bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Design and Fabrication of an Automatic Cloth Ironing Machine
Authors:   Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Malaysia, Haniffah Nur Akmal ,   Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia, Azima Mohamad Amirul Hamka ,   Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Malaysia, Julaihi Sabariah ,   Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia
Published: January 2025

General automation in household chores uses technology and devices to carry out conveniently or aid in completing ordinary domestic duties, enhancing daily living. However, the traditional method of ironing clothes is one of the everyday tasks around the house that has been waiting for a revolution for a long time. The ironing task is still done by hand and is not automated. The problem is that ironing excessive clothes, especially school uniforms, for a week’s usage can be laborious and time-consuming. Anyone would experience boredom, tiredness and fatigue due to this circumstance when ironing continually. Therefore, to solve the issue, this project was developed to eliminate the tedious ironing process. This project aims to develop an automatic cloth ironing machine using a few low-cost electronic and mechanical components and compare the timing of cloth ironing using an automatic machine and by hand. As a result, a prototype presented a revolutionary initiative that combines modern technology and automation to revolutionise traditional clothing ironing methods. It can respond to specifi c fabric types and sizes, ensuring consistency in the ironing process. In conclusion, a prototype was successfully designed and developed with various low-cost electronic components and mechanical devices, e.g. an Ultrasonic Sensor HC-SR04, Arduino UNO, a belting system and a steam generator. Then, using the machine is slightly slower by 40 seconds compared to ironing manually. This achievement reassures the potential of the machine. Future development plans include using two steam plates to iron the back and front of the clothes and using a steam generator with a higher power that produces much steam.
Log-sigmoid Activation Function based MLP Network for Aggregate Classification
Authors:   Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National Defence University of Malaysia, Sg Besi Camp, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Makmor Nazrul Fariq , Visuvanathan Yasotharan ,   Royal Service Corp Directorates, Army Head Quarters, Ministry of Defense, Jalan Padang Tembak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ahmad Jamil Syahrull Hi-Fi Syam ,   Department of Mathematics & Science Computer, Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, Arau, Perlis, Malaysia, Adnan Ja’afar ,   Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National Defence University of Malaysia, Sg Besi Camp, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mohd Sabri Mohd Salman ,   Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National Defence University of Malaysia, Sg Besi Camp, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Published: January 2025

Mechanical sifting and manual grading have conventionally been utilised to assess the grade of aggregates. Nonetheless, such evaluations require a range of mechanical, chemical, and physical examinations, typically conducted manually, resulting in a process that is tedious, subjective, and labour-intensive. This research aims to provide an image-based classification system for the categorisation of aggregates. An artifi cial neural network (ANN) has been used to analyse the acquired images and categorise their shapes. The composite images are obtained and utilised as the input parameter for prediction prior to the thresholding step. The Log-sigmoid (Logsig) activation function, utilised in a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) network, exhibits a lower mean square error (MSE) and superior regression performance relative to the Pureline activation functions. The Logsig-based network has a MSE of 1.7473 and a regression capability of 0.9521.
Design of Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Single Cantilever Beam for IoT applications and Micro-electronic devices
Authors:   Department of Electric, Electronics and System Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia, Mohamed Ramizi , Riaz Amna ,   Department of Electric, Electronics and System Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia, Sarker Mahidur R. ,   Institute of Visual Informatics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia,   Universidad de Diseño, Innovación y Tecnología, UDIT, Av. Alfonso XIII, 97, 28016 Madrid, Spain, Olazagoitia José Luis ,   Universidad de Diseño, Innovación y Tecnología, UDIT, Av. Alfonso XIII, 97, 28016 Madrid, Spain
Published: January 2025

A few years back the power requirement of electronic devices was very high. But with the technological developments in the field of internet-based systems, the design of low-powered microelectronic devices, WSN and IoT devices became necessary. In these systems the size and the power requirement are low and in most situations the replacement of batteries is challenging. For these microelectronic and IoT devices the abundant energy harvester is very useful. Among different abundant energy resources, vibrational energy harvesting with piezoelectric cantilever beam energy harvesters is of interest. This research work presents the design and analysis of an energy harvester (EH) which contains a single piezoelectric cantilever beam that captures the vibrational energy of the suspension bridge. This approach ties the two things together by framing piezoelectric energy harvesting as a solution to the power challenges faced by low-powered devices, making the transition feel more natural and connected. The main challenge in the design was matching the resonance frequency of the bridge with a piezo EH which is around 2.5Hz to extract maximum power. To overcome this problem Eigen frequency analysis in COMSOL Multiphysics is done. The 3D geometry of single beam piezo EH is designed and analyzed in COMSOL Multiphysics solid works. In this research work a relationship is established between the geometrical parameters of the single beam piezo EH and Eigen frequency based on the first six Eigen frequency analyses in COMSOL Multiphysics. For fi nite element analysis(FEA) a piezo single beam harvester is vibrated by application of force which is equal to the vibrational force (0.98m/s2) in the suspension bridge. The force of (0.98 m/s²) is chosen because it avoids resonating with critical system components. The output from the harvester is achieved at a resonance frequency of 2.5Hz. The output from the piezo is very low 800 milli volts at 2.5Hz. The output results of piezo EH are also compared with a cantilever beam with a single-branch structure.
The Need to Investigate the Five-Year Impact of Covid-19 on Student Online Feedback for Course X
Authors:   Civil Engineering Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Pulau Pinang, Kampus Permatang Pauh, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, Mat Saliah Soffian Noor , Md Nor Noorsuhada ,   Civil Engineering Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Pulau Pinang, Kampus Permatang Pauh, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, Keria Roziah ,   Civil Engineering Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Pulau Pinang, Kampus Permatang Pauh, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, Zadawa Abdullahi Nafiu ,   Department of Quantity Surveying, Faculty of Environmental Technology, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria
Published: January 2025

