bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Time-based task expectancy: perceptual task indicator expectancy or expectancy of post-perceptual task components?
Authors: Monno Irina , Aufschnaiter Stefanie , Ehret Sonja , Kiesel Andrea , Poljac Edita , Thomaschke Roland
Published: November 2021

The temporal predictability of upcoming events plays a crucial role in the adjustment of anticipatory cognitive control in multitasking. Previous research has demonstrated that task switching performance improved if tasks were validly predictable by a pre-target interval. Hence, far, the underlying cognitive processes of time-based task expectancy in task switching have not been clearly defined. The present study investigated whether the effect of time-based expectancy is due to expectancy of post-perceptual task components or rather due to facilitation of perceptual visual processing of the coloured task indicator. Participants performed two numeric judgment tasks (parity vs. magnitude), which were each indicated by two different colours. Each task was either more or less frequently preceded by one of two intervals (500 ms or 1500 ms). Tasks were indicated either by colours that were each more frequently (or in Exp. 1 also less frequently) paired with the interval or by colours that were equally frequent for each interval. Participants only responded faster when colour and task were predictable by time (expected colour), not when the task alone was predictable (neutral colour). Hence, our results speak in favour of perceptual time-based task indicator expectancy being the underlying cognitive mechanism of time-based expectancy in the task switching paradigm.
On the kinematics of a concave sidecut line deformed on a flat surface
Authors: Caillaud Benoit , Gerstmayr Johannes
Published: November 2021

The present paper investigates the static equilibrium of a thin elastic structure with concave sidecut pressed against a flat rigid surface, as an idealization of a ski or snowboard undergoing the conditions of a carved turn. An analytical model is derived to represent the contact behaviour and provide an explanation for concentrated loads occurring at the sidecut extremities. The deformations are prescribed assuming tied contact along the sidecut line and neglecting torsional deformations. The loading conditions leading to this ideal deformed state are then sought, in order to better understand the mechanics of the turn. The results are illustrated with different sidecut geometries and compared with finite element computations for validation purposes. Depending on the function describing the sidecut line, concentrated force and moment are found to take place at the sidecut extremities.
Performance characterization of containerization for HPC workloads on InfiniBand clusters: an empirical study
Authors: Liu Peini , Guitart Jordi
Published: November 2021

Containerization technology offers an appealing alternative for encapsulating and operating applications (and all their dependencies) without being constrained by the performance penalties of using Virtual Machines and, as a result, has got the interest of the High-Performance Computing (HPC) community to obtain fast, customized, portable, flexible, and reproducible deployments of their workloads. Previous work on this area has demonstrated that containerized HPC applications can exploit InfiniBand networks, but has ignored the potential of multi-container deployments which partition the processes that belong to each application into multiple containers in each host. Partitioning HPC applications has demonstrated to be useful when using virtual machines by constraining them to a single NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Access) domain. This paper conducts a systematical study on the performance of multi-container deployments with different network fabrics and protocols, focusing especially on Infiniband networks. We analyze the impact of container granularity and its potential to exploit processor and memory affinity to improve applications’ performance. Our results show that default Singularity can achieve near bare-metal performance but does not support fine-grain multi-container deployments. Docker and Singularity-instance have similar behavior in terms of the performance of deployment schemes with different container granularity and affinity. This behavior differs for the several network fabrics and protocols, and depends as well on the application communication patterns and the message size. Moreover, deployments on Infiniband are also more impacted by the computation and memory allocation, and because of that, they can exploit the affinity better.
On Neoliberal Exceptionalism in Spain: A State Plan to Prevent Radicalization
Authors: Aguerri Jesús C. , Jiménez-Franco Daniel
Published: November 2021

This article offers a critical review of the SpanishPlan Estratégico Nacional de Lucha Contra la Radicalización Violenta(National Strategic Plan to Fight Violent Radicalization or “PEN-LCRV”), focusing on its most controversial discursive elements. While it is not possible to perform a complete empirical examination of its impact after five years, we can highlight some if its achievements, effects and shortcomings. Through a review of the key concepts and logic underlying the PEN-LCRV, this article considers how the notion ofsecuritycan enable the design and implementation of public policies, as well as the current trends regarding the relationship between social protection and punitive control.
Population, Ecological Footprint and the Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Dasgupta Partha , Dasgupta Aisha , Barrett Scott
Published: November 2021

