bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Are There One or More Geophysical Coupling Mechanisms before Earthquakes? The Case Study of Lushan (China) 2013
Authors: Zhang Yiqun , Wang Ting , Chen Wenqi , Zhu Kaiguang , Marchetti Dedalo , Cheng Yuqi , Fan Mengxuan , Wang Siyu , Wen Jiami , Zhang Donghua , Zhang Hanshuo
Published: March 2023

Several possible lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere coupling mechanisms before earthquake occurrence are presented in the literature. They are described by several models with different interaction channels (e.g., electromagnetic, mechanics, chemical, thermal), sometimes in conflict with each other. In this paper, we search for anomalies six months before the Lushan (China) 2013 earthquake in the three geo-layers looking for a possible view of the couplings and testing if one or another is more reliable to describe the observations. The Lushan earthquake occurred in China’s Sichuan province on 20 April 2013, with a magnitude of Mw = 6.7. Despite the moderate magnitude of the event, it caused concern because its source was localized on the southwest side of the same fault that produced the catastrophic Wenchuan event in 2008. This paper applies a geophysical multi-layer approach to search for possible pre-earthquake anomalies in the lithosphere, atmosphere, and ionosphere. In detail, six main increases in the accumulated seismic stress were depicted. Anomalous geomagnetic pulsations were recorded in the Chengdu observatory, sometimes following the increased stress. Atmosphere status and composition were found to be anomalous in several periods before the earthquake, and, spatially, the anomalies seem to appear firstly far from the upcoming earthquakes and later approaching the Longmenshan fault where the Lushan earthquakes nucleated. The Formosat-3 data identified interesting anomalies in the altitude or electron content of the ionospheric F2 peak in correspondence with seismic and atmospheric anomalies 130 days before the earthquake. In addition, the total electron content showed high anomalous values from 12 to 6 days before the earthquake. We compared the anomalies and tried to explain their correspondences in different geo-layers by the lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere coupling models. In particular, we identified three possible couplings with different mechanisms: a first, about 130 days before the earthquake, with a fast (order of one day) propagation delay; a second, about 40 days before the earthquake occurrence, with a propagation delay of few days and a third from 2.5 weeks until one week before the event. Such evidence suggests that the geo-layers could interact with different channels (pure electromagnetic or a chain of physical-chemical processes) with specific propagation delays. Such results support the understanding of the preparation for medium and large earthquakes globally, which is necessary (although not sufficient) knowledge in order to mitigate their impact on human life.
Use of Machine Learning in Interactive Cybersecurity and Network Education
Authors: Loftus Neil , Narman Husnu S.
Published: March 2023

Cybersecurity is a complex subject for students to pursue. Hands-on online learning through labs and simulations can help students become more familiar with the subject at security classes to pursue cybersecurity education. There are several online tools and simulation platforms for cybersecurity education. However, those platforms need more constructive feedback mechanisms, and customizable hands-on exercises for users, or they oversimplify or misrepresent the content. In this paper, we aim to develop a platform for cybersecurity education that can be used either with a user interface or command line and provide auto constructive feedback for command line practices. Moreover, the platform currently has nine levels to practice for different subjects of networking and cybersecurity and a customizable level to create a customized network structure to test. The difficulty of objectives increases at each level. Moreover, an automatic feedback mechanism is developed by using a machine learning model to warn users about their typographical errors while using the command line to practice. A trial was performed with students completing a survey before and after using the application to test the effects of auto-feedback on users’ understanding of the subjects and engagement with the application. The machine learning-based version of the application has a net increase in the user ratings of almost every survey field, such as user-friendliness and overall experience.
Dual-Responsive and Reusable Optical Sensors Based on 2,3-Diaminoquinoxalines for Acidity Measurements in Low-pH Aqueous Solutions
Authors: Ermakova Elizaveta V. , Bol’shakova Anastasia V. , Bessmertnykh-Lemeune Alla
Published: March 2023

