Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distribution of b‐values in Indo‐Burma Ranges, northeast India: Implications to structural heterogeneities and style of faulting

The spatial distribution of the b‐value has been determined using a homogeneous earthquake catalogue from 1964 to 2018 to examine the characteristics of structural heterogeneities and their bearing on the style of faulting in the Indo‐Burma region of Northeastern India. The study region is associated with an uneven distribution of structural heterogeneities and demonstrates the mixed type of faulting, nature where the majority of earthquakes resulted mainly by thrust and strike‐slip fault. Our critical analysis demonstrates that the existence of two prominent zones is associated with high b‐values and low b‐values where the mixed type of faulting resulted in the genesis of seismicity in the study area. The high b‐values in the study area contain a large number of smaller earthquakes whilst the low b‐values comprise a smaller number of larger earthquakes distributed along with the Naga‐Disang Thrust, Kabaw Fault, and Sagaing fault systems. A close comparison between b‐values and different faulting styles reveals that the area containing a low b‐value suggests stronger seismogenic zones, where an accumulation of strain energy leads to the genesis of seismicity by thrust faulting with slight slip component whilst Indo‐Burma Ranges regions connected with b‐values (0.5–0.9) demonstrate strike‐slip to the normal mode of faulting, indicating relatively weak seismogenic zones where tensional forces are prevalent. The depth sections illustrate that lower b‐values for the upper part of the subducting slab correspond to more stress generated by tectonics compared to that of the lower part, and interestingly the deeper part of the subducting Indian slab is coupled with conspicuously very high‐b values, suggesting the weakening of the Indian subducting slab through dehydration.
A new piezo-driven microgripper based on the double-rocker mechanism

This paper reports the design and modelling of a new piezo-driven microgripper with large output displacements. The design of the microgripper is based on the double-rocker mechanism and the parallelogram mechanism. The microgripper can produce a large output displacement and a parallel movement of the gripper tips. Theoretical models for the microgripper are derived using the pseudorigid-body-model method. Through several finite-element analysis simulations, the optimal geometric parameters of the microgripper are obtained, and the theoretical models are evaluated and verified. The performance of the proposed microgripper is demonstrated by several experiments, and a micromanipulation case is presented. The experimental results indicate that the microgripper with the double-rocker mechanism has a large output displacement of 213.9 μm and a large amplification ratio of 21.4. The microgripper is capable of multiscale micromanipulation.
Regulatory decoupling and the effectiveness of the ISO 9001 quality management system in the construction sector in the UK – a case study analysis

Abstract Construction quality defects are a widespread and recurrent industry problem; the ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS) has been proposed as a tool to improve construction quality. It is one of the most widely adopted management systems worldwide and is a prerequisite for many construction tenders. Institutional theory uses the concept of regulatory decoupling to probe “performative” implementation of a standard or regulation; this theory has not to date been applied to ISO 9001 QMS implementation in the construction industry. In this context, the aim of this research is to investigate the extent of regulatory decoupling and its impact on the effectiveness of implementation of the ISO 9001 QMS in 3 case study construction organizations. 34 interviews are undertaken across three case study organizations and analyzed using an abductive grounded theory approach. In all three case study organizations, regulatory decoupling between the operation of the companies and their ISO 9001 system is taking place. Disconnection of the QMS to quality “on the ground” is evident. A model showing factors that foster regulatory decoupling is produced. The picture of compliance is complex and continually evolving. The study concludes with recommendations for industry to reconnect QMS systems to site operation and management.
From Global to Local: Subnational Development Banks in the Era of Sustainable Development Goals

ABSTRACT Financing the implementation of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been a development challenge since the establishment of the 2030 Agenda — especially under the unequal circumstances imposed by COVID-19. This paper aims to better inform this debate by highlighting the nature of Subnational Development Banks (SDBs) in the context of sustainable finance and how they operate within development networks. To this end, the research method addresses a comparative study among countries that stand out for the number of subnational institutions in their development systems, Brazil and Vietnam. After comparing the Brazilian and Vietnamese particularities, we present concrete examples of SDBs working to connect local needs to the 2030 Agenda investments. As final conclusions, the study allows to demonstrate that, by being the last mile specialist on the ground, in different localities with particular backgrounds and contexts, SDBs could be available channels to international resources to address the financial needs of local firms and governments, improving both efficiency and effectiveness of development programs and funds. Highlighting the potential of SDBs, this analysis leaves possibilities for a future research agenda on more integrated national development finance systems focused on local impact.
Using context and models at Higher Level GCSE: adapting Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) for the UK curriculum

