Search results for: nanoscale metal-organic frameworks

Authors: Victor S. Klimin, Alexey A. Rezvan, Maxim S. Solodovnik, Oleg A. Ageev

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In this paper, the problems of existing methods of profiling and surface modification of nanoscale arsenide-gallium structures are analyzed. The use of a combination of methods of local anodic oxidation and plasma chemical etching to solve this problem is considered. The main features that make this technology one of the promising areas of modification and profiling of near-surface layers of solids are demonstrated. In this paper, we studied the effect of formation stress and etching time on the geometrical parameters of the etched layer and the roughness of the etched surface. Experimental dependences of the thickness of the etched layer on the time and stress of formation were obtained. The surface analysis was carried out using atomic force microscopy methods, the corresponding profilograms were constructed from the obtained images, and the roughness of the etched surface was studied accordingly. It was shown that at high formation voltage, the depth of the etched surface increased, this is due to an increase in the number of active particles (oxygen ions and hydroxyl groups) formed as a result of the decomposition of water molecules in an electric field, during the formation of oxide nanostructures on the surface of gallium arsenide. Oxide layers were used as negative masks for subsequent plasma chemical etching by the STE ICPe68 unit. BCl₃ was chosen as the chlorine-containing gas, which differs from analogs in some parameters for the effect of etching of nanostructures based on gallium arsenide in the low-temperature plasma. The gas mixture of reaction chamber consisted of a buffer gas NAr = 100 cm³/min and a chlorine-containing gas NBCl₃ = 15 cm³/min at a pressure P = 2 Pa. The influence of these methods modes, which are formation voltage and etching time, on the roughness and geometric parameters, and corresponding dependences are demonstrated. Probe nanotechnology was used for surface analysis.

Keywords: nanostructures, GaAs, plasma chemical etching, modification structures

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Authors: Lorena Munoz

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Since the 1990s cities in the global south have implemented revanchist neoliberal urban regeneration policies that cater to urban elites based on “recovering” public space for capital accumulation purposes. These policies often work to reify street vending as survival strategies of ‘last resort’ for marginalized people and as an unorganized, unsystematic economic activities that needs to be disciplined, incorporated and institutionalized into the formal economy. This paper suggests, that by moving away from frameworks that reify formal/informal spheres of the economy, we are able to disrupt and rethink normative understandings of economic practices categorized as ‘informal’. Through queering economies, informal workers center their own understandings of self-value and legitimacy informing their economic lives and contributions to urban life. As such, queering the economy opens up possibilities of rethinking urban redevelopment policies that incorporate rather than remove street vendors, as their economic practices are incorporated into the everyday fabric and aesthetic of urban life.

Keywords: queering economies, street vendors, immigrant economies, race and nationality

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Authors: H. Loumi-Fergane, A. Belaidi

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The problem of symmetries in field theory has been analyzed using geometric frameworks, such as the multisymplectic models by using in particular the multivector field formalism. In this paper, we expand the vector fields associated to infinitesimal symmetries which give rise to invariant quantities as Noether currents for classical field theories and relativistic mechanic using the multisymplectic geometry where the Poincaré-Cartan form has thus been greatly simplified using the Second Order Partial Differential Equation (SOPDE) for multi-vector fields verifying Euler equations. These symmetries have been classified naturally according to the construction of the fiber bundle used.  In this work, unlike other works using the analytical method, our geometric model has allowed us firstly to distinguish the angular moments of the gauge field obtained during different transformations while these moments are gathered in a single expression and are obtained during a rotation in the Minkowsky space. Secondly, no conditions are imposed on the Lagrangian of the mechanics with respect to its dependence in time and in qⁱ, the currents obtained naturally from the transformations are respectively the energy and the momentum of the system.

Keywords: conservation laws, field theories, multisymplectic geometry, relativistic mechanics

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Authors: Mana Pirhadi, Maryam Pirhadi, Fatemeh Tavakoli

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As there are several styles and attitudes among the practitioners of the present time, it is difficult to achieve a definition of beauty for contemporary architecture and aesthetic concepts has different frameworks in various disciplines. Beauty can be regarded as one of the most important elements of architecture; therefore, having a clear understanding of beauty can help architects and audiences to create or analyze an architectural work. This paper investigates the assumption that we can have a clearer understanding of the concept of aesthetics in architecture by analyzing the ideas of the contemporary analyst of architectural aesthetics, Jörg Greuther. Thus, the question is how the concept of aesthetics in architecture will be analyzed in their thoughts. In general, the paper aims to examine aesthetic concepts in the contemporary era that are expressed relying on Greuther's views. The paper adopts a descriptive-analytic approach in terms of methodology. Finally, through the study of the viewpoints of various scholars and specifically considering Greuther's definition that focuses on the effect of psychological-social factors on human perception and formation of the schema, it could be said that aesthetics means to have a good knowledge of truth and understand it.

