bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of the coupled-dipoles on photosynthetic performance in a photosynthetic quantum heat engine*
Authors: Li Ling-Fang , Zhao Shun-Cai
Published: January 2021

Recent evidence suggests that the multiple charge-separation pathways can contribute to photosynthetic performance. In this work, the influence of coupled-dipoles on photosynthetic performance was investigated in a two-charge separation pathways quantum heat engine (QHE) model. And the population dynamics of the two coupled sites, j–V characteristics, and power involving this photosynthetic QHE model were evaluated for the photosynthetic performance. The results illustrate that the photosynthetic performance can be greatly enhanced but quantum interference is deactivated by the coupled-dipoles between the two-charge separation pathways. However, the photosynthetic performance can also be promoted by the deactivated quantum interference owing to the coupled-dipoles. It is a novel role of the coupled-dipoles in the energy transport process of biological photosynthetic, and some artificial strategies may be motivated by this photosynthetic QHE model in the future.
Percolation thresholds for robust network connectivity
Authors: Mohseni-Kabir Arman , Pant Mihir , Towsley Don , Guha Saikat , Swami Ananthram
Published: January 2021

Communication networks, power grids, and transportation networks are all examples of networks whose performance depends on reliable connectivity of their underlying network components even in the presence of usual network dynamics due to mobility, node or edge failures, and varying traffic loads. Percolation theory quantifies the threshold value of a local control parameter such as a node occupation (resp., deletion) probability or an edge activation (resp., removal) probability above (resp., below) which there exists a giant connected component (GCC), a connected component comprising of a number of occupied nodes and active edges whose size is proportional to the size of the network itself. Any pair of occupied nodes in the GCC is connected via at least one path comprised of active edges and occupied nodes. The mere existence of the GCC itself does not guarantee that the long-range connectivity would be robust, e.g. to random link or node failures due to network dynamics. In this paper, we explore new percolation thresholds that guarantee not only spanning network connectivity, but also robustness. We define and analyze four measures of robust network connectivity, explore their interrelationships, and numerically evaluate the respective robust percolation thresholds for the 2D square lattice.
Effects of soapmaking process on soap stability with dragon fruit peels extract
Authors: Purwanto M , Yulianti E S , Nurfauzi I N , Winarni
Published: January 2021

This research aims to know the effects of extract composition on the solid soap properties (i.e. pH and hardness). The extract composition and reaction time were varied at 1 to 1.5 wt.% and 20 to 40 minutes, respectively. The red dragon fruit peels (Hylocereus polyrhizus) extract was obtained by maceration method followed by evaporation process, in order to remove the remaining ethanol (EtOH). The solid soap is made by reacting Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and several additives. The results showed that the prepared solid soaps contain pH (8.29 – 10), hardness (55.763 – 380.167 mm/s). It indicates that solid soap with reaction time 20 minutes with 1.5 wt.% extract has the best stability among all the formed soaps.
Analysis of Mathematical Model on Impact of Unemployment Growth to Crime Rates
Authors: Soemarsono A R , Fitria I , Nugraheni K , Hanifa N
Published: January 2021

Unemployment is a condition describes a person doesn’t have a job. People who are available to work but they’ve not found a job is called unemployed. The high unemployment rate is due to the growth of new workforce that is greater than the growth of job openings. The high unemployment rate triggered an increase in crime. Efforts to lower the criminality figures caused by high unemployment are closely related to government policy. The provision of control of government policy is applied to mathematical models of unemployment growth. The impact of unemployment growth against the crime rate can be identified by constructing a new model. Construction of models was done through the addition of a variable described the number of criminals into the initial model of unemployment that has been given control. Stability analysis of the construction of new models is done using Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion. Based on the results of the stability analysis, it is presented that the mathematical model on impact of unemployment growth to crime rates is an asymptotically stable model with the conditions of the parameters fulfilled.
Improving the quality of pipeline insulation with high-density Calcium Silicate material
Authors: Sulardi  , El-Ridlo N K
Published: January 2021

The problem currently being faced is the occurrence of pipe leakage due to corrosion under insulation. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the specifications and ways of applying high-density calcium silicate insulation material as a substitute for rock wool mineral insulation material that has been used since the beginning of the refinery construction. This research method used the application research method with the case study approach method, which is a case study of pipe leakage problems due to corrosion under insulation. The results showed that the emergence of corrosion problems under insulation was due to rock wool mineral material storing and depositing water in the insulation. The observations also showed that after the insulation was replaced, the temperature of the steam fluid in the piping increased by 9-14°C and the results of observation through widow inspection revealed that the calcium silicate condition remained dry and the piping condition did not indicate corrosion. The results of this study indicated that high-density calcium silicate material was suitable and also recommends corrosion control under insulation by replacing rock wool mineral material into high-density calcium silicate.
Stiff, strong and tough laminated glasses with bio-inspired designs
Authors: Yin Zhen , Barthelat Francois
Published: January 2021

