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In this paper I discuss how to consistently incorporate higher-order corrections to the bubble-nucleation rate at finite temperature. Doing so I examine the merits of different approaches, with the goal of reducing uncertainties for gravitational-wave calculations. To be specific, the region of applicability and accuracy of the derivative expansion is discussed. The derivative expansion is then compared to a numerical implementation of the Gelfand-Yaglom theorem. Both methods are applied to popular first-order phase transition models, like a loop-induced barrier and a SM-EFT tree-level barrier. The results of these calculations are presented in easy-to-use parametrizations that can directly be used in gravitational-wave calculations. In addition, higher-order corrections for models with multiple scalar fields, such as singlet/triplet extensions, are studied. Lastly, the main goal of this paper is to investigate the convergence and uncertainty of all calculation. Doing so I argue that current calculations for the Standard Model with a tree-level barrier are inaccurate.

It is known that the generating function f of a sequence of Toeplitz matrices {Tn(f)}n may not describe the asymptotic distribution of the eigenvalues of Tn(f) if f is not real. In this paper, we assume as a working hypothesis that, if the eigenvalues of Tn(f) are real for all n, then they admit an asymptotic expansion of the same type as considered in previous works, where the first function, called the eigenvalue symbol f, appearing in this expansion is real and describes the asymptotic distribution of the eigenvalues of Tn(f). This eigenvalue symbol f is in general not known in closed form. After validating this working hypothesis through a number of numerical experiments, we propose a matrix-less algorithm in order to approximate the eigenvalue distribution function f. The proposed algorithm, which opposed to previous versions, does not need any information about neither f nor f is tested on a wide range of numerical examples; in some cases, we are even able to find the analytical expression of f. Future research directions are outlined at the end of the paper.

In this paper I discuss how to consistently incorporate higher-order corrections to the bubble-nucleation rate at finite temperature. Doing so I examine the merits of different approaches, with the goal of reducing uncertainties for gravitational-wave calculations. To be specific, the region of applicability and accuracy of the derivative expansion is discussed. The derivative expansion is then compared to a numerical implementation of the Gelfand-Yaglom theorem. Both methods are applied to popular first-order phase transition models, like a loop-induced barrier and a SM-EFT tree-level barrier. The results of these calculations are presented in easy-to-use parametrizations that can directly be used in gravitational-wave calculations. In addition, higher-order corrections for models with multiple scalar fields, such as singlet/triplet extensions, are studied. Lastly, the main goal of this paper is to investigate the convergence and uncertainty of all calculation. Doing so I argue that current calculations for the Standard Model with a tree-level barrier are inaccurate.

Importation in fictional discourse is the phenomenon by which audiences include information in the story over and above what is explicitly stated by the narrator. This paper argues that importation is distinct from generation, the phenomenon by which truth in fiction may outstrip what is made explicit, and draws a distinction between fictional truth and fictional records. The latter comprises the audience’s picture of what is true according to the narrator. The paper argues that importation into fictional records operates according to principles that also govern ordinary conversation. An account of fictional records as a species of common ground information is proposed. Two sources of importation are described in detail, presupposition accommodation and conversational implicatures. It is shown that presuppositions are both mandatorily imported and mandatorily generated. By contrast, conversational implicatures are neither mandatorily imported nor mandatorily generated. The paper distinguishes conversational implicatures from contextual inferences. Both rely on background assumptions, yet conversational implicatures moreover depend on assumptions concerning Gricean cooperation.

This paper presents the design of one of Sweden’s largest digital humanities projects, SweTerror, that through an interdisciplinary multi-modal methodological approach develops an extensive speech-to-text digital HSS resource. SweTerror makes a major contribution to the study of terrorism in Sweden through a comprehensive mixed methods study of the political discourse on terrorism since the late 1960s. Drawing on artificial intelligence in the form of state-of-the-art language and speech technology, it systematically analyses all forms of relevant parliamentary utterances. It explores and curates an exhaustive but understudied multi-modal collection of primary sources of central relevance to Swedish democracy: the audio recordings of the Swedish Parliament’s debates. The project studies the framing of terrorism both as policy discourse and enacted politics, examining semantic and emotive components of the parliamentary discourse on terrorism as well as major actors and social networks involved. It covers political responses to a range of terrorism-related issues as well as factors influencing policy-makers’ engagement, including political affiliations and gender. SweTerror also develops an online research portal, featuring the complete research material and searchable audio made readily accessible for further exploration. Long-term, the project establishes a model for combining extraction technologies (speech recognition and analysis) for audiovisual parliamentary data with text mining and HSS interpretive methods and the portal is designed to serve as a prototype for other similar projects., Part of proceedings: ISBN 978-3-030-82195-1QC 20220425

