bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Challenges Towards Sustainable Tourism for Regional Development of Vlore Region
Authors: Prifti Aleks , Zenelaj Engjellushe
Published: April 2020

Vlora has great potential for regional development. Tourism can be as a catalyst for theeconomic growth but still have many challenges for sustainable tourism regionaldevelopment. Regional development is one ofthe most important dimensions and key ofEU policy, which is designedto: ensure convergence between the different member statesand regions; ensure regional competitiveness and employment;ensure territorialcooperation. Vlora has all the potential to bean attractive tourismdestination. Resourcesthat it can use to create its distinctive image for tourists are numerous. Across geography,which has spread Vlora region, there are monuments, archaeological item and rare naturalmonuments, natural sites and attractions centuries. Way to understand these apparentlyalready clarified is joining with the tourism environment. Return tourism potential in realestate assets for the rapid development andprosperity of the region, is one of theobjectives with which to measure the role of state institutions, businesses, investitures andpolicies that support, promote, stimulate and develop the sector oh tourism. Tourismdevelopment is facing many challenges related to development and the control urbanity,decentralization process, thegeographical distribution of tourism, exploitation of allresources and tourist potential, the protection of natural and cultural heritage.
Testing the Fair Game Hypothesis for US Dollar/Albanian Lekë Exchange Rate Over the Period January 1994- December 2012
Authors: Sota Llambrini , Kolaneci Fejzi
Published: April 2020

The purpose of the paperis to test the fair game hypothesis for exchange rate process USDollar / Albanian Lekë over theperiod January 1994 – December 2012.The results of this study include: The fairgame hypothesis is rejected for mean monthlyexchange rate US Dollar/Albanian Lekë over the period January 1994 – December 2012at 99.99% level of confidence. Day – to –dayfluctuations of the nominal exchange rateUS Dollar/ Albanian Lekë during the period 1 January 2008 – 31 December 2008 followan unfair game process at99.99% level of confidence.The fair game hypothesis isrejected for mean monthly exchange rateover the period January 2008 – December 2012at 95% level of confidence. Day – to-day fluctuations of nominalexchange rate USDollar/Albanian Lekë during the period1 January 2004 – 31 December 2012 follow anunfair game at 99.99% levelof confidence. A similar result holds for relative firstdifferences of the daily exchange rate USDollar/Albanian Lekëat 99.99% level ofconfidence. These findings are noteworthy because it has long been thought of that themovements in the US dollar / Albanian lekë nominal exchange rate must be a fair game.
What can be the Role of Public-Private Partnerships and the role of the Collective Action in Ensuring Sustainable Smallholder Participation in High Value Fruit and Vegetable Supply Chains in Albania?
Authors: SULI Hergys , BOMBAJ Florjan , XHABIJA Gjergj , SULI Dudi
Published: April 2020

Albania is a Mediterranean country where fruitsand vegetables occupy an important placein the cropping systems practiced by theAlbanian farms but also in the foodconsumption of the population. Today, the fruits and vegetables growers in Albania havelow production capacity and difficulties inselling their products on national and regionalmarket. These poor producers face problems ofhow to produce safe food (World Bank2007), be recognized as producing safe food, identify cost-effective technologies forreducing risk, and be competitive with larger producers with advantage of economies ofscale in compliance with food safety requirements. In enabling the smallholders to remaincompetitive in such a system, new institutional arrangements are required. The new andemerging food system (dominated by domestic urban market and export markets,regional competitiveness, globalization, etc.) with high demands for compliance with foodsafety and traceability disfavor the smallholders due tohigh coordination costs. Theproblem is exacerbated by geographic dispersion, low education, and poor access tocapital and information (Poulton 2005; Humphrey 2005; Rich and Narrod 2005). Themain idea of this paper is that the public-private partnerships can play a key role increating farm to fork linkages that can satisfy the market demands for food safety whileretaining smallholders in the supply chain. Our big question is “how this can be possiblein Albania and which are the rightpolicies to forward this idea?
Economic Efficiency in Edgeworth Box Market the Case of Two Goods
Authors: DEDA Eriona , SULI Dudi , SULI Hergys
Published: April 2020

Is very important for our markets, anappreciation for some of benefits oftrade and understanding to how pricesget established in simple markets.The Edgewrth box serves to orient themarkets scientifically and at the sametime can be used by decision makers inthe planning resources process tomeet customer demand. Using a production Edgewrth box , shows thatefficiency in production has similar properties to efficiency in distribution.From the optimal choices inside theEdgeworth box, we derive a productionpossibilities frontier that describes allthe efficient combinations of twogoods to maximize the benefit of both consumers. The Edgewrth box servesto orient the markets scientifically and at the same time can be used bydecision makers in the planning resources process to meet customer demand.To analyze efficiency in production weuse Edgeworth box. In the Edgeworthbox, we analyze how the market achieves a competitive equilibrium.
Energy Efficiency in Industrial Areas: Application of Best Practices for Energy Efficiency In Mediterranean Industrial Areas
Authors: Segreto Maria-Anna , Artioli Marcello , Preka Rovena , Tarantini Mario
Published: April 2020

