bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Religious Pluralism and State- Centric Legal Spaces in Europe
Authors: Topidi Kyriaki
Published: June 2021

Multiculturalism is continuously and relentlessly put to the test in the so- called West. The question as to whether religious or custom- based legal orders can or should be tolerated by liberal and democratic states is, however, by no means a new challenge. The present article uses as its starting point the case of religious legal pluralism in Greece, as exposed in recent European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case- law, in an attempt to explore the gaps and implications in the officially limited use of sharia in Western legal systems. More specifically, the discussion is linked to the findings of the ECtHR on the occasion of the recent Molla Sali v. Greece case to highlight and question how sharia has been evolving in the European legal landscape.
Participation, Citizenship and Transfrontier Exchanges—2019
Authors: Barlow Anna
Published: June 2021

This article summarizes developments in the protection of minorities in Europe in the areas of participation, citizenship and transfrontier exchanges during 2019. It includes developments at the UN level, in addition to regional developments under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co- operation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe (CoE) and the EU.
A new species of deep-water triplefin (Pisces: Tripterygiidae) in the genus Ruanoho from coastal New Zealand waters
Authors: STEWART ANDREW L. , KNUDSEN STEEN W. , CLEMENTS KENDALL D.
Published: June 2021

A new endemic species of triplefin Ruanoho scurra is described from deep water (108–216 m) on the shelf region around coastal New Zealand (Northland to Stewart Island). It is differentiated from its congeners by the combination of fresh colour (bright yellow spots on the head and anterior body, oblique lines on the dorsal and anal fins, and sub-vertical lines on the caudal) as well as some proportional measurements. Comments are made on the relationship with its congeners, and evolutionary history of the family in New Zealand waters, along with observations on the habitat in which this new species is found. This paper formally describes the species first mentioned in Stewart & Clements 2015:1523 as the polkadot triplefin.
An Experimental Investigation on Cooling Performance of Battery Pack by Using Nano-Enhanced Phase Change Material
Authors: Murali G. , Sravya G. S. N. , Srinath A. , Jaya J.
Published: June 2021

A rechargeable lithium ion battery has captured prime importance in the modern era due to its cycle life and energy density. In the present study hexagonal shaped 18650 lithium ion cylindrical cell battery pack was designed and fabricated with paraffin wax as a Phase Change Material
(PCM). But low thermal conductivity of the PCM causes impediment to the development of Electrical Vehicles (EV’s) which remains as a significant challenge. In the cylindrical cell battery module the maximum temperature is obtained in the mid region which causes uneven temperature distribution
among cell. In order to overcome the limitation and to achieve efficient performance of battery module, the nano enhanced Phase Change Material (Ne-PCM) was incorporated in middle four cells by using graphene platelet nano powder (GPN), Multi Walled Carbon Nano Tube (MWCNT) and Graphite Synthetic
Powder (GSP). Experiments on the battery module were conducted without any cooling, with PCM cooling and with Ne-PCM cooling. The results revealed that Battery pack with Ne-PCM has shown successful performance by minimizing the temperature below 50 °C in all considered discharge rates
i.e., (1C, 2C and 3C) and maintained even temperature distribution among cells.
An Optimal Binary Particle Swarm Optimization Based Feature Selection Model for Big Data Analysis of Product Assessment
Authors: Sathya R. , Babu L. R. Aravind
Published: June 2021

Big data defines the state where the size, speed and kind of data go beyond a memory or executing capabilities for precise and timely decision-making. Big data analytics is integrated with ML and statistical methods for processing big data and recognizes the important data. At present
times, the generation of online product reviews has exponentially increased at each and every second. These applications have resulted in developing the volumes of data which can be used for prediction and classification for decision making process. Compared with other models, various techniques
are applied in solving the big data problem, feature selection (FS) is known to be an efficient method. FS operations could be exploring with the application of a subset of features which is related to the topic of précised definition of the existing datasets. Deplorably, search using
this type of sub-sets results in the problems of combinatorial as well as maximum time consuming. The meta-heuristic approaches are typically employed to facilitate the choice of features. This paper presents an optimal extreme learning machine (ELM) based binary particle swarm optimization
to precede the FS process. The proposed method develops a Fitness Function (FF) by applying ELM. And the best solution of the FF has been explored under the application of BPSO technique. For instance, the dataset of product review which are derived from Amazon including synthetic data, which
is comprised with total of 235,000 positive and 147,000 negative review records is used. The experimental result implied that the ELM-BPSO technique is comparably best
Breakdown Voltage Analysis in Quaternary InAlGaN High Electron Mobility Transistor of High-K Passivation Layer for High Power Applications
Authors: Anbuselvan N. , Anandan P.
Published: June 2021

