollo: ciò ha fatto sì che sia stato il bersaglio scelto per tre quarti delle misurazioni che furono effettuate nei primi 25 anni dell'esperimento. Nel tempo, i miglioramenti tecnologici hanno permesso un maggiore utilizzo degli apparati più piccoli, da parte di siti quali l'osservatorio della Costa Azzurra di Grasse in Francia e dell'APOLLO (Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation) in Nuovo Messico.

Procedimento
La distanza dalla Terra alla Luna è calcolata approssimativamente utilizzando l'equazione:

 Distanza = (Velocità della luce × Tempo impiegato dal riflesso del laser a raggiungere la Terra) / 2.

In realtà, il tempo necessario perché il raggio laser riflesso raggiunga nuovamente il punto di partenza (circa 2,5 secondi) è influenzato dal moto relativo della Terra e della Luna, dalla rotazione terrestre, dalla librazione lunare, da effetti relativistici, nonché dalle condizioni atmosferiche e dal ritardo di propagazione attraverso l'atmosfera terrestre, dallo spostamento dei poli terrestri e dal movimento tettonico della crosta terrestre su cui poggia la stazione di osservazione.
Nonostante ciò, nell'arco di più di 35 anni la distanza Terra-Luna è stata misurata con sempre maggiore accuratezza.
La distanza cambia di continuo per una varietà di motivi, ma la media è di circa 384.467 chilometri.

Il raggio laser emesso dalla Terra giunge sulla superficie della Luna con un diametro di circa 6,5 chilometri.
I fotoni ricevuti possono essere identificati perché il laser emette una luce altamente monocromatica. La luce riflessa è troppo debole per essere vista ad occhio nudo, dato che, anche nelle condizioni migliori, ogni 1017 fotoni emessi solo uno viene ricevuto sulla Terra.

Le misure fornite dall'esperimento sono le più precise mai effettuate dall'uomo: la precisione ottenuta equivarrebbe al misurare la distanza tra New York e Los Angeles in decimi di millimetro.

Dal 2002 si riescono ad ottenere misure Terra-Luna con un'accuratezza prossima al millimetro, benché le prestazioni dei pannelli riflettenti stiano continuando a degradare con l'età.

Risultati ottenuti
Ecco alcuni dei risultati ottenuti dalle misurazione a lungo termine:
 la Luna si sta allontanando dalla Terra lungo una spirale al ritmo di 38 mm per anno;
 è probabile che la Luna abbia un nucleo liquido con un raggio pari al 20% del raggio lunare;
 la forza di gravità universale è molto stabile: gli esperimenti hanno stimato che dal 1969 la costante gravitazionale di Newton  G è variata al massimo di una parte su 1011;
 indizi dell'esistenza dell'effetto Nordtvedt, una differenza nell'accelerazione di Terra e Luna intorno al Sole dipendenti dalla composizione, sono stati esclusi fino a notevoli gradi di precisione, supportando il principio forte di equivalenza.
 La teoria della gravità derivata dalla teoria della relatività generale di Albert Einstein sta predicendo l'orbita lunare all'interno dei livelli di accuratezza delle attuali misurazioni laser.

L'accuratezza degli esperimenti di misurazione ha consentito una conoscenza dell'orbita lunare sufficientemente dettagliata da permettere di datare con estrema precisione tutte le eclissi verificatesi a partire da 3400 anni fa.

La presenza dei retroriflettori sulla luna è stata inoltre utilizzata per confutare le teorie di cospirazione che sostengono la falsità delle missioni lunari. Ad esempio, il grafico ottenuto dall'esperimento APOLLO è compatibile con il posizionamento di uno strumento retroriflettente nelle vicinanze del punto di allunaggio conosciuto.

Note

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

 Station de Télémétrie Laser-Lune in Grasse, France

 NASA: What Neil & Buzz Left on the Moon
 CNN: Apollo 11 Experiment Still Returning Results after 30 Years

Esperimenti di fisica
Luna

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In addition to generator sales and installations, we offer a variety of other electrical and home safety options. These include extended warranties on generators, maintenance plans, carbon monoxide detectors, propane tank sales and installation as well as surge protection.
One of the great things about the Generac generators is the extended warranties that come with them. A warranty is great for peace of mind when you are making an investment as large as a generator.
We also offer maintenance plans for both Generac and Kohler brands of generators so you will never be left without power when you are in need. Our expert technicians are some of the most experienced and highly trained in the business. With our factory recommended semi-annual maintenance, your system will be ready the moment you need it.
Carbon monoxide detectors are another common product we offer. If you have gas appliances on all levels of your home, it's recommended you have one.
Master Electrical sells and installs propane tanks that go both above and below ground. When working with gas, you need a company you can trust to do a professional grade installation. Our years of experience in the industry allow us to provide the best installations possible.
Surge protection is another important and often overlooked option we carry. When lightning strikes nearby, a surge of electricity can form and disrupt or damage your electrical equipment. Surge protectors are recommended for any electrical piece of equipment you cannot afford to replace.
As you can see, Master Electrical is here for local Central Virginia residents and business owners who value staying safe and secure not only in the event of a storm or power outage, but at all times. We have been serving Richmond and surrounding cities such as Chesterfield, Mechanicsville and beyond for over 30 years and look forward to helping keep your Virginia home or business safe with the power always running.