This work is focused on the age-old challenge of developing optical sensors for acidity measurements in low-pH aqueous solutions (pH < 5). We prepared halochromic (3-aminopropyl)amino-substituted quinoxalines QC1 and QC8 possessing different hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) and investigated them as molecular components of pH sensors. Embedding the hydrophilic quinoxaline QC1 into the agarose matrix by sol-gel process allows for fabrication of pH responsive polymers and paper test strips. The emissive films thus obtained can be used for a semi-quantitative dual-color visualization of pH in aqueous solution. Being exposed to acidic solutions with pH in the range of 1–5, they rapidly give different color changes when the analysis is performed in daylight or under irradiation at 365 nm. Compared with classical non-emissive pH indicators, these dual-responsive pH sensors allow for an increase in the accuracy of pH measurements, particularly in complex environmental samples. pH indicators for quantitative analysis can be prepared by the immobilization of amphiphilic quinoxaline QC8 using Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) and Langmuir–Schäfer (LS) techniques. Compound QC8 possessing two long alkyl chains (n-C8H17) forms stable Langmuir monolayers at the air–water interface, and these monolayers can be successfully transferred onto hydrophilic quartz and hydrophobic polyvinylchlorid (PVC) substrates using LB and LS techniques, respectively. The 30-layer films thus obtained are emissive, reveal excellent stability, and can be used as dual-responsive pH indicators for quantitative measurements in real-world samples with pH in the range of 1–3. The films can be regenerated by immersing them in basic aqueous solution (pH = 11) and can be reused at least five times.
Learning Response-Consistent and Background-Suppressed Correlation Filters for Real-Time UAV Tracking
Authors: Zhang Hong , Li Yan , Liu Hanyang , Yuan Ding , Yang Yifan
Published: March 2023

With the advantages of discriminative correlation filter (DCF) in tracking accuracy and computational efficiency, the DCF-based methods have been widely used in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for target tracking. However, UAV tracking inevitably encounters various challenging scenarios, such as background clutter, similar target, partial/full occlusion, fast motion, etc. These challenges generally lead to multi-peak interferences in the response map that cause the target drift or even loss. To tackle this problem, a response-consistent and background-suppressed correlation filter is proposed for UAV tracking. First, a response-consistent module is developed, in which two response maps are generated by the filter and the features extracted from adjacent frames. Then, these two responses are kept to be consistent with the response from the previous frame. By utilizing the l2-norm constraint for consistency, this module not only can avoid sudden changes of the target response caused by background interferences but also enables the learned filter to preserve the discriminative ability of the previous filter. Second, a novel background-suppressed module is proposed, which makes the learned filter to be more aware of background information by using an attention mask matrix. With the introduction of this module into the DCF framework, the proposed method can further suppress the response interferences of distractors in the background. Finally, extensive comparative experiments have been conducted on three challenging UAV benchmarks, including UAV123@10fps, DTB70 and UAVDT. Experimental results have proved that our tracker has better tracking performance compared with 22 other state-of-the-art trackers. Moreover, our proposed tracker can run at ∼36 FPS on a single CPU for real-time UAV tracking.
Wide-Angular Tolerance Optical Filter Design and Its Application to Green Pepper Segmentation
Authors: Yu Jun , Zhan Shu , Kurihara Toru
Published: March 2023

The optical filter is critical in many applications requiring wide-angle imaging perception. However, the transmission curve of the typical optical filter will change at an oblique incident angle due to the optical path of the incident light change. In this study, we propose a wide-angular tolerance optical filter design method based on the transfer matrix method and automatic differentiation. A novel optical merit function is proposed for simultaneous optimization at normal and oblique incidents. The simulation results demonstrate that such a wide-angular tolerance design can realize a similar transmittance curve at an oblique incident angle compared to a normal incident angle. Furthermore, how much improvement in a wide-angular optical filter design for oblique incident contributes to image segmentation remains unclear. Therefore, we evaluate several transmittance curves along with the U-Net structure for green pepper segmentation. Although our proposed method is not perfectly equal to the target design, it can achieve an average 50% smaller mean absolute error (MAE) than the original design at 20∘ oblique incident angle. In addition, the green pepper segmentation results show that wide-angular tolerance optical filter design improves the segmentation of the near-color object about 0.3% at 20∘ oblique incident angle compared to the previous design.
Acoustoelectric Effect of Rayleigh and Sezawa Waves in ZnO/Fused Silica Produced by an Inhomogeneous In-Depth Electrical Conductivity Profile
Authors: Caliendo Cinzia
Published: March 2023

The acousto-electric (AE) effect associated with the propagation of Rayleigh and Sezawa surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in ZnO/fused silica was theoretically investigated under the hypothesis that the electrical conductivity of the piezoelectric layer has an exponentially decaying profile akin to the photoconductivity effect induced by ultra-violet illumination in wide-band-gap photoconducting ZnO. The calculated waves’ velocity and attenuation shift vs. ZnO conductivity curves have the form of a double-relaxation response, as opposed to a single-relaxation response which characterizes the AE effect due to surface conductivity changes. Two configurations were studied which reproduced the effect of UV light illumination from the top or from the bottom side of the ZnO/fused silica substrate: 1. the ZnO conductivity inhomogeneity starts from the free surface of the layer and decreases exponentially in depth; 2. the conductivity inhomogeneity starts from the lower surface of the ZnO layer contacting the fused silica substrate. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first time the double-relaxation AE effect has been theoretically studied in bi-layered structures.
Learning-Based Motion-Intention Prediction for End-Point Control of Upper-Limb-Assistive Robots
Authors: Yang Sibo , Garg Neha P. , Gao Ruobin , Yuan Meng , Noronha Bernardo , Ang Wei Tech , Accoto Dino
Published: March 2023