This paper presents the investigation of student online feedback (SUFO) for Course X of the Civil Engineering degree programme over five years in relation to before, during and after Covid-19. Several approaches to student feedback were conducted focusing on the students of semesters 20192, 20194, 20202, 20204, 20212, 20214, 20222, 20224, 20232 and 20234. The study only refers to the specific Course X. The parameters for student feedback were the students’ overall impression of course X, the professionalism of the lecturers, the teaching and learning activities and the infrastructure. The study shows that the transition from physical to online courses has led to a decline in all parameters assessed, especially in the 2019 semester 4, indicating a significant negative impact of the switch to online learning on students’ perception of Course X in the Civil Engineering programme.
Beyond Gender: Exploring the Intersectional Dynamics in Political Interest Among Youth
Authors: García-Albacete Gema , Núñez Lidia , Sánchez David , Abendschön Simone , Kleer Philipp
Published: January 2025

One of the most persistent and puzzling inequalities across Western democracies is that women are less interested in politics than men. We know that political interest is developed—or not—at an early age, and that it becomes a key determinant of political involvement during adulthood. Due to its early development, recent research suggests focusing on gendered political socialization patterns to understand why women display lower levels of political interest than men. A recent systematic literature review on political interest confirms that the gap is already present at an early age. In addition, the review shows that research and evidence on the potential intersectionality of inequalities on young people’s political interest is surprisingly scarce. In this article we present novel evidence on the interaction of gender with an additional source of political inequality: immigration background. In doing so we use the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU) dataset, a longitudinal survey that follows a sample of adolescents with foreign-born parents that can be compared to natives in four countries. The analyses follow the latest recommendations regarding the use of interactions to evaluate claims of intersectionality. The results of our preliminary tests indicate that girls with an immigrant background are more interested in politics than girls without personal or family immigration background. Furthermore, the results are compatible with an intersectional approach by which being both a girl and having an immigration background has an independent positive relationship with political interest. Finally, we do not find significant differences between first- and second-generation immigrant girls.
What 25+ Years of “Did You Feel It” Intensities Tell Us About Shaking in California
Authors: Chaffeur Jenna M. , Saunders Jessie K. , Minson Sarah E. , Baltay Annemarie S. , Cochran Elizabeth S. , Hough Susan E. , Quitoriano Vincent , Page Morgan , Blair J. Luke
Published: January 2025

“When will the Big One happen?” is a question that people often have for earthquake scientists. But while waiting for the “Big One” to occur, people will usually experience frightening or damaging shaking from multiple relatively smaller-magnitude earthquakes. Given this context, it raises the question: “Where does most of the damage come from?” Could smaller, yet more frequent, earthquakes account for the majority of reported impactful shaking? To explore this question, we consider reports of earthquake damage and felt shaking experiences from a catalog of community-collected intensity values from the U.S. Geological Survey’s “Did You Feel It?” system. Comparing these intensities to expectations from a ground-motion model, we find that earthquakes of magnitudes smaller than expected are responsible for most reported intensities of community decimal intensities (CDI) 4.5 and above (moderate and higher shaking intensity levels). (Here “expected value” is meant in its mathematical sense of the mean or equivalently median shaking intensity.) We also present a regional analysis of observed earthquake shaking for specific areas, detailing the maximum intensity experienced within a predetermined area. We identify several instances of M < 4.5 events that generated maximum intensities of CDI > 5 in regions in California surrounding the cities of Eureka, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Our results motivate the need to include smaller-magnitude earthquakes in communications about earthquake hazard and risk reduction.
On the formation of a new world order
Authors: Baranovsky V.G.
Published: January 2025