U-POL Raptor Tintable Truck Bed Liner Kit w/ FREE Spray Gun, 8 Liter Upol. U-Pol Bed Liner Kit Tintable (2 Pack) is a 2-component urethane system designed for application directly to most original manufacturers' paint finishes or any self-etching primer surface. Dries rapidly, resists stains and abrasion, and protects against rust, corrosion, UV damage, and extreme temperatures. &###xC2;&###xA0;Also&###xC2;&###xA0;makes an excellent sound deadener under or inside vehicles. Waterproof material stays flexible and reduces road noise and vibration.
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(8) 750 ml (25 oz) bottles of bed liner base (tintable). (2) 1 liter of hardener. At 68&###xC2;&###xB0;F - Pot Life is 60 minutes. &###xC2;&###xA0;touch dry < 1 hour subject to film buildup. 125 square feet (standard 8 ft bed). Total kit makes 1.06 US gallons.
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Auto Body Now is a family owned company based out of South Dakota. We enjoy providing the Midwest with the highest quality auto body products on the market. We are a distributor for 3M, Dewalt, Makita, Milwaukee, Milton, Lisle, Irwin, U-Pol, SEM, GearWrench, Norton, Microflex, Wizard, Evercoat, Forever Black and Tool Aid. We take great pride in satisfying our customers, and as a Midwest company, we are able to get your products to you quickly. Whether you are a DIYer or an auto body professional, we stand by our commitment to serve you. If there are any restrictions to your country it will advise you of that during checkout.
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text:
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<title>Jepson Herbarium: Jepson Flora Project: Jepson eFlora: Key to Group18</title>
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Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) [year] Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html [accessed on month, day, year]

Key to groups

Family key to Group 18

Group 18: Perianth in 2 whorls; petals 4 or more, all fused, corolla bilateral; pistil 1, ovary superior

1.  Stamens > in number than corolla lobes

2.  Leaf compound — petals proximally free but strongly adherent and may appear fused ..... FABACEAE (Papilionoideae)

2'  Leaf simple, sometimes reduced to linear or scale-like bracts

3.  Filaments fused, forming a U-shaped tube around the style — petals actually free but may appear fused ..... POLYGALACEAE {G15,22,23,24}

3'  Filaments free

4.  Shrub; leaves alternate; anthers dehiscing by pores; ovules many; fruit a capsule ..... ERICACEAE (Rhododendron macrophyllum)

4'  Herb or weak-stemmed subshrub; leaves opposite; anthers dehiscing by lateral slits; ovule 1; fruit an achene tightly enwrapped by hardened base of corolla-like calyx — petals actually 0 but sepals petal-like and involucre bracts sepal-like ..... NYCTAGINACEAE (Allionia)

1'  Stamens = in number to corolla lobes or fewer

5.  Corolla scarious, persistent in fruit ..... PLANTAGINACEAE (Plantago) {G5,8,19}

5'  Corolla not scarious, generally deciduous after flower

6.  Fertile stamens = in number to corolla lobes

7.  Ovary deeply 4-lobed, especially in fruit; style attachment surrounded by lobes of ovary (style readily detaches in Lamiaceae as corolla falls); fruit breaking apart into 1-seeded nutlets (sometimes only 1–3 nutlets maturing)

8.  Stem round in ×-section; leaves alternate (proximal opposite in some Plagiobothrys); herbage not aromatic; inflorescence or inflorescence branches coiled when young, unrolling in flower or fruit ..... BORAGINACEAE {G19}

8'  Stem 4-angled, at least when young; leaves opposite throughout; herbage generally strongly aromatic, especially if crushed; inflorescence or inflorescence branches not coiled ..... LAMIACEAE (3) {G8,19}

7'  Ovary entire or shallowly lobed; style clearly attached to tip of ovary; fruit a capsule or splitting into nutlets

9.  Shrub; filaments attached directly to receptacle, falling free from corolla or only weakly adhering; anthers dehiscent by pores ..... ERICACEAE {G17,19,24}

9'  Herb; filaments fused to and falling with corolla; anthers dehiscent by slits

10.  Calyx lobes bordered by or ± fused by a much thinner, transparent or translucent membrane; corolla generally funnel-shaped to salverform; stigmas 3; ovary chambers 3 ..... POLEMONIACEAE {G19}

10'  Calyx lobes not bordered by or fused by transparent or translucent membrane; corolla ± rotate; stigmas 1–2; ovary chambers 1–4

11.  Corolla white to blue or purple, 2–8 mm diam; inflorescence cyme-like, or flowers solitary; fruit splitting into generally 4 one-seeded nutlets ..... BORAGINACEAE (Tiquilia) {G19}

11'  Corolla yellow (white to ± purple), 15–40 mm diam; inflorescence a narrow raceme or panicle; fruit a many-seeded capsule ..... SCROPHULARIACEAE (Verbascum) {G19}

6'  Fertile stamens fewer than corolla lobes — 1 or more sterile stamens sometimes present

12.  Plant entirely non-green, ± fleshy ..... OROBANCHACEAE (2)

12'  Plant green and photosynthetic

13.  Proximal portion of lower corolla lip with backward-projecting, conic or tubular spur

14.  Plant aquatic; leaf-like underwater stems generally dissected, generally submersed, generally bearing small, hollow bladders that suck in and trap small organisms when hairs at opening are triggered ..... LENTIBULARIACEAE (Utricularia) {G2}

14'  Plant terrestrial; leaves entire to shallowly lobed, without hollow bladders

15.  Leaves all basal; adaxial leaf face sticky or slimy with insect-capturing glands ..... LENTIBULARIACEAE (Pinguicula)

15'  Leaves basal and cauline or all cauline; adaxial leaf surface not sticky or slimy with insect-capturing glands ..... PLANTAGINACEAE (4) {G5,19}

13'  Proximal portion of lower corolla lip without backward-projecting, conic or tubular spur, occasionally with expanded pouch

