bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Stochastic Rock Slope Stability Analysis: Open Pit Case Study with Adjacent Block Caving
Authors: Nguyen Phu Minh Vuong , Marciniak Michał 
Published: July 2024

AbstractIn last decades, numerical modelling become a useful tool for solving complex geoengineering problems such as slope stability. On the other hand, probabilistic slope stability analyses are able to consider the variability of the rock mass properties in the decision making process. However, the application of probabilistic slope stability analysis with large three-dimensional numerical models is still limited due to the computational expenses of evaluating a substantial number of considered models. It is well-known that response surface methodology (RSM) couples the mathematical and statistical techniques to relate input variables to the response, allowing a reliable outcome and reasonable time of the analysis. Taking these advantages, this article presents an application of RSM in probabilistic slope stability analysis using three dimensional distinct element modelling. For this purpose, the most influencing factors including: uniaxial compressive strength, geological strength index (GSI), and shear strength of discontinuities, were taken into consideration to determine the probability of failure of an open pit slope located in vicinity of a block caving-induced subsidence crater. Numerical analysis of slope stability was conducted for an open pit slope using the Distinct Element Method code-3DEC. Probability distribution of the factor of safety (FS) was determined and possible slope failure mechanism was observed. In addition, the block caving-induced subsidence was investigated. The final outcomes indicate that Response Surface Methodology is applicable when couples with numerical modelling of complex issues, GSI is considered the most influential variable. The studied slope is considered stable due to the low value of the FS probability distribution (2.2%). This research is expected to provide a reference for slope stability analysis in case of transition from Open Pit to Underground Mining.
Pathways to master’s education: insights from students in transnational higher education in China
Authors: Lai Mei , Jung Jisun 
Published: July 2024

AbstractPrevious studies have identified the tendency among transnational higher education (TNHE) graduates to pursue master’s programmes, especially overseas degrees. Nonetheless, there is a lack of exploratory research on this ‘transnational’ group to understand the logic of practice behind this phenomenon. This article draws on interviews with 23 students at a Sino-US university to understand their perceptions of master’s study and explore the effect of TNHE experience on their decision-making about further study. Using Bourdieu’s theory of practice, we find students perceive pursuing master’s study as a natural progression and a remedy for failures in their educational backgrounds. This paper also argues that the ‘fit’ or ‘split’ between TNHE students’ habitus and the embedded field generates two distinct groups regarding choices of post-graduate study, international aspirants and returnees. While the acquisition of new habitus and capital through TNHE experiences steers most students towards international master’s study, the durability of old habitus and personal reflexivity lead a few to pursue domestic education. Our findings provide implications for TNHE administrators in supporting students’ post-graduate educational aspirations and further development of TNHE institutions in China.
Navigating between Promises and Realities of Transdisciplinary Research for Environmental Conservation
Authors: De La Rosa Gabriela , Milberg Muñiz Esther , El-Hani Charbel N. , Ludwig David 
Published: July 2024

AbstractTransdisciplinary approaches combining technical perspectives with qualitative insights from the social sciences and non-academic stakeholders have emerged as a promising way to address the complexity of current socioenvironmental crises. However, transdisciplinary incorporation of diverse interests, knowledge, and worldviews requires acknowledging and addressing inherent inequities. Our case study combines two complementary transdisciplinary studies, the first conducted by a biologist/ecologist being trained in inter- and transdisciplinary methods at the time of the study, applying a quick participatory diagnosis in a fishing community, while the second is conducted by a social scientist studying the research group itself. Our results allow an exploration of the challenges and possibilities of navigating from transdisciplinary ideals to practical implementation. Our findings highlight the importance of nurturing relationships built on care, reciprocity, and openness to address the power imbalances inherent in university-community participatory practices. We suggest that the community’s autonomy and agency can be preserved while actively engaging its members in the transdisciplinary process, alleviating power differences and fostering a collaborative and equitable transdisciplinary framework. Overall, we emphasize the significance of integrating participatory methods, critical reflexivity, and attention to power dynamics in realizing the potential of transdisciplinary approaches for addressing complex conservation challenges and fostering meaningful community engagement.
Design of multi-modal feedback channel of human–robot cognitive interface for teleoperation in manufacturing
Authors: Zheng Chen , Wang Kangning , Gao Shiqi , Yu Yang , Wang Zhanxi , Tang Yunlong 
Published: July 2024