The thesis of the formation of a new world order is widespread in both Russian and foreign political discourse, but it needs to be substantiated. The rejection of the ‘old' world order also requires clarification: what exactly is unacceptable and what should be radically restructured. Since the end of the WWI, the original time marker of the existing world order, the question of its renewal has come up five or six times. Today, as always, it is important to assess the changes in the balance of power on the world stage. They affect (i) the main actors, their roles, activities, algorithms of behaviour; (ii) the tools at their disposal that can be used to interact with the international environment; (iii) new coalition rapprochements and new cleavages in the international arena; (iv) new global and regional balances (regarding military, economic, resource, scientific, technical and other potentials). The question is whether this results in the accumulation of a new quality by the international system, which requires its radical renewal, or whether the system is able to absorb changing realities, adapting to them and improving the existing algorithms of its own functioning. The time factor can work not only to accelerate new trends, but also to promote the inertia of the existing ones. In some areas (globalization, the role of multilateral institutions, arms control) the resources possessed by the existing international system by no means seem to be exhausted. Finally, the abstractly formulated idea of the need for a new world order does not clarify some problems of an existential nature: (i) the hierarchy of the international system and the consequences of its ‘softening,' (ii) the unequal availability of various elements of stability/power (technology, information, resources, financial instruments, human capital, movement of people, social stability, etc.) for different states and societies, (iii) the correlation of internal problems and relations with the outside world, (iv) the phenomenon of sovereign particularism. As topics for further discussion, briefly formulated criteria for sustainability, effectiveness, maturity and adaptive capabilities of the world order are proposed.
Politicization of social ontology and its paradoxes
Authors: Kerimov T.Kh.
Published: January 2025

The article reveals the historical and theoretical prerequisites for the ontological turn in political theory and the establishment of postfoundationalism, and develops a critical analysis of its inherent paradoxes and difficulties. The ontological turn in political theory became widely known in the first decades of the 21st century. The article argues that postfoundationalism represents a reaction to the dominance of foundationalism in the social sciences, according to which politics is reduced to a subsystem of society, and the ontology of politics is reduced to the regional field of social ontology. The need to overcome foundationalism and its consequences is determined by the formation of a postfoundational political ontology of society. The latter accepts as the main principle of interpretation the position about the contingency of the foundation of society and politics and, as a consequence, about the politicization of social ontology. It is shown that an attempt to shift the meaning of political ontology encounters some difficulties. Firstly, postfoundationalism, which posits the contingency of the foundation of society and politics, falls into contradiction and reveals its dependenceon foundationalism. Secondly, the provision of contingency does not entail ethical-normative principles prescribing specific forms of politics. Thirdly, postfoundationalism entails the loss of prospects for individual positions and projects of people, the possibility of their connection with strategic issues of social development. The general thesis of the article is that renewal ontology in postfoundationalism requires historicizing the interpretation of the social and political, turning to the institutional and normative mechanisms of both the representation and the formation of political subjectivity. The argumentation of this thesis is carried out in three stages, which predetermined the structure of the article. The first part discusses the ontological turn in political theory and the motives for constructing postfoundationalism. The second part substantiates the basic principles of postfoundational political ontology. The third part explains the paradoxes of postfoundationalism and analyses their consequences.
Doctrinal symbolization and the political vernacular of narratives. What is changing in the public field?
Authors: Solovyov A.I.
Published: January 2025

The discursive diversity of public policy is constantly supported by a variety of symbolic structures used by the state, its partners and opponents, which formalize their political will in the form of various strategies, projects or individual actions. In modern conditions, with their characteristic uncertainty of the future and the volatility of their plans, political players, in an effort to increase the mobilization of the population, pay increasing attention to the communicative abilities of narratives that appeal to the mental characteristics of people, the ordinary level of their cultural orientations and everyday identification models. Compared with the doctrinal ways of symbolizing political goals and values, these narrative constructions retain significant advantages in interpreting and culturally decoding the meanings of political messages by people. Being a flexible and more accessible tool for the layman to purposefully influence a person’s awareness of the goals and values of the ruling regime, narratives extend not only to the public field, but are also actively used to convey meanings in intra-elite contacts, in which both status and informal coalitions of the ruling class participate. The widespread use of narratives inevitably leads to changes in the configuration of public discourse. At the same time, the methods of mass consciousness management are being updated both in countries of democratic deliberation and in states demonstrating various forms of authoritarian domination. The popular “concept of political narratives” (NPF), offering an essentialist interpretation of political narratives, introduces into the analysis a number of tools that allow to specify their place and role in the space of discourse, as well as to show the features of their application in the management of public communications of the state and society, emerging at all levels of the political system. Moreover, these cognitive constructions help to see certain trends in the evolution of the field of politics as a whole. Thus, modern realities clearly demonstrate that narrative politicians consistently strengthen the advantages of ruling regimes and lead to the solidification of manipulative forms of government, consistently expanding the mechanisms of political dominance hidden from society and shielding citizens from the levers of distribution of key public resources.
Challenges of migration for foreign policy and its instrumentalization
Authors: Tsapenko I.P.
Published: January 2025