16.  Ovary generally deeply 4-lobed; style attachment surrounded by lobes of ovary [style readily detaches as corolla falls] — fruit breaking into 4 one-seeded nutlets ..... LAMIACEAE (3) {G8,19}

16'  Ovary entire or ± shallowly lobed; style arising from tip of ovary

17.  Ovules 1–4 per ovary chamber

18.  Fruit a capsule

19.  Shrub ..... ACANTHACEAE

19'  Annual ..... PLANTAGINACEAE (4) {G5,19}

18'  Fruit 2–4 nutlets

20.  Stamens exserted ..... LAMIACEAE (3) {G8,19}

20'  Stamens included ..... VERBENACEAE {G19}

17'  Ovules several to many per ovary chamber

21.  Leaves compound ..... BIGNONIACEAE (2)

21'  Leaves simple

22.  Capsule 5–35 cm

23.  Shrub or tree; capsule body 15–35 cm, straight, linear ..... BIGNONIACEAE (2)

23'  Annual; capsule body 5–10 cm, curved, tipped with a hooked beak several cm long ..... MARTYNIACEAE

22'  Capsule < 2 cm

24.  Corolla upper lip forming a concave beak or hood, ± enclosing or covering stamens and style

25.  Sterile stamen 0; lobes of upper corolla lip obscure or 0 ..... OROBANCHACEAE (2)

25'  Sterile stamen present, inserted on corolla tube between lobes of upper corolla lip; lobes of upper lip evident ..... PLANTAGINACEAE (4) {G5,19}

24'  Corolla upper lip not forming a beak or hood, not enclosing or covering stamens and style [though these may be included within corolla tube or throat]

26.  Stigma lobes flat, disk-like, moving together when touched; cauline leaves opposite ..... PHRYMACEAE {G2,19}

26'  Stigma dot-like or head-like, unlobed, or lobes not moving together when touched; cauline leaves opposite or alternate (whorled) or leaves all basal

27.  Leaves all basal

28.  Flowers solitary; stamens 4; leaves linear or awl-like to spoon-shaped or ovate, entire ..... SCROPHULARIACEAE (Limosella) {G2,19}

28'  Flowers in raceme; stamens 2; leaves ovate to round, toothed or shallowly lobed ..... PLANTAGINACEAE (Synthyris)

27'  Leaves basal and cauline or all cauline

29.  Stem 4-angled; corolla tube urn-shaped to spheric ..... SCROPHULARIACEAE (Scrophularia)

29'  Stem generally round in ×-section; corolla tube cylindric to bell-shaped, sometimes very short ..... PLANTAGINACEAE (4) {G5,19}

Copyright © 2013 Regents of the University of California

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If you're curious about how I create circuits for my electronic art, check out my new project "Hacking Nature's Musicians" on Hackaday.io. In a recent entry, I explain how I built a random pulse generator to simulate the natural "timing effects" of Mother Nature conducting a chorus.
Below (and on Vimeo) is a video overview of the circuit.


Beaverton is looking to get a slice of Portland's walkable-bikeable apartment boom.
Tomorrow morning, developers and city officials will break ground at the vacant lot at Southwest First Street and Angel Avenue in Beaverton's streetcar-era Old Town neighborhood, officially kicking off construction of The Signal.
The four-story building will be about two blocks from Beaverton High School, half a mile from the Beaverton Transit Center and 2.5 miles from Nike headquarters.
Apartments will include studios, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms and nine larger live-work units on the ground floor, with an average size of 750 square feet. They're currently expected to rent for about $1,050 to just under $2,000 a month.
One or more of the 65 on-site car parking stalls will be optionally available for an additional fee.
And in news that would be fairly routine for a newly built Portland building but is a first for its western neighbor, The Signal will include extensive bike parking, an on-site bike repair stand and a bike wash.
The $20 million project is happening on a city-owned site and is getting a $350,000 subsidy from Metro's transit-oriented development program. (Other than that, it's privately funded.) The City of Beaverton, looking to jump-start development of the precious few gridded streets in its city center, put word around in 2013 that it was looking for a developer for a project like this.
Hillsboro, Beaverton and the rest of Washington County are facing another phase in their perennial debate over whether the area should expand its urban growth boundary or find ways to fit more density in their existing urban areas.
That said, there are plans in the works for an arts, culture, hotel, housing and retail development nearby. Rembold is a partner in that project too, along with Portland-based infill specialist Gerding Edlen.