Keywords: aesthetics, beauty perception, contemporary architecture, Jörg Greuther

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Authors: Sadia Arshad

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The new coronavirus disease or COVID-19 still poses an alarming situation around the world. Modeling based on the derivative of fractional order is relatively important to capture real-world problems and to analyze the realistic situation of the proposed model. Weproposed a mathematical model for the investigation of COVID-19 dynamics in a generalized fractional framework. The new model is formulated in the Caputo sense and employs a nonlinear time-varying transmission rate. The existence and uniqueness solutions of the fractional order derivative have been studied using the fixed-point theory. The associated dynamical behaviors are discussed in terms of equilibrium, stability, and basic reproduction number. For the purpose of numerical implementation, an effcient approximation scheme is also employed to solve the fractional COVID-19 model. Numerical simulations are reported for various fractional orders, and simulation results are compared with a real case of COVID-19 pandemic. According to the comparative results with real data, we find the best value of fractional orderand justify the use of the fractional concept in the mathematical modelling, for the new fractional modelsimulates the reality more accurately than the other classical frameworks.

Keywords: fractional calculus, modeling, stability, numerical solution

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Authors: Aurelia Samuel

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Socio-economic modelling approaches linked to water management have contributed to impact assessments of agricultural policies and management practices on water quality at catchment level. With an increasing interest in informing water management policy that considers complex links between socioeconomic factors, climate change, agricultural production, and water quality, several models have been developed and applied in the literature to capture these relationships. This paper offers an overview of socio-economic approaches that have been incorporated within an integrated framework. It also highlights how data gaps on socio-economic factors have been addressed using forecasting techniques. Findings of the review show that while integrated frameworks have the potential to account for complexities within dynamic systems, they generally do not provide direct, measurable financial impact of socio-economic factors on biophysical water parameters that affect water quality. The paper concludes with a recommendation that modelling framework is kept simple to make it more transparent and easier to capture the most important relationship.

Keywords: financial impact, integrated framework, socio-economic modelling, water quality

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Authors: Jonathan Olusegun Famoroti, Mathew Ekundayo Rotimi, Mishelle Doorasamy

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This study offers an empirical investigation into some selected macroeconomic drivers of the monetary policy rate in member countries of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), considering both internal and external variables. We employed Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) to carry out the investigation between monetary policy and some macroeconomic variables in both the long-run and short-run relationship. The results suggest that the drivers of the policy rate in this zone, in the long run, include, among others, global oil price, exchange rate, inflation rate, and gross domestic product, while in the short run, federal fund rate, trade openness, exchange rate, inflation rate, and gross domestic product are core determinants of the policy rate. Therefore, in order to ensure long-run stability in the policy rate among the members’ states, these drivers should be given closer consideration so that the trajectory for effective structure can be designed and fused into the economic structure and policy frameworks accordingly.

Keywords: monetary policy rate, macroeconomic variables, WAMZ, ARDL

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Authors: Arjun Kumar Rath, Titus Dhanasingh

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Embedded product development requires software to test hardware functionality during development and finding issues during manufacturing in larger quantities. As the components are getting integrated, the devices are tested for their full functionality using advanced software tools. Benchmarking tools are used to measure and compare the performance of product features. At present, these tests are based on a variety of methods involving varying hardware and software platforms. Typically, these tests are custom built for every product and remain unusable for other variants. A majority of the tests goes undocumented, not updated, unusable when the product is released. To bridge this gap, a solution accelerator in the form of a framework can address these issues for running all these tests from one place, using an off-the-shelf tests library in a continuous integration environment. There are many open-source test frameworks or tools (fuego. LAVA, AutoTest, KernelCI, etc.) designed for testing embedded system devices, with each one having several unique good features, but one single tool and framework may not satisfy all of the testing needs for embedded systems, thus an extensible framework with the multitude of tools. Embedded product testing includes board bring-up testing, test during manufacturing, firmware testing, application testing, and assembly testing. Traditional test methods include developing test libraries and support components for every new hardware platform that belongs to the same domain with identical hardware architecture. This approach will have drawbacks like non-reusability where platform-specific libraries cannot be reused, need to maintain source infrastructure for individual hardware platforms, and most importantly, time is taken to re-develop test cases for new hardware platforms. These limitations create challenges like environment set up for testing, scalability, and maintenance. A desirable strategy is certainly one that is focused on maximizing reusability, continuous integration, and leveraging artifacts across the complete development cycle during phases of testing and across family of products. To get over the stated challenges with the conventional method and offers benefits of embedded testing, an embedded test framework (ETF), a solution accelerator, is designed, which can be deployed in embedded system-related products with minimal customizations and maintenance to accelerate the hardware testing. Embedded test framework supports testing different hardwares including microprocessor and microcontroller. It offers benefits such as (1) Time-to-Market: Accelerates board brings up time with prepacked test suites supporting all necessary peripherals which can speed up the design and development stage(board bring up, manufacturing and device driver) (2) Reusability-framework components isolated from the platform-specific HW initialization and configuration makes the adaptability of test cases across various platform quick and simple (3) Effective build and test infrastructure with multiple test interface options and preintegrated with FUEGO framework (4) Continuos integration - pre-integrated with Jenkins which enabled continuous testing and automated software update feature. Applying the embedded test framework accelerator throughout the design and development phase enables to development of the well-tested systems before functional verification and improves time to market to a large extent.