Glass is an attractive material with outstanding transparency, hardness, durability and chemical stability. However, the inherent brittleness and low toughness of glass limit its applications. Overcoming the brittleness of glass will help satisfy the rapidly increasing demands of glass in building materials, optical devices, electronics and photovoltaic systems, but it has been a challenge to create glass that is stiff, strong and tough while maintaining its transparency. In this study we explore how the basic design of laminated glass can be enriched with bio-inspired architectures generated with laser engraving. We assess the performance of designs based on continuous plies (90° cross plies, Bouligand), finite glass blocks (segmented Bouligand, nacre-like brick-and-mortar) and hybrid designs. It shows that simultaneous improvements of stiffness, strength and energy absorption upon continuous ply designs can be achieved by promoting delocalized shearing of the polymeric interlayer over brittle fracture of the glass building blocks, and by only placing enriched architectures under tensile deformation so that interlayer shearing can be realized. This principle can be realized simply by adjusting size and arrangement of the building blocks, and by combining continuous plain layers with architectured layers.
A meta-analysis of the relationship between companies’ greenhouse gas emissions and financial performance
Authors: Galama Jan Taeke , Scholtens Bert
Published: January 2021

We study how the business and economics literature investigates how companies’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relate to their financial performance. To this extent, we undertake a meta-analysis to help us gauge the role of using highly different constructs and measurement techniques employed in this literature. Our study includes 74 effect sizes from 34 studies, covering 107 605 observations for the period 1997–2019. We establish a significant association between corporate GHG emissions and financial performance. It shows that companies with lower emissions have better financial performance. We find that the type of emission or financial performance indicator is not significant. The industry to which the firms in the sample studies belong does seems to matter slightly. We further establish that the relationship between GHG emissions and financial performance is especially pronounced for firms operating in countries with the most stringent carbon policies.
A review of measuring ecosystem resilience to disturbance
Authors: Yi Chuixiang , Jackson Nathan
Published: January 2021

Resilience is the central concept for understanding how an ecosystem responds to a strong perturbation, and is related to other concepts used to analyze system properties in the face of change such as resistance, recovery, sustainability, vulnerability, stability, adaptive capacity, regime shift, and tipping point. It is extremely challenging to formulate resilience thinking into practice. The current state-of-art approaches of assessing ecosystem resilience may be useful for policy makers and ecosystem resource managers to minimize climatological or natural disaster related impacts. Here, we review the methods of assessing resilience and classify and limit them to three cases: (a) forest resilience based mainly on remote sensing and tree-ring data; (b) soil microbial community resilience based on laboratory and field studies; and (c) hydrological resilience of terrestrial biomes based on the Budyko framework and climate data.
Holocene fluctuations in vegetation and human population demonstrate social resilience in the prehistory of the Central Plains of China
Authors: Ren Xiaolin , Xu Junjie , Wang Hui , Storozum Michael , Lu Peng , Mo Duowen , Li Tuoyu , Xiong Jianguo , Kidder Tristram R
Published: January 2021

Archaeologists and palaeoclimatologists have focused on the impact of climate on the prehistoric civilizations around the world; however, social resilience in the face of the climate change remains unclear, especially during the Neolithic and Bronze Age in the Central Plains of China (CPC). In this paper, we present palynological results from the Dahecun Core, Henan Province, China. Our pollen data indicate a warm and wet climate condition from 9200 to 4000 cal BP, which then switches to a cool and dry climatic condition during the Neolithic-Bronze Age transition (∼4000–3600 cal BP). We analyze 14C dates from archaeological sites to demonstrate four episodes of population increase and present vegetation dynamics, determined from available pollen data, to provide evidence for the synchronous shifts in vegetation and human population during the Neolithic. Our results indicate that the aridification in the early Bronze Age did not cause population collapse, highlighting the importance of social resilience to climate change. The pollen, radiocarbon dates and archaeobotanical records from the CPC provides new evidence that supports the claim that the development of agriculture and complex societies, under the stress of a dry climate, set the stage for the dramatic increase of human population around 3800–3400 cal BP.
Finite-velocity diffusion in the presence of a force
Authors: Cáceres Manuel O
Published: January 2021

We have studied a Cattaneo–Fick diffusion process in the presence of a deterministic force. Specifically, analytic results for the stationary probability distribution are solved for stable and unstable potentials. It is shown that the finite support as well as the shape of the stationary density are controlled by the telegrapher’s parameters (relaxation time T and velocity of propagation θ). We have found the occurrence of a multimodality transition depending on the critical exponent of the potential and parameters T, θ. This research is motivated by the study of exact results for generic Smoluchoswki-like processes with finite-velocity diffusion.
Crack width evaluation of Reinforced Concrete beam in flexure
Authors: Dash Bimalendu , Markandeya Raju P , Mishra Kapileswar
Published: January 2021