There is a trend in industries towards adoption of new technologies coming from Industry 4.0 to improve logistics operations. This has also led to new requirements on engineering education. This paper presents work in progress on a mixed reality game that is intended to be used for the education on engineers and engineering students in the blended lab environments. The game itself consist of a physical and a digital component, and the focus in this article is to describe the design and prototypical implementation of the physical part and how that can be operated in a remote lab environment., QC 20220419Part of proceedings: ISBN 978-3-030-82529-4; 978-3-030-82528-7

A debate about emerging models of urban living labs (ULLs) 2.0 is taking place in the literature, highlighting the importance of social aspects. The aim of this paper is to examine feminist ULLs as a potential source of social sustainability. This is conducted through a case study of a feminist ULL in Sweden, where girls and young women, together with multiple professional stakeholders, used Minecraft to redesign a public square in their neighbourhood - a marginalised suburban area of Stockholm. Data was collected through participant observations of six experimental labs during 1 year, surveys of the ULL participants, and an analysis of the final Minecraft designs. The empirical findings reveal a process of mutual learning between girls and professional stakeholders, where the girls were viewed as place experts. The findings also reveal that the girls’ visions include a socially sustainable transition of the urban square: from patriarchal to inclusive, from grey to green, and from a transit area to a meeting-place. There were some differences between girls and professional stakeholders. Whereas the professionals tended to emphasise security in their visions, the girls emphasised liveability. Although more research is needed, this paper concludes that feminist ULLs can be a possible source of social sustainability. However, the ULL process must both be inclusive, and at the same time unlock long-term transformation in the physical environment., QC 20220420

The rapid development of the fifth generation (5G) promotes a variety of new applications, which will pose a huge challenge to the computing resources of networks. Computing networks is a promising technology, which can provide ubiquitous computing resources for applications in 5G. However, resource optimization in computing networks is still an open problem. In this paper, we propose a novel resource allocation framework for computing networks to investigate the energy consumption minimization problem in terms of delay constraint. To tackle the problem, we propose a dynamic task scheduling and resource allocation algorithm to utilizing the Lyapunov optimization method, which doesn't need to know any prior knowledge of networks. In order to reduce the complexity of solving the problem, we decompose the original problem into several sub-problem to solve. Particulary, the solutions of transmit power and subcarrier assignment are obtained by using the Lagrangian dual decomposition method. The solutions of computation time, postponing time, and CPU-cycle frequency are achieved in the closed form. Simulation results show that the performance of the proposed algorithms and can achieve the tradeoff between the average delay and the average energy consumption., QC 20220411

This paper describes a method that enables comparative rolling resistance measurements of bicycle tyres on different road surfaces. The test equipment is a one degree of freedom two-wheeled pendulum with a rigidly coupled eccentric weight. Derived from the conversion of potential energy into dissipated heat by means of rolling resistance losses the amount of energy can be measured and correlated to the distance travelled. The method enables to distinguish small differences inrolling resistance. As an example the difference between two different sets of asphalt is shown., QC 20220203

The sharing economy is a widespread concept of commonly used resources either among individuals or across organizations putting efforts into jointly utilizing existing resources. Within digital networked organizations, trust behavior needs to be supported by mechanisms to establish and sustain the collaborative network. This paper presents methods for visualizing and scoring collaborative behavior as steps towards operationalizing the trust relationship within networked organizations. Using a case study involving a sharing digital laboratory, we investigate how transparency influences collaborative work and how it affects digital collaborations as a whole. We apply Social Network Analysis (SNA) and the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model to visualize and score trust behavior within a case study for digital laboratories. The result of the trust behavior will be extended to an overarching sharing economy business model that promotes the network effect for networked organizations., QC 20220412

Background Home care is beset with work environment issues and high staff turnover, while research concerned with interventions to improve the work environment is sparse. Few of the existing interventions apply a participative approach, despite this being associated with more positive outcomes and sustainable change. This paper presents a framework, rooted in action research and action learning, for participatory work environment interventions in home care, and demonstrates how this framework has been implemented in four Swedish home care organizations. Methods The framework has three phases (pre-intervention, intervention planning and intervention implementation) and consists of cycles of action and reflection in three constellations: a group of researchers, a reference group with labour market organization representatives and home care managers, and intervention work groups in the home care organizations. The work was documented and analysed with focus on the realization of the framework and challenges that were met on the way. The interventions were evaluated using a pre-/post-test questionnaire design. Results Parts of the framework were successfully implemented. The pre-intervention phase and the intervention planning phase, with intervention work groups, worked well. All four groups identified one intervention relevant to their own context. However, only two of the proposed interventions were fully implemented and evaluated. The high staff and management turnover, and the high rate of organizational changes made it impossible to evaluate the interventions statistically. Yet, data from open-ended questions in the post questionnaire showed that the two implemented interventions were perceived as successful. Conclusions The participatory framework, presented in this paper, seems promising for work environment interventions in home care. The framework was designed to reduce the risk of known disturbances affecting the process in unstable organizations. Despite thi, QC 20220405