Keywords: board diagnostics software, embedded system, hardware testing, test frameworks

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Authors: Payam Hayati, Fateme Firoozbakht, Gholamhassan Azimi, Shahram Tangestaninejad

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The synthesis of a photocatalytic adsorbent involved the integration of carbon dots (CD) into a metal-organic framework (MOF) of MIL-88B(Fe) using the solvothermal technique. Characterization of the resulting CD@MIL-88B(Fe) was conducted using various analytical methods, including X-ray-based microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, UV–Vis, FT-IR, DRS, TGA, and photoluminescence (PL) analysis. The adsorbent demonstrated significant photocatalytic activity, achieving up to 92% and 90% removal of amphotericin B (AmB) and naproxen (Nap) from aqueous solutions under visible light, with an RSD value of around 5%. The study explored the factors influencing the degradation of pharmaceuticals and determined the optimal conditions for the process, including pH values of 3 and 4 for AmB and Nap, a photocatalyst concentration of 0.2 g L-1, and an H2O2 concentration ranging from 40 to 50 mM. Reactive oxidative species such as ⋅OH and ⋅O2 were identified through the examination of different scavengers. Additionally, the adsorption isotherm and kinetic studies revealed that the synthesized photocatalyst functions as an effective adsorbent, with maximum adsorption capacities of 42.5 and 121.5 mg g-1 for AmB and Nap, while also serving as a photocatalytic agent for removal purposes.

Keywords: fenton-like degradation, metal-organic frameworks, heterogenous photocatalysts, naproxen

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Authors: Gabriele Ciasca, Tanya E. Sassun, Eleonora Minelli, Manila Antonelli, Massimiliano Papi, Antonio Santoro, Felice Giangaspero, Roberto Delfini, Marco De Spirito

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Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an extremely aggressive brain tumor, characterized by a diffuse infiltration of neoplastic cells into the brain parenchyma. Although rarely considered, mechanical cues play a key role in the infiltration process that is extensively mediated by the tumor microenvironment stiffness and, more in general, by the occurrence of aberrant interactions between neoplastic cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM). Here we provide a nano-mechanical characterization of the viscoelastic response of human GBM tissues by indentation-type atomic force microscopy. High-resolution elasticity maps show a large difference between the biomechanics of GBM tissues and the healthy peritumoral regions, opening possibilities to optimize the tumor resection area. Moreover, we unveil the nanomechanical signature of necrotic regions and anomalous vasculature, that are two major hallmarks useful for glioma staging. Actually, the morphological grading of GBM relies mainly on histopathological findings that make extensive use of qualitative parameters. Our findings have the potential to positively impact on the development of novel quantitative methods to assess the tumor grade, which can be used in combination with conventional histopathological examinations. In order to provide a more in-depth description of the role of mechanical cues in tumor progression, we compared the nano-mechanical fingerprint of GBM tissues with that of grade-I (WHO) meningioma, a benign lesion characterized by a completely different growth pathway with the respect to GBM, that, in turn hints at a completely different role of the biomechanical interactions.

Keywords: AFM, nano-mechanics, nanomedicine, brain tumors, glioblastoma

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Authors: Lagnajeet Mohanty, Mohnish Mishra, Pratham Tapdiya, Himanshu Sekhar Nayak, Swetapadma Singh

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In the era of global interconnectedness, effective risk assessment and management are critical for organizational resilience. This review explores the integration of machine learning (ML) into risk processes, examining its transformative potential and the challenges it presents. The literature reveals ML's success in sectors like consumer credit, demonstrating enhanced predictive accuracy, adaptability, and potential cost savings. However, ethical considerations, interpretability issues, and the demand for skilled practitioners pose limitations. Looking forward, the study identifies future research scopes, including refining ethical frameworks, advancing interpretability techniques, and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations. The synthesis of limitations and future directions highlights the dynamic landscape of ML in risk management, urging stakeholders to navigate challenges innovatively. This abstract encapsulates the evolving discourse on ML's role in shaping proactive and effective risk management strategies in our interconnected and unpredictable global landscape.

Keywords: machine learning, risk assessment, ethical considerations, financial inclusion

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Authors: Laurie Prange-Martin, Romeo Turcan, Norman Fraser

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The aim of this study is to identify the conditions required and describe the process of emergence for a new economic sector created from new or established businesses. A systematic literature review of English-language studies published from 1983 to 2016 was conducted using the following databases: ABI/INFORM Complete; Business Source Premiere; Google Scholar; Scopus; and Web of Science. The two main terms of business sector and emergence were used in the systematic literature search, along with another seventeen synonyms for each these main terms. From the search results, 65 publications met the requirements of an empirical study discussing and reporting the conditions of new sector emergence. A meta-analysis of the literature examined suggest that there are six favourable conditions and five key individuals or groups required for new sector emergence. In addition, the results from the meta-analysis showed that there are eighteen theories used in the literature to explain the phenomenon of new sector emergence, which can be grouped in three study disciplines. With such diversity in theoretical frameworks used in the 65 empirical studies, the authors of this paper propose the development of a new theory of sector emergence.