The 2-Dimensional breakdown characteristics analysis in InAlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) is implemented through including of donor and acceptor atoms inside the barrier layer. Thereby dependences of the relative permittivity εr and the thickness
d of passivation layer on the breakdown voltage are related for the parametric analysis. When the relative permittivity εr increases duly affects the breakdown voltage by order of increases, owing to its electric field existence at the drain, there on resulting in εr
upsurges. This occurs due to the properties of insulator with the applied voltage evenly drops uniformly. The inducing voltage drop alongside the heterostructure of materials InAlGaN/GaN develops flatter response on the drain terminal of the gate owing to its permittivity εr
of higher order. The aforementioned breakdown voltage surges, since of the electric field nearby the drain has weakened as a owing to it thickness of passivating layer d, this resolute InAlGaN/GaN HEMTs of a high-k along with the thicker passivation layer has higher breakdown voltage.
Subtractive Gradient Boost Clustering for Mobile Node Authentication in Internet of Things Aware 5G Networks
Authors: Haripriya M. P. , Venkadesh P.
Published: June 2021

The 5G mobile wireless network systems faces a lot of security issues due to the opening of network and its insecurity. The insecure network prone to various attacks and it disrupts secure data communications between legitimate users. Many works have addressed the security problems
in 3G and 4G networks in efficient way through authentication and cryptographic techniques. But, the security in 5G networks during data communication was not improved. Subtractive Gradient Boost Clustered Node Authentication (SGBCNA) Method is introduced to perform secure data communication.
The subtractive gradient boost clustering technique is applied to authenticate the mobile node as normal nodes and malicious nodes based on the selected features. The designed ensemble clustering model combines the weak learners to make final strong clustering results with minimum loss. Finally,
the malicious nodes are eliminated and normal mobile nodes are taken for performing the secured communication in 5G networks. Simulation is carried out on factors such as authentication accuracy, computation overhead and security level with respect to a number of mobile nodes and data packets.
The observed outcomes clearly illustrate that the SGBCNA Method efficiently improves node authentication accuracy, security level with minimum overhead than the state-of-the-art-methods.
Enhanced Load Balancing Approach for Cloud Data Center Load Optimization
Authors: Prassanna J. , Neelanarayanan V.
Published: June 2021

Cloud computing is a most popular technology that has huge response in markets. Cloud computing has the potential to access applications and their related data via the Internet anywhere. Most companies already pay for the use of cloud resources for storage purposes and ultimately reduce
the costs of infrastructure spending. They can make use of this technology for accessing to company applications like pay-as-you-go approach. One of the major obstacles associated with cloud computing technology is to better optimization of resource allocation. Assigning of workloads to the
servers using load balancing techniques is used to achieve less response time and better resource optimization across the server. Resource control and balance of load are the major conflicts in the cloud environment, which is why there are different load balancing algorithms, each with its
own advantages and disadvantage. In order to achieve a better economy and mutual benefit, efficient algorithms can be derived simultaneously by optimizing servers, green computing and better utilization of resources. The objective of this paper is to analyze and enhance existing load balancing
algorithms.
Changes in the characteristics of North Pacific Jet as a Conduit for U. S. surface air temperature in boreal winter across the late 1990s
Authors: Song Se-Yong , Yeh Sang-Wook , Jo Hyun-Su
Published: June 2021

The leading modes of the North Pacific Jet (NPJ) variability include intensity changes and meridional shifts in jet position on the low frequency timescales. These leading modes of NPJ variability are closely associated with weather and climate conditions spanning from Asia to the United States (US). In this study, we investigated changes in the NPJ’s role as a conduit for US surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies during the boreal winter across the late 1990s. We found that the leading mode of NPJ variability changed from the NPJ intensity changes to meridional shifts in NPJ position across the late 1990s. It leads to the change in the role of NPJ as a conduit for US SAT anomalies. Before the late 1990s, the variability of NPJ’s intensity significantly impacted western US SAT anomalies related to the anomalous surface cyclonic circulation over the North Pacific. After the late 1990s, however, the variability of NPJ’s meridional shift significantly influenced on the eastern US SAT anomalies in association with the anomalous surface cyclonic circulation over the northern North Pacific. Further analysis and model experiments revealed that the western to central North Pacific Ocean has been warming since the late 1990s and modulates atmospheric baroclinicity. This phenomenon mainly leads to a northward NPJ shift and implies that the eddy driven mechanism on the NPJ’s formation, which acts to enhance the meridional variability of NPJ position, becomes dominant. We conclude that this northward shift of NPJ could have contributed to enhancing the NPJ’s meridional shift variability, significantly influencing the eastern US SAT anomalies since the late 1990s.
Response of Regional Asian Summer Monsoons to the Effect of Reduced Surface Albedo in Different Tibetan Plateau Domains in Idealized Model Experiments
Authors: LU MENGMENG , YANG SONG , WANG JUNBIN , WU YUTING , JIA XIAOLONG
Published: June 2021