Modern migration processes generate serious challenges for international relations, becoming at the same time a significant object and instrument of interaction between states. The multiplication of international migrants, growth of diasporas, increase in the cross-border mobility potential of the population, intensification of spontaneous movements, spread of migration crises, etc., occurring in the context of deepening the migration interdependence of states, affect both the amplified exposure and vulnerability of states to the effects of migration, and the expansion of opportunities to use the latter as a means of achieving political and other goals. As a result, the links between population movements and international relations are being strengthened, and migration policy is being integrated with foreign policy. In the turbulent conditions of the transformation of the world order, international tension and hybrid wars, the arsenal of which is expanding due to the weaponization of non-military means of geopolitical struggle, including migration means, the use of migration as a tool of coercion is expanding. In modern foreign literature, a narrow, essentially one-sided definition of migration instrumentalization has been established, used to characterize cases when a political actor intentionally and artificially provokes the emergence of large migration flows and, manipulating them, tries to exert pressure on the target state to achieve foreign policy goals. In a broad sense of the word, the foreign policy instrumentalization of migration processes, combining the use of various, both cooperative and coercive, including unconventional means, can be understood as a set of measures to influence migration processes motivated by foreign policy interests and pursuing foreign policy goals. In the modern practice of coercive instrumentalization of migration, along with the manipulation of massive spontaneous flows, carried out mainly by the states of the global South, migration sanctions are increasingly being applied in the North against countries that do not obey the rules of the outgoing world order. The destabilizing potential and effectiveness of such measures in terms of achieving the set goals varies greatly depending on their type and specific context.
Proceedings of the Round Table "Cyborgization: New Challenges for the Modern Governance System" (October 2024, MGIMO, Moscow)
Authors: Tikhova Vladlena
Published: January 2025

The article presents an analysis of the round table "Cyborgization: New Challenges for Modern Management Systems" held at MGIMO in October 2024. The event brought together leading Russian and international experts from various scientific fields for an interdisciplinary discussion on the merger of human and technological aspects. Key aspects of cyborgization were examined in the context of medicine, education, cybersecurity, psychotherapy, and social robotics. Special attention was paid to ethical issues of technology implementation, regulation of cyborgization processes, and determining acceptable boundaries of human technological modification. Results of practical experience in applying neurotechnologies, bionic prosthetics, and artificial intelligence systems were presented. Culture-specific features of new technology perception in different countries were analyzed. The necessity of developing a balanced approach to defining the boundaries of human technological transformation and the degree of recognition of cyborgized entities' subjectivity was formulated.
La memoria, factor importante para el aprendizaje de las matemáticas
Authors: Soto Archila Lina Esperanza
Published: January 2025

Se presentan los resultados obtenidos en la investigación realizada a un grupo de estudiantes de un Colegio de la ciudad de Bucaramanga, a partir de cuatro pruebas presentadas por ellos, en donde se tuvo en cuenta algunos elementos importantes relacionados con la memoria (tablas de multiplicar, tabla de signos, jerarquía de operaciones), estas pruebas contenían situaciones matemáticas con números reales y operaciones con expresiones algebraicas, se determina el nivel de importancia para el logro de los ejercicios propuestos y se tienen en cuenta los siguientes criterios de evaluación al momento de revisar las pruebas presentadas por los estudiantes: apropiación y aplicación de conceptos, transformación de un objeto en diferentes registros de representación, desarrollo de algoritmos, análisis de situaciones e interpretación de resultados. La metodología de investigación es de relación. A partir de los datos obtenidos se observó que la hipótesis presentada no es completamente válida, pero se pudieron analizar otros aspectos que evidencian que el estudio de la matemática relaciona habilidades de pensamientos de diferentes niveles, sin dejar atrás la memoria, teniendo en cuenta que esta es aprendida y es posible potencializarla, especialmente para el desarrollo de algoritmos.
Capitalism and Catholicism: Comparing Democratic Capitalism and Social Market Economy in the Light of Catholic Social Teaching
Authors: Schallenberg Peter , Welticke Maximilian
Published: January 2025

Książka "The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism" z 1982 roku, autorstwa Michaela Novaka, jest współcześnie uznawana za kluczowe i niekwestionowane dzieło w dziedzinie etyki ekonomicznej. W oryginalnej koncepcji Novaka znajdujemy prezentację intelektualno-historycznych źródeł systemów kapitalistycznych, umiejscowionych w ramach określonych zasad duchowych i moralnych. Taka hermeneutyka umożliwia głębokie zrozumienie wzajemnych relacji między ekonomią, społeczeństwem, religią oraz polityką, a jej wyjątkowa zdolność do adaptacji katolickiej nauki społecznej przyczynia się do kreowania sprawiedliwych systemów gospodarczych. Analizując powiązania między demokracją a gospodarką rynkową, Novak skutecznie wyjaśnia rolę jednostki w odpowiedzi na społeczne i ekonomiczne wyzwania współczesnego świata. Z perspektywy niemieckiej, prace Novaka nabierają szczególnego zna- czenia w kontekście niemieckiego modelu społecznej gospodarki rynkowej. Oba podejścia, choć zakorzenione w katolickiej nauce społecznej, wykazują różnice w swoich historycznych i kontekstualnych założeniach, co stwarza możliwość wzajemnego wzbogacania się i rozwoju.
Radio Communication Strategies on the Example of Selected Religious Radio Stations
Authors: Zagórska Katarzyna
Published: January 2025