Since 2003, staff at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) have been involved in a number of projects related to Realistic Mathematics Education (RME). This originally involved trialing materials with 11-14 year olds and then, in collaboration with the Freudenthal Institute, writing materials for Foundation level GCSE. In 2012, these materials were published by Hodder Education as a series of books called Making Sense of Maths. Classroom trials of the original materials showed an increased willingness of students to discuss and engage with their mathematics, and to attempt to ‘make sense’ of what they were doing rather than simply to try to remember taught procedures. The results from the trials led, in 2009, to a further project designing materials for Higher level GCSE. The focus here is on the development of these materials, and how we have interpreted the original design principles of RME for UK schools. In particular, we focus on the use of context, the notion of progressive formalisation and the use of models. We provide excerpts from the materials that exemplify these principles and discuss the issues for teachers attempting to integrate this approach into an examination driven curriculum.
Evaluation of Vibration -Based Health Assessment and Diagnostic Techniques for Helicopter Bearing Components

Improved techniques for estimating the level of degradation on helicopter drive -train components can provide a substantial benefit with rega rds to improved safety a nd maintenance cost reduction. This study focuses on the oil -cooler bearing, which is a key component onthe rotorcraft. Vibration data from an oil -cooler bearing testrig provided by Impact Technologies, LLC. consisted of both ba seline and run -to-failure data sets collected under diffloading and speed regimes . A multitude of feature extraction methods wereused,including time domain features, frequency domain features, envelope features,and others. A self -organizing map,multi-feature distance metric is used to quantify the health of the bearing in each operating regime. The health assessment results for the two run -to-failure data sets show promising results , in thatthereis a noticeable degradation trend and a similar end-health valueis reached. Future work will consider developing remaining life prediction techniques, including regression -based methods and Bayesian filtering techniques .
Snow Depth Retrieval With an Autonomous UAV-Mounted Software-Defined Radar

We present results from a field campaign to measure seasonal snow depth at Cameron Pass, Colorado, using a synthetic ultrawideband software-defined radar (SDRadar) implemented in commercially available Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) software-defined radio hardware and flown on a small hexacopter unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). We coherently synthesize an ultrawideband signal from stepped frequency 50-MHz subpulses across 600-2100-MHz frequency bands using a novel nonuniform nonlinear synthetic wideband waveform reconstruction technique that minimizes sweep time and completely eliminates problematic grating lobes and other processing artifacts traditionally seen in stepped waveform synthesis. We image seasonal snow across two transects: a 400-m open Meadow Transect and a 380-m forested transect. We present a surface detection algorithm that fuses data from LiDAR, global navigation satellite system (GNSS)/global positioning system (GPS), and features in the radargram itself to obtain high precision estimates of both snow and ground surface reflections, and thus total snow depth, represented as two-way travel time. The measurements are validated against independent ground-based ground-penetrating radar measurements with correlations coefficients as high as ρ = 0.9 demonstrated. Finally, we compare backscattered radar data collected by the UAV-SDRadar while hovering proximal to a known snow pit with in situ measured snow dielectric profiles and demonstrate imaging of snow stratigraphy.
Tackling Six Common Dilemmas in ‘Live’ Planning Projects

Abstract A multi-semester planning studio at the University of Texas at Austin contributed to the design of a master plan for a community in Northern Mexico, which is expected to grow from a village of 600 inhabitants to a sustainable model city of up to 500,000 citizens in the next 30 years. The authors contextualise this project in the existing literature on ‘live’ planning projects and identify six typical trade-off challenges of problem-based, cross-cultural, collaborative and group-based experiential learning projects. These are: pragmatic efficiency versus cross-disciplinary fertilization; explorative play versus boring idleness; fresh minds versus disciplinary allegiance; rejuvenation versus continuity; networking versus entanglement; expertocracy versus vernacular wisdom. The authors assess the pedagogical aspects of this project through these six lenses and in light of empirical data from an online questionnaire of their students.
Social learning in managing disasters in Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that there is still much scope for improvement in planning and training, for both actors and disaster victims, in the front line of disaster management in Malaysia. Although the established ethos of Malaysia's public service sector has tended to be one of control from above, there is promise and virtue in seeking to promote a professional culture. Ideas and recommendations in finding new solutions to old problems can move upwards as well as downwards due to the technical design in rules and regulations which is now to be accompanied by organisational design.Design/methodology/approach – Research was undertaken to determine attitudes of actors in disaster management mechanism in Malaysia.Findings – The actors in public service sectors in Malaysia had a negative attitude towards disaster planning implementation because they are usually not familiar with the Standard Operational Procedure in handling land disaster management in Malaysia called the MNSC Directiv.
Response Modification Factors for Earthquake Resistant Design of Short Period Buildings