AbstractTeleoperation, which is a specific mode of human–robot collaboration enabling a human operator to provide instructions and monitor the actions of the robot remotely, has proved beneficial for application to hazardous and unstructured manufacturing environments. Despite the design of a command channel from human operators to robots, most existing studies on teleoperation fail to focus on the design of the feedback channel from the robot to the human operator, which plays a crucial role in reducing the cognitive load, particularly in precise and concentrated manufacturing tasks. This paper focuses on designing a feedback channel for the cognitive interface between a human operator and a robot considering human cognition. Current studies on human–robot cognitive interfaces in robot teleoperation are extensively surveyed. Further, the modalities of human cognition that foster understanding and transparency during teleoperation are identified. In addition, the human–robot cognitive interface, which utilizes the proposed multi-modal feedback channel, is developed on a teleoperated robotic grasping system as a case study. Finally, a series of experiments based on different modal feedback channels are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of enhancing the performance of the teleoperated grasping of fragile products and reducing the cognitive load via the objective aspects of experimental results and the subjective aspects of operator feedback.
Depth-Enhanced Deep Learning Approach For Monocular Camera Based 3D Object Detection
Authors: Wang Chuyao , Aouf Nabil 
Published: July 2024

AbstractAutomatic 3D object detection using monocular cameras presents significant challenges in the context of autonomous driving. Precise labeling of 3D object scales requires accurate spatial information, which is difficult to obtain from a single image due to the inherent lack of depth information in monocular images, compared to LiDAR data. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to address this issue by enhancing deep neural networks with depth information for monocular 3D object detection. The proposed method comprises three key components: 1)Feature Enhancement Pyramid Module: We extend the conventional Feature Pyramid Networks (FPN) by introducing a feature enhancement pyramid network. This module fuses feature maps from the original pyramid and captures contextual correlations across multiple scales. To increase the connectivity between low-level and high-level features, additional pathways are incorporated. 2)Auxiliary Dense Depth Estimator: We introduce an auxiliary dense depth estimator that generates dense depth maps to enhance the spatial perception capabilities of the deep network model without adding computational burden. 3)Augmented Center Depth Regression: To aid center depth estimation, we employ additional bounding box vertex depth regression based on geometry. Our experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed technique over existing competitive methods reported in the literature. The approach showcases remarkable performance improvements in monocular 3D object detection, making it a promising solution for autonomous driving applications.
Biopolymeric Composite Columns for Improving Water Quality in a Freshwater Stream Receiving Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluents
Authors: Akpınar Şahin , Gurbuz Fatma , Özcan Samet , Odabaşı Mehmet 
Published: July 2024

AbstractInefficiently treated wastewater, which contains a high concentration of pollutants, is hazardous when it is mixed with the clean water of rivers and lakes. Nitrate in particular is a major global problem that leads to eutrophication and poses a threat to both aquatic ecosystems and human health. To address this issue, this work assessed the efficiency of polymeric cryogel (PC) and biopolymer (EPS)-blended composites (EPS@PC) in removing nitrates. Tests were also conducted to quantify the decrease in phosphate, chloride ions, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in real water samples taken from the Ankara stream, which receives effluents from both urban (UWTP) and industrial (IWTP) wastewater treatment plants. Five different columns with varying adsorptive properties were prepared, some of which were combined with iron. The EPS-@PC-C5 column demonstrated the highest adsorption ratio for nitrate removal compared to the other tested columns. The EPS@PC-C5 achieved a high removal efficiency of 126.38 mg nitrate/g and showed COD reduction ranging from 60.2 to 94.1%. The removal ratio of chloride concentration varied between 56.0 and 75.7%, while the removal of phosphates ranged from 87 to 99%. Columns composed of EPS (EPS@PC) with both negatively and positively charged ligands are dependable and suitable options for water remediation.
Graphical Abstract
Examples of cosmological spacetimes without CMC Cauchy surfaces
Authors: Ling Eric , Ohanyan Argam 
Published: July 2024