Artykuł stanowi pragmalingwistyczną refleksję nad współczesnymi polskimi mediami. Przedmiot badań zawężono do radiofonii religijnej. W celu zaprezentowania jej różnych modeli, opisowi poddano prawosławne Radio Orthodoxia z Białegostoku i katolickie Radio Emaus z Poznania. Zbadano koncepcję programową obu stacji, a także wybrane przykłady przekazu antenowego ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem tygodnia 3–10.12.2023 r. Celem nie było porównywanie obu rozgłośni, ale prezentacja form ich programowej realizacji (z dominantą konfesyjną w Radiu Orthodoxia, a preewangelizacyjną w Radiu Emaus), mimo różnego czasu emisji czy odmiennych sposobów wypowiedzi językowych (np. zwrotów adresatywnych). Materiał poddany opisowi stanowią treści emitowane przez obie stacje (audycje, spoty, wypowiedzi prezenterskie, materiały promocyjne) zamieszczane na stronach internetowych lub w mediach społecznościowych (Youtube, Facebook, Instagram). Uporządkowano je za pomocą trzech strategii – autoprezentacji, budowania relacji oraz ewangelizacji. Jako metodę badawczą zastosowano analizę zawartości mediów. Autoprezentacja objęła m.in. tożsamościowe przekazy stacji, internetowe, jak też antenowe, np. linery (treść oraz formę językową: Radio Emaus – dobre radio; Radio nadziei, miłości i wiary – Radio Orthodoxia), inne przekazy na temat stacji (formy prawne, np. statuty, dekrety), ale także ramówkę – konstrukcję programu. Strategię budowania relacji wspierają cechy medium mówionego i religijnego. Bezpośredniość w komunikacji określają środki językowe. Wspólnotę ze słuchaczem kształtują przykłady inkluzywne (czasowniki, zaimki), zwroty adresatywne oraz realizowana funkcja fatyczna. Strategia ewangelizacyjna w analizowanych polskich stacjach wyznaniowych realizowana jest zgodnie z linią redakcyjną. Bazuje na zróżnicowanej ofercie programowej (od audycji religijnych po transmisje nabożeństw) z uwzględnieniem inicjatyw integrujących środowiska lokalne oraz duszpasterskie. Radio Orthodoxia jest „solidarne z Ukrainą”, niektóre informacje na stronie zamieszczono w języku ukraińskim. Zasadniczo jest bardziej tradycyjne w doborze treści i form, a jednocześnie mniej obecne w nowych mediach niż Radio Emaus.
Greening the Economy in Afghanistan – Role of the Critical Mineral Mining Industry
Authors: Tantashev Rinat , Eshchanov Bahtiyor
Published: January 2025

This article explores the current state and future prospects of developing a green economy in Afghanistan, focusing on renewable energy and fossil resources. It also examines regional cooperation and Afghanistan’s politico-economic relations with its neighbors, especially Uzbekistan.
Afghanistan has a significant potential for a green economy due to its reserves of lithium and rare earth metals, essential for modern green technologies. The country is rich in renewable energy resources, which could address environmental challenges, reduce fossil fuel dependence, and create new economic opportunities. This study looks into renewable energy infrastructure, sustainable agriculture, and related challenges and opportunities.
The paper starts by providing a literature review which analyzes the data on Afghanistan’s geology, economy, and environmental issues. It conducts stakeholder analysis by collecting data on perceptions and expectations from local communities, environmental organizations, and industry experts. The analysis is conducted through reviewing the current mining sector policies and comparing them with successful international models to propose policy reforms.
Key areas for development include expanding renewable energy infrastructure, such as solar and wind power projects, and promoting sustainable agriculture practices. International organizations and donors are supporting these initiatives.
In conclusion, Afghanistan’s transition to a green economy is viable and beneficial, requiring sustained efforts from the government, international partners, and the private sector. Strategic investments and cooperation can unlock the full potential of Afghanistan’s green economy, contributing to sustainable development and environmental protection.
Portfolio Management in Times of Elevated Risk. Safe-Haven and Hedge Assets in CAPM Setting
Authors: Feder-Sempach Ewa
Published: January 2025

The purpose of the article. The purpose of the article is to present the safe-haven concept according to the latest academic literature and distinguish it from the hedge and diversifier terms that are sometimes used interchangeably by researchers and portfolio managers. The ultimate goal of the paper is to place the safe-haven and hedge assets in the portfolio theory setting by introducing the negative beta parameter as stated in the Capital Asset Pricing Model. According to the literature, this article proposes a few approaches to identify and characterize safe-haven assets and to discover the perspective and outline further research in the portfolio theory.
Methodology. The work uses the method of descriptive and comparative analysis of literature, i.e., Systematic Literature Review (SLR). This method is used to present scientific overview of portfolio management when uncertainty rises to identify safe-haven and hedge assets.
Results of the research. This paper aims to characterize and identify three main types of assets helping investors to reduce the portfolio risk: safe haven, hedge, and diversifier. It introduces an improved analytical framework of beta parameter and drawdown beta concept to contribute to the rapidly expanding research on portfolio theory. Lastly it depicts a trade-off effect, which is stronger in-crisis performance of safe-haven assets. The returns of safe-haven assets are more positive when the stock market returns are more negative that may safeguard the financial system.
Growth Performance of Achatina achatina Fed with Leaf Powder Enriched in Oyster Shell Powder
Authors: Baptiste Aman Jean , Kiendrebeogo T. , Kouato F. , Kouato F. , Otchoumou A.
Published: January 2025