Keywords: economic geography, new sector emergence, economic diversification, regional economies

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Authors: Sibo Lu, Zhongkai Qian, Haotian Zhang

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This article examines the phenomenon of micro-sovereignty in the context of property management and its implications for biopolitics and urban governance in mainland China. It explores the transformation of urban spaces into privatized communities managed by property companies, leading to the reterritorialization of urban areas and the segmentation of urban populations. Drawing on legal frameworks, we analyze how commercial real estate development and property management have reshaped the urban landscape, placing nearly all urban residents within service areas of property management firms, thus establishing micro-sovereign entities that exercise control over residential spaces. Through a critique of property management's sovereign effects on social organization and the exploration of autonomous, democratic alternatives in community governance, this article contributes to the broader discourse on sovereignty, governance, and resistance within the urban milieu of contemporary China. It underscores the urgent need for more democratic forms of community management that can transcend the capitalist logic of property management companies and foster genuine participatory governance at the grassroots level.

Keywords: biopolitic, critical theory, political sociology, political philosophy

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Authors: Khan Farhan Rafat, M. Junaid Hussain

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Seamless modification of an entity for the purpose of hiding a message of significance inside its substance in a manner that the embedding remains oblivious to an observer is known as steganography. Together with today's pervasive registering frameworks, steganography has developed into a science that offers an assortment of strategies for stealth correspondence over the globe that must, however, need a critical appraisal from security breach standpoint. Microsoft Word is amongst the preferably used word processing software, which comes as a part of the Microsoft Office suite. With a user-friendly graphical interface, the richness of text editing, and formatting topographies, the documents produced through this software are also most suitable for stealth communication. This research aimed not only to epitomize the fundamental concepts of steganography but also to expound on the utilization of Microsoft Word document as a carrier for furtive message exchange. The exertion is to examine contemporary message hiding schemes from security aspect so as to present the explorative discoveries and suggest enhancements which may serve a wellspring of information to encourage such futuristic research endeavors.

Keywords: hiding information in plain sight, stealth communication, oblivious information exchange, conceal, steganography

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Authors: Farzaneh Shayeganfar, Ali Ramazani

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Exciton (strong electronic interaction of electron-hole) and hot carriers created by surface plasmon polaritons has been demonstrated in nanoscale optoelectronic devices, enhancing the photoresponse of the system. Herein, we employ a quantum framework to consider coupled exciton- hot carriers effects on photovoltaiv energy distribution, scattering process, polarizability and light emission of 2D-semicnductor. We use density functional theory (DFT) to design computationally a semi-functionalized 2D honeycomb silicon boride (SiB) monolayer with H atoms, suitable for photovoltaics. The dynamical stability, electronic and optical properties of SiB and semi-hydrogenated SiB structures were investigated utilizing the Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson (TB-mBJ) potential. The calculated phonon dispersion shows that while an unhydrogenated SiB monolayer is dynamically unstable, surface semi-hydrogenation improves the stability of the structure and leads to a transition from metallic to semiconducting conductivity with a direct band gap of about 1.57 eV, appropriate for photovoltaic applications. The optical conductivity of this H-SiB structure, determined using the random phase approximation (RPA), shows that light adsorption should begin at the boundary of the visible range of light. Additionally, due to hydrogenation, the reflectivity spectrum declines sharply with respect to the unhydrogenated reflectivity spectrum in the IR and visible ranges of light. The energy band gap remains direct, increasing from 0.9 to 1.8 eV, upon increasing the strain from -6% (compressive) to +6% (tensile). Additionally, compressive and tensile strains lead, respectively, to red and blue shifts of optical the conductivity threshold around the visible range of light. Overall, this study suggests that H-SiB monolayers are suitable as two-dimensional solar cell materials.

Keywords: surface plasmon, hot carrier, strain engineering, valley polariton

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Authors: Sean McGovern

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Discourses, in Foucault's sense of the term, exist as alternate knowledges about some aspect of reality. Discourses act as cognitive frameworks for how social matters are understood and legitimated. Alternate social discourses can stand competing and in conflict or be effectively interwoven. Discourses of public safety, for instance, can alternately be formulated in terms of physical risk; as a matter of social responsibility; or in terms of penalties and litigation. This research study investigates discourses of safety used in public transportation and consumer products in the Japanese cultural context. Employing a social semiotic analytic approach, it examines how posters, consumer manuals and other forms of visual (written and pictorial) warnings have been designed to influence behavioral compliance. The presentation identifies specific ways in which Japanese cultural sensibilities and social needs inform cultural design principles that operate in the visual domain. It makes the case that societies are not uniform in the way that objects and actions are represented and that visual forms of meaning are culturally shaped in ways consistent with social understandings and values.