Crack width evaluation of flexural RC member is evaluated analytically by two significant formulas given by researchers and four standard code i.e. IS 456-2000, BSEN 1992-1-1-2004, ECP 203-2007, ACI 318-95 and compared. Parameters such as clear cover, the effect of diameter, variation of depth, number of bars with the same cross-section and increasing external moment are considered for computing the crack width. From the study of results of this study, it can be concluded that clear covers estimated based on IS 456 2000 are highest and those estimated based on EGYPTIAN CODE; 203-2007 are lowest as compared to other codes and mathematical models considered in this study. It can also be concluded that crack width increases with increase in clear cover or external moment while it decreases with increase in reinforcement diameter, depth of the beam or number of bars.
Reliability analysis of doubly Reinforced Concrete Beams retrofitted by plate bonding
Authors: Markandeya Raju P , Lal Mohiddin Sk.
Published: January 2021

This paper concerns the safety of the simply supported reinforced concrete beams subjected to only bending loads: so that the reliability index and probability of failure are to be calculated. Reliability index was carried out by using Hasofer-Lind method for the doubly reinforced beam with and without retrofitted beams having externally bonded plates (porous and solid) with variable thickness for the limit state in bending. Reliability index can be calculated by using MS-EXCEL. The reliability index for control beam is 0.4022 and the FR-A4 beam is 3.9791. So, the reliability index is high for retrofitted beam only. The Probability of failure (3.5E-05) for FR-C4 beam is very low under the combination of porous plate and 3mm plate thickness.
Mathematical Model for Natural Frequency of Prestressed Concrete beam using STAAD.Pro.
Authors: Markandeya Raju P , Pavan Kumar M , Adiseshu S , Sai Sravan Kumar V V
Published: January 2021

The problem of assessing the variation in natural frequency of a prestressed and un-prestressed beam has been of considerable interest to Structural Engineers. The objective of the present work is to find the effect of pre-stressing on Natural frequency of a Concrete beam and thereby establishing a relationship between the natural frequency of 1st mode of vibration and other modes. Conventional methods were used to calculate the natural frequency of 1 to 5 modes of vibration for un-prestressed beams while STAAD.Pro was used for assessing the same for prestressed beams. A 20 m span beam with different live loads and cross-sections were considered for the study. From the results, it was observed that as the cross-section of the beam increases, the natural frequency decreases. Comparing the natural frequency of 1st mode of vibration for beams with and without prestressing, it can be observed that within the scope of this work, the natural frequency of the un-prestressed beam with live load 15 kN/m is more than that for the prestressed beam. For the other two load-carrying capacities, it is vice-versa. It was also observed that the % difference of Natural frequency of a particular mode of vibration w.r.t mode 1 natural frequency is almost constant. In other words, the effect of live load and cross-section is negligible on the % difference of Mode i to Mode 1 natural frequency. Based on this characteristic, a mathematical model has been developed.
A comparative study of slope stability analysis of Manganese slag stabilized soil to an ordinary soil
Authors: Parimi Sumanjali , Satyanarayana P V V
Published: January 2021

Slopes are required in the construction of Highways, Railways, Earthen dams, canal banks, levees and at many other locations. The construction of embankment over the ground is not possible in a vertical way. The Soil can be piled up with slope only. The cost of earthwork is minimum if the slopes are steepest but the Steeper slopes are not safe as per stability conditions because it may fail in shear. The only force acting on the piled earth is gravity force. This gravitational force produces shear in the soil and causes slippage. The failure lead to loss of property and life. There is a lesser chance of slippage of soil if we provide more bottom width compared to its top width. But it requires more area and more earth to fill. So, it is uneconomical.

In the present study, the soil was collected from the highway extension project, from the geotechnical investigation it was identified that the soil shear strength was quite low. To improve shear characteristics and to decrease the dry density of soil, it is to be stabilized with a lightweight material, possessing good frictional characteristics. A waste by-product was identified from the industry of nearest village called Manganese (Mn) slag. The soil was stabilized with various percentages of Mn slag, from the geotechnical characterization, an optimum % of slag is selected as 10 %. An embankment slope is assumed for further slope stability analysis. The analysis is carried out on two slopes, one is made with ordinary soil and the other is soil stabilized with optimum Mn slag %. Both stabilized soil embankment and ordinary soil embankment are analysed by using the Method of slices and the final results were compared.
Effect of bamboo fibres and lime on engineering properties of expansive soil
Authors: Prasad D S V , Sivannarayana Ch , Sunitha P
Published: January 2021