Background: Snail farming is becoming increasingly popular in sub-Saharan Africa. But the real success of snail farming depends on the right feed formulas. With the aim of contributing to the formulation of diets for giant African snails, a study was carried out on the growth performance and meat yield of Achatina achatina subjected to different diets based on leaves powder. Methods: Fifteen batches of 30 two-month-old snails seedlings were fed for 6 months on diets made by enriched the leaves (papaya, taro, moringa and pigeon pea) powder at different rates (0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) with oyster shell powder. The growth performance and meat yields of these snails were determined and compared with those of a control batch of snails fed fresh papaya, taro, moringa and pigeon pea leaves. Result: Snails fed with leaf powder enriched with 20% oyster shell showed the greatest gains in weight (97.33±4.2 g) and shell length (3.3±0.8 cm). Although these animals had the highest proportions of shell (40±3.2%), they provided the greatest quantities of soft tissue (60.3±3.2 g) and edible flesh (33.5±2.9 g). The diet consisting solely of fresh leaves induced the smallest gains in weight (21.6 ±5.1 g) and shell length (1.08±0.9 cm). Snails fed this diet had the highest percentage of soft tissue (78.02±6.53%). However, they provided the lowest amounts of soft tissue (19.34±2.8 g) and fresh edible meat (9.66±1.4 g).
Early Leaf Disease Detection of Soybean Plants using Convolution Neural Network Algorithm
Authors: Alnuaim Abeer , Altheneyan Alaa , AlZubi Ahmad Ali
Published: January 2025

Background: Agricultural specialists usually examine leaves closely to check for plant diseases, that process takes a long time and can have errors. To overcome these problems, nowadays, machine learning methods, specifically sequential convolution neural networks (CNN) are widely used, because of their extensive potential to extract features and patterns from the image dataset. Methods: This study introduces a complete methodology for detecting diseases in soybean plants by employing Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). A dataset sourced from the Mendeley database, containing images of soybean legume crops affected by caterpillars, Diabrotica Speciosa diseases and undamaged (healthy) foliage is used., The research explores the efficacy of the CNN Model in accurately classifying these diseases. The CNN algorithm is trained in such a way that it can handle the complex nature of soybean leaf imaging by utilizing convolutional layers for extracting features, pooling layers for reducing dimensionality and softmax layers for classification. Result: The training and validation results exhibit remarkable accuracy rates (97.64% accuracy) after 150 epochs. The evaluation metrics, such as precision, recall and F1-score, demonstrate the model’s performance across different leaf diseases of soybean, suggesting its ability to accurately identify instances inside each category. The classification matrices provide complete knowledge of the accuracy of the prediction of different diseases. The overall accuracy of the proposed model is 94.05%. This study can be utilized as a reference to increase the progress of agricultural disease detection, in turn, can enable enhance the reduction of crop losses and ensure food security.
La forêt de l'île des Pins
Authors: Cherrier Jean-François
Published: January 2025

Les « pins » qui ont donné leur nom à l'île sont en effet des pins colonnaires, Araucaria columnaris, et non des Pinus.La flore de l'île est similaire à celle de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et des îles Loyauté. Outre la bordure côtière et les îlots où l'on trouve l'A. columnaris, il existe une belle forêt dense qui est peu exploitée. Les formations secondaires sont naturellement enrichies en essences précieuses, dont le bois de santal.Les habitants veillent à ce qu'il n'y ait pas de déforestation ou de dégradation. La beauté de la forêt attire de nombreux touristes.
Ramin et Agathis de Kalimantan, d'où venez-vous et comment vous exploite-t-on ?
Authors: Laurent Dominique
Published: January 2025

Le Ramin, en particulier, et l'Agathis sont les principales espèces récoltées dans les forêts marécageuses indonésiennes. L'importance économique de cette ressource est brièvement abordée dans l'introduction.L'auteur présente d'abord le contexte naturel et le potentiel de la forêt marécageuse, puis il décrit longuement les modes d'exploitation forestière : les entreprises, leur organisation, leur structure, leur importance, leurs méthodes et leurs techniques.Ces techniques entièrement manuelles sont uniques.Nous ne connaissons pas d'autres exemples de ce type, à un niveau industriel, dans le monde tropical.Un chapitre est consacré au transport fluvial du Ramin et aux essences peu flottables exploitées dans cette forêt.L'exploitation et le flottage sont ensuite analysés du point de vue du rendement et du coût dans un autre chapitre.Afin d'élargir le champ d'application au-delà de la forêt marécageuse, la conclusion apporte quelques données de base sur l'économie indonésienne et montre ainsi le développement en cours ; elle s'interroge sur la participation de certains investisseurs étrangers au processus.
Le point sur le méthanol via la biomasse en France et dans le monde
Authors: Doat Jacqueline
Published: January 2025