Keywords: communication design, culture, discourse, public safety

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Authors: Sarah Alkhateeb

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This research explores the Jordanian traditional dress of women as a form of cultural heritage. The dress of the Jordanian woman expresses her social and cultural functions and reflects the local environment in its social and cultural frameworks and the determinants of the natural formation of climate and terrain, in addition to what is expressed by the person’s social status and position in the social ladder of any society. Therefore, the traditional dress of Jordanian women is distinguished by its abundance and diversity. Few studies have been conducted on the Jordanian traditional dress of women, the lack of studies about the Jordanian traditional dress of women needs highlighting and the characteristics of this dress have to be featured and documented as a part of cultural heritage. The main aim of this research is to contribute or to develop a conservation strategy to save this part of cultural heritage from loss. In this research, the qualitative method approach will be used and will follow the ethnographic method. The data will be gathered from a primary source which is the single focus group discussion with the TIRAZ museum team; the Jordanian traditional dress will be explored across three regions: The North, Middle and South of Jordan, investigating the regional differences and focusing on the details of the individual garment.

Keywords: Jordanian traditional dress, cultural heritage, tiraz museum, ethnographic method

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Authors: Mahan Qwamizadeh, Kun Zhou, Zuoqi Zhang, Yong Wei Zhang

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Typical load-bearing biological materials like bone, mineralized tendon and shell, are biocomposites made from both organic (collagen) and inorganic (biomineral) materials. This amazing class of materials with intrinsic internally designed hierarchical structures show superior mechanical properties with regard to their weak components from which they are formed. Extensive investigations concentrating on static loading conditions have been done to study the biological materials failure. However, most of the damage and failure mechanisms in load-bearing biological materials will occur whenever their structures are exposed to dynamic loading conditions. The main question needed to be answered here is: What is the relation between the layout and architecture of the load-bearing biological materials and their dynamic behavior? In this work, a staggered model has been developed based on the structure of natural materials at nanoscale and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) has been used to study the dynamic behavior of the structure of load-bearing biological materials to answer why the staggered arrangement has been selected by nature to make the nanocomposite structure of most of the biological materials. The results showed that the staggered structures will efficiently attenuate the stress wave rather than the layered structure. Furthermore, such staggered architecture is effectively in charge of utilizing the capacity of the biostructure to resist both normal and shear loads. In this work, the geometrical parameters of the model like the thickness and aspect ratio of the mineral inclusions selected from the typical range of the experimentally observed feature sizes and layout dimensions of the biological materials such as bone and mineralized tendon. Furthermore, the numerical results validated with existing theoretical solutions. Findings of the present work emphasize on the significant effects of dynamic behavior on the natural evolution of load-bearing biological materials and can help scientists to design bioinspired materials in the laboratories.

Keywords: load-bearing biological materials, nanostructure, staggered structure, stress wave decay

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Authors: Michele Paleologo, Marta Acampora, Serena Barello, Guendalina Graffigna

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Introduction: In the face of increasing demands for higher agricultural productivity with minimal environmental impact, participatory research approaches emerge as promising means to promote innovation. However, the complexities and ambiguities surrounding these approaches in both theory and practice present challenges. This Scoping Review seeks to bridge these gaps by mapping participatory approaches in agricultural contexts, analyzing their characteristics, and identifying indicators of success. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic Scoping Review, searching Scopus and Web of Science databases. Our review encompassed 34 projects from diverse geographical regions and farming contexts. Thematic analysis was employed to explore the types of innovation promoted and the categories of participants involved. Results: The identified innovation types encompass technological advancements, sustainable farming practices, and market integration, forming 5 main themes: climate change, cultivar, irrigation, pest and herbicide, and technical improvement. These themes represent critical areas where participatory research drives innovation to address pressing agricultural challenges. Participants were categorized as citizens, experts, NGOs, private companies, and public bodies. Understanding their roles is vital for designing effective participatory initiatives that embrace diverse stakeholders. The review also highlighted 27 theoretical frameworks underpinning participatory projects. Clearer guidelines and reporting standards are crucial for facilitating the comparison and synthesis of findings across studies, thereby enhancing the robustness of future participatory endeavors. Furthermore, we identified three main categories of barriers and facilitators: pragmatic/behavioral, emotional/relational, and cognitive. These insights underscore the significance of participant engagement and collaborative decision-making for project success beyond theoretical considerations. Regarding participation, projects were classified as contributory (5 cases), where stakeholders contributed insights; collaborative (10 cases), with active co-designing of solutions; and co-created (19 cases), featuring deep stakeholder involvement from ideation to implementation, resulting in joint ownership of outcomes. Such diverse participation modes highlight the adaptability of participatory approaches to varying agricultural contexts. Discussion: In conclusion, this Scoping Review demonstrates the potential of participatory research in driving transformative changes in farmers' practices, fostering sustainability and innovation in agriculture. Understanding the diverse landscape of participatory approaches, theoretical frameworks, and participant engagement strategies is essential for designing effective and context-specific interventions. Collaborative efforts among researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders are pivotal in harnessing the full potential of participatory approaches and driving positive change in agricultural settings worldwide. The identified themes of innovation and participation modes provide valuable insights for future research and targeted interventions in agricultural innovation.