The thermal effect of entire Tibetan Plateau (TP) tends to strengthen the South Asian summer monsoon (SASM); however, how does this monsoon component respond to the thermal conditions of different TP domains? How do the thermal condition of entire TP influences other monsoons including the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and the Southeast Asian summer monsoon (SEASM)? These questions are addressed by conducting an experiment with the CESM, which is forced by reducing the surface albedo over the plateau by half, from a TP-averaged 0.20 to 0.10, from May to September, and similar experiments for different TP domains. Both observation and model results show that the entire-TP heating intensifies the large-scale Asian monsoon, the SASM, and the EASM, but surprisingly weakens the SEASM. It is also surprising that the TP heating exerts a stronger effect on the EASM than on the SASM. The southern TP (south of 35°N) does not show the strongest impact on the SASM compared to other TP domains and it exerts a weakest impact on the EASM, which is most strongly influenced by the thermal effect of eastern (east of 90°E) and northern TP. The western TP weakens the SEASM as the other domains, while it strengthens other monsoon components. The thermal condition of southern and eastern TP are accompanied by signals of tropical atmospheric response at relatively broader spatial scales, while that of northern TP more apparently leads to a significant wave train extending eastward from the TP to western Eurasia over the higher latitudes.
When an Industry Peer Is Accused of Financial Misconduct: Stigma versus Competition Effects on Non-accused Firms
Authors: Naumovska Ivana , Lavie Dovev
Published: June 2021

Research on misconduct suggests that accusations against industry peers generate negative consequences for non-accused firms (a “stigma effect”). Yet, building on research on competitive dynamics, we infer that such accusations can benefit non-accused firms that compete with these peers (a “competition effect”). To reconcile these opposing perspectives, we posit that the negative stigma effect will increase with greater product market overlap between the non-accused firm and its accused peer, up to a point, beyond which the positive competition effect will counterbalance it. We further conjecture that the competition effect will be relatively more pronounced when the market classification used by investors for assessing the market overlap is more fine-grained. Accordingly, we suggest that more sophisticated investors, who rely on more fine-grained market classifications, increase their shareholdings in non-accused firms to a greater extent than less sophisticated investors as the market overlap between the non-accused firm and the accused peer increases. Using elaborate data on products and investments, we analyze investors’ shareholdings and stock market returns of non-accused firms in the U.S. software industry following accusations of financial misconduct by their industry peers, and we find support for our predictions. Our study elucidates the interplay between stigma and competition following misconduct by industry peers.
New Data Sources and Presidential Campaigns
Authors: Sevin Efe
Published: June 2021

Social media has an undeniable role in presidential campaigns. Starting with Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2008, on one hand, scholars and practitioners have embraced the potential and importance of these platforms. The 2016 presidential elections, on the other hand, raised concerns about social media’s role in democratic processes as debates about how the platforms can sow misinformation have become mainstream. I argue that there has been a positive outcome of such debates: new data sources. Understanding their role—and their probable potential to do “harm”—social media platforms have worked toward increasing transparency in the political advertisements they carry. From Snapchat to Facebook, transparency reports share detailed information on how political groups, including presidential nominees, have utilized their platforms, targeted audiences, and disseminated calls-to-action. In this article, I argue that these transparency attempts will be invaluable data resources for political communication scholars to better explain how voter choice and candidate positioning work within digital media ecology. I answer four sample research questions about 2020 Presidential Elections in the United States to demonstrate the potential of these data sets in shedding light on how issues, identities, and time-relevant variables change political advertising in presidential campaigns.
The Moral Relationality of Professionalism Discourses: The Case of Corporate Social Responsibility Practitioners in South Korea
Authors: Shin Hyemi , Cho Charles H. , Brivot Marion , Gond Jean-Pascal
Published: June 2021

Building a coherent discourse on professionalism is a challenge for corporate social responsibility (CSR) practitioners, as there is not yet an established knowledge basis for CSR, and CSR is a contested notion that covers a wide variety of issues and moral foundations. Relying on insights from the literature on micro-CSR, new professionalism, and Boltanski and Thévenot’s (1991/2006) economies of worth framework, we examine the discourses of 56 CSR practitioners in South Korea on their claimed professionalism. Our analysis delineates four distinct discourses of CSR professionalism— strategic corporate giving, social innovation, risk management, and sustainability transition—that are derived from a plurality of more or less compatible moral foundations whose partial overlaps and tensions we document in a systematic manner. Our results portray these practitioners as compromise makers who selectively combine morally distant justifications to build their own specific professionalism discourse, with the aim to advance CSR within and across organizations. By uncovering the moral relationality connecting these discourses, our findings show that moral pluralism is a double-edged sword that can not only bolster the justification of CSR professionalism but also threaten collective professionalism at the field level. Overall, our study suggests paying more attention to the moral relationality and tensions that underlie professional fields.
Use of Risk Assessments in Pretrial Supervision Decision-Making and Associated Outcomes
Authors: Lowder Evan M. , Foudray Chelsea M. A.
Published: June 2021