The Anthropocene can be read as being the era when the demand humanity makes on the biosphere’s goods and services—humanity’s ‘ecological footprint’—vastly exceeds its ability to supply it on a sustainable basis. Because the ‘ecological’ gap is met by a diminution of the biosphere, the inequality is increasing. We deploy estimates of the ecological gap, global GDP and its growth rates in recent years, and the rate at which natural capital has declined, to study three questions: (1) at what rate must efficiency at which Nature’s services are converted into GDP rise if the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for year 2030 are to be sustainable; (2) what would a sustainable figure for world population be if global living standard is to be maintained at an acceptably high level? (3) What living standard could we aspire to if world population was to attain the UN’s near lower-end projection for 2100 of 9 billion? While we take a global perspective, the reasoning we deploy may also be applied on a smaller scale. The base year we adopt for our computations is the pre-pandemic 2019.
A commentary on the Special Issue “Innovations in measuring and fostering mathematical modelling competencies”
Authors: Frejd Peter , Vos Pauline
Published: November 2021

This is a commentary on the ESM 2021 Special Issue on Innovations in Measuring and Fostering Mathematical Modelling Competencies. We have grouped the ten studies into three themes: competencies, fostering, and measuring. The first theme and the papers therein provide a platform to discuss the cognitivist backgrounds to the different conceptualizations of mathematical modelling competencies, based on the modelling cycle. We suggest theoretical widening through a competence continuum and enriching of the modelling cycle with overarching, analytic dimensions for creativity, tool use, metacognition, and so forth. The second theme and the papers therein showcase innovative ideas on fostering and on the definition and analysis thereof. These reveal the need for a social turn in modelling research in order to capture aspects of student collaboration and agency, as well as tensions in fostering when tasks are derived from real-world scenarios, but socio-mathematical norms come from the (pure) mathematics classroom. The third theme, measuring, and the papers therein offer insights into the challenges of positivist research that aims to develop innovative measurement instruments that are both reliable and valid, particularly in light of student group work, cultural background, and other socio-cultural aspects. Drawing on the three discussions, we go on to make recommendations for further research.
Virtual and Augmented Reality in Social Skills Interventions for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review
Authors: Dechsling Anders , Orm Stian , Kalandadze Tamara , Sütterlin Stefan , Øien Roald A. , Shic Frederick , Nordahl-Hansen Anders
Published: November 2021

In the last decade, there has been an increase in publications on technology-based interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Virtual reality based assessments and intervention tools are promising and have shown to be acceptable amongst individuals with ASD. This scoping review reports on 49 studies utilizing virtual reality and augmented reality technology in social skills interventions for individuals with ASD. The included studies mostly targeted children and adolescents, but few targeted very young children or adults. Our findings show that the mode number of participants with ASD is low, and that female participants are underrepresented. Our review suggests that there is need for studies that apply virtual and augmented realty with more rigorous designs involving established and evidenced-based intervention strategies.
Integrating Owicki–Gries for C11-Style Memory Models into Isabelle/HOL
Authors: Dalvandi Sadegh , Dongol Brijesh , Doherty Simon , Wehrheim Heike
Published: November 2021

Weak memory presents a new challenge for program verification and has resulted in the development of a variety of specialised logics. For C11-style memory models, our previous work has shown that it is possible to extend Hoare logic and Owicki–Gries reasoning to verify correctness of weak memory programs. The technique introduces a set of high-level assertions over C11 states together with a set of basic Hoare-style axioms over atomic weak memory statements (e.g. reads/writes), but retains all other standard proof obligations for compound statements. This paper takes this line of work further by introducing the first deductive verification environment in Isabelle/HOL for C11-like weak memory programs. This verification environment is built on the Nipkow and Nieto’s encoding of Owicki–Gries in the Isabelle theorem prover. We exemplify our techniques over several litmus tests from the literature and two non-trivial examples: Peterson’s algorithm and a read–copy–update algorithm adapted for C11. For the examples we consider, the proof outlines can be automatically discharged using the existing Isabelle tactics developed by Nipkow and Nieto. The benefit here is that programs can be written using a familiar pseudocode syntax with assertions embedded directly into the program.
Natural vs. trawling-induced water turbidity and suspended sediment transport variability within the Palamós Canyon (NW Mediterranean)
Authors: Arjona-Camas Marta , Puig Pere , Palanques Albert , Durán Ruth , White Martin , Paradis Sarah , Emelianov Mikhail
Published: November 2021