The results presented in this paper originate from an EU research project that is near toits completion. The goal was to build a model that can be applied to all industrial sites inthe Mediterranean area. The approach followed to achieve the objectives was to study allthe new technologies and systems that, if applied globally, can make the whole areasustainable both energetically and environmentally. The application of the model allowsthe design and implementation of self-sufficient green areas in terms of energy which alsobrings to the reduction of the emissions into the atmosphere. An aim of the project wasalso to identify possible sources of funding or incentives. The main beneficiaries of theresults are SMEs that through a more responsible approach to the environment could getgreater market competitiveness and reduce energy costs of their enterprises. Otherbeneficiaries are the people who obtain advantages from a clearer and less pollutedsurrounding environment.The paper presents the results obtained from the application of the model in some pilotcases.
Building Sustainable Industrial Areas: Experience and Perspectives from the Mediterranean and Western Balkan Countries
Authors: Preka R. , Tarantini M. , Dominici Loprieno A. , Litido M. , Segreto M.
Published: April 2020

An EU research project (Mediterranean Eco-Industrial Development, (MEID)) whichinvolves different actors from Mediterranean and Western Balkans region, is currently inprogress. Its general objective is to provide innovative management figures and a decisionsupport tool (model) to plan, build and manage more competitive Sustainable IndustrialAreas (SIA) in the involved region.In order to correspond to a coherent solution, an accurate research has been performed.The methodology implemented to detect the main issues under survey has been a SWOTanalysis of several target IAs.Following its results, there have been defined the most relevant aspects aiming atsustainability of IAs in the area. The model introduces or encourages the continuousimprovement of environmental performances of the Mediterranean industrial areas in thefollowing fields: integrating production and dismissal of solid wastes, energy saving anduse of renewable energies, reducing water consumption, better viability and avoid thedeposit of dangerous material. Thanks to this “green approach”, SMEs will be the finalbeneficiaries, fostered to eco-innovation, competitiveness and transnational cooperation.This paper presents the general context and results of the MEID project.
Price Setters and Price Takers in the EU Electricity Market, a Comparative Analysis of Household Consumer Prices
Authors: Shkurti Aranit , Koc Macit
Published: April 2020

The article is concerned with the analysis of the electric power prices at the European spot exchanges, taking in consideration 27 Countries of the Union (excluding UK). The time series data are considering the half yearly average of the countries, as reported by the Eurostat database. The article examines the way spot prices are influenced by power exchanges, based on the overall installed power of more healthier economies. In recent years a growing capacity from renewable sources is pouring in the system, anyway the implementation of renewable energies do not guarantee constant supply to the network as they depend on weather conditions and therefore must still have recourse to conventional generation types - such as gas and coal - which generally have higher operating costs than renewable. An increasing number of Member States have adjusted mechanisms to promote investment in power plants or provided incentives to keep them standing. These public measures may be justified in certain situations but according to recent guidelines, the European Commission has established that the adjustment mechanisms can be in contrast with the legislation on state aid. The identification of these discrepancies is studied in this article through the key characteristics of the price differential for the EU spot markets. The inflation generated from the price adjustments within the EU members can be considered an important indicator of market inefficiency.Key words: electricity spot exchanges, subsidies, price setter, price taker, household consumers.
Load Management in Distribution Networks
Authors: Azuatalam Donald
Published: April 2020

Load management is a top concern for utilities all over the world as the total electricity consumption in most countries continues to rise. Current DECC forecasts suggest a 60% rise in the total electricity demand in the UK between the years 2030 and 2050 due to the high uptake of heat pumps and electric vehicles. Since major nuclear plants that supports base load in the UK are scheduled to shut down in ten years time due to their end of life, there will deﬁnitely be a need for extra generating capacity if this trend continues and existing loads are not well managed. Conservation voltage reduction (CVR) has proved productive in North East Utilities in the US to reduce peak demand and provide energy savings, and similar savings can be achieved in the UK. This may help defer the need for extra generating capacity and provide environmental savings. The power ﬂow simulations carried out in this work was to estimate the demand savings on UK type residential feeders in terms of the CVR factor. The analysis showed that the CVR factor is sensitive to temporal variations in load. The amount of savings realizable through CVR depends on the composition of loads on the feeder and the season eﬀected.
Re-implementation of Lock-free Contention Adapting SearchTrees
Authors: Boyles Kevin , Bao Hong , Le Heup Benjamin , Nguyen Triet , Tam Vo
Published: April 2020

To explore multi-core programming, we re-implement the Lock Free Contention Adapting Search Tree. We follow the structure of the original, using immutable treaps as leaf nodes implemented with an array for better performance with memory caching. Memory leaks are prevented through preallocation of elements. We evaluate the performance of the LFCA tree and compare it to the previous MRLock version. The LFCA tree performs better in all cases with multiple threads.
Mapa de Empatia para os Estudos de Usuários da Informação: proposta de abordagem interdisciplinar
Authors: Cândido Ana Clara , Soares da Silva Bertotti Patrícia
Published: April 2020