text:
5 Stereotypes Men Have About Women That We're So Over
I was sitting at the dinner table with a male friend and his father, who was lamenting the condition of his girlfriend's gutters. "They're ready to fall off the house," he said. "In fact, there are a few things around that place that could use a man's touch." My friend stopped the older man in his tracks. "Dad, don't say that around Jillian," he warned. "She's the handyman at her home." Whether it was replacing a light fixture with a chandelier—complete with a new dimmer switch installed into the electric box—or building a six-foot-long dining table from scratch, cutting and sanding the wood and staining it a cherry-mocha hue, my friend was right: I wore the tool belt in my apartment. And I resent anyone who implies a woman can't install a garbage disposal as efficiently and effectively as a man. If you agree, cue an eye roll or two, because here are four other stereotypes some men have of the fairer sex, and why we wish they'd bury them along with their dusty toolboxes. 1. We're all wedding and baby crazy. Our Pinterest boards are filled with wedding inspiration, sure, but that doesn't mean we're planning our wedding to
By Jillian Kramer
I was sitting at the dinner table with a male friend and his father, who was lamenting the condition of his girlfriend's gutters. "They're ready to fall off the house," he said. "In fact, there are a few things around that place that could use a man's touch."
My friend stopped the older man in his tracks. "Dad, don't say that around Jillian," he warned. "She's the handyman at her home."
Whether it was replacing a light fixture with a chandelier—complete with a new dimmer switch installed into the electric box—or building a six-foot-long dining table from scratch, cutting and sanding the wood and staining it a cherry-mocha hue, my friend was right: I wore the tool belt in my apartment. And I resent anyone who implies a woman can't install a garbage disposal as efficiently and effectively as a man.
If you agree, cue an eye roll or two, because here are four other stereotypes some men have of the fairer sex, and why we wish they'd bury them along with their dusty toolboxes.
1. We're all wedding and baby crazy. Our Pinterest boards are filled with wedding inspiration, sure, but that doesn't mean we're planning our wedding to you on the first or even 75th date. Also, many women I know edging toward 30 aren't even sure if they want children. The idea that we're all growing up to get our M.R.S. degree and pop out a baby or two—no career, wild travels, or other goals in between—is way outdated and way annoying.
2. Our sex drives are more golf cart than racecar. Media—think sitcoms, especially—and some men like to portray women as begrudgingly giving a guy a gift when we give it up for the evening. We couldn't possibly like sex, let alone want it more than once a month. While we may not think about sex every 7.2 seconds, or whatever the most recent study says about men, we do like to get it on. We appreciate good sex, we enjoy our partner's talents between the sheets, and we can match our man kiss for kiss and more.
3. We think crying is fun.(If it wasn't, why would we do it so often?) Women are emotional water balloons ready to explode as the slightest pressure or prick (pun intended). But just because we can't make it through Le Miserables—or OK, any 'ol rom-com—without waterworks, that doesn't make us emotional messes. We're stronger than most men will ever know.
4. If we're the boss, we're also a bitch. While men can climb the corporate ladder by buying their buddies a beer and bonding over a game, we clearly clawed our way to the top and think that the only way to stay there is to shove everyone else back down. Men can give direction to their subordinates and be called a "leader," while women who utter the same phrase are "bossy," "mean," "desperate for attention," or worse. How about this, instead: We're smart, ambitious, good at what we do and expect the same from others? What's so bad and bitchy about that?
What are some other stereotypes men have about women that you're over? Have you ever been accused of fitting in to one of these stereotypes?
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Center for Backyard Astrophysics
Our Cataclysmic-Variable Network
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Running a Telescope with a Microcomputer
David Skillman
January 1981, Page 71
(used with permission, see note below)
Observing variable stars with a photoelectric detector is one way that an amateur can make a contribution to astronomy. Accuracies of a few hundredths of a stellar magnitude are typical.
An evening's work, to be sure, seemingly provides only a list of numbers. But then these brightness measures are plotted up, and imagination and analysis are brought to bear. The insights gained often make you feel that you have been carried to the star, and are an intimate spectator of its behavior.
My particular interest is eclipsing binaries. After several years as a member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), using a variety of photoelectric photometers, I became convinced that it would be a powerful advantage to have a computerized telescope. With this thought in mind, I began building a fully computer-controlled 12½-inch reflector in my yard. A fork mount was chosen so that the telescope would be able to follow a star across the meridian without interruption. I took apart the German mounting of my earlier 6-inch homemade reflector and used its polar and declination bearings on either end of a new, longer polar shaft. The fork was welded together out of 1/8-inch steel, and a 14-inch box of ¼-inch welded aluminum formed the telescope tube.
A commercial 12½-inch Cassegrain mirror set was ordered with a short back focus, along with a Newtonian diagonal. This diagonal is mounted on a second spider directly in front of the primary mirror, to form a bent Cassegrain configuration whose final focus lies about an inch beyond the side of the tube. Black flock paper and baffles inside the tube reduce stray light.
The bent light path minimizes the fork-tine length, and also brings the heavy photometer as close as possible to the intersection of the polar and declination axes. This leads to a very stable arrangement, and the telescope is hardly disturbed at all when the photometer is being operated manually. Moreover, the eyepieces of the photometer and 4-inch finderscope are in close proximity, and always conveniently placed.
Driving the Axes
How could the telescope's right-ascension and declination shafts be aimed automatically? Since I wanted remote positioning capability at the arc-second level, this became a serious problem. Stepper motors were the logical choice on each axis, so that the computer could issue drive pulses and use the total count of pulses to keep track of the telescope position.
Small telescopes typically have natural vibration frequencies of a few cycles per second, so I knew it would be important that the stepping rate not coincide with, and thus excite, any structural vibration. After several tests, I finally chose a tracking rate of 10 steps per second.
Since the earth rotates 15 arc seconds per second of time, the 10-step rate required a geared-down step size of 1½ arc seconds. My hour-angle stepper is connected to a worm through a compliant coupling that helps dampen mechanical vibration. This secondary worm drives a 100-tooth worm gear that directly turns the primary worm.
Mechanical "slop" between the primary worm and the primary worm gear is minimized by preloading the telescope or unbalancing it slightly. Play between the stepper's worm and its worm gear can easily be held to a tenth of a motor rotation, or about five steps, corresponding to 8 arc seconds on the sky. Once the motor has made enough steps to take up this slack, each subsequent step can be depended on for an additional 1½ arc seconds of motion.
The electronics were completed in stages, with gradually increasing sophistication. I designed special controller circuits, which drive the multiphase steppers using direction and step pulses alone. These circuit boards are mounted near each motor and are fully interchangeable.
Starting from scratch, it took me about a year to assemble the telescope and bring it to a point where it could be driven in both axes with a pair of simple oscillators. Then at last, the fun could begin.
My plans called for two computers, each handling part of the work load. One is an enhanced KIM-1, the popular single-board computer developed by MOS Technology, a division of Commodore. I have installed it in the observatory, where it serves as the "telescope controller." The other computer is a standard Apple II located in my house; I call it the "operations controller" because it issues simple commands (normally from a program written in Basic) to the KIM, which in turn handles the details of carrying them out. The KIM will also accept commands from a push-button hand paddle when I am standing beside the telescope.
The hand paddle is a reworked calculator key pad that is routinely scanned by the machine-language program in the KIM. I can use the paddle for slow-motion control of the telescope as well as for on-site display (using LED digits) of the photometer signal.
