Preliminary tests for mechanical properties of wooden ‘buttons’ used for attaching auxiliary supports behind panel paintings

Abstract

When wooden supports of panel paintings have been severely altered or damaged and the original cross beams are missing, new cross beams or other types of auxiliary supports are connected to the panel's back-face in order to achieve desired effects including panel strengthening and control of deformations. Some conservation laboratories use small wooden blocks, each glued on the back face of the panel and holding freely the head of a screw connected (often by means of springs) to the auxiliary support; such blocks being called in Italian ‘piedini’ or ‘bottoni’, the English term ‘buttons’ is proposed here. This paper reports research aiming to characterize the mechanical behavior of three types of ‘buttons’ having different geometries and made of various wood types (oak, walnut, lime, beech, and a medium density fiberboard). Short-term mechanical tests (～1 minute duration) were performed with a universal testing machine by axially pulling out the 4 mm diameter steel screw from the button, glued onto a dummy board. Load and deformation were recorded, and the load–deformation curves were analyzed. The results show that the deformability and the load-carrying capacity of the buttons were influenced primarily by the manufacturing geometry and secondarily by the wood density.     

The materials and techniques used in the paintings of Francis Bacon (1909–1992)

Abstract

Materials from 38 paintings by Francis Bacon (1909–1992), including 21 complete works and 17 partially destroyed canvases are investigated. Observations are made of the artist's technique and details are compiled of the supports used. Samples of paint and priming were taken for analysis using polarized light microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), pyrolysis–GC–MS (Py–GC–MS), and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM–EDX). Analysis of priming layers appears to show that the priming composition correlates well with particular ranges of dates. A fairly limited range of materials are found, with many of the same pigments found in works spanning Bacon's career, though other pigments were introduced at different stages in his career. Oil paints were used consistently for the painting of figures, but household paints were increasingly used in backgrounds from the 1960s onwards. A variety of different synthetic media are found in later works, including household acrylic paints and spray paints. Increased knowledge of Bacon’s materials is expected to be of great value to conservators caring for the work of this highly significant artist, and is already helping in the authentication of works attributed to him.     

An analysis of the dynamic vocabulary of junior college students∗

In organizational communication studies, empowerment has come to connote flatter structures, participation programs, and other techniques thought to enhance member competence and control through increased self-direction. We contend that this model-and, arguably, organizational communication studies more broadly-presumes a particular employment contract. We report a study of a different contract: staff-volunteer relations at a nonprofit organization. Our results indicate that, while volunteers prioritized the role of social support in accomplishing empowerment, staff members treated volunteers as pseudo-employees to be empowered through enhanced authority and participation. Ironically, the staff's model impeded volunteer empowerment. We use the case to mark the contingent character of empowerment, and specifically, (a) its contextual and intersubjective nature, (b) its relational and emotional aspects, and (c) the importance of members' temporal investment in the organization. We conclude that attention to diverse membership contracts and contexts can complicate and enrich empowerment theory.     

The rhetorical structure of science? A multidisciplinary analysis of article headings

An effective structure helps an article to convey its core message. The optimal structure depends on the information to be conveyed and the expectations of the audience. In the current increasingly interdisciplinary era, structural norms can be confusing to the authors, reviewers and audiences of scientific articles. Despite this, no prior study has attempted to assess variations in the structure of academic papers across all disciplines. This article reports on the headings commonly used by over 1 million research articles from the PubMed Central Open Access collection, spanning 22 broad categories covering all academia and 172 out of 176 narrow categories. The results suggest that no headings are close to ubiquitous in any broad field and that there are substantial differences in the extent to which most headings are used. In the humanities, headings may be avoided altogether. Researchers should therefore be aware of unfamiliar structures that are nevertheless legitimate when reading, writing and reviewing articles.     

A cross‐cultural analysis of children's television use

This study compared uses of U.S. television by foreign children residing in the U.S. and their American counterparts in light of theories of acculturation, cultivation, and uses and gratifications. Compared with U.S. children, foreign children: used television more for learning purposes, were relatively more interested in television programs, spent more time watching television, identified more frequently with television characters, and expressed stronger beliefs in the social reality portrayed by television.     