The lack of intuitive and active human–robot interaction makes it difficult to use upper-limb-assistive devices. In this paper, we propose a novel learning-based controller that intuitively uses onset motion to predict the desired end-point position for an assistive robot. A multi-modal sensing system comprising inertial measurement units (IMUs), electromyographic (EMG) sensors, and mechanomyography (MMG) sensors was implemented. This system was used to acquire kinematic and physiological signals during reaching and placing tasks performed by five healthy subjects. The onset motion data of each motion trial were extracted to input into traditional regression models and deep learning models for training and testing. The models can predict the position of the hand in planar space, which is the reference position for low-level position controllers. The results show that using IMU sensor with the proposed prediction model is sufficient for motion intention detection, which can provide almost the same prediction performance compared with adding EMG or MMG. Additionally, recurrent neural network (RNN)-based models can predict target positions over a short onset time window for reaching motions and are suitable for predicting targets over a longer horizon for placing tasks. This study’s detailed analysis can improve the usability of the assistive/rehabilitation robots.
Disability, Rehabilitation, and Assistive Technologies for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Italy: Policies and Challenges
Authors: Tofani Marco , Iorio Silvia , Berardi Anna , Galeoto Giovanni , Conte Antonella , Fabbrini Giovanni , Valente Donatella , Marceca Maurizio
Published: March 2023

Good health and well-being for all, including those with disabilities, is one of the main sustainable development goals. Data on refugees and asylum seekers with disabilities are limited. Refugees have poor access to rehabilitation and assistive technologies, although laws and policies in Italy guarantee this type of healthcare. However, there are several limitations to the successful implementation of these services. First, the national health system is regionally based, and therefore healthcare facilities and services vary in terms of quality in different regions. A link between reception centers and the healthcare system is therefore highly recommended, because only 10 out of 20 regions have specific services for refugees and asylum seekers with disabilities. Second, only 2% of the total available posts for hosting refugees are reserved for people with disabilities. The lack of a standardized vulnerability assessment represents the main barrier to the organization of specific services for migrants within the community. National stakeholders urgently need to collaborate in order to remove barriers to rehabilitation and assistive technology for refugees with disabilities. Initiatives should focus on health literacy and the empowerment of migrants, data collection on health, disability, and assistive technology, and the organization of community-based rehabilitation programs.
Advancing Gender Equality in Schools through Inclusive Physical Education and Teaching Training: A Systematic Review
Authors: Guerrero Miguel A. , Guerrero Puerta Laura
Published: March 2023

The importance of achieving an inclusive education to ensure parity and equality between genders is a worldwide challenge. Consequently, it is essential to rethink the various places and spaces within the school environment where gender inequalities are produced. Physical education is one of these spaces which has been identified as a problematic area in the literature. In order to address this issue and respond to the needs identified in the research, this systematic review presents action initiatives aimed at applying certain teaching strategies highlighted in the study. The PRISMA method was used to review 274 studies which explore this topic at various levels of education, emphasizing the need for coeducational teaching of physical education and the necessity of proposing motivational tasks for both sexes. In particular, results show that some studies have focused on the need for physical education teachers to be aware of potential gender-biased structures when developing curricula, approaches and materials. Other research has highlighted that in order for physical education classes to be inclusive, equitable opportunities must be provided for all students to participate. In addition, strategies should be implemented which promote positive attitudes towards physical activity by addressing any underlying gender stereotypes and by breaking down traditional boundaries that exist between genders. In conclusion, this systematic review has identified a number of teaching strategies which could help teachers create an equitable learning environment within physical education classes. This could subsequently lead to greater success in achieving an inclusive education which promotes parity and equality between genders.
Racism in Football in Portugal: Perceptions of Multiple Actors
Authors: Neves Sofia , Topa Joana , Borges Janete , Silva Estefânia
Published: March 2023

The present paper aims to analyze and understand, from an intersectional point of view, the extent and the characteristics of racism in football in Portugal, based on the perspectives of football fans, coaches, amateur players, professional players, journalists, parents, and other elements directly or indirectly involved in the modality. Using an online questionnaire, this exploratory study involved 1681 participants, 456 self-identified as women, 1221 as men, and 4 as non-binary, aged between 13 and 61 years old (M = 33.02; DP = 12.64). The results show gender, skin color, ethnicity, sexual orientation/gender identity, and functional diversity are the main factors explaining discrimination in football, with differences between genders. Nearly 70% of women and 50% of men admitted the existence of racism in football in Portugal. In addition, associations between participants’ condition, age, perceptions, and experiences of racism were found, with amateur players and younger participants revealing a stronger position concerning the topic. This study can inform contemporary debates in critical research, particularly around football, discrimination, and cultural citizenship. Intersectional research across football studies is crucial to better understand the racialized aspects of football and develop better policies that can prevent and combat racism.
Altitudinal Distribution, Seasonal Dynamics and Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Infections in Hard Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Different Forest Communities in Inland Croatia
Authors: Vucelja Marko , Krčmar Stjepan , Habuš Josipa , Perko Vesna Mojčec , Boljfetić Marko , Bjedov Linda , Margaletić Josip
Published: March 2023