Increases of water turbidity and suspended sediment transport in submarine canyons have been associated with high-energy events such as storms, river floods and dense shelf water cascading (DSWC), and occasionally with bottom trawling along canyon flanks and rims. To assess the variations on the water column turbidity and sediment transport in the Palamós Canyon linked to both natural and trawling-induced processes, an autonomous hydrographic profiler, as well as a near-bottom current meter and a turbidimeter were deployed in the canyon axis (929 m depth) from February to June 2017, covering a trawling closure (February) and trawling activities (March-June). Periods of enhanced water turbidity during the trawling closure were mostly associated with storms and DSWC events, transporting turbid dense waters into the canyon. In absence of such events, the water column displayed low suspended sediment concentrations (~ 0.3 mg L− 1) until the trawling season began, when particulate matter detachments, ranging between > 1 mg L− 1and 3.8 mg L− 1, were observed at the water depths where the trawling grounds are found. During the trawling closure, high near-bottom suspended sediment fluxes (35–44 g m− 2 s− 1) were sporadically registered at ~  920 m depth associated with a major storm and DSWC event. Smaller but more frequent increases of near-bottom suspended sediment fluxes (0.1–1.4 g m− 2 s− 1) were recorded during trawling activities. Despite these smaller trawling-induced suspended sediment fluxes, 30 days of continuous bottom trawling activity transported a total amount of 40 kg m− 2, of similar magnitude to that generated by a major DSWC event (50 kg m− 2). Since bottom trawling in Palamós Canyon is practiced on a daily basis throughout the year, a much larger contribution of anthropogenically derived water turbidity and suspended sediment transport can be expected.
Health and disease as practical concepts: exploring function in context-specific definitions
Authors: van der Linden Rik , Schermer Maartje
Published: November 2021

Despite the longstanding debate on definitions of health and disease concepts, and the multitude of accounts that have been developed, no consensus has been reached. This is problematic, as the way we define health and disease has far-reaching practical consequences. In recent contributions it is proposed to view health and disease as practical- and plural concepts. Instead of searching for a general definition, it is proposed to stipulate context-specific definitions. However, it is not clear how this should be realized. In this paper, we review recent contributions to the debate, and examine the importance of context-specific definitions. In particular, we explore the usefulness of analyzing the relation between the practical function of a definition and the context it is deployed in. We demonstrate that the variety of functions that health and disease concepts need to serve makes the formulation of monistic definitions not only problematic but also undesirable. We conclude that the analysis of the practical function in relation to the context is key when formulating context-specific definitions for health and disease. At last, we discuss challenges for the pluralist stance and make recommendations for future research.
Engaging students in redesigning a local urban space to improve ecosystem services
Authors: Hane Elizabeth N. , Korfmacher Karl F.
Published: November 2021

Ecosystem services are an important, but often invisible component of the urban landscape. Humans have altered the environment in cities, leading to degraded or missing ecosystem services in many cases. To enhance or replace these services, many urban municipalities are integrating green spaces and infrastructure into urban planning. We have designed an activity to help undergraduate students: 1) recognize the importance of urban ecosystem services, 2) identify when they are degraded or missing, and 3) integrate “green” ideas from multiple sources to propose improvements to them. To help students achieve these goals, we asked them to evaluate an underutilized space on their own campus, and propose a redesign of that space to support ecosystem services. While many students struggled initially to link urban ecosystem services with specific proposed improvements, we found that having students work together in groups for a second redesign often improved understanding and also resulted in more creative and interdisciplinary designs. The exercise also helped students to better identify ecosystem services and allowed them to practice integrating multiple viewpoints while proposing solutions to local environmental problems.
Reflective Design in Action: A Collaborative Autoethnography of Faculty Learning Design
Authors: Bowers Shawn , Chen Yu-Ling , Clifton Yvette , Gamez Melissa , Giffin Heidi Hubbard , Johnson Meg Stanley , Lohman Laura , Pastryk Linda
Published: November 2021

Research on how university faculty design courses has been limited and marked by modest detail on faculty design processes. Addressing this gap, seven faculty members supported by an educational developer at a teaching-intensive university used collaborative autoethnography (CAE) to explain how university faculty engage in reflective, iterative approaches to learning design. Collaborative analysis and interpretation of systematically collected data drawn from individual experiences in learning design reveal how faculty use reflection as a tool in learning design to recognize problems, devise solutions and constructively process emotions. Through reflection, faculty identify design solutions that are responsive to circumstances during course delivery, capture reasoning that informs design solutions for future course iterations and accurately gauge the appropriate timing of design changes based on factors such as scale and feasibility. This article offers detailed ethnographic evidence and new findings that enrich our understanding of claims made in previous interview-based studies of faculty design.
Between “Medical” and “Social” Egg Freezing
Authors: Rimon-Zarfaty Nitzan , Kostenzer Johanna , Sismuth Lisa-Katharina , de Bont Antoinette
Published: November 2021