Most recent seismic codes include response modification factors in the definition of the equivalent lateral forces that are used for the design of earthquake resistant buildings. The response modification factors (R) are used to reduce the linear elastic design spectrum to account for the energy dissipation capacity of the structure. The evaluation of these response modification factors for various sets of earthquake records and ductility factors is presented herein. Special attention is given to the short period range where the reduction of linear elastic response spectra is smaller than the values for intermediate and long period structures. An idealized and simple variation of the response modification factor as a function of the period of vibration, suitable for seismic codes formulation, is also presented.
Control architectures of galvanometer-based scanners for an increased precision and a faster response

High-end biomedical applications, such as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) or Confocal Microscopy (CM) require both precision and speed. The latter is essential in OCT by example to achieve in vivo, real time imaging – with video rate imaging capability. An essential element of this effort to achieve such speeds in OCT by example is the optomechatronic system used for lateral scanning. It usually consists of a dual axis double galvanometer-based scanner (GS). However, GSs are used in a larger variety of applications in biomedical imaging – not only in lateral scanning. Due to the importance of the topic, we have approached different aspects of GSs technology, including scanning and control functions, duty cycle optimization, and minimization of artifacts. The paper proposes a Model-based Predictive Control (MPC) structure for driving the GSs in order to achieve either an improved precision or a higher speed. The predictive control solution was tested for different types of input signals. Reasons for choosing the objective function and the predictive horizons are discussed. The GS was characterized by a second order mathematical model (MM), with the values of the parameters identified experimentally. Simulations were carried out using Matlab Simulink. The control results achieved are compared with the Proportional Integrative Derivative controller with Lags (PID-L1). The conclusions support the proposed control solution and its implementation in applications.
Alkali/Ultrasound Treatment as Alternative to Modify Structural and Thermal Properties of Agave tequilana Fibers

ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the effect of alkali and ultrasound treatment on the structural (XRD/FTIR), morphological (SEM), and thermal (TGA) properties of Agave tequilana fibers, which could be useful as reinforcement for biopolymer composites. A decrease in 35% lignin content at 3% NaOH concentration was observed, since the alkali/ultrasound treatment breaks the hydrogen bonds of the structural components in the fiber and contributes to the cellulose fraction’s concentration, increasing the crystallinity percentage without changing its fiber crystal pattern (cellulose Iα). Morphological changes in the fiber, such as high roughness and porosity, were also observed. It can be concluded that fiber treatment with 3% NaOH, immersion time of 12 h and sonication for 60 min was the most effective method to enhance the fiber properties. Furthermore, the modified fibers show high thermal resistance suggesting their application in automotive components manufacturing processes that involve high temperature.
Scattering characteristics of FSS on two anisotropic layers for incident co‐polarized plane waves

A full‐wave analysis is presented for the scattering problem from a frequency‐selective surface (FSS) comprised of a periodic array of conducting patch elements on two dielectric layers. The formulation is carried out in the spectral domain, where the convolution form of the integral equation for the induced current is reduced to an algebraic one. This equation is then solved with the use of the immittance approach and the moment method in the spectral domain. A set of entire‐domain basis functions is included in the expansion for the unknown induced current. This analysis is computationally efficient. Numerical and experimental results are presented. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 33: 57–61, 2002; DOI 10.1002/mop.10231
Review and evaluation of desalination cost and costing methodologies