Altitudinal distributions, population structures and seasonal dynamics of tick fauna at three localities in Continental Croatia (Medvednica and Papuk) and an alpine biogeographic region (Gorski Kotar) were studied. Sampling of questing ticks was performed twice a year (spring and autumn, from 2019 to 2021) at different altitudes (200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 m above sea level) using the flagging method. In total, 2942 ticks (53.9% larvae, 40.1% nymphs, 6.0% adults) were sampled and 2937 (99.83%) were determined as Ixodes ricinus, 4 (0.14%) as Haemaphysalis concinna and 1 (0.03%) as Ixodes frontalis. Ixodes ricinus was the only species found at all altitudes and sampling sites. The highest tick abundance was recorded at higher altitudes (800–1000 m asl.) on Medvednica and in Gorski Kotar within mixed forests of European beech and European silver fir, while on Papuk most of the ticks were sampled at lower altitudes (200 m asl.) in Sessile oak forest. From 27 pools containing 305 ticks, 1 (3.7%) was positive for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. was detected in 20% (1/5) of the pools containing nymphs and adults collected in Gorski Kotar (600 and 800 m asl.). Sequencing of the ospA gene and phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto genotype.
The Key Mesoscale Systems and Mesoscale Vortices of the Henan Extreme Precipitation in 2021
Authors: Wang Xiuming , Zheng Yongguang , Fan Limiao , Zhu He , Yu Xiaoding , Su Aifang , Liu Xiaoling
Published: March 2023

Based on the Doppler weather radar and surface observations, the key mesoscale systems and features of the rainstorm structure during the period of the extreme precipitation in Henan province on 20 July 2021 are investigated. The results show that a nearly meso-α-scale West Henan Low Vortex (WHLV) near the Songshan Mountain, a surface mesoscale front, a horizontal shear convergence line in the lower troposphere and two strong low-level jets (LLJs) were the main mesoscale systems that triggered the extreme precipitation process. Many mesoscale vortices including meso-β-γ-scale vortices (i.e., meso-vortices) were found within the WHLV. Hourly precipitation over 50 mm was mostly caused by the storms with meso-vortices. In the heaviest precipitation stage of the Zhengzhou Storm (ZZS), a clear meso-vortex above 2 km AGL was identified with the diameter of 15–20 km and the vorticity of 1.0–2.0 × 10−3 s−1, while its lifetime was about 2 h. The low-level ambient airflows converged into the storm from the north, east and south, forming a strong low-level convergence that promoted the development of the storm. Strong convergence and uplift occurred along the east edge of the storm, while the strong easterly LLJ converged with the shallow outflow of the storm. The strongest updraft under 2 km AGL occurred at the northeast end of the storm when a short-lived meso-γ-scale vortex formed at that area. Both the strong low-level convergence and the merge of the convective cells from the east resulted in the eastward propagation of the ZZS.
A Medium Access Control Protocol Based on Interference Cancellation Graph for AUV-Assisted Internet of Underwater Things
Authors: Jiang Jinfang , Tian Wenxing , Han Guangjie
Published: March 2023

With the booming development of marine exploration technology, new studies such as the oceanix city, smart coastal city, and underwater smart cities have been proposed, and the Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) has received a lot of attention. Data collection is an important application of the IoUT. The common method is to collect data by traversing the network using underwater intelligent devices, such as Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). However, traditional data collection methods focus more on issues, such as path planning or the task assignment of AUVs. It is commonly known that the MAC protocol plays a crucial role in data transmission, which is designed to solve the competition issue for shared channels. However, the research on MAC is very challenging owing to the characteristics of hydroacoustic communication, e.g., the low bandwidth, high error rate, and long transmission latency. Hence, this paper proposes a MAC protocol based on an Interference Cancellation Graph (ICG-MAC) for AUV-assisted IoUT. It ensures that AUVs can join the network for data transmission immediately after arriving at the target area and they do not interfere with the normal work of other sensor nodes. Firstly, the target area to be reached by an AUV for data collection is defined according to the node degree and residual energy; then the interference model between neighboring nodes is analyzed and an Interference Cancellation Graphx is established, based on which the time slots are allocated for sensor nodes; and finally, the AUV moves to the target area for conflict-free data collection. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the comparison algorithms in terms of the network throughput and energy consumption. With the assistance of an AUV, better network connectivity and higher network traffic can be obtained.
Let’s Ask the Teachers: A Qualitative Analysis of Health Education in Schools and Its Effectiveness
Authors: Laschke Laura , Flottmann Maren , Schlüter Kirsten
Published: March 2023