AbstractCMC (constant mean curvature) Cauchy surfaces play an important role in mathematical relativity as finding solutions to the vacuum Einstein constraint equations is made much simpler by assuming CMC initial data. However, Bartnik (Commun Math Phys 117(4):615–624, 1988) constructed a cosmological spacetime without a CMC Cauchy surface whose spatial topology is the connected sum of two three-dimensional tori. Similarly, Chruściel et al. (Commun Math Phys 257(1):29–42, 2005) constructed a vacuum cosmological spacetime without CMC Cauchy surfaces whose spatial topology is also the connected sum of two tori. In this article, we enlarge the known number of spatial topologies for cosmological spacetimes without CMC Cauchy surfaces by generalizing Bartnik’s construction. Specifically, we show that there are cosmological spacetimes without CMC Cauchy surfaces whose spatial topologies are the connected sum of any compact Euclidean or hyperbolic three-manifold with any another compact Euclidean or hyperbolic three-manifold. Analogous examples in higher spacetime dimensions are also possible. We work with the Tolman–Bondi class of metrics and prove gluing results for variable marginal conditions, which allows for smooth gluing of Schwarzschild to FLRW models.
Climate change impact on Mediterranean viticultural regions and site-specific climate risk-reduction strategies
Authors: Prada João , Dinis Lia-Tânia , Soriato Elia , Vandelle Elodie , Soletkin Oğuzhan , Uysal Şener , Dihazi Abdelhi , Santos Conceição , Santos João A. 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThe global increase in extreme weather and climate events may dramatically impact agriculture, food safety, and socioeconomic dynamics. The Mediterranean basin is already exposed to extreme climatic events, severely challenging viticulture, a pivotal Mediterranean agro–industry. This study aims to understand better how climate is expected to evolve in six viticulturally important Mediterranean regions in Portugal, Italy, Turkey and Morocco, using a 4–member ensemble of climatic model projections under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 for 2041–2070, and using the 1981–2010 period as a baseline. By comparing the main specific challenges these locations will face, we comparatively define the best strategies to reduce the impacts of climate change at the national and regional levels. Projections show increases in overall temperatures, up to + 3.6°C than the historical baseline, whilst precipitation projections indicate decreases that could reach 36% of the overall annual precipitation. Biological effective degree days, consecutive dry days, growing season length, tropical nights, or very heavy precipitation days, also show challenging prospects for viticulture in these countries. A screening of the adaptative strategies already undertaken in the studied countries suggests that growers are taking reactive rather than preventive strategies. Moreover, the discussion of the most suitable strategies in this study is region–specific, i.e., prioritised by the specific needs of each location. The conclusions drawn herein may support local growers, improving their decision–making based on the most adequate adaptive strategies to their conditions, thus optimising their sustainable production under changing climates.
University student flood risk perceptions and flood probability knowledge in Greater Sydney
Authors: Lin Shen , Opdyke Aaron 
Published: July 2024