Cet article fait le point sur les travaux menés en France dans le cadre du groupe méthanol financé par les pouvoirs publics et la CEE. Ces travaux ont abouti à la mise en place d'une unité de démonstration, dans le département de la Nièvre, pour la production de gaz de synthèse à partir du bois.Le texte donne quelques indications sur le méthanol, la description de l'unité industrielle et l'évaluation des coûts. Les autres projets développés dans le monde, ainsi que les perspectives possibles, sont également mentionnés. Il faut cependant préciser qu'avec les prix actuels du pétrole, la synthèse du méthanol à partir du bois n'est pas rentable. Mais comme une nouvelle crise énergétique mondiale n'est pas à exclure, il convient de rester vigilant et d'assurer au moins une veille technologique sur le sujet des carburants liquides oxygénés issus de la biomasse.
Des systèmes de production agricole sous couvert forestier en Martinique : redécouverte d’une pratique ancienne
Authors: PLEYBER Thomas , PENOT Eric , DANTHU Pascal , BARDOU Gaël
Published: January 2025

La Martinique est une île caribéenne française reconnue mondialement pour sa richesse floristique et faunistique et pour ses productions agricoles (banane et canne à sucre). Jusqu’au début du XXe siècle, elle était aussi productrice et exportatrice de nombreuses autres denrées : cacao, café, poivre, vanille. Ces cultures ont progressivement périclité, assurant juste l’approvisionnement du marché local. Quelques agriculteurs appuyés par la Direction de l’Alimentation, de l’Agriculture et de la Forêt de France (DAAF), ont déjà mis en œuvre une démarche de relance d’un mode ancien de productions agroforestières en réinstallant des systèmes de productions sous couvert forestier. Ces systèmes intègrent des cultures sous ombrage tout en maintenant en place la forêt originelle. L’étude recense les premières tentatives sur des cacaoyères et des vanilleraies. Elle propose un premier bilan de la gestion technique des parcelles après quelques années de mise en place, afin de mieux comprendre les intérêts, les enjeux, les facteurs limitants et les perspectives liés au retour de ces pratiques anciennes. Treize parcelles ont été identifiées. Il en ressort onze itinéraires techniques de gestion agroforestière. Les enquêtes auprès des agriculteurs ont révélé une forte valeur ajoutée des productions sur le marché local. Mais elles montrent aussi les contraintes fortes liées aux conditions de travail et à l’environnement. Les premières analyses économiques à dire d’acteurs ont révélé une marge brute et une valorisation de la journée de travail positives dès la cinquième année, et surtout un retour sur investissement à partir de la septième et huitième année de mise en place. Ce travail montre qu’il est possible de promouvoir en Martinique ces systèmes agroforestiers originaux. La faisabilité illustre le fort potentiel d’une filière renaissante avec de futurs retours économiques solides. À long terme, le développement de cette pratique pourrait relancer d’autres productions délaissées, réduire le mitage des terres forestières lié au défrichement et à l’urbanisation, promouvoir l’agroécologie en favorisant l’implantation d’arbres et de plantes de service, et favoriser l’installation d’agriculteurs avec un accès à une ressource foncière actuellement peu valorisée.
Desenvolvimento de competências empreendedoras em um curso de direito: experiência com “Hackathon”
Authors: De Abreu Barbosa Ricardo , Venelli-Costa Luciano
Published: January 2025

O presente artigo tem por objetivo apresentar a experiência realizada na Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie de aplicação de um modelo de aprendizagem conhecido como “Hackathon” para as turmas do curso de direito. Em 2012, foi instituído na universidade que todos os cursos da graduação deveriam desenvolver competências empreendedoras. Porém, os alunos do curso de direito tinham baixo engajamento e desprezo pelo ensino de empreendedorismo. O método aplicado é de abordagem qualitativa, baseado no estudo de caso da faculdade de direito, em formato de relato de experiência, com resultados antes e depois da aplicação de um “Hackathon” na semana jurídica de 2023. Os resultados revelam aumento significativo no engajamento dos estudantes, com inscrição voluntária de 132 grupos, ou cerca de 500 alunos, além de 1000 visualizações em conta na rede Instagram criada para o desafio, participação em torno de 1500 alunos nas cerimônias de premiação, e alunos escolhendo os professores de empreendedorismo para novos projetos de pesquisa, extensão e orientação de trabalhos de conclusão de curso (TCC). Este artigo expande as técnicas de ensino para professores de empreendedorismo em cursos que não são da área de negócios.
As perspectivas de mulheres em posições de liderança em micro e pequenas empresas na cidade de Manaus – AM
Authors: Barbosa Eneida , Meneguete Fabiula
Published: January 2025