Keywords: participatory research, co-creation, agricultural innovation, stakeholders' engagement

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Authors: Karisma Karisma, Pardis Moslemzadeh Tehrani

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This study aims to conduct a high-level strategic dialogue on the lack of consensus, consistency, and legal certainty regarding blockchain-based energy prosumerism so that appropriate institutional and governance structures can be put in place to address the inadequacies and gaps in the legal and regulatory framework. The drive to achieve national and global decarbonization targets is a driving force behind climate goals and policies under the Paris Agreement. In recent years, efforts to ‘demonopolize’ and ‘decentralize’ energy generation and distribution have driven the energy transition toward decentralized systems, invoking concepts such as ownership, sovereignty, and autonomy of RE sources. The emergence of individual and collective forms of prosumerism and the rapid diffusion of blockchain is expected to play a critical role in the decarbonization and democratization of energy systems. However, there is a ‘regulatory void’ relating to individual and collective forms of prosumerism that could prevent the rapid deployment of blockchain systems and potentially stagnate the operationalization of blockchain-enabled energy sharing and trading activities. The application of broad and facile regulatory fixes may be insufficient to address the major regulatory gaps. First, to the authors’ best knowledge, the concepts and elements circumjacent to individual and collective forms of prosumerism have not been adequately described in the legal frameworks of many countries. Second, there is a lack of legal certainty regarding the creation and adaptation of business models in a highly regulated and centralized energy system, which inhibits the emergence of prosumer-driven niche markets. There are also current and prospective challenges relating to the legal status of blockchain-based platforms for facilitating energy transactions, anticipated with the diffusion of blockchain technology. With the rise of prosumerism in the energy sector, the areas of (a) network charges, (b) energy market access, (c) incentive schemes, (d) taxes and levies, and (e) licensing requirements are still uncharted territories in many countries. The uncertainties emanating from this area pose a significant hurdle to the widespread adoption of blockchain technology, a complementary technology that offers added value and competitive advantages for energy systems. The authors undertake a conceptual and theoretical investigation to elucidate the lack of consensus, consistency, and legal certainty in the study of blockchain-based prosumerism. In addition, the authors set an exploratory tone to the discussion by taking an analytically eclectic approach that builds on multiple sources and theories to delve deeper into this topic. As an interdisciplinary study, this research accounts for the convergence of regulation, technology, and the energy sector. The study primarily adopts desk research, which examines regulatory frameworks and conceptual models for crucial policies at the international level to foster an all-inclusive discussion. With their reflections and insights into the interaction of blockchain and prosumerism in the energy sector, the authors do not aim to develop definitive regulatory models or instrument designs, but to contribute to the theoretical dialogue to navigate seminal issues and explore different nuances and pathways. Given the emergence of blockchain-based energy prosumerism, identifying the challenges, gaps and fragmentation of governance regimes is key to facilitating global regulatory transitions.

Keywords: blockchain technology, energy sector, prosumer, legal and regulatory.

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Authors: Dixit Garg, S. Luthra, A. Haleem

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During recent years, the natural environment has become a challenging topic that business organizations must consider due to the economic and ecological impacts and increasing awareness of environment protection among society. Organizations are trying to achieve the goals of improvement in environment, low cost, high quality, flexibility and more customer satisfaction. Performance measurement frameworks are very useful to monitor the performance of any organization. The basic goal of this paper is to identify performance measures and ranking of these performance measures of GSCM performance measurement towards sustainability framework. Five perspectives (Environment, Economic, Social, Operational and Cost performances) and nineteen performance measures of GSCM performance towards sustainability have been have been identified from extensive literature review. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique has been utilized for ranking of these performance perspectives and measures. All pair comparisons in AHP have been made on the basis on the experts’ opinions (selected from academia and industry). Ranking of these performance perspectives and measures will help to understand the importance of environmental, economic, social, operational performances, and cost performances in the supply chain.

Keywords: analytical hierarchy process, green supply chain management, performance measures, sustainability

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Authors: Karla N. Penna, Eloise J. Hoffman, Tonya R. Carter

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This paper suggests that effective cultural landscape management plans in an Indigenous context should be undertaken using multidisciplinary approach taken into consideration context-related social and cultural aspects. In relation to working in Indigenous and mining contexts, we draw upon and contribute to International policies on human rights that promote the development of management plans on that are co-designed through genuine engagement processes. We suggest that the production of management plans that are built upon culturally relevant frameworks, lead to more inclusive economic development, a greater sense of trust, and shared managerial responsibilities. In this paper, three issues related to Indigenous engagement and cultural landscape management plans will be addressed: (1) the need for effective communication channels between proponents and Traditional Owners (Australian original Aboriginal peoples who inhabited specific regions), (2) the use of a culturally sensitive approach to engage local representatives in the decision making processes, and (3) how design of new management plans can help in establishing shared management.