There is a need for action in health promotion for children and adolescents. Schools are assumed to be an appropriate place to enable students to behave healthily. Numerous interventions have been piloted in schools, but sustained implementation appears challenging. An alternative approach might be to ask teachers how they conduct health education and what they see as effective. Accordingly, we conducted an explorative study using semi-structured interviews with eleven teachers from secondary schools in Germany in 2019. The interviews focused on different aspects of health education: goals, methods and strategies, effectiveness, possible barriers, and ways to reduce them. We inductively identified six dimensions of effectiveness that teachers believe are relevant for effective health teaching in schools. Regarding methods and strategies, many were mentioned, but only a part was explicitly named as effective. Most of these strategies focus on improving students’ knowledge and skills, followed by strengthening health-promoting attitudes, but rarely promote long-term behavior change. Moreover, it became apparent that some aspects, such as goalsetting and developing action plans, received little attention in lessons, even though they are considered important for successful behavior change.
Effect of a Circular Cylinder on Hydrodynamic Characteristics over a Strongly Curved Channel
Authors: Jiang Shu , Hua Yutong , He Mengxing , Lin Ying-Tien , Sheng Biyun
Published: March 2023

Curved channels are one of the most fundamental units of natural or artificial channels, in which there are different kinds of obstacles; these include vegetation patches, bridge piles, electrical tower foundations, etc., which are all present over a channel bend, and can significantly alter the hydrodynamic characteristics of a channel when compared to a bare bed. In this study, laboratory experiments and numerical simulations were combined to investigate the effect of a circular cylinder on the flow characteristics of a 180-degree U-shaped curved channel. Experimental data, including on water depth and three-dimensional velocity, which was obtained by utilizing acoustic Doppler velocimetry (ADV), were used to calibrate and verify the simulation results of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) model in the FLOW-3D software. Numerical results show that a larger cylinder diameter leads to an overall greater depth-averaged velocity at the section, a greater shear stress acting on the banks on which the cylinder is placed, and a greater increase in the depth-averaged velocity along the concave bank compared to that along the convex bank. When the diameter of the cylinder placed at the 90° section increases, two weaker circulations with the same direction are found near the water surface; for the submerged one, the two weaker circulations appear at the further downstream section, unlike the emergent one. The degree of variation degree in the shear stress acting on the banks is larger than that of the flowrate. As the flowrate increases or the radius of curvature decreases, the secondary flow intensity correspondingly elevates. However, the curvature radius of the curved channel plays a more important role in the secondary flow intensity than the flowrate does. For both the emergent and submergent cylinders, the large cylinder produces a greater secondary flow strength, but the emergent one has a greater secondary flow strength than the submergent one. In summary, the present study provides valuable knowledge on the hydrodynamics of flow around emergent and submergent structures over a curved channel, which could improve the future design of these structures.
Survey Evaluation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) for Health and Safety in Building Construction Projects in Malaysia
Authors: Alaloul Wesam Salah , Qureshi Abdul Hannan , En Yuen Pei , Khan Shaukat Ali , Musarat Muhammad Ali , Alzubi Khalid Mhmoud , Salaheen Marsail Al
Published: March 2023

Traditional safety planning methods that rely on manual inspections result in labour-intensive, time-consuming, and inadequate information transmission, which has significant negative social and economic effects on our society, as well as financial and schedule losses for construction projects. Building information modelling (BIM) is useful for analysing workplace safety issues, preventing risks and hazards, and improving safety throughout the project’s life cycle. This study intends to pinpoint health and safety concerns and to understand the role of BIM adoption in enhancing health and safety in Malaysian building construction projects. Following a survey of 302 Malaysian construction industry professionals, statistical data analysis using the relative importance index, reliability, validity, and correlation measures was performed. The results show that implementing BIM can prevent accidents on construction sites by detecting physical spatial clashes, anticipating project dangers, and providing a wealth of parametric data throughout the entire life cycle of structures. A framework was created to improve the application of BIM to enhance health and safety linked with construction projects. The study found that construction industry stakeholders believe that BIM implementation in construction projects can improve health and safety and reduce accident rates in Malaysia.
Study on Highway Landscape Environment Assessment and Grading Method
Authors: Hu Shengneng , Tong Wei , Mao Kexin
Published: March 2023