Shear strength, differential settlements and lofty compressibility, extensive soil usually create a problem for civil engineers and geotechnical engineers. Stabilization is one of the oldest ways to augment the soil quality of problematic soil. In current time, it has been experienced to the totalling of fibres improves the ductility performance of the soil close by tumbling the maturity of fractures throughout the contraction. This paper illustrates the outcome of lime plus bamboo fibres on strength performance black cotton soil blending with different percentages by conducting California Bearing Ratio, Modified Proctor Compaction as well as Unconfined Compressive Strength at various curative periods. The test result indicates that strength characteristics of the most viable combination of black cotton soil-lime sample combined with bamboo fibres are considerably better than un-treated black cotton soil and also the strength of soil increased due to increase in the curing period.
Effect of various mineral and chemical admixtures on the improvement of subgrade CBR
Authors: Ponnada Sudheer , Rajeswararao K , Markandeya Raju P
Published: January 2021

Increase in the rate of traffic volume and heavy vehicle loads gave a revolution in highway construction technology, this increase is due to continuous growth in economic activities. Therefore, it is necessary to construct highly durable and serviceable road structures on any type of soil. In continuation, a good subgrade can influence the thickness of road structure, increases the strength pavement, and reduce the cost of road structure construction. California bearing ratio (CBR) is a generally utilized in-direct technique to evaluate the strength’ of subgrade and it directly gives the pavement thickness in pavement analysis and design work. So, if increasing in the CBR value results thicknesses of the pavement will decrease and it, in turn, reduces the construction cost of the pavement structure. In the present investigation, the collected soil samples are Black Cotton soils from Dharmapuri, Vizianagaram, AP. Same soil stabilized with various replace percentages of Fly ash and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) (i.e. up to 10%) and NaOH (i.e. 5%). The Atterberg limits, Free swell Index, and CBR tests were completed on original and stabilized soils. Finally, authors observed that the considered BC soil stabilized with mineral admixture (Fly ash and GGBS) and chemical admixture (NaOH) results in more than 400% increase in CBR with 35% decrease in pavement thickness, and 23% decrease in pavement construction cost.
Sustainable materials in the production of pavement base and subbase courses
Authors: Ram Kumar B A V , Ramakrishna G
Published: January 2021

The use of sustainable materials in construction is the need of the hour amidst the depletion of natural resources at a rapid rate. The significance of green roads is increasing day by day and green approach for road construction can be only achieved by the use of sustainable construction materials. In the present study, an effort has been made to make base and subbase courses sustainable using Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) and Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) along with a very less quantity of cement. RAP used in the present study was obtained from the in situ milling of NH-16 at Srikakulam. To meet the gradation requirements as per IRC Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) was used along with RAP. Upon initial trial tests, it was concluded that unbound specimens made with RAP and GGBS have failed to meet the minimum unconfined compressive strength(UCS) requirements as per IRC: SP-89:2010 due to which cement by weight of 2% of total mix was added to meet the UCS requirement of 4.5 MPa at seven days. The optimum proportion of RAP that can be used to replace virgin aggregate (VA) was found to be 30% based on UCS test results. The durability studies of GGBS stabilized RAP/VA mixes were found to be satisfactory. The retained strength of the samples after durability studies is 91.43% which is greater than 80% as specified by IRC: SP-89:2010.
Compressive strength of concrete with partial replacement of Fine Aggregate with crushed Electronic waste plastic
Authors: Veerabhadram Kandalam , Satya Bhavya B L , Mani Bhaskar S
Published: January 2021

Electronic waste (E-waste) of about 53.6 MT is generated globally with 7.3 kg per capita, wherein India generates about 1.72 MT. Out of the total generated e-waste, only 17.4% is recycled properly. The e-waste constitutes both organic and inorganic compounds while handling. Plastic waste is one of the inorganic compounds of e-waste, which has majorly become a massive problem owing to its non-degradable property. Moreover, a very less percentage of this is being reused/recycled every year. This also has many negative impacts on the environment so there is a necessity to study its uses alternately. Therefore, it is preliminarily desired to attempt in replacing the fine aggregate to certain percentage viz 0%, 10%, 15%, 20% by using available plastic components of e-waste available from circuit boards, body cabinets of a computer after crushing. In this paper, an attempt has been made to observe the effects of partially replacing fine aggregate with e-waste (plastic). The impact of alternative material to fine aggregate in material compositions is determined by testing the physical (Density) & strength (Compressive and Flexural) properties of concrete. Testing for these impacts helps in understanding the extent up to which these wastes can be used in concrete. Thereby, the usage of natural materials in construction practices can be reduced. Finally, it is inferred that the usage of e-waste plastic particles as a part of the reuse mechanism helps in improving sustainability due to less usage of sand.
Verification of irregularities in a reinforced concrete tall structure
Authors: Raju Penumatcha Krishnam , Ravindra Vipparthy
Published: January 2021