Desde o início do século XXI, a liderança nas organizações passa por transformações, com novos contextos e estudos mais aprimorados. No âmbito dos estudos de liderança, muito vem se discutindo sobre a temática de gênero. A liderança feminina vem se tornando, desde os últimos dez anos, umarealidade nas organizações. Entretanto, ainda é costumeiro ouvir e/ou presenciar atos dos mais variados tipos que ferem a integridade da mulher noambiente de trabalho. A pesquisa objetiva compreender as perspectivas de mulheres em posições de liderança em micro e pequenas empresas na cidadede Manaus. Este estudo caracteriza-se como uma pesquisa qualitativa. A entrevista semiestruturada foi utilizada com o intuito de aprofundar questões jáidentificadas ou que pudessem surgir no campo. A população desta pesquisa foi constituída por doze mulheres em posições de liderança em micro epequenas empresas da cidade de Manaus - AM. Objetivando acessar as mulheres participantes deste estudo, foi utilizada a metodologia snowball deforma exponencial. Os resultados mostraram que, em relação aos desafios vividos pelas mulheres após conquistarem o cargo de liderança, a inovação e a conciliação entre o trabalho e a família recebeu especial destaque. Para elas, o fato de existir uma sociedade patriarcal enraizada e organizações queainda estão dando passos lentos em relação às condições da mulher mãe, faz com que essa conciliação seja complexa. Todas as entrevistadasmencionam a mudança de paradigmas e da sociedade em relação ao que é preciso para que haja mais líderes mulheres no mercado de trabalho.
Improved Risk Adjustment for Comorbid Diagnoses in Administrative Claims Analyses of Orthopaedic Surgery
Authors: Koltsov Jayme C.B. , Zhuang Thompson , Hu Serena S. , Kamal Robin N.
Published: January 2025

Background:

The accurate inclusion of patient comorbidities ensures appropriate risk adjustment in clinical or health services research and payment models. Orthopaedic studies often use only the comorbidities included at the index inpatient admission when quantifying patient risk. The goal of this study was to assess improvements in capture rates and in model fit and discriminatory power when using additional data and best practices for comorbidity capture.

Methods:

Hip fracture care was used as an exemplary case of an inpatient condition in a population typically having multiple comorbidities. Cohorts were built from 3 administrative resources: (1) Medicare, (2) all-payer, and (3) private-payer. Elixhauser comorbidities were calculated first using only the index admission and subsequently by adding inpatient and outpatient data from the previous year. Comorbidities identified on outpatient records required 2 instances occurring ≥30 days apart. Model fit and discriminatory power for in-hospital metrics (death, length of stay, and costs or charges) and post-discharge metrics (90-day readmission and surgical site infection, and 90-day and 1-year death) were compared among capture strategies.

Results:

The index admission missed 9.3% to 65.6% of individual Elixhauser comorbidities for the Medicare cohort, 2.9% to 39.0% for the all-payer cohort, and 14.1% to 57.9% for the private-payer cohort compared with data from the index admission plus the previous year. Using prior inpatient and outpatient data provided substantial improvements in model fit and explanatory power for post-discharge outcomes, whereas information from the index admission was sufficient for in-hospital death and length of stay. The utility of outpatient data was greatest when complete outpatient claims were captured compared with only ambulatory surgery claims.

Conclusions:

The comorbidity capture strategies demonstrated in this study, namely including all available data for post-discharge outcomes, using a 1-year lookback period, and requiring outpatient codes to appear on 2 claims ≥30 days apart, are relevant for improved risk adjustment in orthopaedic clinical or health services research and quality improvement and payment models.

Level of Evidence:

Prognostic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Poesía infantil para la educación literaria: México y los ODS
Authors: Ballester Pardo Ignacio , Rovira Collado José
Published: January 2025

Resumen: Con la nueva ley educativa española (LOMLOE) se insiste en los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) marcados por Naciones Unidas (2015). En ese sentido, la educación literaria permite abordarlos a raíz de la poesía infantil que se publica en México recientemente. Mediante un análisis de las obras Las aventuras de Max y su ojo submarino, Puntiagudos, El berrinche de Moctezuma, Hyaznä y Cosmorama explicamos las características de la Literatura Infantil y Juvenil (LIJ) de Cerrillo (2007) y los criterios de selección de José Manuel de Amo (2003). De tal manera, exponemos como resultados los habituales recursos de personificación, las metáforas, también visuales, y las posibilidades didácticas de implementar tales obras en el aula y ampliar así el canon de lecturas en español.
Palabras clave: Literatura. Educación. Poesía. México. ODS.
WITHDRAWN: Do property rights explain the inverse relationship between grassland size and productivity?
Authors: Zhang Mingxue , Li Dongqing
Published: January 2025

The full text of this preprint has been withdrawn by the authors due to author disagreement with the posting of the preprint. Therefore, the authors do not wish this work to be cited as a reference. Questions should be directed to the corresponding author.