In this study, nano-scale microstructural evolution in 6061-T6 alloy after laser shock processing (LSP) was studied. 6061-T6 alloy plate was subjected to multiple LSP. The LSP treated area was characterized by X-ray diffraction and the microstructure of the samples was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Focused Ion Beam (FIB) tools were used to prepare TEM samples in precise areas. It was found that even though aluminum had high stacking fault energy, LSP yielded to formation of ultrafine grains and deformation faults such as dislocation cells, stacking faults. The stacking fault probability (PSF) was obtained in LSP-treated alloy using X-Ray diffraction. Deformation induced stacking faults lead to the peak position shifts, broadening and asymmetry of diffraction. XRD analysis and TEM observations revealed significant densities of stacking faults in LSP-treated 6061-T6 alloy. And mechanical properties of LSP-treated alloy were also determined to understand the hardening behavior with high concentration of structural defects.

In this paper, we introduce some certain fuzzy soft algebraic notions of generalized concepts in LA-Γ-semigroups and study some properties of their families.

To increase inter-region connectivity, the Indonesian government initiated infrastructure projects such as toll roads, airport, highways, as well as agriculture ones throughout the countries. One of the big projects in road infrastructure was the Cikampek–Palimanan (Cipali) toll road in West Java with a budget of more than USD1 billion which started to operate in July 2015. This paper is aimed to evaluate the impact of the toll road on accessibilities, trades, and investments in the region it traverses. To carry out the analysis, we used qualitative approach, difference-in-difference approach, and ANOVA, utilizing three kinds of data. The first data is collected from a survey of 331 small-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the logistics and the hotel and restaurant industries. The second one is bank loan data sourced from Bank Indonesia, while the third one is investment data from Investment Coordinating Board of Indonesia (BKPM).
After two years of its operation, Cipali toll road has increased accessibility, mobility, trade, and investment in the region it traverses. The travel time was reduced by 39%, while the cargo volume of the local businesses increased by 30% to 40%. These led to an improvement of wholesale trade volume in almost all regencies. However, SMEs in the hotel and restaurant industry along the traditional northern coastal highway in Subang, Indramayu, and Brebes experienced a decline due to the traffic shifting. Meanwhile, investments from national companies especially those of labor-intensive manufacturing industries flowed significantly especially to Subang and Majalengka, which reflected a “sorting effect”. However, investments from local and foreign businesses did not increase significantly yet after 2.5 years of toll operation.
To reap the benefit from the presence of Cipali toll road, the local governments should improve the ease of doing business to attract investments that boost employment in return. In addition, given a better accessibility from Greater Jakarta and a large number of potential visitors passing through the toll road, local businesses in the trade sector would benefit if they could promote the local attractions such as in tourism activities supported by the local government. The latter strategy should also be implemented by the local governments and local businesses in the northern coastal traditional route to minimize the negative impact of the toll road due to the traffic shifting. This strategy should be strengthened through increasing connectivity from the toll exits to local business areas and through increasing the ease of doing business.

The development of critical thinking (CT) enhances academic and professional opportunities. A review of literature reveals the use of fragmented analysis techniques, such as descriptive and correlational methods, among others, which hinder a deeper understanding of CT levels. This research aims to develop a methodology for analyzing Critical Thinking test scores, integrating five phases: exploratory, item analysis, scoring, gap analysis, and correlational. Using a quantitative approach, CT skills were analyzed with the Halpern Critical Thinking Assessment, which includes both open- and closed-ended questions to measure five skills: Verbal Reasoning (VR), Argument Analysis (AA), Hypothesis Testing (HT), Probability Use (PU), and Problem Solving (PS). The sample consisted of 214 students aged 18 and older. The item analysis phase categorized the items into quadrants: satisfactory, for review, or for elimination, based on difficulty and discrimination indices. The gap analysis revealed that Verbal Reasoning and open-ended formats were less satisfactory. The correlational phase, using heat maps, showed a stronger association between Verbal Reasoning and Probability Use. The methodological contributions include a variety of strategies that provide recommended procedures for analyzing tests or questionnaires in general. In today’s digital age, the development of critical thinking is not only a desirable skill but an essential necessity for the higher education system.

Given the heavy workload faced by teachers, automatic speaking scoring systems provide essential support. This study aims to consolidate technological configurations of automatic scoring systems for spontaneous L2 English, drawing from literature published between 2014 and 2024. The focus will be on the architecture of the automatic speech recognition model and the scoring model, as well as on features used to evaluate phonological competence, linguistic proficiency, and task completion. By synthesizing these elements, the study seeks to identify potential research areas, as well as provide a foundation for future research and practical applications in software engineering.