O objetivo é apresentar o instrumento ‘Mapa de Empatia’ como proposta complementar às análises e os métodos consolidados para os estudos de usuários da informação. Trata-se de um instrumento consolidado em gestão & negócios e que tem despertado interesse para outros contextos de aplicação. O potencial do Mapa de Empatia em aplicações de estudos de usuários está na compreensão do seu comportamento e necessidades. É um estudo exploratório, reúne conceitos de áreas distintas para obtenção de soluções complementares. A análise desta aplicação analisa o ponto de vista do usuário da informação.
Fatores críticos de sucesso na gestão do conhecimento: uma revisão bibliográfica
Authors: Zancheta Flávia Helena Barioni , Damian Ieda Pelagio Martins
Published: April 2020

A gestão do conhecimento tem conquistado um espaço maior nas organizações e no meio acadêmico. Organizações que se dedicaram a implantá-la têm alcançado resultados excelentes em alguns casos, porém insucessos em outros. Para que mais casos de sucesso possam ser alcançados, identificar os fatores críticos de sucesso para a gestão do conhecimento é de extrema importância. Dessa forma, o presente estudo tem como proposito identificar os principais fatores críticos de sucesso da gestão do conhecimento. Para tanto, foi desenvolvido um levantamento bibliográfico de modo que, ao final, foi possível identificar uma diversidade de fatores e então construir um quadro com os cinco fatores críticos de sucesso de maior importância na implantação de estratégias de gestão do conhecimento, suas principais características e os autores que os citam, e, a partir deste quadro, tecer comentários e considerações que possam contribuir para o aprofundamento do tema junto à Ciência da Informação.
Aplicação de metodologias ativas de aprendizagem no ensino de Fontes de Informação no Curso de Biblioteconomia
Authors: Lessa Bruna
Published: April 2020

Considerando que os estudos voltados para o ensino do curso de Biblioteconomia têm se debruçado muito mais sobre os resultados das atividades aplicadas do que para as metodologias de ensino aplicadas nas disciplinas oferecidas em seu currículo mínimo, tem-se como objetivo neste trabalho relatar o uso da metodologia ativa de aprendizagem - Problem Based Learning (PBL ou aprendizagem baseada em projetos ou problemas) na disciplina Fontes de Informação do Curso de Biblioteconomia e Documentação, da Universidade Federal da Bahia. Para isso, apresenta-se as etapas desenvolvidas na aplicação do PBL em sala de aula. O resultado foi a criação, pelos alunos, de um catálogo on-line de fotonovelas a partir do problema apresentado. Concluiu-se que em relação aos métodos tradicionais utilizados, a aplicação do método possibilitou aos alunos vivenciar durante a graduação uma prática cotidiana do profissional bibliotecário, além de possibilitar uma abordagem interdisciplinar.
Bibliotecas digitais e e-books: um breve panorama mundial sobre os acervos gratuitos
Authors: Reis Juliani Menezes dos , Backes Luciana
Published: April 2020

Esse artigo apresenta a investigação sobre o panorama mundial das bibliotecas digitais, através do levantamento de notícias e pesquisas relacionadas à existência de e-books e de bibliotecas digitais em diversos países e em todos os continentes. Essa investigação ocorreu considerando a seguinte questão: Como as bibliotecas digitais são constituídas no contexto altamente tecnologizado? Para tanto, realizamos o levantamento em diferentes plataformas por meio de palavras-chave. Os projetos de bibliotecas digitais apresentados contemplam diversos materiais em formato digital, além dos livros digitais. A inserção de livros digitais, em larga ou baixa escala, está ocorrendo em diversos países do mundo. Apresenta as bibliotecas digitais disponíveis gratuitamente pelo mundo como recursos a serem utilizados pelos bibliotecários fornecendo assim alternativas a leitura digital pelos usuários.
Discussões em torno dos arquivos pessoais face a teoria arquivística
Authors: Mattos Renato de , Pereira Adriana Arrojado Correia
Published: April 2020

Nas últimas décadas, os arquivos pessoais vêm assumindo um lugar de destaque no âmbito dos estudos arquivísticos. Com efeito, o crescente interesse que a temática desperta se fundamenta em suas especificidades teóricas e na potencialidade informacional que os seus acervos oferecem aos estudiosos de diversas áreas. Contudo, apesar de ocupar um importante espaço na Arquivologia, o tema dos arquivos pessoais ainda é objeto de controvérsias entre os pesquisadores da área. Com o objetivo de identificar parte das questões que os arquivos dessa natureza colocam à teoria arquivística, por meio da revisão da literatura, o artigo apresenta alguns dos olhares divergentes que hoje persistem sobre o estatuto arquivítico dos arquivos pessoais.
Study of the Nanocomposite Mo2C(1-x)-TiC(x)-SWCNTs by Field Actived Sparck Plasma Sintering Process
Authors: Bendjemil Badis , Noudem Jacques G. , Mouyane Mohamed , Bernard Jérôme , Guhel Yannick , Houivet David , Bendjemil Badis
Published: April 2020