A Preliminary Discussion of Russian Émigré Materials at the Library of Congress

Materials at the Library of Congress (LC) by and about Russian émigrés take every form and are distributed throughout the library's many custodial divisions, classification schedules, catalogs, and Web pages. Identifying and locating these materials, whether in print, archival, or even digital collections, may require creative thinking and an understanding of the library's sometimes complex organization. The author attempts here to provide a preliminary overview of the library's Russian émigré collections and some guidance for beginning research on these collections. She includes examples as illustrations and inspiration for further research.     

A meta‐analysis of the cross‐situational consistency of communication apprehension

Parks’ (1980) criticism of the cross‐situational consistency of communication apprehension produced several studies that replicated the measures and procedures, hut found different results. A meta‐analysis of 17 studies was conducted to determine what conclusions are warranted given the available data. The meta‐analysis disclosed a large effect (combined z = 17.48, p < .0001) for cross‐situational consistency. The average r between trait‐CA and state/situational anxiety was .473. Further analysis of the “file drawer problem” showed that over 96 non‐significant tests must be unpublished in various file drawers to reduce the combined z to statistical non‐significance. Thus, the meta‐analysis warrants a strong claim for the cross‐situational consistency of communication apprehension     

The scientometric analysis of the “Abstract Journal” database

This paper discusses the results of statistical research on the information massif of the “Abstract Journal” DB (of the Republic of Kazakhstan) with a volume of about 50000 documents, which was carried out based on a number of scientometric indices. The types of journals, thematic structure of the AJ DB and prospective directions for investigations are designated. The leading journals on the themes of the series of the abstract journal are revealed. The averaged ratio between the scientific articles of the Kazakhstan scientists published in Kazakhstan, CIS-countries and far-abroad countries is determined to be 80: 5: 1. The main themes of publications in the English language relate to chemistry, physics, and mathematics. The works in various fields of Kazakhstan science are presented in Russian journals.     

A sensitivity analysis of researchers’ productivity rankings to the time of citation observation

In this work we investigate the sensitivity of individual researchers’ productivity rankings to the time of citation observation. The analysis is based on observation of research products for the 2001–2003 triennium for all research staff of Italian universities in the hard sciences, with the year of citation observation varying from 2004 to 2008. The 2008 rankings list is assumed the most accurate, as citations have had the longest time to accumulate and thus represent the best possible proxy of impact. By comparing the rankings lists from each year against the 2008 benchmark we provide policy-makers and research organization managers a measure of trade-off between timeliness of evaluation execution and accuracy of performance rankings. The results show that with variation in the evaluation citation window there are variable rates of inaccuracy across the disciplines of researchers. The inaccuracy results negligible for Physics, Biology and Medicine.     

Growth and nature of international LIS research: An analysis of two journals

The study explores the publication trends of scholarly journal articles in two core Library and Information Science (LIS) journals indexed under ScienceDirect Database during the period for the period 2000–2010, and for the “Top 25 Hottest Papers” for 2006–2010. It examines and presents an analysis of 1000 research papers in the area of LIS published in two journals: The International Information & Library Review (IILR) and Library & Information Science Research (LISR). The study examines the content of the journals, including growth of the literature, authorship patterns, geographical distributions of authors, distribution of papers by journal, citation pattern, ranking pattern, length of articles, and most cited authors. Collaboration was calculated using Subramanyam's formula, and Lotka's law was used to identify authors' productivity. The results indicated that authors' distributions did not follow Lotka's law. The study identified the eight most productive authors with a high of 19 publications in this field. The findings indicate that these publications experienced rapid and exponential growth in literature production. The contributions by scientists from India are examined.     