Building plans with simple, regular and compact arrangements are preferred to perform well during the occurrence of earthquakes. In practice, planning a regular layout may not be possible in all occasions due to irregular shape of building sites in the plan as well as in elevation due to uneven ground conditions. It is a challenge both for the architect and structural designer to plan and design such buildings. Further, the planning is to be made in compliance with the rules and regulations of the local approving authorities, which sometimes may lead to irregular shapes both in plan and elevation. Most of the times, the owner’s and / or builder’s requirement is to be fulfilled such that the project is viable to them. This is a challenge for the practising professionals designing the structures that are built in earthquake zones of III, IV and V. The earthquake resistant design code i.e., IS 1893 (Part 1) was revised in the year 2016 and adopting the provisions of building irregularities with more restrictions on their allowable limits. This paper addresses the identification or verification of the existence of building irregularities in a 17 storey multipurpose tall structure with two parking, two commercial and 13 residential floors. From the results, it is opined that there is a need for a review of the procedure and some of the limits set on irregular building configurations particularly Stiffness, Excessive openings, Out-of-plane offsets, Strength, In-plane discontinuity and Irregular modes of oscillation.
Influence of rare-earth element doping on interface and mechanical properties of WC particles reinforced steel matrix composites
Authors: Li Zulai , Zhao Wei , Zhang Donglan , Shan Quan , Zhang Fei , Wang Xingyu
Published: January 2021

In this paper, WC particles reinforced steel matrix composites (WCP/SMC) doped with rare-earth elements Y, Ce, La, and Nd, are manufactured via powder metallurgy sintering. The interface and mechanical properties of WCP/SMC are theoretically and experimentally investigated. The microstructures are observed through SEM, EDS and XRD. The properties are determined by compression and micro-hardness tests. The effects of rare-earth element doping on interface and mechanical properties of composites are investigated. The results indicate that composites mainly consist of α-Fe, W2C, WC, and Fe3W3C. In addition, the doping can accelerate the inter-atomic diffusion of the atoms in the interfacial reaction zone, promote the formation of Fe3W3C phase, and widen the interfacial reaction zone. Doping of rare-earth elements can reduce the hardness difference between the interfacial reaction zone and the composite matrix from 10.15 to 5.71 GPa and increases the compressive strength from 296.7 to 659.2 MPa. First-principles calculations indicate that doping of rare earth can reduce the interfacial, formation, and dissolution energy between the WC particles and the iron matrix. Thus, the stability of the interfacial reaction zone and bonding between the WC particles and the matrix is improved. By comparing the results with first-principles based calculations, composites doped with Nd have the best relative reaction interface bonding and mechanical properties.
Technical research on vacuum distillation to purify magnesium to 99.99% purity
Authors: Tian Yuan , Zhang Xiaopan , Qu Tao , Lyu Fei , Du Hao , Shi Lei , Yang Bin , Dai Yongnian
Published: January 2021

In this study, the distribution and evaporation principles of impurities in distilled magnesium metal were investigated using a low vacuum (8 × 104 Pa) distillation purification experiment and theoretical analysis. Provided all other factors remain unchanged (distillation time, pressure, and total area of evaporation), the optimum temperature for preparing high-purity Mg (99.99%) is 750 °C. A detailed analysis of purified Mg was obtained by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) for 10 major impurity elements. After distillation at 750 °C, low vapor pressure impurities in condensed magnesium, including Si, Mn, Al, Fe, Cu, Ni, and Sn were significantly reduced as other impurities were slightly reduced. Our analysis confirmed a decrease in the following impurities: Fe, Si, Mn, Cu, and Al were reduced from 21.8, 78.6, 68.4, 4.4, and 39.4 ppm to 1.2, 9.3, 6.0, 1.0, and 5.4 ppm, respectively; satisfying the 99.99% Mg standard. The evaporation rate and separation coefficient were calculated under experimental conditions. To better describe the distillation process of metallic magnesium under low vacuum conditions, the mean free path is also calculated in this study under actual conditions.
Cobalt-based alloy surfacing process optimization and surfacing material performance analysis
Authors: Xue Haitao , Zhou Dong , Guo WeiBing , Luan Xiaoping , Li Tao , Zhao Jianglong
Published: January 2021

In order to solve the problem of the failure of the UMCo50 process burner, the orthogonal test was used to optimize the UMCo50 cobalt-based alloy TIG surfacing process, better joint performance was obtained for welding current of 120 A, surfacing speed of 12 cm min−1, interpass temperature of 50 °C and surfacing layer of 2 ∼ 3 layers; Tungsten inert gas(TIG) welding and plasma transferred arc weld(PTAW) surfacing were used to surfacing UMCo50 welding wire and T800 cobalt-based alloy powder on UMCo50 base metal. The structure, hardness, high temperature wear resistance and heat corrosion resistance of the surfacing layer were compared. The results show that UMCo50 surfacing layers are α-Co (fcc) and ε-Co (hcp); T800 alloy surfacing layers are mainly Co3Mo2Si, CoMoSi, α-Co and ε-Co. The Laves phase in the T800 alloy surfacing layer significantly improves its hardness and high temperature wear resistance; Under the same test conditions, the heat and corrosion resistance of the UMCo50 surfacing layer is significantly better than that of the T800 surfacing layer.
Tension modeling and precise tension control of roll-to-roll system for flexible electronics
Authors: Jeong Jaehyeong , Gafurov Anton Nailevich , Park Pyoungwon , Kim Inyoung , Kim Hyun-Chang , Kang Dongwoo , Oh Dongho , Lee Taik-Min
Published: January 2021