Egg freezing has led to heated debates in healthcare policy and bioethics. A crucial issue in this context concerns the distinction between “medical” and “social” egg freezing (MEF and SEF)—contrasting objections to bio-medicalization with claims for oversimplification. Yet such categorization remains a criterion for regulation. This paper aims to explore the “regulatory boundary-work” around the “medical”–”social” distinction in different egg freezing regulations. Based on systematic documents’ analysis we present a cross-national comparison of the way the “medical”–”social” differentiation finds expression in regulatory frameworks in Austria, Germany, Israel, and the Netherlands. Findings are organized along two emerging themes: (1) the definition of MEF and its distinctiveness—highlighting regulatory differences in the clarity of the definition and in the medical indications used for creating it (less clear in Austria and Germany, detailed in Israel and the Netherlands); and (2) hierarchy of medical over social motivations reflected in usage and funding regulations. Blurred demarcation lines between “medical” and “social” are further discussed as representing a paradoxical inclusion of SEF while offering new insights into the complexity and normativity of this distinction. Finally, we draw conclusions for policymaking and the bioethical debate, also concerning the related cryopolitical aspects.
Exploring the Perceptions of Cognitive and Affective Capabilities of Four, Real, Physical Robots with a Decreasing Degree of Morphological Human Likeness
Authors: Fortunati Leopoldina , Manganelli Anna Maria , Höflich Joachim , Ferrin Giovanni
Published: November 2021

This paper describes an investigation of student perceptions of the cognitive and affective capabilities of four robots that have a decreasing degree of morphological human likeness. We showed and illustrated the robots (i.e., InMoov, Padbot, Joy Robot and Turtlebot) to 62 students. After showing the students each of these robots, and explaining their main features and capabilities, we administered a fill-in questionnaire to the students. Our main hypothesis was that the perception of a robot’s cognitive and affective capabilities varied in correspondence with their appearance and in particular with their different degree of human likeness. The main results of this study indicate that the scores attributed to the cognitive and emotional capabilities of these robots are not modulated correspondingly to their different morphological similarity to humans. Furthermore, overall, the scores given to all of these robots regarding their ability to explicate mental functions are low, and even lower scores are given to their ability to feel emotions. There is a split between InMoov, the robot which has the highest degree of human likeness, and all of the others. Our results also indicate that: (1) morphological similarity of a robot to humans is not perceived automatically as such by observers, which is not considered a value in itself for the robot; and (2) even at lower levels of robot–human likeness, an uncanny valley effect arises but is quite mitigated by curiosity.
A Future of Current Flow Modelling for Transcranial Electrical Stimulation?
Authors: Lee J. S. A. , Bestmann S. , Evans C.
Published: November 2021

Purpose of Review

Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) is used to non-invasively modulate brain activity in health and disease. Current flow modeling (CFM) provides estimates of where and how much electrical current is delivered to the brain during tES. It therefore holds promise as a method to reduce commonplace variability in tES delivery and, in turn, the outcomes of stimulation. However, the adoption of CFM has not yet been widespread and its impact on tES outcome variability is unclear. Here, we discuss the potential barriers to effective, practical CFM-informed tES use.

Recent Findings

CFM has progressed from models based on concentric spheres to gyri-precise head models derived from individual MRI scans. Users can now estimate the intensity of electrical fields (E-fields), their spatial extent, and the direction of current flow in a target brain region during tES. Here. we consider the multi-dimensional challenge of implementing CFM to optimise stimulation dose: this requires informed decisions to prioritise E-field characteristics most likely to result in desired stimulation outcomes, though the physiological consequences of the modelled current flow are often unknown. Second, we address the issue of a disconnect between predictions of E-field characteristics provided by CFMs and predictions of the physiological consequences of stimulation which CFMs are not designed to address. Third, we discuss how ongoing development of CFM in conjunction with other modelling approaches could overcome these challenges while maintaining accessibility for widespread use.

The increasing complexity and sophistication of CFM is a mandatory step towards dose control and precise, individualised delivery of tES. However, it also risks counteracting the appeal of tES as a straightforward, cost-effective tool for neuromodulation, particularly in clinical settings.
Hypertension and cardiovascular risk factor management in a multi-ethnic cohort of adults with CKD: a cross sectional study in general practice
Authors: Carpio Edianne Monique , Ashworth Mark , Asgari Elham , Shaw Catriona , Schartau Patricia , Durbaba Stevo , Nitsch Dorothea , Molokhia Mariam
Published: November 2021

Background

Hypertension, especially if poorly controlled, is a key determinant of chronic kidney disease (CKD) development and progression to end stage renal disease (ESRD).

Aim

To assess hypertension and risk factor management, and determinants of systolic blood pressure control in individuals with CKD and hypertension.

Design and setting

Cross-sectional survey using primary care electronic health records from 47/49 general practice clinics in South London.

Methods

Known effective interventions, management of hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with CKD Stages 3–5 were investigated. Multivariable logistic regression analysis examined the association of demographic factors, comorbidities, deprivation, and CKD coding, with systolic blood pressure control status as outcome. Individuals with diabetes were excluded.