A sensitivity analysis of research institutions’ productivity rankings to the time of citation observation

One of the critical issues in bibliometric research assessments is the time required to achieve maturity in citations. Citation counts can be considered a reliable proxy of the real impact of a work only if they are observed after sufficient time has passed from publication date. In the present work the authors investigate the effect of varying the time of citation observation on accuracy of productivity rankings for research institutions. Research productivity measures are calculated for all Italian universities active in the hard sciences in the 2001–2003 period, by individual field and discipline, with the time of the citation observation varying from 2004 to 2008. The objective is to support policy-makers in choosing a citation window that optimizes the tradeoff between accuracy of rankings and timeliness of the exercise.     

Components of candidate images: Statistical analysis of the issue‐persona dichotomy in the presidential campaign of 1996

For several decades candidate image studies have typically conceptualized and operationalized candidate images as source credibility traits or persona impressions. Candidate issue positions have been minimized in such research and excluded from the candidate image construct. Thus, candidate images have been treated as clusters of persona impressions only, implying that issue perceptions are unimportant in the formation of candidate images. Accordingly, a dichotomy emerged which split candidate image as candidate persona impressions from candidate issue positions, treating the latter as separate and independent determinants of vote. Later research indicated that candidate image content was largely unknown by voters, and some researchers argued that candidate images most likely include both issue and persona impressions. The dichotomy persisted, however, because of the assumption that voters process candidate persona impressions more than candidate issue positions perceptions and that these two types of perceptions are orthogonal. Employing panel data from a random sample of community members and applying correlational and structural equation modeling procedures, the researchers found that the data do not support the issue‐persona dichotomy assumptions. Instead, they lend credence to a more cognitive view of candidate images. Such a view conceptualizes candidate images as integrated structures of issue perceptions, persona perceptions, and whatever other kinds of perceptions are important to particular voters in particular elections.     

Usable guidelines for usable websites? An analysis of five e-government heuristics

Many government organizations use web heuristics for the quality assurance of their websites. Heuristics may be used by web designers to guide the decisions about a website in development, or by web evaluators to optimize or assess the quality of an existing website. Despite their popularity, very little is known about the usefulness of heuristics for web designers and evaluators. In this study, five government heuristics are examined with special attention to their presumed use, content, validity, and presentation format. Our findings raise questions about the usability of heuristics for web design and web evaluation purposes. More research into the actual use and effects of web heuristics is needed.     

Efficiency analysis of forestry journals: Suggestions for improving journals’ quality

In this paper we attempt to assess the impact of journals in the field of forestry, in terms of bibliometric data, by providing an evaluation of forestry journals based on data envelopment analysis (DEA). In addition, based on the results of the conducted analysis, we provide suggestions for improving the impact of the journals in terms of widely accepted measures of journal citation impact, such as the journal impact factor (IF) and the journal h-index. More specifically, by modifying certain inputs associated with the productivity of forestry journals, we have illustrated how this method could be utilized to raise their efficiency, which in terms of research impact can then be translated into an increase of their bibliometric indices, such as the h-index, IF or eigenfactor score.     

Sunday democracies: a mixed methods analysis of members’ perceptions of church authority and organizational dissent

Previous research has emphasized differences between churches and other types of organizations including the potential for leaders’ authority to be based on unassailable interpretations of Scripture and on divine callings. The present study examined members’ perceptions of church authority and the degree to which those perceptions affected their willingness to express dissenting opinions, a key feature of organizational democracy. Focus group participants described a fluid process as they negotiated how their voices would be heard in decision-making while simultaneously entrusting some decision-making to ordained leaders. That process sometimes involved seeing members’ voices as one expression of divine authority or compartmentalizing pastoral leadership to spiritual matters and democratic leadership to practical matters. Focus groups also emphasized the importance of church committees and transparency as integral practices for members’ voice in church decision-making. Surveys of a wider group of church members demonstrated that perceptions of democracy and divine authority influenced members’ willingness to express upward dissent, and to a lesser extent, lateral dissent. Results revealed how church members conceptualize their roles in decision-making, highlighting potential areas of conflict when leaders deviate from members’ expectations.