This study proposes the design of a roll-to-roll system for flexible electronics that enables accurate and precise tension control. It analyzes the factors for change in the tension of a roll-to-roll system and develops a tension model for each section to successfully predict the tension that is applied to such a system, the sagging of film according to tension, and deformation due to residual stress. This series of modeling processes allow engineers to design a roll-to-roll system for flexible electronics. Both a velocity control method for the tension between in-feeder and out-feeder—where there is no change of roller radius—and torque control method for the tension in modules like the rewinder, where the roll radius changes, are proposed. A roll-to-roll system according to the proposed design procedure and tension control methods was manufactured and experimented on under various test conditions. The accuracy and precision of velocity control between the in-feeder and the out-feeder were 100.01% and 1.15%, respectively, whereas those of torque control between the out-feeder and the rewinder were 99.9% and 1.35%, respectively, both at one sigma. The experiments confirmed that the two proposed types of tension control methods were accurate and precise. The experimental result with a monitoring sensor showed that the modeling was valid and that an accurate roll-to-roll system minimizing tension reduction was built. This study successfully demonstrated roll-to-roll system design and control techniques that are applicable to various pieces of roll-to-roll process equipment.
Reception Theory, Reception History, Reception Studies
Authors: Willis Ika
Published: January 2021

Reception-oriented literary theory, history, and criticism, all analyze the processes by which literary texts are received, both in the moment of their first publication and long afterwards: how texts are interpreted, appropriated, adapted, transformed, passed on, canonized, and/or forgotten by various audiences. Reception draws on multiple methodologies and approaches including semiotics and deconstruction; ethnography, sociology, and history; media theory and archaeology; and feminist, Marxist, black, and postcolonial criticism. Studying reception gives us insights into the texts themselves and their possible range of meanings, uses, and value; into the interpretative regimes of specific historical periods and cultural milieux; and into the nature of linguistic meaning and communication.
Testing and Interpreting Interaction Effects
Authors: Dawson Jeremy F.
Published: January 2021

Researchers often want to test whether the association between two or more variables depends on the value of a different variable. To do this, they usually test interactions, often in the form of moderated multiple regression (MMR) or its extensions. If there is an interaction effect, it means the relationship being tested does differ as the other variable (moderator) changes. While methods for determining whether an interaction exists are well established, less consensus exists about how to understand, or probe, these interactions. Many of the common methods (e.g., simple slope testing, regions of significance, use of Gardner et al.’s typology) have some reliance on post hoc significance testing, which is unhelpful much of the time, and also potentially misleading, sometimes resulting in contradictory findings. A recommended procedure for probing interaction effects involves a systematic description of the nature and size of interaction effects, considering the main effects (estimated after centering variables) as well as the size and direction of the interaction effect itself. Interaction effects can also be more usefully plotted by including both a greater range of moderator values and showing confidence bands.

Although two-way linear interactions are the most common in the literature, three-way interactions and nonlinear interactions are also often found. Again, methods for testing these interactions are well known, but procedures for understanding these more complex effects have received less attention—in part because of the greater complexity of what such interpretation involves. For three-way linear interactions, the slope difference test has become a standard form of interpretation and linking the findings with theory; however, this is also prone to some of the shortcomings described for post hoc probing of two-way effects. Descriptions of three-way interactions can be improved by using some of the same principles used for two-way interactions, as well as by the appropriate use of the slope difference test. For nonlinear effects, the complexity is greater still, and a different approach is needed to explain these effects more helpfully, focusing on describing the changing shape of the effects across values of the moderator(s). Some of these principles can also be carried forward into more complex models, such as multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, and models that involve both mediation and moderation.
Chinese Diaspora and Social Media: Negotiating Transnational Space
Authors: Sun Wanning
Published: January 2021

The period since about the late 1980s has witnessed the phenomenal ascent of the People’s Republic of China as a political, economic, and military power on the global stage. China’s rise has engendered an earnest, if perhaps not well-executed, agenda to promote a more attractive image of the country. In this period China has also experienced a rapid escalation in outbound migration to various parts of the world, with a small number of countries in the global West emerging as the preferred destinations for Chinese migrants, and, in some cases, China becoming their biggest source of new migrants. In the United States, China replaced Mexico as the top sending country in 2018. In Canada, mainland China has taken over from Hong Kong and Taiwan as the largest source of Chinese immigration, while in Australia, China now has the second-largest migrant population behind the United Kingdom, and has only recently slipped into second position behind India as the nation’s leading source of new immigrants. These developments have made China’s diaspora the biggest in the world. In the eyes and minds of the Chinese government, Chinese migrants are important potential assets in its efforts to push its global soft power agenda.