Results

Adults with CKD Stages 3–5 and hypertension represented 4131/286,162 (1.4%) of the total population; 1984 (48%) of these individuals had undiagnosed CKD without a recorded CKD clinical code. Hypertension was undiagnosed in 25% of the total Lambeth population, and in patients with CKD without diagnosed hypertension, 23.0% had systolic blood pressure > 140 mmHg compared with 39.8% hypertensives, p < 0.001. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that factors associated with improved systolic blood pressure control in CKD included diastolic blood pressure control, serious mental illness, history of cardiovascular co-morbidities, CKD diagnostic coding, and age < 60 years. African ethnicity and obesity were associated with poorer systolic blood pressure control.

Conclusion

We found both underdiagnosed CKD and underdiagnosed hypertension in patients with CKD. The poor systolic blood pressure control in older age groups ≥ 60 years and in Black African or obese individuals is clinically important as these groups are at increased risk of mortality for cardiovascular diseases.

Graphic abstract
Cloud–edge cooperation for meteorological radar big data: a review of data quality control
Authors: Hu Zhichen , Xu Xiaolong , Zhang Yulan , Tang Hongsheng , Cheng Yong , Qian Cheng , Khosravi Mohammad R.
Published: November 2021

With the rapid development of information technology construction, increasing specialized data in the field of informatization have become a hot spot for research. Among them, meteorological data, as one of the foundations and core contents of meteorological informatization, is the key production factor of meteorology in the era of digital economy as well as the basis of meteorological services for people and decision-making services. However, the existing centralized cloud computing service model is unable to satisfy the performance demand of low latency, high reliability and high bandwidth for weather data quality control. In addition, strong convective weather is characterized by rapid development, small convective scale and short life cycle, making the complexity of real-time weather data quality control increased to provide timely strong convective weather monitoring services. In order to solve the above problems, this paper proposed the cloud–edge cooperation approach, whose core idea is to effectively combine the advantages of edge computing and cloud computing by taking full advantage of the computing resources distributed at the edge to provide service environment for users to satisfy the real-time demand. The powerful computing and storage resources of the cloud data center are utilized to provide users with massive computing services to fulfill the intensive computing demands.
Situative (Nicht‑)Passung als Erklärungsansatz von Drop-out in der Weiterbildung
Authors: Hoffmann Stefanie , Thalhammer Veronika , von Hippel Aiga , Schmidt-Hertha Bernhard
Published: November 2021

Trotz der Vielzahl seiner Erscheinungs- und Umgangsformen findet Drop-out in der erwachsenenpädagogischen Forschung vergleichsweise wenig Beachtung und theoretische Konzepte, welche die unterschiedlichen Lesarten des Phänomens in einem übergeordneten Rahmen systematisieren, gibt es bislang kaum. Im Beitrag werden daher bisherige theoretische Konzepte zu Weiterbildungsabbrüchen und Ansätze zur Einordnung von Weiterbildungsabbrüchen als Weiterbildungsverhalten zusammengetragen sowie die Forschungslücken in Bezug auf ein umfassendes Modell zur ursächlichen Erklärung von Drop-out in der Weiterbildung aufgezeigt. Anhand einer empirischen Studie – hier basierend auf der Auswertung von 40 problemzentrierten Interviews – werden eine Typologie sowie ein Modell zur Charakterisierung von Weiterbildungsabbrüchen vorgeschlagen und deren Potenzial für die weitere Theorieentwicklung in diesem Bereich herausgearbeitet. Als zentral kristallisiert sich dabei der Begriff „Passung“ heraus, mit dem sich die Vielfalt von Abbruchskonstellationen theoretisch anschlussfähig beschreiben lässt.
Different Levels of Complexity for Integrating Textured Extra-terrestrial Elevation Data in Game Engines for Educational Augmented and Virtual Reality Applications
Authors: Lindner Claudia , Ortwein Annette , Staar Kilian , Rienow Andreas
Published: November 2021

Elevation and visual data from Chang’E-2, Mars Viking, and MOLA were transformed into 3D models and environments using unity and unreal engine to be implemented in augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications, respectively. The workflows for the two game development engines and the two purposes overlap, but have significant differences stemming from their intended usage: both are used in educational settings, but while the AR app has to run on basic smartphones that students from all socio-economic backgrounds might have, the VR requires high-end PCs and can therefore make use of respective devices’ potential. Hence, the models for the AR app are reduced to the necessary components and sizes of the highest mountains on Luna and Mars, whereas the VR app contains several models of probe landing sites on Mars, a landscape containing the entire planet at multiple levels of detail and a complex environment. Both applications are enhanced for educational use with annotations and interactive elements. This study focuses on the transfer of scientific data into game development engines for the use in educational settings using the example of scales in extra-terrestrial environments.
Investigation of the workability and surface roughness of thin brass wires in various dieless drawing technologies
Authors: Milenin Andrij , Wróbel Mirosław , Kustra Piotr
Published: November 2021