Despite the growing use of both pretrial risk assessment and supervision as pretrial reform strategies, there has been limited investigation on the effectiveness of risk assessment-informed pretrial supervision. We conducted a multi-site, retrospective investigation in 1,505 pretrial defendants from four local jurisdictions to examine risk assessment-informed pretrial supervision decisions and associated pretrial misconduct outcomes. Our findings showed pretrial supervision decisions were generally consistent with structured guidelines and defendant risk classifications. Use of bond and electronic monitoring had little impact on pretrial misconduct. However, more frequent pretrial monitoring was associated with higher rates of pretrial misconduct across all risk levels. Reducing supervision conditions and monitoring for low-risk defendants, in particular, may help reduce rates of misconduct in pretrial populations.
Exploring the Interaction Between Head-Supported Mass, Posture, and Visual Stress on Neck Muscle Activation
Authors: Le Peter , Weisenbach Charles A. , Mills Emily H. L. , Monforton Lanie , Kinney Micah J.
Published: June 2021

Objective

Assess neck muscle activity for varying interactions between helmet, posture, and visual stress in a simulated “helo-hunch” posture.

Background

Military aviators frequently report neck pain (NP). Risk factors for NP include head-supported mass, awkward postures, and mental workload. Interactions between these factors could induce constant low-level muscle activation during helicopter flight and better explain instances of NP.

Method

Interactions between physical loading (helmet doffed/donned), posture (symmetric/asymmetric), and visual stress (low/high contrast) were studied through neck muscle electromyography (EMG), head kinematics, subjective discomfort, perceived workload, and task performance. Subjects ( n = 16) performed eight 30-min test conditions (varied physical loading, posture, and visual stress) while performing a simple task in a simulated “helo-hunch” seating environment.

Results

Conditions with a helmet donned had fewer EMG median frequency cycles (which infer motor unit rotation for rest/recovery, where more cycles are better) in the left cervical extensor and left sternocleidomastoid. Asymmetric posture (to the right) resulted in higher normalized EMG activity in the right cervical extensor and left sternocleidomastoid and resulted in less lateral bending compared with neutral across all conditions. Conditions with high visual stress also resulted in fewer EMG cycles in the right cervical extensor.

Conclusion

A complex interaction exists between the physical load of the helmet, postural stress from awkward postures, and visual stress within a simulated “helo-hunch” seating environment.

Application

These results provide insight into how visual factors influence biomechanical loading. Such insights may assist future studies in designing short-term administrative controls and long-term engineering controls.
Needs and Procedures for a National Anthropometry Study of Law Enforcement Officers
Authors: Hsiao Hongwei , Whisler Richard , Bradtmiller Bruce
Published: June 2021

Objectives

This research aims to determine the need and extent for a national anthropometry survey of law enforcement officers (LEOs) via an exploratory investigation of anthropometric changes of LEOs in four decades and comparisons of the LEO data with three existing military and civilian anthropometry sources.

Background

The best available anthropometric dataset of LEOs is 45 years old and has largely become outdated due to demographic changes. Assessing the extent of anthropometric changes of LEOs through a sample and evaluating the differences of the sample against existing anthropometric datasets is a step toward ascertaining the necessity for a national LEO anthropometry study.

Method

Thirty-two body dimensions of 67 regional male LEOs and seven female LEOs were measured, and the data of males were compared with the best available LEO anthropometry data from 1975 and three recent non-LEO anthropometry databases.

Results

Anthropometric dimensions were significantly different between this LEO study and existing data sources, especially in chest circumference and body weight. Most of the significant differences are important differences for LEO protective gear and vehicle design.

Conclusion

The study confirmed that the existing 45-year-old LEO dataset and recent Army and civilian datasets would not be suitable for armor and equipment design for the current LEO population.

Application

The study results are useful in supporting the decision of investing in a national LEO anthropometry survey and for equipment manufacturers to recognize the distinctiveness of LEO anthropometry from other populations and the magnitude of anthropometry changes of LEOs over the past 45 years.
Efficiency of Cournot and Bertrand Equilibria with Non-cooperative and Cooperative R&D in Presence of Product Differentiation
Authors: Ghosh Satyajit
Published: June 2021

Strategic cooperative and non-cooperative R&D decisions are analysed in the presence of R&D spillover and product differentiation. Using a two-stage game it is shown that in both Cournot and Bertrand duopolies, R&D and output levels are larger and prices are lower under cooperative R&D agreements compared to non-cooperative R&D. For complementary and independent goods, these results are valid for any degree of R&D spillover and may hold for substitute goods even for sufficiently small R&D spillover. In terms of social welfare, cooperative R&D agreements dominate non-cooperation for both Cournot and Bertrand duopolies. As for relative efficiency of Cournot and Bertrand equilibria, it is shown that the traditional efficiency ranking may be reversed and Cournot equilibrium may dominate Bertrand equilibrium if the degree of product differentiation is low and the products are reasonably close substitutes for high degree of R&D spillover provided that R&D productivity is high. This result is stronger for cooperative R&D decision.