The period of accelerated outbound migration from China coincided with the emergence of first the internet, and then digital media—in particular, the most popular Chinese social media platform, WeChat (Weixin in Chinese). Against the backdrop of these developments at the macro level, the topic of social media and the Chinese diaspora becomes a question of considerable significance. Some analysts argue that the dramatically enlarged mainland Chinese diaspora has effectively become an instrument of China’s soft power agenda, while others point out the positive role that members of this group play in their host communities. In particular, they highlight the potential of Chinese-language social media—and in particular WeChat, which is widely used by Chinese people both within and outside China—to have a beneficial impact on Chinese immigrants’ prospects for social integration in the countries where they now reside. The pursuit of these questions entails a brief foray into a number of research areas, including the Chinese diaspora, the history and transformation of Chinese-language diasporic media, the infrastructural and regulatory framework of WeChat, and public diplomacy via diaspora. Addressing these questions also has the benefit of broadening, and possibly enriching, the concepts of digital diaspora, on the one hand, and digital citizenship, on the other.
Public Administration and Development
Authors: Puppim de Oliveira Jose A.
Published: January 2021

Discussions about the role of the state in steering the development path of countries have post-World War II roots, when the field of public administration was already established. The links between public administration and development processes have emerged from three main traditions: the development administration (mostly from public administration scholars), developmental states (political scientists and economists), and international development (development studies). Those three traditions have tended to merge in the 21st century as the discussions are less about theories and more about practice and themes around the role of public administration to foster the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Development Agenda. This vibrant field has been reinvigorated by the emergence of the Asian success stories, which are not explained by the existing theories developed in the West. The future looks promising for those interested in developing new paradigms of public administration based on organizational and societal contexts that are not fully understood.
Relations, Aliveness, Love: Curriculum in the Spirit of the Earth
Authors: Latremouille Jodi , Tait Lesley , Jardine David W.
Published: January 2021

Images and practices of relations, aliveness, and love provide a way to reconcile knowledge and its schooled pursuit with the wisdom required in our current, ecologically desperate times. This desperation is rooted, in part, in threads of the efficiency movement that were inherited by education in the early 1900s and left schools with a curriculum legacy that has become exhausted and counterproductive. This inheritance can be countered with ideas from the traditions of hermeneutics and ecological thought. But they are also countered with life-affirming and life-sustaining Cree ideas: wahkohtowin, wicihitowin, and sakihitowin. Practicing these ideas can help align work inside and outside schools with the characteristic spirit (ethos) of our earthly being, and can provide the grounds for a pointed critique of, and alternative to, the regnant regimes of contemporary schooling. wahkohtowin means, briefly put, “all things are related/all things are our relations” and wicihitowin refers to “the life-giving energy that is generated when people face each other as relatives and build trusting relationships by connecting with others in respectful ways.” sakihitowin means “love.” Reimagining curriculum as constituted by living fields of relations while also considering not only the energeia, the “aliveness” that is generated in the face-to-face care of and learning the ways of such living fields, but also the deep affection that is both needed for and produced by such reimagining, increases the prospects of our ecological future and the future of the more-than-human world.
Health and Gender in Adolescence in the United States
Authors: Barcelos Chris
Published: January 2021

In the United States, gender and health in adolescence are sites of contestation and conflict marked by both hyperrepresentations and absences. Youth who are multiply marginalized by interlocking systems of racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, cissexism, ableism, and so on are overrepresented in cultural and policy domains as “at risk” for negative health outcomes. At the same time, absences surrounding young people’s complex health needs and experiences abound in schools, healthcare settings, families, and the media. For instance, debates around sex education and teen pregnancy prevention have dominated the policy landscape for decades, with no signs of receding any time soon. Missing from these debates has been an analysis of how the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality structure the health outcomes and educational experiences of diverse youth. Likewise, queer, transgender, and gender-expansive youth are overrepresented in discussions about bullying to the detriment of the social structural factors that produce poor mental health outcomes. Understanding how gender and health play out in the lives of adolescents, as well as at the level of social institutions and structures, is central to teasing out the dynamics of gender, health, and social inequalities.
Ismaili Tradition in Iran
Authors: Sárközy Miklós
Published: January 2021