Keywords: culture-centred approach, Holons’ hierarchy, inclusive economic development, indigenous engagement

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Authors: M. Velasco, D. While, P. Raju, J. Krasniewicz, A. Amini, L. Hernandez-Munoz

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Web service adaptation involves the creation of adapters that solve Web services incompatibilities known as mismatches. Since the importance of Web services adaptation is increasing because of the frequent implementation and use of online Web services, this paper presents a literature review of web services to investigate the main methods of adaptation, their theoretical underpinnings and the metrics used to measure adapters performance. Eighteen publications were reviewed independently by two researchers. We found that adaptation techniques are needed to solve different types of problems that may arise due to incompatibilities in Web service interfaces, including protocols, messages, data and semantics that affect the interoperability of the services. Although adapters are non-invasive methods that can improve Web services interoperability and there are current approaches for service adaptation; there is, however, not yet one solution that fits all types of mismatches. Our results also show that only a few research projects incorporate theoretical frameworks and that metrics to measure adapters’ performance are very limited. We conclude that further research on software adaptation should improve current adaptation methods in different layers of the service interoperability and that an adaptation theoretical framework that incorporates a theoretical underpinning and measures of qualitative and quantitative performance needs to be created.

Keywords: Web Services Adapters, software adaptation, web services mismatches, web services interoperability

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Authors: Joshua Midha

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The basis for information campaigns and behavioral interventions has long reigned as a tactic. From the Soviet-era propaganda machines to the opinion hijacks in Iran, these measures are now commonplace and are used for dissemination and disassembly. However, the use of these tools for strategic diffusion, specifically in a counter-terrorism setting, has only been explored on the surface. This paper aims to introduce a larger conceptual portion of guided information campaigns into preexisting terror cells and situations. It provides an alternative, low-risk intervention platform for future military strategy. This paper highlights a theoretical framework to lay out the foundationary details and explanations for behavioral interventions and moves into using a case study to highlight the possibility of implementation. It details strategies, resources, circumstances, and risk factors for intervention. It also sets an expanding foundation for offensive PsyOps and argues for tactical diffusion of information to battle extremist sentiment. The two larger frameworks touch on the internal spread of information within terror cells and external political sway, thus charting a larger holistic purpose of strategic operations.

Keywords: terrorism, behavioral intervention, propaganda, SNA, extremism

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Authors: P. Bauer, K. Mougin, V. Vignal, A. Buch, P. Ponthiaux, D. Faye

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Nowadays, noble metallic nanostructures with unique morphology are widely used as new sensors due to their fascinating optical, electronic and catalytic properties. Among various shapes, dendritic nanostructures have attracted much attention because of their large surface-to-volume ratio, high sensitivity and special texture with sharp tips and nanoscale junctions. Several methods have been developed to fabricate those specific structures such as electrodeposition, photochemical way, seed-mediated growth or wet chemical method. The present study deals with a novel approach for a controlled growth pattern-directed organisation of Au flower-like crystals (NFs) deposited onto stainless steel plates to achieve large-scale functional surfaces. This technique consists in the deposition of a soft nanoporous template on which Au NFs are grown by electroplating and seed-mediated method. Size, morphology, and interstructure distance have been controlled by a site selective nucleation process. Dendritic Au nanostructures have appeared as excellent Raman-active candidates due to the presence of very sharp tips of multi-branched Au nanoparticles that leads to a large local field enhancement and a good SERS sensitivity. In addition, these structures have also been used as electrochemical sensors to detect traces of molecules present in a solution. A correlation of the number of active sites on the surface and the current charge by both colorimetric method and cyclic voltammetry of gold structures have allowed a calibration of the system. This device represents a first step for the fabrication of MEMs platform that could ultimately be integrated into a lab-on-chip system. It also opens pathways to several technologically large-scale nanomaterials fabrication such as hierarchically ordered crystal architectures for sensor applications.

Keywords: dendritic, electroplating, gold, template

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Authors: Naza Djafarova, Tony Bates, Margaret Verkuyl, Leonora Zefi, Ozgur Turetken, Alex Ferworn, Mastrilli Paula, Daria Romaniuk, Kosha Bramesfeld, Anastasia Dimitriadou, Cheryl To

Abstract:

Designing serious games for education is a challenging and resource-intensive effort. If a well-designed process that balances pedagogical principles with game mechanics is in place, it can help to simplify the design process of serious games and increase efficiency. Multidisciplinary teams involved in designing serious games can benefit tremendously from such a process in their endeavours to develop and implement these games at undergraduate and graduate levels. This paper presentation will outline research results on identified gaps within existing processes and frameworks and present an adapted process that emerged from the research. The research methodology was based on a survey, semi-structured interviews and workshops for testing the adapted process for game design. Based on the findings, the authors propose a simple process for the pre-production stage of serious game design that may help guide multidisciplinary teams in their work. This process was used to facilitate team brainstorming, and is currently being tested to assess if multidisciplinary teams find value in using it in their process of designing serious games.