Nanocomposites are worn resistant materials used in cutting tool applications. The materials are composed of ultrafine powder hard phase grains surrounded by a tough binder phase carbon nanotubes (Mo2C)1-x–(TiC)x (2≤x≤4)//1Wt% SWCNTs. Composite bicarbide Mo2C-TiC was rapidly synthesised and simultaneously consolidated by field activated sintering technique (spark plasma sintering) at which the extensive volume expansion occurred as a function of the volumic fraction from 20 to 40 vol.% of TiC powders and 1 Wt.% of SWCNTs was reinforcement of the NCMC’s. The sintered powder mixture was examined by XRD patterns, the morphology of the obtained phase was observed by SEM and the phase compositions in different regions were analyzed by EDX. The composites were processed using Field Activated Sintering Technique, spark plasma sintering (SPS) at temperatures in the range of 1700-1800°C with addicting of SWCNTs. The effects of SWCNTs addition on phases morphology, microstructure hardness and fracture toughness of the nanocomposite were investigated. The best product contained 1.0 Wt% SWCNTs from (Mo2C)1-x–(TiC)x , x= 0.2 which was sintered at 1700°C, 70 MPa for 10 min, M0.8T0.2/ 1 Wt% SWCNTs exhibit a better density, highest hardness and good ductility. Relative densification was achieved 99.5 % from the theoretical and good mechanical properties like hardness and fracture toughness (KIC=5.6 Mpa m1/2) are improved. The results were confirmed using Raman scattering resonant spectroscopy.
Dispersão e fragmentação urbana: uma análise espacial com base na distribuição da população
Authors: Alves José Diego Gobbo , D'Antona Alvaro de Oliveira
Published: April 2020

Pesquisas sobre a dispersão e a fragmentação urbana consideram indicadores não-espaciais como a densidade demográfica e a centralidade econômica em suas análises. De forma alternativa, o propósito do artigo é apresentar uma metodologia baseada em métricas da distribuição espacial da população em uma grade estatística regular, potencializando o uso de dados demográficos. Em um Sistema de Informação Geográfica, foram calculados indicadores com dados do Censo Demográfico de 2010 para os 23 municípios da Aglomeração Urbana de Piracicaba (AUP), estado de São Paulo, de tal modo a avaliar a forma urbana, a extensão e a fragmentação da mancha urbana em cada município. Os resultados mostram que os municípios apresentam características como fragmentação e espraiamento em intensidades diferentes, e que a distribuição espacial observada na AUP se orienta conforme vetores de ocupação territorial, como as rodovias. Detectaram-se correlações positivas e fortes entre volume da população, dimensões e formas da mancha urbana. O caso da AUP indica que a metodologia é propícia para a leitura espacial dos fenômenos considerados e para estudos comparativos. Com dados de fácil acesso, a técnica oferece boa resolução espacial, podendo ser replicada para outros recortes. Os resultados permitem dialogar com a produção bibliográfica sobre a dispersão urbana, seja pela explicitação do seu componente espacial, seja pela possibilidade de interação com outros indicadores não-espaciais.
Distributed proxy cache replacement algorithm to improve web server performance
Authors: Wijaya Marvin Chandra
Published: April 2020

The performance of web processing needs to increase to meet the growth of internet usage, one of which is by using cache on the web proxy server. This study examines the implementation of the proxy cache replacement algorithm to increase cache hits in the proxy server. The study was conducted by creating a clustered or distributed web server system using eight web server nodes. The system was able to provide increased latency by 90 % better and increased throughput of 5.33 times better.
Adaptive seismic noise reduction using Wiener filter
Authors: Sriyanto Sesar Prabu Dwi
Published: April 2020

Seismic noise disrupts the earthquake observation system due to the frequency and amplitude of seismic noise similar to the earthquake signal. The filter process is one of the methods that can be used to reduce seismic noise. In this study, the Wiener filter algorithm was designed with the Decision-Directed method for Apriori SNR estimation. This filter was chosen because it is adaptive, so it can adjust to environmental conditions without requiring manual parameter settings. The data used are earthquake signals that occur in the Palu area, Central Sulawesi, which are recorded on PKA29 temporary seismic station from February 3 to April 28, 2015. After each signal data has been filtered, then it is evaluated by calculating SNR differences before and after filtering, the signal's dominant frequency, and the cross-correlation of the signal before and after filtering. As a result, the Wiener filter is able to reduce the noise content in earthquake signals according to noisy frequencies before earthquake signals. The impact is that SNR has increased with an average of 8.056 dB. In addition, this filter is also able to maintain the shape of earthquake signals. This is indicated by the normalization value of the cross-correlation between signals before and after the filter which ranges from 0.703 to 1.00.
CERTYFIKACJA ZNAJOMOŚCI JĘZYKÓW OBCYCH DLA CELÓW SPECJALISTYCZNYCH – MIĘDZY TEORIĄ A RZECZYWISTOŚCIĄ
Authors: Sendur Agnieszka M.
Published: April 2020

A certificate proving the holder’s proficiency in a foreign language for specific purposes (LSP) should guarantee that the person submitting such a document is able to perform specific professional tasks using the particular foreign language. Therefore, an examination measuring such competencies should meet certain requirements and have certain characteristics. What are the differences between testing languages for general and for specific purposes? Are these differences visible in existing certificate examinations? Do the language certificates issued on the basis of LSP examinations give employers a guarantee that the employee can handle professional tasks which demand the use of the foreign language in question? In an attempt to answer these queries, the article will outline the theoretical principles behind testing languages for specific purposes and try to compare the theory and practice through an analysis of several LSP exams available on the market. Reflecting on the observations, it will also try to determine why the reality is often so distant from the theoretical foundations.
KSZTAŁTOWANIE UMIEJĘTNOŚCI AUTOEWALUACJI U UCZĄCYCH SIĘ JĘZYKA OBCEGO W WIEKU 55+
Authors: Posiadała Katarzyna
Published: April 2020