JEL Codes: D21, D43, L13
Gendered dimensions of health in refugee situations: An examination of sexual and gender-based violence faced by refugee women in Nakivale refugee settlement, Uganda
Authors: Mwenyango Hadijah
Published: June 2021

This article analyses the interplay between women’s social identity, migration and manifestation of sexual and gender-based violence. The research used mixed quantitative and qualitative methods. The findings show experiences of domestic, sexual, community and survival violence. Their predicaments are exacerbated by socio-cultural and structural influences, and despite commitments for protecting refugees, more has to be done to meet the needs of victims. The article reveals the urgency for the adoption of gender-responsive and rights-based approaches in refugee interventions. The capacity of frontline workers must be enhanced to detect violence, appreciate the needs and rights of victims and provide appropriate support.
Impacts of COVID-19 on refugees and immigrants in the United States: A call for action
Authors: Rafieifar Maryam , Naseh Mitra , Potocky Miriam , Zajicek-Farber Michaela L , Kim Wooksoo , Padilla Beatriz , Reina Ortiz Miguel , Lopez Jasiel A
Published: June 2021

The COVID-19 crisis has increasingly exerted a disproportionate impact on the lives of migrant populations. A group of interdisciplinary migration experts convened a round table in June 2020, to discuss the numerous challenges faced by immigrants, refugees, and migrants in the United States. The discussion revealed many social inequities, including insufficient financial and social resources, non-existent or minimal health supports, lack of or inadequate access to community supports, and social and racial discrimination, among other difficulties. To promote social justice and encourage research, the ensuing essay is a call for action to stimulate and build knowledge about social work and public health issues as they relate to the needs of immigrants, refugees, and migrant populations in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perceptions of stigma toward mental illness in Arab society in Israel
Authors: Fahoum Kholoud , Al-Krenawi Alean
Published: June 2021

Stigma is a major obstacle for people diagnosed with mental illness and this impacts the burden of the disease. This study compares the relationship between personal and social stigma in patients diagnosed with mental illness in two distinct Arab communities: the Bedouin in the Negev Desert in Israel and the Arabs of East Jerusalem. The sample consisted of 140 participants. Research instruments measuring self-stigma, social stigma, and social support were deployed. Positive correlation between personal and social stigma was found. Personal stigma was higher among Bedouins, while social stigma was higher among East Jerusalem Arabs.
Size, Correlates and Consumption Patterns of the Middle Class: Evidence from Pakistan
Authors: Rehman Masood Ur , Zafar Sameen , Amir-ud-Din Rafi
Published: June 2021

Using three definitions of the middle class (MC) and the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement surveys from 2004 to 2014, we estimated the size of the MC and examined the correlates and consumption patterns of the MC for Pakistan. According to the absolute income, relative income and asset–ownership definitions, the MC grew by 16%, 8%, and 10%, respectively, from 2004 to 2014. The results of the biprobit model showed that the probability of entering the MC was associated with higher education, urban residence and non-agricultural employment. Additionally, the MC was associated with greater consumption of ordinary and luxury goods.
Characterisation of interfacial adhesion in hemp composites after H2O2 and non-thermal plasma treatments
Authors: Barbière Romain , Touchard Fabienne , Chocinski-Arnault Laurence , Fourré Elodie , Leroy Eric , Barrault Joël
Published: June 2021

Interface optimisation for continuous hemp reinforcements in epoxy resin is a current challenge for the development of biocomposites. A chemical treatment based on hydrogen peroxide and a physical one using a non-thermal plasma have been tested to optimise interface adhesion, by varying several parameters. FTIR analysis and FE-SEM observations have shown the effects of the treatments on chemical and morphological aspects of the treated yarns. Tensile tests on hemp yarns have allowed the selection of the treatment parameters leading to the best strength. Fragmentation tests results showed that the two treatments lead to a decrease in the fragment lengths and thus, an enhancement of the Interfacial Shear Strength (IFSS) values in comparison with the untreated yarn. This is confirmed by the micro-CT observations of the debonding lengths in the vicinity of each yarn fragment extremity. Finally, the plasma treated samples exhibit a better interface adhesion quality (IFSS = 44.7 ± 4 MPa) than the chemically treated ones (IFSS = 24.2 ± 4 MPa), which are better than the non-treated ones (IFSS = 13.5 ± 4 MPa).
Statutory Protection for Retail Workers in Scotland
Authors: Shiels Robert
Published: June 2021

The Scottish Parliament has passed an Act making provision for the statutory protection for retail workers, and that law includes the creation of a new offence. The provision is said to be necessary as the retail workers are subjected to criminal conduct when required to ask for proof of age. That request resulted, it is said, in the retail workers at that point acting in the public interest.
Psychopathy and Occurrence of Gambling Problems: The Role of Gambling Protective Strategies and Urgency
Authors: Kramer Matthew P. , Peterson Roselyn , Leary Angelina V. , Wilborn Dexter D. , Magri Tatiana , Dvorak Robert D.
Published: June 2021

Background

Psychopathy has been an increasing area of clinical and personality research and is associated with numerous problematic outcomes, including pathological gambling, though this area of research is limited. The most common conceptualization of psychopathy is a two-factor model of primary and secondary psychopathy, with primary psychopathy comprising more interpersonal traits and secondary psychopathy encompassing more antisocial behaviors. Previous research has linked psychopathy to greater urgency and lower utilization of harm reduction strategies.