Keywords: serious game-design, multidisciplinary team, game design framework, learning games, multidisciplinary game design process

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Authors: P. Senthil Kumari

Abstract:

Main concerns in data mining investigation are social controls of data mining for handling ambiguity, noise, or incompleteness on text data. We describe an innovative approach for unplanned text data detection of community networks achieved by classification mechanism. In a tangible domain claim with humble secrecy backgrounds provided by community network for evading annoying content is presented on consumer message partition. To avoid this, mining methodology provides the capability to unswervingly switch the messages and similarly recover the superiority of ordering. Here we designated learning-centered mining approaches with pre-processing technique to complete this effort. Our involvement of work compact with rule-based personalization for automatic text categorization which was appropriate in many dissimilar frameworks and offers tolerance value for permits the background of comments conferring to a variety of conditions associated with the policy or rule arrangements processed by learning algorithm. Remarkably, we find that the choice of classifier has predicted the class labels for control of the inadequate documents on community network with great value of effect.

Keywords: text mining, data classification, community network, learning algorithm

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Authors: Dragana Calic

Abstract:

The openness, availability and the sheer volume of big data have provided, what some regard as, an invaluable and rich dataset. Researchers, businesses, advertising agencies, medical institutions, to name only a few, collect, share, and analyze this data to enable their processes and decision making. However, there are important ethical considerations associated with the use of big data. The rapidly evolving nature of online technologies has overtaken the many legislative, privacy, and ethical frameworks and principles that exist. For example, should we obtain consent to use people’s online data, and under what circumstances can privacy considerations be overridden? Current guidance on how to appropriately and ethically handle big data is inconsistent. Consequently, this paper focuses on two quite distinct but related ethical considerations that are at the core of the use of big data for research purposes. They include empowering the producers of data and empowering researchers who want to study big data. The first consideration focuses on informed consent which is at the core of empowering producers of data. In this paper, we discuss some of the complexities associated with informed consent and consider studies of producers’ perceptions to inform research ethics guidelines and practice. The second consideration focuses on the researcher. Similarly, we explore studies that focus on researchers’ perceptions and experiences.

Keywords: big data, ethics, producers’ perceptions, researchers’ perceptions

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Authors: Luljeta Plakolli-Kasumi

Abstract:

In the digital age, the relationship between traditional property rights and online intellectual property rights is becoming increasingly complex. On the one hand, the internet and advancements in technology have allowed for the widespread distribution and use of digital content, making it easier for individuals and businesses to access and share information. On the other hand, the rise of digital piracy and illegal file-sharing has led to increased concerns about the protection of intellectual property rights. This paper aims to examine the relationship between traditional property rights and online intellectual property rights in the digital age by analyzing the current legal frameworks, key challenges and controversies that arise, and potential solutions for addressing these issues. The paper will look at how traditional property rights concepts such as ownership and possession are being applied in the online context and how they intersect with new and evolving forms of intellectual property such as digital downloads, streaming services, and online content creation. It will also discuss the tension between the need for strong intellectual property protection to encourage creativity and innovation and the public interest in promoting access to information and knowledge. Ultimately, the paper will explore how the legal system can adapt to better balance the interests of property owners, creators, and users in the digital age.

Keywords: intellectual property, traditional property, digital age, digital content

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Authors: Olubukola Olumuyiwa Tokede, Dominic D. Ahiaga-Dagbui, John Morrison

Abstract:

The project environment in construction has been widely criticised for its inability to learn from experience effectively. As each project is bespoke, learning is ephemeral, as it is often confined within its bounds and seldom assimilated with others that are being delivered in the project environment. To engender learning across construction projects, collaborative contractual arrangements, such as alliancing and partnering, have been embraced to aid the transferability of lessons across projects. These cooperative arrangements, however, tend to be costly, and hence construction organisations could revert to less expensive traditional procurement approaches after successful collaborative project delivery. This research, therefore, seeks to assess the lessons-learned in a post-alliance contractual framework. Using a case-study approach, we examine the experiences of a public sector authority who engaged a project facilitator to foster learning during the delivery of a significant piece of critical infrastructure. It was found that the facilitator enabled optimal learning outcomes in post-alliance contractual frameworks by attenuating the otherwise adversarial relationship between clients and contractors. Further research will seek to assess the effectiveness of different knowledge-brokering agencies in construction projects.

Keywords: facilitation, knowledge-brokering, learning, projects

Procedia PDF Downloads 119