AbstractWhile flood risk perception has been studied extensively in general populations, there remains a dearth of focus on youth perspectives – a key demographic to mobilising knowledge to achieve disaster risk reduction targets. This study aimed to evaluate university students’ perceptions of flood risk and their understanding of common flood probabilities in the Greater Sydney region of Australia. We surveyed 262 university students to better understand how flood preparedness, knowledge, and experience predict flood risk perceptions. Using ordinal logistic regression, we identified that students with past flood experience and women were more likely to have higher flood risk perceptions. In contrast, students with higher flood preparedness were more likely to have lower flood risk perceptions. Age, degree level (e.g. bachelor’s, master’s), place of residence, and flood knowledge were inconclusive predictors of risk perception. We also assessed differences in how students rated the likelihood of three equivalent flood probabilities presented in different ways: (1) a 1-in-100 year flood; (2) a flood with a 1% of happening in a given year; and (3) a flood with a 55% chance in an 80-year lifetime. Using Friedman and Kruskal-Wallis tests, we compared differences within student responses and across different risk perception groups. We found that students perceived equivalent flood probabilities stated over longer periods of time to be more likely to occur. This study contributes to understanding student perceptions of flood risk, presenting recommendations on how governments and higher educational institutions can improve building students’ knowledge of flood hazards.
Digitalisierung von HR – Utopie oder Dystopie?
Authors: Stulle Klaus P. 
Published: July 2024

ZusammenfassungDie Digitalisierung schreitet insbesondere auch im Bereich der HR Software unaufhaltsam voran, verbunden mit einer signifikanten Konsolidierung der Anbieterlandschaft samt ihren „Cloud“-Lösungen. Damit einher geht eine Reihe von Errungenschaften wie die zunehmende Transparenz des Arbeitsmarktes mit mehr Chancengleichheit sowie Gehaltsfairness („Equal Pay“) bis hin zu wünschenswerten Kostenersparnissen. Gleichzeitig sollen aber auch die Risiken nicht übersehen werden, die zum einen als „Gläserner Mitarbeiter“ zusammengefasst werden können. Zum anderen droht an verschiedenen Stellen eine gewisse Ernüchterung, dass sich die vorgesehenen Errungenschaften auf absehbare Zeit doch nicht in gewünschtem Ausmaß realisieren lassen. Das Gesamtbild der Zukunft dürfte dann von einer bunten Mischung von Utopie und Dystopie(-n) geprägt sein.
Epilogue: ‘Claiming Time’ Special Issue
Authors: Griffiths Melanie 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThis paper offers an epilogue to a special edition of articles employing a temporal lens to examine the politics of European asylum and reception systems. From camps to courts to casework, the papers explore a range of temporal matters arising in relation to attempts to manage human mobility. In this epilogue, I identify three temporal themes that arise across the different papers and that are dominant in contemporary Euro-American migration governance. These are: 1) the tempos (the strategic, often contradictory, employment of fast and slow speeds); 2) synchronicity (the multiplicity of times in European migration systems, and the alienation caused by disharmony); and 3) the tenses (from thwarted and inaccessible individual futures, to political representations of the past and future, and the enduring reverberations of past events). The prologue goes on to argue the importance of avoiding allochronism and identifies ways the authors avoid temporally ‘othering’ people, including by recognising people’s autonomy in acts of timing and in reclaiming and recalibrating their own timelines and rhythms. The paper ends with a call for the migration sector to ‘widen our gaze’ and to draw out the underlying colonial and capitalist temporalities so as to situate migration governance in broader temporal bordering and dispossession. After all, themes of limbo, impermanence, insecurity, temporal poverty, negated futures, temporal dissonance, and other temporal governance mechanisms that hierarchise, marginalise and discipline us, are increasingly evident across the globe, whether or not we cross a border.
Examining 21st century skills in BYOD schools: From programs to practice
Authors: Schmitz Maria-Luisa , Consoli Tessa , Antonietti Chiara , Cattaneo Alberto , Gonon Philipp , Petko Dominik 
Published: July 2024