Recently, desalination is becoming a viable alternative for supplying potable water due to new developments in desalination technologies. At present, the cost of desalinated water is about US$0.5/m³ by RO and US$ 1.0/m³ by thermal processes. But these costs are location dependent. Thus the selection of an appropriate desalination technology for any location needs a reliable and accurate costing methodology. Better costing methodologies are also required for optimal process design and economical operation of desalination plants. There are so many costing methodologies reported in the literature with varying accuracy and details. Most of the publicly available costing methodologies are either black-box type with less details of costing methodology, or use thumb rules that do not sufficiently account local conditions. Therefore, there is a need to develop a more reliable and accurate costing methodology for public use. In this paper, desalinated water costs and costing methodologies with respect to accuracy and reliability are reviewed.
Inclusive and exclusive identities and contacts: the role of values and status of ethnic group

Background. Identity and contacts are often studied from the perspective of inherent conflict potential for intergroup relations leading to prejudice and exclusion in societies which contain groups with different ethnic status. Nonetheless, there are certain identification and interaction mechanisms that can potentially mitigate or cancel these harmful effects. These comprise inclusive contacts and identities, in particular the positive inclusive identities, which allow to unite the representatives of different groups. It is important to find out what determines these identities and contacts. Schwartz’s theory of individual values has great potential for explaining the personality determinants of identities positivity and the intensity of contacts. Objective. The aim of the study was to examine the role of individual values and status of ethnic group in assessing the positivity of exclusive and inclusive identities, as well as in the intensity of exclusive and inclusive contacts among members of ethnic majority and minority groups. Design. The study was conducted on a sample of an ethnic minority (Russians living in the North Caucasus) and on a sample of an ethnic majority (Russians living in Moscow). The total sample size is = 499 respondents. The individual values were measured using a portrait value questionnaire – PVQ-R (Schwartz et al., 2012); positivity of ethnic identity, positivity of civic identity, positivity of regional identity, intercultural contacts, monocultural contacts were measured using the appropriate methods from the questionnaire of the MIRIPS project (Mutual intercultural relations in plural societies) (Berry, 2017). Results. The study found that (1) the values of Conservation underlie the positivity of exclusive ethnic and inclusive civic identities among members of the ethnic majority, (2) values of Openness to Change underlie exclusive monocultural contacts among ethnic minority and majority members, (3) values of Self-Enhancement underlie inclusive intercultural contacts among members of the ethnic minority. Conclusion. The results of this study revealed the motivational foundations of exclusive monocultural and inclusive intercultural friendship, which were based on the values of personal focus among the Russian ethnic minority and majority members. At the same time, the values of social focus turned out to underlie the positivity of the exclusive ethnic Russian and inclusive civic Russian identity among the ethnic Russian majority members. The research results have a wide potential for further theoretical and practical application in the field of intercultural relations and their harmonization.
Soil–pile–structure interaction under SH wave excitation

A continuum model for the interaction analysis of a fully coupled soil–pile–structure system under seismic excitation is presented in this paper. Only horizontal shaking induced by harmonic SH waves is considered so that the soil–pile–structure system is under anti‐plane deformation. The soil mass, pile and superstructure were all considered as elastic with hysteretic damping, while geometrically both pile and structures were simplified as a beam model. Buildings of various heights in Hong Kong designed to resist wind load were analysed using the present model. It was discovered that the acceleration of the piled‐structures at ground level can, in general, be larger than that of a free‐field shaking of the soil site, depending on the excitation frequency. For typical piled‐structures in Hong Kong, the amplification factor of shaking at the ground level does not show simple trends with the number of storeys of the superstructure, the thickness and the stiffness of soil, and the stiffness of the superstructure if number of storeys is fixed. The effect of pile stiffness on the amplification factor of shaking is, however, insignificant. Thus, simply increasing the pile size or the superstructure stiffness does not necessarily improve the seismic resistance of the soil–pile–structure system; on the contrary, it may lead to excessive amplification of shaking for the whole system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Influence Financial Distress, Firm Size, and Leverage on Audit Delay with Auditor Reputation as Moderating Variable

This study aims to examine how much influence Financial Distress, company size, and Leverage have on Audit Delay with Auditor Reputation as a Moderating Variable in All Manufacturing Companies Listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for the 2015-2019 Period. Sampling in the study using the method of purposive sampling obtained 32 companies with a research period of 5 years. The analytical method used in this study is panel data regression analysis with Fixed Effect estimation results using Eviews 9. The results showed that financial distress partially had a positive effect, company size partially had a positive and significant effect on audit delay, while leverage had a positive effect on audit delay.