The present article aims at summarizing the history and cultural legacy of Ismāʿīlīsm, an important medieval and contemporary branch of Shīʿī Islam in Iran or, more precisely, in the Persian lands. Ismāʿīlīsm, developing gradually after 760 ce (after the death of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq, the sixth Imam of Ismāʿīlīs and Twelver Shīʿīs), maintained close cultural and religious ties with Iranian lands, appearing as early as the 9th century ce in present-day Iran and Central Asia. Since then, Ismāʿīlīsm has been present in Iranian culture, creating an interesting amalgam where Persianate cultural elements enriched the religious, philosophical, and cultural heritage of Ismāʿīlīsm. One must also note that Ismāʿīlīsm had different subgroups present in the Iranian lands such as pre-Fatimid Ismāʿīlīsm, Fatimid Ismāʿīlīsm, Qarmaṭī Ismāʿīlīsm and, last but not least, the most significant of them, Nizārī Ismāʿīlīsm (with its various offshoots in present-day Iran and Central Asia); followers of the latter are still living in some provinces of Iran. The heyday of Ismāʿīlīsm during the so-called Alamūt period of the Nizārī Ismāʿīlīs was undoubtedly the 11th–13th centuries ce, but Badakhshānī Ismāʿīlīs in Central Asia as well as later post-Alamūt Nizārī Ismāʿīlīsm in Iran are also of great importance.
Records of Planetary Observations in Ancient Japan Before the 11th Century
Authors: Tanikawa Kiyotaka , Sôma Mitsuru
Published: January 2021

The records of planetary observations in Japan in the 7th century ad are treated separately from other records because they are written in the Nihongi. It is known that Japanese observational astronomy was recorded in the 7th century ad, but astronomy in Japan did not evolve straightforward in that century. There are thirty-one records that exist from that time, including four records on the Moon and planets. Correspondingly, a new interpretation of Japanese ancient history has been proposed. For the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries, records have been compiled on the relative motion of the Moon and the planets, the motion of planets in the constellations, and stars seen in the daytime, as stated in Japanese recorded history. These records are written in Chinese, as in the case of the Nihongi, but have been translated into English. The orbits of the Moon and planets have been calculated using the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) development ephemeris (DE) in order to confirm the validity of the records. The numbers of records and observations are not the same because one record may contain multiple observations. The accuracy of individual observations is discussed.
Pastoralist Ecologies
Authors: McCabe J. Terrence
Published: January 2021

Rangelands cover more of the earth’s surface (25–45 percent) than any other type of land. The primary livelihood strategy for people living in these lands is the raising of livestock, with an estimated thirty million people in Africa alone depending on livestock for their basic subsistence. Pastoral people are found all over the world, and regardless of what continent on which they are found, the environments in which they live are characterized as marginal, being too dry or cold for cultivation. These ecosystems are also subject to unpredictable extreme events, most commonly droughts. The impact of the environment on pastoral people’s decision-making and livelihoods and the impact of livestock on the environment have been the subject of anthropological inquiry since the 1940s. Beginning with E. E. Evans-Pritchard’s work in the Sudan and Owen Lattimore’s work in China, many aspects of the literature on pastoralism have developed in concert with the larger literature on ecological and environmental anthropology. How to define pastoralism has also been the subject of anthropological debate, and how to define a livelihood as “pastoral” has been complicated by more recent research revealing that people have moved in and out of livestock keeping for millennia. However, the degree to which people depend on livestock, both in terms of subsistence and identity, lies at the core of any definition of pastoralism. In many respects, the anthropological and ecological study of pastoralism has led the way in the theoretical development of the study of human/environment relationships. Theoretical advances have also had important policy implications. The idea that pastoralism will inevitably lead to environmental degradation (the tragedy of the commons argument) has influenced governments and development agencies to advocate for reduced mobility and reduction of the number of livestock kept by pastoral households. This understanding has been challenged by an examination of rangelands as nonequilibrium systems, which would require a rethinking of pastoral development policies and programs. Now ecological anthropologists and other social scientists are examining the resilience of these coupled social and ecological systems as rangeland ecosystems are increasingly fragmented and subject to climate change.
Digital Resources: Latin America and the International Labour Organization
Authors: Vergara Ángela
Published: January 2021

The ILO Century Project is the digitalization initiative of the International Labour Organization (ILO). It contains historical documents of the ILO such as conference proceedings and minutes, journals, reports, and the complete issues of the International Labour Review (1921–present) and Official Bulletin. There are also the reports of the Conference of the American States, the regional organization representing the American countries that are members of the ILO. In addition, the ILO has three searchable databases: LABORDOC, NATLEX, and NORMLEX. LABORDOC has thousands of open documents and books covering topics such as the Andean and the World Employment Programmes. NORMLEX includes information from the Committee on Freedom of Association and Commission of Inquiry, with the former playing a central role in the fight against dictatorship and authoritarianism in Latin America. The image gallery with pictures offers a glimpse into the presence of the ILO throughout the world. Together these sources are key to study the contributions of the ILO to labor justice, the impact of the ILO on Latin America, and the efforts of local actors to reach international organizations.