Self-assessment is a key learning strategy for autonomous language learning, enabling learners to become more aware of the learning process, more ready to take responsibility for their own learning, empowered to make their own changes and to relate learning to individual needs. Also it may help learners to become more aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as of strategies which best suit their particular learning styles and hence to become more reflective and autonomous explorers of language. This paper discusses why self-assessment is important in the toolkit of foreign language learners aged 55+ and presents techniques which help develop self-assessment skills in foreign language learning in this group of learners. One of the most effective self-assessment tools in working with students aged 55+ is The European Language Portfolio.
ÉVALUATION FORMATIVE PAR LE BIAIS DE PRATIQUES « LERNEN DURCH LEHREN » DESTINÉES AUX ÉTUDIANTS DE NIVEAU AVANCÉ
Authors: Widła Halina
Published: April 2020

This article illustrates ways of assessing students’ work in the Multimedia master’s seminar and compares the benefits of formative and summative evaluations in this context. During the Multimedia seminar, prospective foreign language teachers and translators create their own multimedia resources, which fill a gap in teaching materials on offer. This allows the students to become specialists in particular areas. This article illustrates ways of assessing students’ work in the Multimedia master’s seminar and compares the benefits of formative and summative evaluations in this context. Students appreciated the importance of formative assessment, recognizing its advantage over summative evaluation. Systematic semi-autonomous work subjected to continual verification proved to be key to the achievement of the desired skills. The results also demonstrated how knowledge of learners’ first and second languages is advantageous, as it allows teachers to more accurately identify and evaluate the difficulties learners face during the acquisition of a third language. These unusual forms of learning by teaching require considerable time and sufficient motivation but notably improve the quality of the learning process.
„Zwięźle spleciony warkocz kontrapunktu”. Poezja Stanisława Barańczaka a doświadczanie granicy „
Authors: Piotrowska-Grot Magdalena
Published: April 2020

The article attempts to familiarise the reader with Stanisław Barańczak’s poetic presentations of experiencing border and limit. It synthesises the set of various sorts of limits faced by the human from Barańczak’s poems. Moreover, the analyses and interpretations in the article aim to make evident the characteristic way in which the author of Surgical Precision (Chirurgiczna precyzja) presents the border between existence and eschatology and, more specifically, the way how Barańczak nullifies this border between dimensions in his poetry. His poems are not devoid of metaphors inspired by eschatological considerations and the functions these references serve are worth a closer look. Firstly, there are the most obvious sociopolitical connotations also used by the language of communist propaganda. The most important in the quoted poems, though, are the deliberate references to eschatology that expose the association mechanism and deconstruct the linguistic habits of a Christianity-based cultural circle. Using the ambiguity of specific words and images and creating metaphors based on eschatology-related phenomena, Barańczak familiarises the reader with death and negates the artificial duality of worlds. This is not, however, metaphysical poetry in a classic sense; it is poetry close to human existence and, above all, to all of the numerous fears accompanying people.
Spektakl w teatrze marionetek. O wierszu Stanisława Barańczaka Bist Du bei mir raz jeszcze
Authors: Dembińska-Pawelec Joanna
Published: April 2020

This essay presents an interpretation of Stanisław Barańczak’s Bist du bei mir – a poem that has often been the subject of literary studies. The author refers to the poem’s motto – a fragment of an aria by Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel from Clavierbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach, often falsely attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach. She also points at the context of mystical poetry: Adam Mickiewicz’s epigrams from Zdania i uwagi z dzieł Jakuba Bema, Anioła Ślązaka (Angelus Silesius) i Sę-Martena [Sentences and remarks. From the works of Jacob Böhme, Angelus Silesius, and St. Martin] and G. Herbert’s poems translated by Barańczak. In the author’s reading, the poet, in an ironic gesture of reference, strips the reader of literarydelusions, discovering deeply tragic dimensions of life and, possibly, also of personal experience of suffering.
„Promień ostry, który nas otwiera”. Światło w międzywojennej poezji Czesława Miłosza
Authors: Magdalena Amroziewicz Magdalena Amroziewicz
Published: April 2020

In Czesław Miłosz’s poetry, light takes a special place. In my work, I have made an attempt to determine its role in the interwar poetry of the memberof the Żagary literary group, in which light takes various shapes which are often contrary to one another. One can look at them in search of not only a variability of artistic forms, but also for testimonies of the era and declarations of contemporary poetic worldview of the author of Three Winters (Trzy zimy). The clash with various interpretations of the word ‘catastrophism’ shows that light in Miłosz’s poetry leads far beyond the course of history.
Epifania podlaska. Spotkanie z białoruskim Innym i rekonstrukcja tożsamości w Sońce (2014) i Miłości (2017) Ignacego Karpowicza Akcja
Authors: Manuel Ghilarducci Manuel Ghilarducci
Published: April 2020