Objectives

The current study examines the relationship between primary psychopathy, secondary psychopathy, and problematic gambling, as well as the possible mechanisms of these relationships.

Method

College student gamblers ( n = 308) completed surveys on psychopathy, impulsivity, protective behavioral strategies regarding gambling, and possible gambling problems.

Results

Primary psychopathy was inversely related to gambling protective behavioral strategies (PBS) and secondary psychopathy was positively associated with higher levels of urgency. Secondary psychopathy, via urgency, was a strong predictor of whether an individual will experience gambling problems, while primary psychopathy via PBS better predicts the number of gambling problems one experiences.

Conclusion

This study extends an overall under-researched area of gambling and personality and highlights the importance of delineating different factors of psychopathy regarding problematic gambling outcomes.
COVID-19 pandemic: A review of the global lockdown and its far-reaching effects
Authors: Onyeaka Helen , Anumudu Christian K , Al-Sharify Zainab T , Egele-Godswill Esther , Mbaegbu Paul
Published: June 2021

COVID-19, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the 11th of March 2020, leading to some form of lockdown across almost all countries of the world. The extent of the global pandemic due to COVID-19 has a significant impact on our lives that must be studied carefully to combat it. This study highlights the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on crucial aspects of daily life globally, including; Food security, Global economy, Education, Tourism, hospitality, sports and leisure, Gender Relation, Domestic Violence/Abuse, Mental Health and Environmental air pollution through a systematic search of the literature. The COVID-19 global lockdown was initiated to stem the spread of the virus and ‘flatten the curve’ of the pandemic. However, the impact of the lockdown has had far-reaching effects in different strata of life, including; changes in the accessibility and structure of education delivery to students, food insecurity as a result of unavailability and fluctuation in prices, the depression of the global economy, increase in mental health challenges, wellbeing and quality of life amongst others. This review article highlights the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown across the globe. As the global lockdown is being lifted in a phased manner in various countries of the world, it is necessary to explore its impacts to understand its consequences comprehensively. This will guide future decisions that will be made in a possible future wave of the COVID-19 pandemic or other global disease outbreak.
Modelling the Number of People per Physician, Nurse, and Midwives in Turkey in Terms of Reproductive Health Indicators
Authors: Babaoglu Asya Banu , Tekindal Mustafa Agah
Published: June 2021

Health worker density and distribution is critical for a strong health system and therefore has been listed among 1 of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets. The present study aims to model the number of persons per physician, nurse, and midwives in Turkey until 2030 and to make estimates for better reproductive health outcomes. We used time series of people per physician, nurse, and midwife between the years 1928 and 2018. Estimates were obtained via the Box-Jenkins and Brown Exponential Smoothing Methods. The results of this study showed that both designed models provide a high diagnostic value to predict the number of person per doctor, nurse, and midwives. The goodness of fit criteria for both models was statistically significant. The results predict a slight decrease in the number of people per physician, a more significant decrease in the number of people per nurse, but no decrease in the number of people per midwives until 2030. We argue that there will not be much progress in reproductive health indicators if the health workforce progresses with the same trend in the coming years. We recommend decision-makers to re-consider the health workforce planning, especially in terms of the number of the person per nurses, for better reproductive health outcomes.
Community Coalition Efforts to Prevent Adolescent Substance Use: A Systematic Review
Authors: Hutchison Morica , Russell Beth S.
Published: June 2021

A systematic review explored the creation and maintenance of community coalitions as effective for alcohol and other drug (AOD) prevention in adolescence. Community coalitions influence the implementation of effective and sustainable community-based prevention via infrastructure supporting development, delivery, and assessment of human service issues. For this review, 1,435 articles were identified, most including insufficient detail on the purposes and activities of coalitions or focus on adolescents. Of the 16 studies included, few discussed comprehensive frameworks describing coalition formation and maintenance or measureable influences on adolescent AOD prevention outcomes. Therefore, we propose four organizing principles for building sustainable community coalitions for adolescent AOD prevention.
Primary cervical lymph nodal leishmaniasis
Authors: Rodrigues Gabriel , Raj Pulak , Monappa Vidya , Gowda Chiranth , Carnelio Sunitha
Published: June 2021

