Boštjan Šumiga

Understanding and Use of Information Literacy in the Industrial Project Management

The contribution presents an example of transferring information literacy competencies from a Ph.D. academic environment into the industrial environment in the field of polymeric chemistry. In addition, the results of a study including research, collection, ranking, and testing of available tools for project management of projects in the field of injection molding will be presented with exploration of methods and techniques for problems solving from brainstorming to the TRIZ system. The experiences gained through leading of projects in an industrial environment with awareness of importance of information literacy will be presented and discussed, including some recommendations for project management: Project documentation should be transformed to the “knowledge database of the company”; Process of “the right” information transfer inside the project team needs to be controlled; Transition from “traditional” problem solving to inventive solving of problems; and, People competences should be constantly upgraded.

Relation between colour- and phase changes of a leuco dye-based thermochromic composite

Reversible colour change of leuco dye-based composites is in general closely related to their phase change, thus the two phenomena should occur at around the same temperature and should be influenced similarly. However, spatial confinement of the analysed sample affects the change in colour differently compared to its phase transition and the most pronounced effects can be observed during cooling. The bulk composite is coloured while still liquid and the colour hysteresis does not exhibit a loop. In an open-porous medium the colouration coincides well with the crystallization and the colour hysteresis widens to about 4 °C. Microencapsulated composite exhibits two crystallization processes, one of them taking place at the bulk crystallization temperature and the other one at about 20 °C lower. Under such conditions the composite is coloured just before the onset of the second crystallization, i.e. about 15 °C below crystallization in the bulk, and the corresponding colour hysteresis widens to 18 °C. The two crystallization forms are thermally independent and have the same crystalline structure. These effects should be taken into account when designing future applications where the phase-changing materials are implemented.