The article, by means of an analysis of the role of visual and linguistic epiphany in the novels Sońka (2014) and Love (Miłość) (2017), based on the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, Jacques Lacan and Emmanuel Lévinas, aims to expand the existing research on Ignacy Karpowicz’s geopoetics and literary provincialism.
Zerwania i ślady. O kryzysie krytyki literackiej raz jeszcze (z krakowską szkołą krytyki literackiej w tle)
Authors: Klaudia Muca Klaudia Muca
Published: April 2020

The article introduces the issue of a crisis of literary criticism in Poland in the 20th and 21st centuries. The crisis is linked to the spheres of culture described by the term literacy (or cultural literacy). One of the reasons for the crisis is the series of ruptures in the tradition of literary criticism. In order to overcome this crisis, it is crucial to relate the ruptured threads of narration on literary criticism. The Krakow school of literary criticism serves here as an example of a rupture between the present and the tradition (or heritage). Another problem analysed in the text is that of establishing a tradition and a school of thought. By verifying some of the elements of the discourse on literary criticism (e.g. Masters, ruptures, traces, melancholic position), some possibilities for overcoming the crisis are being considered.
Nieznana korespondencja Władysława Reymonta
Authors: Mateusz Bourkane Mateusz Bourkane
Published: April 2020

This study is an edition of two unpublished letters by Władysław Reymont from January and May 1895. Both epistolary testimonies, related to the writer’sjourney to Italy, significantly expand our knowledge of the relatively early period in his literary biography.
Zdystansowany inteligent. Emocje a afekt w poezji Barańczaka
Authors: Przymuszała Beata Przymuszała
Published: April 2020

The article analyses Barańczak’s poetry to compare the cultural models of presenting emotions (especially characteristic to modernist poetry exploring emotional restraint) with the feeling of hurt and the resulting fear occasionally seen in his work: not expressed directly, yet affecting the perception of reality. The relation between emotions and affect powerfully shapes the image of the poetic persona in the poems of the author of Surgical Precision (Chirurgiczna precyzja), also affecting the literary language.
„Świat przebrany, nieprzebrany”. Metafora tekstylna w poezji Stanisława Barańczaka
Authors: Czaja Kamila
Published: April 2020

The article discusses the issue of textile metaphor and its function in Stanisław Barańczak’s poetry – a topic that used to be discussed mainly in relation to women’s poetry. In his poems, Barańczak uses elements of garments as a means to capture abstract and often dangerous aspects of existence and as a symbol of a system or a characteristic of citizens living in a specific time. Textile metaphor allows him to expose the falsehood of the system and the threat of totalitarianism, while also constituting part of a dissident’s everyday equipment. References to parts of garments are a way to present the poetic programme and the ambiguous role of an artist. In a ‘disguised’ and dangerous world of poetry marked by a secret difficultto ‘uncover’, one is, in a way, sentenced to dress against the requirements imposed on them by reality.
Network Reconfiguration of Radial Active Distribution Systems in Uncertain Environment Using Super Sense Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Agrawal Praveen , Kanwar Neeraj , Gupta Nikhil , Niazi K. R. , Swarnkar Anil
Published: April 2020

Enormous work has been reported in literature to enhance the performance of metaheuristics by modifying their internal mechanisms via intervening their control equations. Usually, these population based techniques are initiated through random creation of individuals (tentative solutions) to preserve adequate diversity in population and then attempts have been made to maintain a better balance between exploration and exploitation of the problem search space. However, it would be much better if some strategy is employed that could divert tentative solutions toward the promising region. This can be possible if the algorithm has some mechanism to develop certain knowledge (super sense) about the quality of decision variables of the problem. This paper presents super sense genetic algorithm (SSGA) that gradually develops super sense during successive genetic evolutions. The accumulated genetic information so obtained is stored and used to divert individuals near the promising region while preserving adequate diversity. SSGA differs to standard genetic algorithm (GA) only on this aspect. SSGA is applied to solve complex combinatorial network reconfiguration problem of radial distribution systems. The application results highlight the effectiveness of proposed GA.
MXenes: focus on optical and electronic properties and corresponding applications
Authors: Wang Yifan , Xu Yanheng , Hu Menglei , Ling Han , Zhu Xi
Published: April 2020

The discovery of graphene, the first two-dimensional (2D) material, has caused an upsurge, as this kind of material revealed a tremendous potential of application in areas such as energy storage, electronics, and gas separation. MXenes are referred to as a family of 2D transition metal carbides, carbonitrides, and nitrides. After the synthesis of Ti3C2 from Ti3AlC2 in 2011, about 30 new compositions have been reported. These materials have been widely discussed, synthesized, and investigated by many research groups, as they have many advantages over traditional 2D materials. This review covers the structures of MXenes, discusses various synthesis routines, analyzes the properties, especially optical and electronic properties, and summarizes their applications and potential, which may give readers an overview of these popular materials.
The pump fluence and wavelength-dependent ultrafast carrier dynamics and optical nonlinear absorption in black phosphorus nanosheets
Authors: Wu Wenzhi , Zhou Yongjian , Wang Jun , Shao Yabin , Kong Degui , Gao Yachen , Wang Yaguo
Published: April 2020