Possibilities of improving the workability of the CuZn37 brass thin wire in a diameter of 0.14–0.18 mm produced by the dieless drawing processes were explored. The workability was defined as the maximum final longitudinal strain of the wire up to its fracture, achievable in the dieless drawing process. Two technologies of dieless drawing were developed and their workability was compared. The first one is the classical one-pass process; the second, a multi-pass one. For both developed technologies, it was possible to obtain a good-quality product but more than two times higher workability has been demonstrated for the multi-pass technology. No evident effect of the deformation temperature from the window of technologically accepted parameters on the workability was found but an increase in the temperature significantly increased the roughness of the product surface. For the same deformation temperature, the roughness of the wire obtained from the multi-pass process appeared to be significantly lower than for the one of the classical one-pass technologies.
Fundamental Rights and the Legal Obligations of Business
Authors: Bilchitz David
Published: November 2021

Corporations can significantly affect the fundamental rights of individuals. This book investigates what legal obligations they have to respect, protect and realise these rights. In doing so, it addresses important conceptual issues surrounding fundamental rights. From an investigation of existing legal models, a clear structural similarity surfaces in how courts make decisions about corporate obligations. The book seeks to systematise, justify and develop this emergent 'multi-factoral approach' through examining key factors for determining the substantive content of corporate obligations. The book defends the use of the proportionality test for ascertaining corporations' negative obligations and outlines a novel seven-step test for determining their positive obligations. The book finally proposes legal and institutional reforms - on both the national and international levels - designed to enhance the quality of decision-making surrounding corporate obligations, and embed fundamental rights within the corporate structure and the minds of key decision-makers.
Nineteenth-Century American Literature and the Discourse of Natural History
Authors: Chow Juliana
Published: November 2021

Nineteenth-Century American Literature and the Discourse of Natural History illuminates how literary experimentation with natural history provides penumbral views of environmental survival. The book brings together feminist revisions of scientific objectivity and critical race theory on diaspora to show how biogeography influenced material and metaphorical concepts of species and race. It also highlights how lesser known writers of color like Simon Pokagon and James McCune Smith connected species migration and mutability to forms of racial uplift. The book situates these literary visions of environmental fragility and survival amidst the development of Darwinian theories of evolution and against a westward expanding American settler colonialism.
Helicopter Handling Qualities: A study in pilot control compensation
Authors: Memon W.A. , White M.D. , Padfield G.D. , Cameron N. , Lu L.
Published: November 2021

The research reported in this paper is aimed at the development of a metric to quantify and predict the extent of pilot control compensation required to fly a wide range of mission task elements. To do this, the utility of a range of time- and frequency-domain measures to examine pilot control activity whilst flying hover/low-speed and forward flight tasks are explored. The tasks were performed by two test pilots using both the National Research Council (Canada)’s Bell 412 Advanced Systems Research Aircraft and the University of Liverpool’s HELIFLIGHT-R simulator. Handling qualities ratings were awarded for each of the tasks and compared with a newly developed weightedadaptivecontrol compensation metric based on discrete pilot inputs, showing good correlation. Moreover, in combination with a time-varying frequency-domain exposure, the proposed metric is shown to be useful for understanding the relationship between the pilot’s subjective assessment, measured control activity and task performance. By collating the results from the subjective and objective metrics for a range of different mission task elements, compensation boundaries are proposed to predict and verify the subjective assessments from the Cooper-Harper Handling Qualities Rating scale.
Towards decolonising research methods training: the development of a locally responsive online learning course on research methods for mental health in war and conflict for researchers and practitioners in the Gaza Strip
Authors: Tamimi Nancy , Kienzler Hanna , Hammoudeh Weeam , Khalawi Hala , Regent Mathias , Giacaman Rita
Published: November 2021

Background

Concerns exist that online learning directed at non-Western settings to strengthen research capacity imposes Western-centric epistemology, provides unidirectional transfer of knowledge, and neglects local paradigms and expertise. We argue that a plurality of voices, histories and epistemologies are essential to strengthen research capacity. We share our experience developing and teaching an online course for mental health professionals and researchers in the Gaza Strip.

Methods

Birzeit University and King's College London developed and delivered the course equally, focusing on the intersection between qualitative research methods, mental health and conflict, and addressing local research needs. We incorporated local case studies and expertise, encouraged interaction in English and Arabic, and stimulated critique of Western theories. Seventeen participated, 12 completed the pre-course questionnaire, 15 completed the post-course questionnaire and four undertook semi-structured interviews.