The assessment and grading of a highway landscape environment is the basic work of highway route layout and landscape planning, and it is also a key link to whether the highway can be integrated into the surrounding environment. This article analyzes the connotation and value standard system of highway landscape assessment and proposes a highway landscape environment assessment method that combines a quantitative assessment and a humanistic assessment. Consequently, a highway landscape environment assessment indicator system with landscape features, environmental harmony, visual environment and environmental carrying capacity as assessment contents is constructed. Finally, using the set-pair analysis method, an evaluation model for grading the quality of the highway landscape environment is proposed. The model divides the highway landscape environment into four grades and proposes highway landscape planning and design strategies under the conditions of different grades. The theory is applied in the landscape planning of the Xi’an-Baoji highway in China. The results show that the overall assessment of the total indicator is “Grade 2”, the environmental carrying capacity of the subsystem is “weak”, and the landscape quality is “good”. This theoretical approach combines discursive cognition with quantitative analysis to achieve a systematic and refined assessment of the highway construction environment.
Seismic Dynamic Response and Lining Damage Analysis of Curved Tunnel under Shallowly Buried Rock Strata
Authors: Bu Shijie , Feng Xiaojiu , Yao Luyan , Yang Fujian , Xie Yongtian , Liu Shaofeng
Published: March 2023

It is still challenging to anticipate with accuracy how tunnels will behave and if they will fail when subjected to an earthquake load. In this study, assuming nonlinear material behavior and a three-dimensional inelastic rock medium, the theory of damage mechanics is applied to numerical simulation to build a curved tunnel-surrounding rock model, whose correctness was verified in laboratory experiments. To better understand the influence of surrounding rock strength on the seismic performance of a curved tunnel, the stratum parameters of the curved tunnel-surrounding rock system are quantified. The findings demonstrate that the damage process in curved tunnels is a circular process of damage change, and the model accurately captures these structural aspects of the damage evolution process. In addition, structural damage can be identified using displacement detection because the displacement of a curved tunnel is directly related to its compression damage. Finally, the seismic response of the curved tunnel-surrounding rock system is studied parametrically to determine the extent to which different parameters affect the seismic response. These parameters, including elastic modulus, friction angle, cohesion, and Poisson’s ratio, are characteristics of rock-medium materials. We then created multi-factor evaluation formulas to direct the surrounding rock to reinforce.
Prefabrication Implementation Potential Evaluation in Rural Housing Based on Entropy Weighted TOPSIS Model: A Case Study of Counties in Chongqing, China
Authors: Shi Jingyuan , Sun Jiaqing
Published: March 2023

Prefabrication as a sustainable construction method has become a trend for use in house construction. However, the construction of rural houses in China still mainly adopts on-site construction, which also raises wasteful resources and environmental problems. Previous studies lack an evaluation system for the implementation potential of prefabricated rural housing in counties, and thus cannot provide references for the government to formulate implementation strategies. This study uses PEST analysis to establish an evaluation index system for the implementation potential of prefabricated rural housing and then evaluates 32 counties in Chongqing with urbanization rates below 90% based on the entropy weighted TOPSIS model. The results show that the weight values of the four evaluation subsystems of political, economic, social, and technological are 0.4516, 0.3152, 0.0684, and 0.1648, respectively; the nearness degrees of Dianjiang, Yubei, Jiangjin, and Rongchang are 0.5475, 0.4439, 0.4312, and 0.4103, respectively, ranking in the top four in Chongqing. The results indicate that the potential of implementing prefabricated rural housing in Chongqing is closely related to policy orientation and construction industrialization; Dianjiang, Yubei, Jiangjin, and Rongchang have the relative advantage of implementing prefabricated rural housing. Finally, this paper proposes political, economic, social, and technological suggestions for the implementation of prefabricated rural housing in Chongqing.
How Fear, Exogeneous Shocks and Leadership Impact Change: The Case of Economic Models of the French Men’s Professional Basketball Clubs
Authors: Terrien Mickaël , Terrettaz Loris , Carin Yann
Published: March 2023

The financial situation of clubs is a major issue in professional sports. Their vulnerability can be explained by the structure of income (not diversified enough) or by the breakdown of expenditure (too much investment in sports talent). This state of affairs has prompted an interest in their economic models, specifically in the context of French clubs from 2008/2009 to 2019/2020. How did these clubs evolve over time, and how were they able (or not) to transform their economic model? Principal components and k-means analyses of financial data reveal four main types of economic models. Even if some clubs kept the same model over this period, many clubs also substantially changed their economic models. Interviews with professional clubs were performed to understand the factors underlying change and stasis as appropriate. Although visionary leadership partly explains the changes at certain clubs, exogeneous shock played at least as great a role. However, such external factors are not sufficient to overcome some clubs’ organizational inertia, often due to a fear of change that clubs rationalize in terms of their limited local potential. This paper could be helpful in assisting clubs to fight against attribution biases and to understand how to transform their economic models to become less vulnerable.
FLUS Based Modeling of the Urban LULC in Arid and Semi-Arid Region of Northwest China: A Case Study of Urumqi City
Authors: Mamitimin Yusuyunjiang , Simayi Zibibula , Mamat Ayinuer , Maimaiti Bumairiyemu , Ma Yunfei
Published: March 2023

