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Claimed to be programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that act like distributed control systems (DCSs), various people define hybrid systems differently: by functions, by industries served, by architecture, and even by no label at all. As a result, there is still confusion about the label “Hybrid Systems.” This paper aims to explore these issues briefly and to help understand and reduce confusion about these relatively recent hybrid systems, which are now also being called “Programmable Automation Controls” (PAC).

The paper compares DCSs, PLCs, centralized computer systems, use of industrial professional (personal) computers, original hybrid control systems, current hybrid control systems, evolution to PAC and shows evolution of new programming standards.

Hybrid control systems can readily become part of the overall plant productivity. This is a stepping‐stone towards complete enterprise control systems.

No small part of this capability is the emerging standard for easy consistent configuration of hybrid systems, regardless of the vendor who supplies them.

Because of the emerging configuration standard, the hybrid system can be re‐configured as needed due to plant changes or market swing. This provides the user with “agile manufacturing.”

More than a “cheap DCS,” these hybrid control systems can be an inexpensive stepping‐stone towards managing the business as it was meant to be managed. What is important is that these elements can be introduced in manageable increments to meet tight budgets.

The Australian Radical Education Group (RED G) was created in June 1976, which in turn launched a magazine for radical(ising) teachers, the Radical Education Dossier (RED), that would be published for the next 30 years. The purpose of this paper is to characterise the emergence and first phase of RED’s publication up to its name change in 1984.

The authors draw on interviews with key members of the magazine’s editorial collective, and a review of RED’s contents, to identify the major political ambitions as manifest in RED in historical context. The authors contextualise this radical education project in the post-1968 world context of social and political upheaval, rejecting the Cold War options of either Soviet style Communist or US-based capitalist pathways.

In this context RED generated powerful critiques of dominant educational policy in multiple areas. The critique was part of a project to promote a socialist understanding of mass education, and to promote the transformation of Australian society towards socialism. The authors argue that the debates and struggles within RED in this period, seeking to define and advance a socialist educational project, reflected a broad and consistent critique of progressive educational reforms, rooted in its radical political foundations.

This paper provides an historical review of a 30-year radical education publishing initiative in Australia, about which no accounts have been published. It connects directly with contemporary educational issues, and offers insights for interviews with those directly involved in the historical project.

The following classified, annotated list of titles is intended to provide reference librarians with a current checklist of new reference books, and is designed to supplement the RSR review column, “Recent Reference Books,” by Frances Neel Cheney. “Reference Books in Print” includes all additional books received prior to the inclusion deadline established for this issue. Appearance in this column does not preclude a later review in RSR. Publishers are urged to send a copy of all new reference books directly to RSR as soon as published, for immediate listing in “Reference Books in Print.” Reference books with imprints older than two years will not be included (with the exception of current reprints or older books newly acquired for distribution by another publisher). The column shall also occasionally include library science or other library related publications of other than a reference character.

Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.

Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.

In a world in which “England's green and pleasant land” sets the standard for garden excellence, gardeners in much of the United States will struggle in vain to adapt the British style to their own volatile climates. American regional gardening literature offers a new vision to help gardeners throughout the United States select plants suited to their climates (especially native plants) and use techniques to prevent losses to cold, heat, humidity, or drought. The resulting gardens may not always resemble the traditional English her baceous border, but their beauty and vigor will enhance the often monotonous American suburban landscape.

All seventeen had graciously agreed to my proposal to gather for a small conference to seek consensus. A generous grant from the Pierian Press Foundation would cover all of our expenses for a long weekend at a resort hotel; the only condition of the grant was that we offer our results to Reference Services Review for first publication. Over the past five years each of the seventeen had in turn accepted my challenge to answer the following question:

To Samuel Pepys the orange was a novelty about which he had reservations. What would he have made of the amazing array of foreign fruits and vegetables on display in our modern supermarkets? Quite recently, even more varieties have been introduced, giving a further boost to the traditional greengrocery trade. Janet Kaye, home economist in the Tesco Consumer Advisory Kitchen in Sale, describes some of the new arrivals

This study aims to characterize the properties of natural cellulose fiber from the pseudo-stems of the curcuma zedoaria plant.

The fiber was extracted using the biological retting process (cold-water retting). The intrinsic fiber properties obtained were used to evaluate the possibility of using fiber for textile applications.

The average length of a curcuma zedoaria fiber was 34.77 cm with a fineness value of 6.72 Tex. A bundle of curcuma zedoaria fibers was comprised of many elementary fibers. Curcuma zedoaria had an irregular cross-section, with the lumen having a varied oval shape. Curcuma zedoaria fibers had tenacity and elongation value of 3.32 gf/denier and 6.95%, respectively. Curcuma zedoaria fibers had a coefficient of friction value of 0.46. Curcuma zedoaria fibers belong to a hygroscopic fiber type with a moisture regain value of 10.29%.

Extraction and Characterization of Curcuma zedoaria Pseudo-stems Fibers for Textile Application.