Within a few months I had gotten the KIM to perform these additional functions: track stars in hour angle, monitor a real -time clock, and integrate the signal coming from the photometer. This made variable star work much more convenient because integrated brightness measurements could be copied off the LED display and written down along with the Universal time. The KIM receives its brightness values through a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter. Thus, stars that differ by as much as four stellar magnitudes (40 times) can be measured to ± 1 percent directly, and there is no need of ½-magnitude sensitivity steps on the amplifier, as would be the case if I were putting out the data on a strip-chart recorder.
A 26-conductor cable was buried underground during construction of the observatory. It runs more than 100 feet, providing a data link to the control area inside my house. Optical isolators were put on each end of the cable to avoid grounding problems, and to prevent failures or electrical shorts in one area from damaging equipment in the other. Each wire in the cable can transfer data at a 10-kilobaud rate (that is, 10,000 off-on pulses per second).
My "operations control room" contains the Apple computer, a TV-set monitor, a floppy-disk drive, and a printer. This popular type of home computer was chosen because of its excellent documentation, and because it offers high – resolution graphical displays on the video screen. Also, it uses the same 6502 microprocessor chip that is in the KIM, simplifying matters when I am writing assembly-language software.
As things now stand, the Apple sends out strings of commands via the underground cable to the KIM, which must execute them and return answers. For example, the Apple might ask for the time, the coordinates to which the telescope is currently aimed, or the signal level produced by the photomultiplier tube. Or it might tell the KIM to shift the telescope to another star.
Thus, in a very literal sense, the telescope has become a "peripheral device" of the Apple computer 100 feet away! Automatic operation commenced in May, 1980, a little more than two years from the start of the project. Its first variable star was 44 Bootis, on which the system performed very well for some six hours.
A Typical Evening's Activity
As darkness falls, I turn on the Apple and run a prediction program to find out which variables will be in the sky and undergoing an eclipse that night. If I am not familiar with the star, I then prepare a finder chart and select a comparison star. The observatory will already have been opened around sunset to acclimatize the equipment to the night air.
Next I turn on the electronics in the observatory and press the reset button on the KIM. Returning indoors, I power up the Apple again, load in the machine-language telescope-controller program, and transmit it through the cable to the KIM.
Moving back out to the telescope, I manually find the comparison star and place it in the aperture of the photometer, which is only 30 arc seconds across. When the sliding mirror is withdrawn, the light of this star alone falls on the sensitive cathode of the 1P21 photomultiplier tube. I adjust the tube voltage and amplifier gain to provide reasonable signal levels for the comparison and variable, and then leave these settings alone for the rest of the night.
With the comparison star well centered, I press a hand-paddle button labeled "origin," which clears the position counters in the KIM's memory. (Rather than keeping track of the right ascension and declination, the program works more conveniently in step coordinates, with the origin at the comparison star.) I then use the slow-motion controls to select a starless patch of sky that will be used for monitoring the sky background and press another button. Finally, I locate the variable star, center it well, and press a third button. Each time, the KIM stores the relative coordinates. There is no limitation on either the number of objects to be measured or the order in which they will be observed.
Another button starts the sequencing through the list of objects. Every time the telescope successfully returns to the comparison star, the computer clears its position counters, to avoid cumulative errors.
Now the two computers take over complete control of the telescope. I can watch the progress on the video screen in the house, which displays the time, relative coordinates, photometer output, number of data points collected, and a narrative of the operations.
Homing in on a Star
Periodic error in the primary worm on the polar axis is one area that needed special attention. Such a gear error can easily cause the telescope to miss a star because of the small acceptance angle of the 30-arc-second diaphragm. To handle this problem, and to fend off a myriad other real-world perturbations (such as wind on the tube), an automatic telescope like this must be able to search a small sky area near the star's coordinates.
In my system, if the telescope slews to a star and finds it absent, the KIM will cause it to sweep in an ever-widening rectangular spiral, looking for the star. If the search fails for some reason, say the brief passage of a cloud, it moves on to the next object. On the other hand, if the star is found during a search (as indicated by a sudden rise in the photometer signal), the telescope will usually overshoot, and the computer must make it backtrack until the star is detected again.
Merely putting the star in the photometer aperture is not sufficient in photoelectric work; the telescope must center the star as well. My software uses a centering algorithm that is independent of gear errors in the drives.
First the telescope moves 40 arc seconds to the north, then scans slowly southward until the photometer signal has risen and fallen again as the star moves through the aperture. Having counted the number of steps needed for the star's chordal passage, the computer moves the telescope northward again, to the point of redetection and then further by the half-width of the chord. A similar sequence is performed in the east-west direction, thus centering the star very accurately. For consistency, exactly the same centering technique is used on all stars being observed.
The computer then samples the output of the A/D converter about 100 times per second for 25 seconds; the sum of all these readings is sent back to the Apple for retention as a single data point.
After watching a few cycles through the list of stars, sometimes I interrupt the program and enter better relative coordinates to trim up the operation. Out at the telescope, the movements are quiet, and only the flickering of the needle on the amplifier and the racing digits on the LED display show that the system is functioning. It is fascinating to watch through the finder and see the stars moving back and forth silently.
In general, if the telescope cycles correctly through the sequence once, it will continue to do so indefinitely. But if the telescope is poorly balanced or the wind gusty, I sometimes must go outdoors and relocate the comparison star.
Data reduction is done later, by another computer program on the Apple, during the day or on a cloudy night. This Basic program can take raw readings, plot a light curve on the video screen, and then perform the standard operations of subtracting the sky brightness and converting the readings to magnitude differences between the comparison and variable.
When Howard Landis, the head of the AAVSO photoelectric group, stopped by for a visit last July, we decided to observe µ Herculis even though the eclipse wasn't very well placed during the hours of darkness. That night the telescope performed perfectly, although we interrupted it several times for data dumps. After four hours the system was still faithfully gathering data. Then I could see that the variable would be disappearing behind a hedge shortly, so I closed up shop.
There are endless enhancements possible on a computerized system like this, and I plan to try a software correction of the periodic worm error. Also, a graphical display of the status would be nice, rather than the present numerical display.
The cost of a system like this is not trivial, of course. But adding it all together — optics, mounting, electronics, observatory building, two computers, printer, disk drive, and photometer — comes to only about half the cost of a station wagon. I have probably put in a thousand hours of my time in design, construction, and software development. With the bulk of the debugging behind me, I am looking forward to future observing sessions, which should be some of my most productive ones.
Copyright © 1981 Sky Publishing Corporation; used with permission. This material may not be reproduced in any form, either printed or electronic, without first obtaining permission from Sky Publishing Corp., P.O. Box 9111, Belmont, MA 02178-9111, USA.
CBA New York • CBA Huelva • CBA Middlebury
view from CBA New York
This site supported in part by National Science Foundation grant AST-1615456 to J. Patterson.
where is it nighttime?
CBA @ cbastro.org | Center for Backyard Astrophysics