Modeling land use and land cover (LULC) change is important for understanding its spatiotemporal trends and plays a crucial role in land use planning and natural resources management. To this end, this study assessed the spatiotemporal characteristics of the LULC changes in Urumqi city between 1980 and 2020. In addition, future LULC was successfully projected for 2030 and 2050 under different scenarios based on the FLUS model. This model was validated using actual and simulated land use data for 2020. The kappa coefficient and figure of merit of the simulation results for 2020 were 0.87 and 0.114, respectively, indicating that the simulation accuracy was satisfactory. The results demonstrated that grassland was the major land use type, with the area accounting for more than 50% of the study area. From 1980 to 2020, urban land greatly expanded, while grassland decreased significantly. Urban land increased from 353.51 km2 to 884.27 km2, while grassland decreased from 7903.4 km2 to 7414.92 km2 from 1980 to 2020. In addition, significant transitions mainly occurred between grasslands, cultivated lands and urban lands. Grassland and cultivated land were converted into urban land, resulting in rapid urban expansion over the last 40 years. From 1990 to 2000, grassland was converted into urban land with an area of 341.08 km2. Finally, the simulation results of the LULC showed that urban land is expected to increase under all three scenarios, and cultivated land, grassland and forest land are effectively protected under the Cultivated Land Protection Scenario (CPS) and Ecological Protection Scenario (EPS) compared to the Baseline Scenario (BLS). This study assessed the spatiotemporal characteristics and transitions of LULC between 1980 and 2020, and successfully projected LULC for 2035 and 2050 in Urumqi City in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwest China based on the FLUS model, which has not been investigated in previous studies.
Determinants of Repurchase Intentions of Hospitality Services Delivered by Artificially Intelligent (AI) Service Robots
Authors: Lei Chun , Hossain Md Sazzad , Wong Elise
Published: March 2023

The current study examines how subjective norms, effort expectations, and performance expectations affect perceived value and quality of hospitality service experiences provided by service robots. Later, the experience quality and perceived value on customers’ overall satisfaction determine the plans to repurchase AI (Artificial Intelligence) services in the hotels. A total of 331 valid responses were gathered from hotel customers who had experience with service robots using a purposive sampling strategy. The salient findings of PLS-SEM indicate that subjective norms, effort expectations, and performance expectations all considerably improve the perceived value and quality of experiences. Furthermore, hotel customers’ overall satisfaction with services provided by robots is significantly impacted by experience quality and perceived value. Finally, overall satisfaction considerably increases customers’ preference to repurchase those services. This present study added significance for hotels on customer AI service robots repurchase intention that may deliver a preliminary blueprint for further research.
Differences in COVID-19 Policies and Income Distribution: A Cross-Country Comparison
Authors: Kalar Barbara , Primc Kaja , Kump Nataša
Published: March 2023

This paper looks at the distribution of disposable income by deciles to indicate how specific mitigating measures have influenced income groups and considers the effectiveness of different combinations of containment measures in the European Union. Simulations using the EUROMOD tax-benefit microsimulation model imply that the mitigating effects of the simulated measures are regressive, with a bigger influence on the bottom part of the income distribution. It is also observed that old democracies benefit from these measures more than new democracies. Surprisingly, our results further reveal that for the two highest decile income groups, the COVID-19 containment measures are stronger in new democracies. Finally, a qualitative comparative analysis of 19 EU countries suggests that each country should apply mixes of containment measures that fit its own context. Although there is no one-size-fits-all policy, old democracies seem more successful at handling the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis than new democracies. This study complements the literature as it shows how COVID-19 measures have influenced household income groups, and second, it adds to earlier studies by clarifying that only specific context-dependent combinations of containment measures are successful at preventing the loss of people’s living standards, thereby giving policymakers the necessary leeway to formulate effective policies.
The Catalysts for Sustaining Teacher Commitment: An Analysis of Teacher Preparedness and Professional Learning
Authors: Pan Hui-Ling Wendy
Published: March 2023