Results

Our pre-course survey showed participants most needed coding and qualitative data analysis skills. Post-course findings showed improved qualitative research skills. Most agreed the course was comprehensive and well delivered, with relevant case studies. Three themes were identified: (1) the course was locally contextualised and met students' needs; (2) the course fostered dialogic and multi-directional learning and (3) suggestions for improvements. Several participants wanted some topics in greater depth and further specialised training. A few suggested the course be in Arabic.

Conclusion

Fostering multi-directional learning is key for non-Western knowledge, epistemologies, and languages to gain prominence in Western academia. A social transformation would see local researchers and educators engage with and use local methods and paradigms in mental health in war and conflict.
Perceptions and purpose of the bomb: Explaining India's nuclear restraint against China
Authors: Joshi Yogesh
Published: November 2021

Much of the literature on India's nuclear programme assumes that China's nuclear capability drove New Delhi, the strategically weaker actor, to pursue a nuclear weapons capability. China's nuclear tests not only rendered New Delhi militarily insecure and dented its claim for the leadership of the Third World but they also polarized the domestic debate over the utility of the bomb. In the global scheme of nuclear proliferation, therefore, India was just another fallen nuclear domino. Marshalling recently declassified documents, this article revisits India's nuclear behaviour during the crucial decade between 1964 and 1974. By focusing on threat assessments made at the highest levels and internal deliberations of the Indian Government, this article shows how, contrary to the claims made in the literature, Indian decision-makers did not make much of the Chinese nuclear threat. This conviction emanated out of their distinct reading of the purpose of nuclear weapons in China's foreign and military policy; their perceptions of how India could achieve nuclear deterrence against China by using the bipolar international politics of the Cold War; and, finally, their understanding of the political costs of developing an indigenous nuclear response to China's nuclear threat. New Delhi's nuclear restraint resulted from its perceptions of Chinese nuclear intentions and its beliefs about the purpose of the bomb in Sino-Indian relations. India's perceptions of China as a nuclear adversary and its decision-makers’ views on the purpose of nuclear weapons in this rivalry were fundamentally different from the expectations set out by the domino theory of nuclear proliferation.
Psychological treatment of perinatal depression: a meta-analysis
Authors: Cuijpers Pim , Franco Pamela , Ciharova Marketa , Miguel Clara , Segre Lisa , Quero Soledad , Karyotaki Eirini
Published: November 2021

Background

Depression during pregnancy and after the birth of a child is highly prevalent and an important public health problem. Psychological interventions are the first-line treatment and, although a considerable number of randomized trials have been conducted, no recent comprehensive meta-analysis has evaluated treatment effects.

Methods

We used an existing database of randomized controlled trials of psychotherapies for adult depression and included studies aimed at perinatal depression. Random effects models were used in all analyses. We examined the effects of the interventions in the short and long term, and also examined secondary outcomes.

Results

Forty-three studies with 49 comparisons and 6270 participants between an intervention and control group were included. The overall effect size was g = 0.67 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45~0.89; numbers needed-to-be-treated = 4.39] with high heterogeneity (I2 = 80%; 95% CI 75~85). This effect size remained largely unchanged and significant in a series of sensitivity analyses, although some publication bias was found. The effects remained significant at 6–12 months follow-up. Significant effects were also found for social support, anxiety, functional limitations, parental stress and marital stress, although the number of studies for each outcome was low. All results should be considered with caution because of the high levels of heterogeneity in most analyses.

Conclusions

Psychological interventions are probably effective in the treatment of perinatal depression, with effects that last at least up to 6–12 months and probably also have effects on social support, anxiety, functional impairment, parental stress, and marital stress.
Living with dementia under COVID-19 restrictions: coping and support needs among people with dementia and carers from the IDEAL cohort
Authors: O'Rourke Gareth , Pentecost Claire , van den Heuvel Eleanor , Victor Christina , Quinn Catherine , Hillman Alexandra , Litherland Rachael , Clare Linda
Published: November 2021

Stringent social restrictions imposed during 2020 to counter the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic could significantly affect the wellbeing and quality of life of people with dementia living in the community and their family carers. We explored the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on people with dementia and family carers in England and considered how negative effects might be mitigated. We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews with 11 people with dementia and 11 family carers who were ongoing participants in the IDEAL cohort during the initial ‘lockdown’ period in May and June 2020, and follow-up interviews with five people with dementia and two carers as restrictions were eased in July. We analysed interview data and triangulated the findings with issues raised in dementia-specific online forums. Findings showed some people with dementia were coping well, but others experienced a range of negative impacts, with varying degrees of improvement as restrictions were eased. The need for clear personalised information relating to COVID-19 and the value of support in the form of regular ‘just checking’ phone calls was emphasised. This exceptional situation provides a natural demonstration of how social and psychological resources shape the potential to ‘live well’ with dementia. While some support is recommended for all, a personalised approach to determine needs and coping ability would ensure that further practical and emotional support is targeted effectively.
Homages
Authors: Sahade J. , Kulikovsky P. , Swings P.
Published: November 2021

At its Liège meeting, in July 1963, the Executive Committee of the Union voted to hold this Joint Discussion as a small homage to the memory of Professor Struve. I do not need to stress why the subject of ‘Close Binaries’ was chosen as we all know that it was closer to Professor Struve’s heart than any of the other ones in which he divided his broad astronomical interest.