Leishmaniasis, an endemic disease in several parts of India, is a parasitic disease caused by protozoa and transmitted by the sandfly. Although cutaneous and visceral varieties are common, isolated lymph nodal involvement is extremely rare, and the diagnosis is often delayed owing to its uncommon presentation and lack of awareness of this possibility. We present a 72-year-old woman with asymptomatic right facial lymphadenopathy which on biopsy revealed leishmaniasis and responded well to drug therapy.
Robust adaptive fuzzy control for a class of uncertain nonaffine nonlinear systems with unknown control directions
Authors: Doudou Sofiane , Khaber Farid
Published: June 2021

In this paper, the adaptive fuzzy backstepping control problem is considered for a class of single-input single-output (SISO) unknown uncertain nonaffine nonlinear systems in strict-feedback form. Within this approach, Nussbaum gain functions are introduced to solve the problem of unknown control directions. The unknown nonlinear functions are approximated by employing adaptive fuzzy systems. The stability analysis of the closed-loop system in the sense of Lyapunov guarantees the global boundedness property for all the signals and states, and at the same time, steers the tracking error to a small neighborhood of the origin. The feasibility of the developed control approach is illustrated by numerical simulation.
Hydraulic-seasonal-time-based state space model for displacement monitoring of high concrete dams
Authors: Wang Shaowei , Xu Cong , Gu Chongshi , Su Huaizhi , Wu Bangbin
Published: June 2021

Displacement is the most intuitive reflection of the comprehensive behavior of concrete dams, especially the time effect displacement, which is a key index for the evaluation of the structural behavior and health status of a dam in long-term service. The main purpose of this paper is to establish a state space model for separating causal components from the measured dam displacement. This approach is conducted by initially proposing two equations, which are the state and observation equations, and model parameters are then optimized by the Kalman filter algorithm. The state equation is derived according to the creep deformation of dam concrete and foundation rock and is used to preliminarily predict the dam time effect displacement. Considering the generally recognized three components of dam displacement, the hydraulic-seasonal-time (HST) model is used to establish the observation equation, which is used to update the time effect displacement. The efficiency and rationality of the established state space model is verified by an engineering example. The results show that the hydraulic component separated by the state space model only contains the instantaneous elastic hydraulic deformation, while the hysteretic elastic hydraulic deformation is divided into the time effect component. The inverted elastic modulus of dam body concrete is an instantaneous value for the state space model but a comprehensive reflection of the instantaneous and hysteretic elastic deformation ability for the HST model, where the hysteretic elastic deformation is a part of the hydraulic component. For the Xiaowan arch dam, the inverted values are 42.9 and 36.7 GPa for the state space model and HST model, respectively. The proposed state space model is useful to improve the interpretation ability of the separated displacement components of concrete dams.
Institutions or resources and capabilities? Explaining engagement in European sectoral social dialogue
Authors: Prosser Thomas , Bechter Barbara , Galetto Manuela , Weber Sabrina , Larsson Bengt
Published: June 2021

In this article the authors analyse social partner engagement in European sectoral social dialogue, testing two prominent theories to disentangle sector and country dynamics: institutional and resources and capabilities theories. While institutional theory accounted for certain social partner preferences, resources and capability theory proved stronger in predicting participation and provided insight into regulatory preferences. The authors conclude that resources and capability theory better explains their case, associating it with weaknesses of transnational governance. Specifically, limited incentives for participation mean that social partners with fewer resources forego participation, entailing pre-eminence of social partners with greater resources and hindering outcomes reflecting national institutional influences.
Quantitative measurement on coal components through the interpretation model of geophysical log: A case study from the Qaidam Basin, NW China
Authors: Liu Shiming , Liu Rui , Tang Shuheng , Zhao Cunliang , Liu Bangjun , Diao Junwei , Xi Zhaodong
Published: June 2021

The Iqe coalfield is one of the most significant coal production bases in the Qaidam Basin. Over the last few decades, core explorations have targeted the Dameigou Formation for No. 7 coal seam (M7). Although many M7 coal samples have been analyzed for coal components in the laboratory, the systematic understanding of the components and changes of coal in the whole Iqe coalfield is still inadequate. In this study, we focus on building log interpretation models to accurately calculate the content of coal components of M7, including ash yield (Aad), volatile matter (Vdaf), fixed carbon (FCad), and moisture (Mad). Multiple regression analysis and statistical method, combined with the rock volume model, were used to establish log interpretation models of coal components. A total of 28 coal samples from ZK1, ZK2, ZK11-5, ZK23-4, and ZK36-9 wells in the Iqe coalfield were involved in the modeling, as well as well-logs parameters, such as radioactivity (GR), compensation density (DEN), acoustic (AC), and resistivity (RLLD). According to sensitivity analysis, the fitted Aad and Vdaf contents of M7 increase with the increasing of DEN and GR values, whereas the FCad content shows the opposite way. Furthermore, the positive relationship between Aad and Vdaf ( R2 = 0.59) and the negative relationship between Aad and FCad ( R2 = 0.92) as well as Vdaf and FCad ( R2 = 0.69) indicate that Aad is a key factor in coal and should be prior determined. Finally, based on the multiple regression analysis and rock volume model, we proposed log interpretation models for M7 coal components in the Iqe coalfield, these models have been examined successfully by the case studies from the same coalfield and will provide new insights into the application of geophysical log parameters for coal quality evaluation.
Characteristics of coal-measure source rock and its controlling effect on gas-water distribution of tight sandstone of He8 Member in Sulige Gas Province, Ordos Basin
Authors: Wu Weitao , Chen Mengna , Li Ning , Wang Yi , Zhao Jingzhou , Wei Xinshan
Published: June 2021