Mr Father with fierce eyebrows.No smile.
Madam Mama who has sweet smile ever as she loves to laugh and make other people smile. This photo looks somekind of old,an old photo perhaps.:p.May Allah bless her.
This is my eldest sister with her pair of spectacle. She have few collections of spectacle frames and watches( thing that we wear like bangle to know what time is it now.). She is two years older than me.
Mr.young brother,Third child.Stubborn but he is caring enough.
# pretend like I have those photos and able to publish it here.


It's no secret, we have a thing for chiptune. It might be the nostalgic way the 8-bit songs take us back to our childhood days of playing Nintendo for hours on end. Or maybe it's just good music and deserves to be heard.
Slime Girls is the secret shoujo chiptune life of Pedro Invader. From the wastelands of central California comes a distorted pulsewave assault of Nintendo gameboys, guitars and energetic drums. Sometimes fast, lush and loud punk rock, other times melancholy surf jams, sometimes ever danceable ska, yet always tied together with an electronic wash of melodic chip music. Alternatively: just some sorta' loud chiptune punk anime junk.
Grab the EP at a name your own price option.


text:
Decoder::Decoder()
{
}

Decoder::~Decoder()
{
}

MediaioStatus Decoder::configure(const Metadata* parameters)
{
	size_t index = 0;
	while( 1 )
	{
		const Metadata& m = parameters[index];
		if(m.type == eMetadataTypeEnd)
		{
			break;
		}
		++index;
	}
	return kMediaioStatusOK;
}

MediaioStatus Decoder::decode(CodedData* unwrappedFrame, AudioFrame* frame)
{
	size_t nb_channels = 1;
	create_channels(frame, nb_channels);

	for( size_t channelIndex = 0; channelIndex < nb_channels; ++ channelIndex )
	{
		Channel& channel = frame->channels[channelIndex];

		size_t samples = unwrappedFrame->size / 3;

		resize_channel(&channel, samples * 4);
		char* data = (char*)unwrappedFrame->data;
		int* output_data = (int*)channel.data;

		for (int s = 0; s < samples; ++s)
		{
			output_data[s] = (((int)data[s * 3 + 2]) << 24) + (((unsigned int)data[s * 3 + 1]) << 16) + (((unsigned int)data[s * 3 + 0]) << 8) + 0;
		}

		channel.precision = 32;
		channel.sampleSizeInByte = 4;
	}

	return kMediaioStatusOK;
}

Metadata* Decoder::getMetadatas()
{
	return nullptr;
}


text:
Q: Hardware: Matching a CPU So I've got an old machine I want to turn into a basic server (FTP, security camera, maybe a printer). It has this processor. I want to put in the A1400AMS3C (Google it, serverfault won't let me post 2 hyperlinks) which is supposedly the fastest with the same socket.
How do I find out if it'll work? What besides socket needs to match? (I have basic hardware competency and can replace most components, but I've never changed CPUs and I don't want to waste my money).
I realize this is more hardware than systems administration; if there's a better place for this question, please let me know.