Mrs Mary Struve has written to me the kind letter I am going to read, a letter which summarizes so clearly how much Professor Struve would have appreciated this kind of homage.
Assessing a fossil fuels externality with a new neural networks and image optimisation algorithm: the case of atmospheric pollutants as confounders to COVID-19 lethality
Authors: Magazzino Cosimo , Mele Marco , Schneider Nicolas
Published: November 2021

This paper demonstrates how the combustion of fossil fuels for transport purpose might cause health implications. Based on an original case study [i.e. the Hubei province in China, the epicentre of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic], we collected data on atmospheric pollutants (PM2.5, PM10and CO2) and economic growth (GDP), along with daily series on COVID-19 indicators (cases, resuscitations and deaths). Then, we adopted an innovative Machine Learning approach, applying a new image Neural Networks model to investigate the causal relationships among economic, atmospheric and COVID-19 indicators. Empirical findings emphasise that any change in economic activity is found to substantially affect the dynamic levels of PM2.5, PM10and CO2which, in turn, generates significant variations in the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic and its associated lethality. As a robustness check, the conduction of an optimisation algorithm further corroborates previous results.
Promises to the Dead
Authors: Taylor James Stacey
Published: November 2021

Many people attempt to give meaning to their lives by pursuing projects that they believe will bear fruit after they have died. Knowing that their death will preclude them from protecting or promoting such projects people who draw meaning from them will often attempt to secure their continuance by securing promises from others to serve as their caretakers after they die. But those who rely on such are faced with a problem: None of the four major accounts that have been developed to explain directed promissory obligation (the Authority View, the Trust View, the Assurance View, and the Reliance View) support the view that we are obligated to keep our promises to persons who are now dead. But I will provide hope for those who wish to use such promises to protect the meaning with which they have endowed their lives. I will argue that while we cannot wrong a person who is now dead by breaking a promise made to her during her life, we could wrong the living by so doing. We thus (might) have reason to keep the promises that we made to those who are now dead.
Grieving Our Way Back to Meaningfulness
Authors: Cholbi Michael
Published: November 2021

The deaths of those on whom our practical identities rely generate a sense of disorientation or alienation from the world seemingly at odds with life being meaningful. In the terms put forth in Cheshire Calhoun's recent account of meaningfulness in life, because their existence serves as a metaphysical presupposition of our practical identities, their deaths threaten to upend a background frame of agency against which much of our choice and deliberation takes place. Here I argue for a dual role for grief in addressing this threat to life's meaningfulness. Inasmuch as grief's object is the loss of our relationship with the deceased as it was prior to their death, grief serves to alert us to the threat to our practical identities that their deaths pose to us and motivates us to defuse this threat by revising our practical identities to reflect the modification in our relationship necessitated by their deaths. Simultaneously, the emotional complexity and richness of grief episodes provides an abundance of normative evidence regarding our relationship with the deceased and our practical identities, evidence that can enable us to re-establish our practical identities and thereby recover a sense of our lives as meaningful.
Liquid regulation: the (men's) business of women's water music?
Authors: Forsyth Miranda , Dick Thomas
Published: November 2021

Complexity and uncertainty often animate the desire for regulatory approaches seeking to fix, limit and constrain. But what if, instead of doubling down on ‘solid’ regulation, we also make room for ‘liquid’ regulatory approaches? We interrogate this question through deep empirical analysis of the developing regulatory framework around a form of Melanesian cultural property known as water music. We argue that, although both solid and liquid regulatory forms exist in all normative orders, we have recently seen an increasing emphasis on solid forms of regulation (legislation, registers, etc.) with respect to cultural property. As an effort to consider alternative approaches, we identify a range of liquid regulatory strategies drawing from our case-study. We show how attention to temporality, relationality and situatedness can impact upon the degree of liquidity of individual regulatory approaches, and how they can cumulatively impact the solidity or liquidity of the overall regulatory system. Finally, we identify the different ways in which gendered power and forms of accountability emerge in contexts of solid or liquid regulatory strategies.