Characteristics of complex gas-water distribution affect the efficient exploration of tight gas. The paper aims at tight sandstone gas-water distribution characteristics of He8 Member in Sulige Gas Province (SGP), describes thickness and TOC of source rocks from Benxi Formation in Carboniferous to the Second Member of Shanxi Formation in Permain, evaluates its hydrocarbon generation potential, discusses its controlling effect on tight sandstone gas-water distribution, and determines the threshold values of Ro and HGI of commercial gas flow wells. Research shows that the coal-measure source rock has the characteristics of extensive and superimposition. The coal seam and dark mudstone is the lithology of source rock, and its Ro is chiefly distributed 1.2% ∼ 2.1% in the stage of high mature thermal evolution, which is mainly type III kerogen. Among them, the thickness of coal seam is mainly ranged from 5 ∼ 15 m with an average of 9.32 m, and its average TOC is 64.08% and the distribution of HGI is (1∼36) ×108 m3/km2. No.8 and No.5 coal seams are relatively stable. The extent of thickness of dark mudstone is mainly between 10m and 30m with an average of 21.2m, and its average TOC is 2.11%, HGI is between (0.2∼10)×108m3/km2. Gas reservoir of He8 Member is tight sandstone lenticular reservoirs with the large-area quasi-continuous distribution. When the gas testing production is less than 1 × 104m3/d, the controlling effect of Ro and HGI are relatively obvious, and its controlling effect is obviously weakened with the increase of gas production. When Ro is more than 1.6%-1.7%, or HGI is larger than 15 × 108m3/km2, the decreasing trend of water/gas ratio is evident, especially in commercial gas flow wells (including high producing gas flow wells). In comparison, the controlling effect of HGI is stronger than Ro. 1.33% and 8 × 108 m3/km2 are the threshold values of Ro and HGI for commercial gas flow wells, respectively.
Quantitative analysis of nano-scale pore structures of broad sense shale oil reservoirs using atomic force microscopy
Authors: Shen Rui , Xiong Wei , Lang Xiaoming , Wang Lei , Guo Hekun , Zhou Hongtao , Zhang Xiaoyi , Yang Hang
Published: June 2021

The rapid and cost-effective quantitative characterization of broad-sense shale oil reservoirs is highly challenging due to the complex lithology and strong heterogeneity of the strata. In this paper, the pore structures and surface roughness of samples of various lithologies from a shale oil reservoir were studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the open-source Gwyddion analytical software. The surface morphology was reconstructed both two-dimensionally and three-dimensionally using the AFM data for the mudstone, siltstone, and dolarenite in a broad-sense shale oil reservoir. The surface roughness was evaluated with respect to parameters such as the arithmetic average roughness, root mean square roughness, surface skewness, and kurtosis coefficient. The pores of various scales were quantitatively identified using the watershed algorithm. The samples were also evaluated using focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy for comparison, and the derived pore scales are consistent with those obtained from the AFM analysis. In conclusion, the utilization of AFM and open-source software provides a new easy-to-operate method, which can be widely applied to characterize the surface roughness and pore structures of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs.
Beyond Reward Expectancy: How Do Periodic Incentive Payments Influence the Temporal Dynamics of Performance?
Authors: Frankort Hans T. W. , Avgoustaki Argyro
Published: June 2021

Prior theory suggests that incentive plans, such as piece-rate or commission plans, motivate good performance because employees anticipate that current performance will generate matching future incentive payments. In this article, we move beyond reward expectancy to argue that performance can also derive from employees’ reactive responses to received incentive payments. We propose a salience-based theory casting incentive payments as recurring temporal markers that periodically increase the salience of the incentive plan, to which employees respond by temporarily increasing incentivized and unincentivized performance. We introduce multivariate time-series methods to test our hypotheses in longitudinal data spanning 169 weeks (1,183 days), drawn from an online firm using an incentive plan for its customer-support employees. While we find no evidence that incentive payments affect the dynamics of incentivized performance, they do temporarily boost several unincentivized behaviors and outcomes. Combined with fieldwork, these findings support our proposed mechanism of “salience-induced reciprocity”—that is, the temporary reciprocity in response to a periodic increase in the salience of the incentive plan. This article contributes to a more complete understanding of performance and effort dynamics in incentive plans, offers new inroads into studying temporality in the functioning of human resources practices, and provides other future research avenues.