A: You'll have to find the manual for the motherboard (might find it via Google) and see what the fastest processor it supports is. Without knowing that, it's impossible to know.
My knee-jerk guess is no, that Duron runs at 100MHz 8x; and the Athlon runs at 133MHz 10.5x; the different FSB speeds usually means different memory, and relatively few boards that came with 100MHz processors support 133MHz processors.
Side note: I wouldn't waste $30+ on an ancient machine upgrade like that. For $100 you can get a new MB & Processor that are 10+ times faster...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


GREG TRUTA works long hours as an accountant, but that hasn't stopped him from developing a sideline as the neighborhood weatherman in Broomfield, Colo., a suburb of Denver.
Mr. Truta, 33, was so fascinated by the weather moving off of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains that he mounted a personal weather station in his backyard to monitor it. Soon he decided to share his data by posting it online. He connected his instruments to a computer and began uploading live readings, along with National Weather Service forecasts and even a Webcam view of the mountains to his Web site, www.broomfieldweather.com.
His site has become a resource for those in his area and beyond, logging more than 98,000 page views in the last 18 months. "I've gotten e-mails from all over Colorado, even on the East Coast," he said. For those hooked on Broomfield weather, Mr. Truta offers an e-mail system that sends out weather updates three times a day.
His audience includes professional meteorologists, like those at Denver's ABC affiliate, KMGH, who have used his station data in their forecasts. "They told me they needed a temperature for northwest Denver, and were using my temperatures on the 5 o'clock news," he said.
Mr. Truta is not alone. Thousands of armchair sky watchers are pairing computers and consumer-grade meteorological equipment to share their observations of local conditions online. Posted on personal Web sites or community weather pages, the data is helping neighbors and beginning to have a larger impact on meteorology, by shaping a more detailed view of weather patterns than was previously available.
"We use those reports," said Mike Nelson, KMGH's chief meteorologist. "It's been useful for television to get more reports from all kinds of locales, compared to just the airport. The old joke goes, no one lives out there."
Even without building Web sites, backyard meteorologists can contribute to the professional weather world. They can send their data to a number of organizations that aggregate the information and post it online.
One such group that has achieved official recognition is the Citizen Weather Observer Program (www.cwop.net), an association of weather watchers who collect information, share it online, and forward it to outlets like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's giant pool of freely available weather research data, the Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System. Information from 1,900 of the 4,000 personal weather stations registered with the observer program makes its way to the National Weather Service forecast offices, the Kennedy Space Center, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and university research programs, among other destinations.
"The data goes to 80 percent of the weather forecast offices in the U.S.," said Russ Chadwick, the senior engineer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's forecast systems laboratory in Boulder, Colo., and volunteer administrator of the citizen observer program's network.
"It's helpful in places where there are fewer official data points, and where we have quite a number of stations," he said. "The conventional weather network might have 70 kilometers between observations, and sometimes we have stations in those areas that are just 10 kilometers apart."
James Scarlett is a weather professional who takes advantage of the observer program's network. As the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Billings, Mont., Mr. Scarlett was in a position to recognize the shortage of official observations from the southeastern part of the state. He mobilized amateur radio operators to collect weather data around Forsyth, a rural town where there were no official weather stations.
Now, information from nearly a dozen personal weather stations channels into findu.com, an affiliate of the observer program for amateur band broadcasters, and Mr. Scarlett can analyze the data before issuing weather alerts and wildfire warnings for the northern Rockies.
"We've always struggled to get information from out there, and it's been great," Mr. Scarlett said. "The more data we get from the field, the better our forecasting."
A number of other Web sites collect personal weather station information and offer it online for use by amateur and professional meteorologists.
Anythingweather.com and weatherforyou.com members share personal weather data, which is displayed alongside official reports in a series of interactive state maps.
They will be joined next year by WeatherBug, an advertising-supported software program that, its publishers say, is installed on over seven million desktops. WeatherBug plans to augment data collected from its network of 7,000 school-based weather stations with personal weather data in early 2005. Seventy-seven TV stations use WeatherBug data on neighborhood conditions in their local weather reporting.
The neighborhood reports have helped meteorologists like Justin Derk, of WMAR-TV in Baltimore, zero in on difficult forecasts like predicting the often vague rain and snow lines during winter storms.
"I was able to pick up four stations and see a temperature difference between the north and south side, and draw that line," he said. "For the people watching us that day, knowing what street they live on, we were nailing precisely who was getting rain and who was getting snow."
Perhaps the most popular site for budding meteorologists is Weather Underground (www.wunderground.com). For nearly three years, the site has allowed weather watchers to add their stations to a growing regional list. Weather Underground reports a worldwide membership of 12,092 personal weather stations; more than 3,200 provide daily uploads to the site.
For some hobbyists, monitoring the weather means more than merely predicting fair skies or foul.
One volunteer in the observer program, David Helms, a National Weather Service scientist in Silver Spring, Md., who also operates a personal weather station, became interested in the hobby for national security reasons.
"I joined C.W.O.P. soon after Sept. 11, 2001," he said. "There were lots of reports of terrorists wanting to use crop-dusters to spread chemical and biological agents, so I started researching how one could contribute weather data that might help with urban dispersion forecasts."
Regardless of how it is used, the personal weather data displayed on these sites provides a perceived element of control over something technology has yet to master. Despite meteorologists' efforts, there is only so much they can do about the weather.
"We have the couch-potato philosophy on storm chasing," Mr. Helms said. "You don't chase it. It chases you."
At least amateur analysts have the satisfaction of knowing that their on-demand information is often more up to date and more adaptable than what is available through traditional news sources.
"Why let the TV man control the graphics?" Mr. Helms said. "You can control the data right from your couch."
STARTING a weather station for yourself or for an online group is a matter of finding the right instruments, the right computer software and a site where you can post your data.
VANTAGE PRO2 from Davis Instruments ($595 at davisnet.com, but available for less elsewhere online) includes a full range of sensors and connects wirelessly with its indoor console reader.
WMR968 from Oregon Scientific ($500 at www2.oregonscientific.com, but available for less elsewhere online), another wireless weather station, includes a thermo-hygrometer, rain gauge and anemometer.
ULTIMETER 100, the basic model from Peet Bros., ($200, peetbros.com), takes most common weather measurements and adds an adjustable flash-flood alert. The station also includes three serial-port modes to send weather data by phone, modem or radio link.
VIRTUAL WEATHER STATION by Ambient Weather (ambientweather.com) is a popular weather program that converts data into on-screen bar graphs and meters. It is compatible with many weather instruments. The Internet Edition allows information to be uplinked to Web sites and costs $105.
WEATHER DISPLAY ($70, weather-display.com) supports many manufacturers' weather devices and offers numerous real-time, scalable and historical graphs.
WEATHER VIEW 32 (weatherview32.com) adds Internet displays like satellite images to personal weather station data. It can send weather alerts to e-mail addresses and pagers. The home edition costs $50; a professional, broadcast-licensed version with slide-show ability costs $1,000.
WEATHER UNDERGROUND, which is at www.wunderground.com, lists more than 12,000 personal stations in its collection.
ANYTHINGWEATHER.COM allows contributors to post the data they collect free to pages the service is host to, using a simple template that comes with its basic software package.
CITIZEN WEATHER OBSERVER PROGRAM (www.cwop.net) is better known for aggregating contributed data and providing it to government meteorologists rather than as a destination itself. The association verifies data before sending it to weather services, augmenting official readings in outlying areas.