Pump fluence and probe wavelength-dependent ultrafast carrier dynamics and optical nonlinear absorption in black phosphorus nanosheets are investigated by transient absorption spectroscopy and open-aperture Z scan techniques. The decay time becomes longer with larger wavelengths under pump wavelengths of both 400 nm and 800 nm excitation. For 800 nm excitation, pump fluence-dependent lifetime shows complex behaviors, which might be due to the competition between the linear absorption and two photon absorption. For 400 nm excitation, an additional decaying channel is observed at a larger pump fluence, which is explained by an effective subband structure. In open-aperture Z scan measurements, strong saturation absorption is observed in the visible region over a broad band from 450 nm to 700 nm. The saturation intensity shows an increasing trend with increase in the wavelength. Also, the saturation intensities under different pulse widths and solvents are discussed in detail. Our results show that black phosphorus nanosheets have great potential in future ultrathin optoelectronic devices.
VS2 as saturable absorber for Q-switched pulse generation
Authors: Li Lu , Pang Lihui , Zhao Qiyi , Wang Yao , Liu Wenjun
Published: April 2020

Transition metal dichalcogenides have been widely utilized as nonlinear optical materials for laser pulse generation applications. Herein, we study the nonlinear optical properties of a VS2-based optical device and its application as a new saturable absorber (SA) for high-power pulse generation. Few-layer VS2 nanosheets are deposited on the tapered region of a microfiber to form an SA device, which shows a modulation depth of 40.52%. After incorporating the microfiber-VS2 SA into an Er-doped fiber laser cavity, passively Q-switched pulse trains could be obtained with repetition rates varying from 95 to 233 kHz. Under the pump power of 890 mW, the largest output power and shortest pulse duration are measured to be 43 mW and 854 ns, respectively. The high signal-to-noise ratio of 60 dB confirms the excellent stability of the Q-switching state. To the best of our knolowdge, this is the first illustration of using VS2 as an SA. Our experimental results demonstrate that VS2 nanomaterials have a large potential for nonlinear optics applications.
Why intellectual freedom? Or; Your values are historically contingent
Authors: Ratcliffe Caitlin
Published: April 2020

Intellectual freedom is a cornerstone value of library and information studies (LIS) in the twenty-first century. However, LIS institutions have not always held intellectual freedom with the significance it has today. Historic analysis situates the development of intellectual freedom in the context of the European Enlightenment. This systematized review analyzes the use of the phrase “intellectual freedom” in primary sources from the mid-eighteenth century until the American Library Association (ALA) published the Library’s Bill of Rights in 1939 in order to examine the historic origins and development of intellectual freedom as a shared cultural value prior to 1939. I consider the development of intellectual freedom from two perspectives: as a shared value that developed in Britain and the United States during the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries and as a meaningful phrase found in primary sources regarding religion, politics, and education. By contextualizing the origins of intellectual freedom with Enlightenment values and discourse, it is hoped this study will illustrate the fundamental nature of intellectual freedom as a value within LIS philosophy and contribute to the conversation about intellectual freedom as a continually negotiated concept that must be held in balance with social responsibility.
Perisaccadic remapping: What? How? Why?
Authors: Neupane Sujaya , Guitton Daniel , Pack Christopher C.
Published: April 2020

About 25 years ago, the discovery of receptive field (RF) remapping in the parietal cortex of nonhuman primates revealed that visual RFs, widely assumed to have a fixed retinotopic organization, can change position before every saccade. Measuring such changes can be deceptively difficult. As a result, studies that followed have generated a fascinating but somewhat confusing picture of the phenomenon. In this review, we describe how observations of RF remapping depend on the spatial and temporal sampling of visual RFs and saccade directions. Further, we summarize some of the theories of how remapping might occur in neural circuitry. Finally, based on neurophysiological and psychophysical observations, we discuss the ways in which remapping information might facilitate computations in downstream brain areas.
Degeneration of Settler Colonialism in Contemporary Cinematic Depictions of the U.S. West: Introduction
Authors: Marubbio M. Elise , Paryż Marek , Carter Matthew
Published: April 2020

The settler’s situation is underpinned by the fear of having been caught in a process of endless transition, hence the determination to define the parameters of collective sovereignty and to establish a satisfactory existential basis. The sense of uncertainty that underlies the settler’s situation accounts for the necessity of developing power structures that sustain the settler collective’s striving to complete its design, and this triggers a range of conflicts. Repeatedly addressing the eponymous region’s legacy of settler colonialism, film depictions of the American West re-inscribe oppression of racial minorities, sexual abuse, and class exploitation in order to validate the foundational settler-nation myth that consolidates hegemonic forms of racial, economic, cultural, and political power.
Portrayals of Degenerate Religious Leaders in Contemporary Film Westerns
Authors: Paryż Marek
Published: April 2020

This article discusses three contemporary film Westerns –Sweetwater(2013, dir. Logan Miller),The Duel(2016, dir. Kieran Darcy-Smith), andBrimstone(2016, dir. Martin Koolhoven) – with respect to their depiction of certain extreme forms of religiosity as a manifestation of the degeneration of the settler colonial social order. The plots of these three films revolve around the conflict between the hero/heroine and his/her antagonist who happens to be a charismatic, manipulating, and psychopathic religious leader.Sweetwater,The Duel, andBrimstoneimply that, in settler colonial societies, religion becomes an expression of self-containment and hinders modernizing processes. It sustains the illusion of permanence and of the collective immunity to external influences. And when the order it protects comes under threat, religiously motivated violence proves to be the primary means of defense.
Settler Colonial Disease and Dis-Ease in August: Osage County
Authors: Marubbio M. Elise
Published: April 2020