AbstractBring-your-own-device (BYOD) is a common strategy to increase technology integration in schools and give learners more responsibility in using digital devices for educational purposes. In particular, learners are expected to develop domain-general 21st-century skills when using their personal devices. Although there is no consensus regarding a comprehensive framework of 21st-century skills, most conceptual models incorporate aspects such as collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking—so-called 4C competences—as well as self-direction and the use of digital technologies for learning, among other aspects. The importance of these competencies has been stressed in general and vocational education. To study the relationship between BYOD approaches and self-reported 21st-century skills, we conducted a survey of N = 8265 upper-secondary students from 100 schools in Switzerland. Using multilevel linear modeling, we compared the self-reported 21st-century skills of students with or without personal digital devices for learning in general and vocational education tracks. Our results indicate that learners reported higher levels of 21st-century skills by indicating that they brought their own devices to school, especially with regard to creativity, self-direction, and the use of technology for learning. However, an official BYOD program was no significant predictor of students’ self-reported skills. The interactions between an official BYOD program and actual BYOD practice in class were not significant. Further, self-reported levels of 21st-century skills seemed to be higher in general than in vocational education. The study indicates that a BYOD concept alone does correspond to students’ 21st-century skills but actual BYOD practices do.
More than Steepness: Introducing Slope Quantitatively with Interactive Dynamic Representations
Authors: Wynn Lynda , Zahner William , Walker Carren 
Published: July 2024

AbstractWe report on a long-term collaboration with ninth-grade mathematics teachers at a linguistically diverse high school in which we examined the intersection between mathematics and language, and how language and mathematical thinking can be developed together in a multilingual setting. We co-designed lessons that promoted conceptual understanding, increased students’ access to grade level mathematics and created opportunities for students who are classified as English learners to participate in discussions. Our content focus was linear and exponential rates of change. In this article, we focus on linear rate of change and its connection to slope. After identifying three distinct meanings for and uses of slope in a ninth-grade mathematics textbook: (a) slope as steepness, (b) slope as rate of change, and (c) slope as a property of collinearity (presented in this order) and observing student interactions around slope concepts, we considered whether it may be more beneficial for students, particularly emergent multilingual students, to develop a robust quantitative understanding of slope first, then introduce the other two meanings of slope as an application of rate of change. To achieve this, we created a series of lessons incorporating dynamic interactive technology and mathematical language routines. We share three of these lessons in this article and include a classroom vignette illustrating the classroom interactions that were achieved through using our first Desmos activity.
A new bound for the orthogonality defect of HKZ reduced lattices
Authors: Porter Christian , Dable-Heath Edmund , Ling Cong 
Published: July 2024

AbstractHermite–Korkin–Zolotarev (HKZ) reduction is an important notion of lattice reduction which plays a significant role in number theory (particularly the geometry of numbers), and more recently in coding theory and post-quantum cryptography. In this work, we determine a sharp upper bound on the orthogonality defect of HKZ reduced bases up to dimension 3. Using this result, we determine a general upper bound for the orthogonality defect of HKZ reduced bases of arbitrary rank. This upper bound is sharper than existing bounds in literature, such as the one determined by Lagarias, Lenstra and Schnorr [3].
Extract Implicit Semantic Friends and Their Influences from Bipartite Network for Social Recommendation
Authors: Zhang Zhigao , Song Fanfei , Wang Bin , Dong Chuansheng 
Published: July 2024

AbstractSocial recommendation often incorporates trusted social links with user-item interactions to enhance rating prediction. Although methods that aggregate explicit social links have shown promising prospects, they are often constrained by the absence of explicit social data and the assumption of homogeneity, thus overlooking variations in social influence and consistency. These limitations hinder semantic expression and recommendation performance. Therefore, we propose a novel framework for social recommendation. First, we design a bipartite network embedding scheme, which learns vertex representations in the embedding space by modeling 1st-order explicit relations and higher-order implicit relations between vertices. Then, the similarity of the embedding vectors is used to extract top-k semantically consistent friends for each user. Next, we design an algorithm to assign a specific influence value to each user. Finally, we combine the top-k friends of the user and their influence values into an ensemble and add it as a regularization term to the rating prediction process of the user to correct the bias. Experiments on three real benchmark datasets show significant improvements in EISF over state-of-the-art methods.