text:
Video Of Tabu Laughing Uncontrollably Goes Viral; Internet Compares Her To Phoebe From 'Friends'
Tabu is one of the most versatile actresses in Bollywood; however, fewer people have seen the candid and unfiltered side of the actress. A video of the actress laughing uncontrollably during a stand-up comedy act has been going viral over the internet.
Anushka Sharma Blasts Sports Brand For Using Her Picture Without Permission; Demands 'Take It Down'
Anushka Sharma, on Monday, shared a post on Instagram and slammed a sports brand for using her picture without permission.
The Bombay Journey: From Being A Car Lover To Gaining 8 Kgs In 2 Months, 7 Revelations Made By Kajol
From 'Casino' To 'Broken Flowers', Movies Of 'Basic Instincts' Star Sharon Stone That You Shouldn't Miss
Delnaz Irani Blames Influencers For Lack Of Work: Casting Directors Opting For No Blue Tick, No Work Formula
Delnaz Irani who has entertained everyone in TV shows and movies urged everyone to offer her work in an interview. While speaking with RJ Siddharth Kanan, the actress blamed the rising influence of casting directors, social media influencers, and less budget of the production houses for the supporting cast for lack of work.
Samantha Prabhu To Rashmika Mandanna, Highest-Paid South Indian Actresses And Their Fees
Guess Who Has Priyanka Chopra's Back For Her Pro-Indian Army Tweet? Kangana Ranaut!
Priyanka Chopra was called out for her pro-Indian Army tweet post the Pulwama attacks by Ayesha Malik and she faced a lot of flak after. However, Kangana Ranaut has now come out in Priyanka's defense.
Vidya Balan Turns Producer, Spills Details About Her Short Film 'Natkhat'
Ahead of her 'Mission Mangal' release, Vidya Balan made an announcement that she has taken on the role of a producer for a short film.
Taapsee Pannu Takes A Dig At 'Kabir Singh' With the Help Of Her Character From 'Manmarziyaan'
Kabir Singh and Rumi Bagga are flawed characters, as pointed out by Taapsee Pannu. However, the problem is that while one was criticised and booed, the other is being celebrated.


text:
Shell Leads Big Oil Revival Despite Crude Price Slump -- 2nd Update
By Sarah KentDow Jones Newswires
Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported strong second-quarter net profits on Thursday, kicking off a critical round of earnings for big oil companies trying to show they have adapted to low crude prices.
The British-Dutch company's equivalent of net profit rose to $1.9 billion in the second quarter, compared with $239 million at the same point last year and its cash flow from operations soared to $11.3 billion. The company said it has generated $38 billion of cash from its business over the last 12 months, enough to cover dividend payments and bring down debt levels.
Shell's earnings were reported the same day as French oil giant Total SA and Norway's Statoil ASA, all of them striking a confident if cautious note. They trumpeted falling debt levels and strong cash flow -- a metric that has become increasingly important to investors who have been worried about oil companies' ability to cover their spending and dividends without taking on debt.
Total's profit for the quarter was $2 billion, roughly the same as last year, but the company also reported a significant increase in cash flow from operations to $4.6 billion and a reduced debt ratio.
Statoil said it earned $1.4 billion in the second quarter, compared with a loss of $302 million last year. The company said it generated $4 billion in free cash flow and reduced net debt by 8 percentage points since the start of the year, despite oil prices remaining around $50 a barrel.
Though notably better than at the start of 2016 when the price of crude plummeted to $27 a barrel, oil is still more than 50% weaker than in 2014 when prices started to fall. The supply glut that sparked the crash has proved stubbornly persistent despite efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers to limit output, prompting several large banks to cut their oil price forecasts in recent months.
The oil-company earnings on Thursday reflect a yearslong campaign across the industry to bring down costs and spending to a point where the companies can operate profitably in a lower-oil-price environment.
It's an effort that remains ongoing.
Shell said it intends to maintain tight capital discipline going forward and will continue to focus on bringing down costs and capital efficiency. Statoil said it expects costs to continue to improve this year and to squeeze out an additional $1 billion in efficiencies.
U.S. oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. are scheduled report their second-quarter earnings on Friday.
Write to Sarah Kent at sarah.kent@wsj.com
July 27, 2017 04:08 ET (08:08 GMT)