Tracy Letts’s screenplay, August: Osage County (2013), and John Wells’s film adaptation (2013) offer a compelling critique of American racism towards Native Americans which demands that viewers consider their own inculcation into ongoing settler-nation colonialism. The film layers the history of place (Oklahoma) with the Cheyenne character Johnna, whose Indigenous heritage is negotiated throughout by liberal academics, conservative rural matriarchs, and Johnna herself. The role is small but essential to the film’s allegorical analysis of settler-colonialism and racism. The Weston family’s secrets, addictions, and dysfunction starkly contrast with Johnna’s health and stability. Through Johnna, the film questions the toll colonialism takes on the mental and physical health of the American people. This paper analyzes the metanarrative association of the Weston family’s dysfunction and racism with ongoing colonialism that results in disease of the settler-colonial space as it emerges in the screenplay and film.
Appropriating the Comanche: Hell or High Water and the New Southwest
Authors: Green Douglas E.
Published: April 2020

Hell or High Water (2016) takes the elegiac mode – the wistful lament for the myth of the Old West – and recasts it as a raucous country song on the dismantling of that myth by twenty-first-century capitalism. In the wake of the Great Recession, director David Mackenzie and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan pair off two iconic sets of Western characters: a couple of down-and-out bank-robbing brothers shadowed by an old, White Texas Ranger and his American-Indian/Mexican-American deputy. The values of the lawmen and the outlaw brothers are not mutually exclusive – each pair shares more with the other than with the new materialistic order around them. The overarching metaphor for men who repeatedly confront the socioeconomic forces pitted against their values is the Comanche, to which several characters lay claim. Hell or High Water gives us both a lament for the myth of the Old West and a tart critique of the film Western and of the real-world exploitation of the region, its people, and the American dream they cling to.
Fatigue Fracture Investigation of Engineered Cementitious Composites
Authors: Gao Shuling , Qi Lin , Wang Wenchang , Hu Guanhua , Shi Hongfei , Alhaj Abdullah
Published: April 2020

The fracture failure and crack propagation of engineered cementitious composites (ECC) are analyzed based on extended finite element method (XFEM) simulation and experiment. Three-point bending notched beam under static and fatigue load is employed in this research. As a result, the peak loads in the experiment were consistent with simulation results, while the simulated crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) values corresponding to the peak loads were generally smaller than the experimental results. In addition, it was observed that a single crack’s propagation occurred along the initial notch in numerical simulation rather than multiple cracks’ propagation. Though the cycle times of fatigue load were short in the simulation of fatigue fracture under low-stress level and high cycle frequency, the loading cycle frequency had a negligible influence on simulation. However, the higher the stress level was, the greater the effect of the loading cycle frequency on the simulation results. A higher loading frequency will reduce the model’s load carrying capacity. The results showed that the XFEM can simulate the crack propagation behavior and get the strain hardening vertical load–CMOD curve of ECC to a certain extent. XFEM provides a convenient way to solve complex practical engineering problems of ECC with the strain hardening property.
Comparison of pipette method and state of the art analytical techniques to determine granulometric properties of sediments and soils
Authors: Gresina Fruzsina
Published: April 2020

The determination of particle size distribution is a crucial issue in various fields of earth sciences (e.g., Quaternary research, sedimentology, stratigraphy, structural geology, volcanology), environmental sciences as well as diverse industrial applications (e.g., pharmaceuticals, cement industry). New measurement techniques developed as a result of industrial demands have also gained ground in environmental and Earth sciences research. The new techniques (especially laser diffraction) have enabled the particle characterisation in the broader size-range with a more detailed resolution. Still, they have to be compared with data obtained by classical methods. In light of the above, the primary aim of our research is to examine the methods of particle size determination critically. Excessive oversimplifications of particle size analyses routinely have used in paleo-environmental and paleo-climatological reconstructions, and other sedimentary studies, as well as insufficient knowledge of the background of the applied methods, distort the interpretation of the results. Over the past four decades, laser diffraction particle size analysers have proven to be practical tools of particle size characterisation. However, the shape of the natural sediment and soil particles are irregular and, therefore, affects the particle size distribution results obtained by different methods. The results of the traditional pipette method differed from laser diffraction results. The presence or absence of the pretreatments did control the differences between the two techniques. The results of Fraunhofer optical method were significantly different from Mie theory because it can detect much lower volume percentages of finer particles. Grain size results of coarse-grained samples measured by different laser diffraction devices were more comparable than the results of more clayey samples. The ratios of different sizes were changed due to the hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide pretreatments. The comparison of different techniques is necessary to revaluate standards in grain size measurements which can enable the shift from conventional methods to more productive and reproducible methods. Still, light scattering techniques have not yet been able to displace classical methods in Earth sciences completely, in contrast to industrial applications.