This study aimed to investigate how teacher preparation and professional experiential learning catalyze organizational and occupational commitment. Data from Taiwanese lower secondary school teachers who participated in the TALIS 2018 survey were analyzed using structural equation modeling, which yielded several key results. Firstly, both teacher preparedness and professional experiential learning had positive relationships with self-efficacy, with teacher preparedness showing a stronger association. Secondly, self-efficacy was more closely linked with organizational commitment than with occupational commitment. Thirdly, organizational commitment was positively associated with occupational commitment. Finally, both relationships of teacher preparedness and professional experiential learning with organizational commitment were partially mediated by self-efficacy, whereas full mediation was observed for occupational commitment. Notably, the most significant pathway in the mediation model was teacher preparedness predicting organizational commitment through teacher self-efficacy. These findings have implications for improving organizational commitment and promoting a positive outlook toward the teaching profession.
Modeling Energy, Education, Trade, and Tourism-Induced Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) Hypothesis: Evidence from the Middle East
Authors: Voumik Liton Chandra , Md. Nafi Shohel , Bekun Festus Victor , Haseki Murat Ismet
Published: March 2023

Global warming has become the main concern in the present world. This research takes a comprehensive look at the interconnections between tourism, gross domestic product (GDP), renewable energy, fossil fuels, education, trade, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the Arab Peninsula. Including these variables, the research also checks the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis by analyzing the top 10 tourist destinations from 1997 to 2019. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon, and Egypt round out the top 10 countries in Arab in terms of tourist arrivals. The paper uses a novel augmented mean group (AMG) model to explore the problems of slope heterogeneity (SH), cross-sectional dependence (CSD), and the combination of level and first-difference stationery. An association between these variables over time can be discovered using the Westerlund cointegration method. To certify the accuracy of the findings, the research used both the mean group (MG) and common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG). According to the research, the EKC does not exist in the most popular Middle Eastern travel destinations. This basically means that as money grows, environmental conditions will deteriorate. The findings show that tourism can help reduce environmental harm there. Indicators such as rising populations, increased energy consumption, and thriving economies all influence the rise of the environmental degradation level. Trade will also increase environmental deterioration. The only things that will help reduce CO2 emissions are tourism and renewable energy. Therefore, the MG and CCEMG results corroborate the AMG findings. Governments may push for the widespread use of refillable energy sources and the development of ecotourism. Therefore, policymakers in this country should rethink their tourism strategies and adopt one that places a premium on renewable energy sources and environmental protection.
Assessing Supply Chain Innovations for Building Resilient Food Supply Chains: An Emerging Economy Perspective
Authors: Joshi Sudhanshu , Sharma Manu , Ekren Banu Y. , Kazancoglu Yigit , Luthra Sunil , Prasad Mukesh
Published: March 2023

Food waste reduction and security are the main concerns of agri-food supply chains, as more than thirty-three percent of global food production is wasted or lost due to mismanagement. The ongoing challenges, including resource scarcity, climate change, waste generation, etc., need immediate actions from stakeholders to develop resilient food supply chains. Previous studies explored food supply chains and their challenges, barriers, enablers, etc. Still, there needs to be more literature on the innovations in supply chains that can build resilient food chains to last long and compete in the post-pandemic scenario. Thus, studies are also required to explore supply chain innovations for the food sector. The current research employed a stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) to assess the supply chain innovations that can develop resilient food supply chains. This study is a pioneer in using the SWARA application to evaluate supply chain innovation and identify the most preferred alternatives. The results from the SWARA show that ‘Business strategy innovations’ are the most significant innovations that can bring resiliency to the food supply chains, followed by ‘Technological innovations.’ The study provides insights for decision makers to understand the significant supply chain innovations to attain resilience in food chains and help the industry to survive and sustain in the long run.
Renting than Buying Apparel: U.S. Consumer Collaborative Consumption for Sustainability
Authors: Chi Ting , Adesanya Olabisi , Liu Hang , Anderson Rebecca , Zhao Zihui
Published: March 2023

Apparel rental service is a business model that is becoming increasingly popular in recent years as consumers become more conscious of their environmental impact and look for ways to reduce waste and save money. However, our knowledge on this changing consumer behavior is scant. To address the gap in the literature, this study aimed to identify the determinants driving U.S. consumers’ intention to use apparel rental services. Building on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), a research model was proposed. The primary data were gathered by an online survey of U.S. consumers through Qualtrics. A total of 338 eligible responses were obtained for data analysis and hypothesis testing. The results show that attitude, subjective norms, perceived consumer effectiveness, environmental knowledge, perceived personal relevance, and past environmental behavior significantly influence U.S. consumers’ intention to adopt apparel rental services. In addition, attitude plays a partial mediating role in the effects of environmental knowledge and perceived personal relevance on U.S. consumers’ intent to use apparel rental services. The demographic variables including age, gender, education level, and income level do not significantly influence U.S. consumer intention to rent apparel. The proposed research model exhibits a high explanatory power, collectively accounting for 74.7% of the variance in U.S. consumers’ intention to adopt apparel rental services.