An experimental investigation aimed at detecting the critical roughness Reynolds number (Re-kk,Re-tr) both with and without Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) waves is described in this paper. As a novel technique to examine Re-kk,Re-tr systematically, we employed isolated, cylindrical roughnesses with automatically adjustable height of micro-meter precision. The experiment was performed using hot-wire anemometry in flat-plate boundary layers developing under close to zero-pressure-gradient conditions in a low-turbulence level wind tunnel. The present data for Re-kk,Re-tr without T-S waves confirmed previous results and showed a strong correlation between the roughness aspect ratio and root Re-kk,Re-tr. Controlling the roughness height while keeping the free-stream velocity fixed revealed noteworthy hysteresis for Re-kk,Re-tr. As expected the critical roughness Reynolds number decreased with the presence of T-S waves. The necessary T-S wave amplitude needed for transition became smaller with increasing the roughness height with a sudden drop when approaching the critical roughness height without T-S waves., Part of proceedings: ISBN 978-3-030-67902-6, ISBN 978-3-030-67901-9QC 20211112

It is known that the generating function f of a sequence of Toeplitz matrices {Tn(f)}n may not describe the asymptotic distribution of the eigenvalues of Tn(f) if f is not real. In this paper, we assume as a working hypothesis that, if the eigenvalues of Tn(f) are real for all n, then they admit an asymptotic expansion of the same type as considered in previous works, where the first function, called the eigenvalue symbol f, appearing in this expansion is real and describes the asymptotic distribution of the eigenvalues of Tn(f). This eigenvalue symbol f is in general not known in closed form. After validating this working hypothesis through a number of numerical experiments, we propose a matrix-less algorithm in order to approximate the eigenvalue distribution function f. The proposed algorithm, which opposed to previous versions, does not need any information about neither f nor f is tested on a wide range of numerical examples; in some cases, we are even able to find the analytical expression of f. Future research directions are outlined at the end of the paper.

In this paper I discuss how to consistently incorporate higher-order corrections to the bubble-nucleation rate at finite temperature. Doing so I examine the merits of different approaches, with the goal of reducing uncertainties for gravitational-wave calculations. To be specific, the region of applicability and accuracy of the derivative expansion is discussed. The derivative expansion is then compared to a numerical implementation of the Gelfand-Yaglom theorem. Both methods are applied to popular first-order phase transition models, like a loop-induced barrier and a SM-EFT tree-level barrier. The results of these calculations are presented in easy-to-use parametrizations that can directly be used in gravitational-wave calculations. In addition, higher-order corrections for models with multiple scalar fields, such as singlet/triplet extensions, are studied. Lastly, the main goal of this paper is to investigate the convergence and uncertainty of all calculation. Doing so I argue that current calculations for the Standard Model with a tree-level barrier are inaccurate.

Importation in fictional discourse is the phenomenon by which audiences include information in the story over and above what is explicitly stated by the narrator. This paper argues that importation is distinct from generation, the phenomenon by which truth in fiction may outstrip what is made explicit, and draws a distinction between fictional truth and fictional records. The latter comprises the audience’s picture of what is true according to the narrator. The paper argues that importation into fictional records operates according to principles that also govern ordinary conversation. An account of fictional records as a species of common ground information is proposed. Two sources of importation are described in detail, presupposition accommodation and conversational implicatures. It is shown that presuppositions are both mandatorily imported and mandatorily generated. By contrast, conversational implicatures are neither mandatorily imported nor mandatorily generated. The paper distinguishes conversational implicatures from contextual inferences. Both rely on background assumptions, yet conversational implicatures moreover depend on assumptions concerning Gricean cooperation.

Patients affected by SARS-COV-2 have collapsed healthcare systems around the world. Consequently, different challenges arise regarding the prediction of hospital needs, optimization of resources, diagnostic triage tools and patient evolution, as well as tools that allow us to analyze which are the factors that determine the severity of patients. Currently, it is widely accepted that one of the problems since the pandemic appeared was to detect (i) who patients were about to need Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and (ii) who ones were about not overcome the disease. These critical patients collapsed Hospitals to the point that many surgeries around the world had to be cancelled. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide a Machine Learning (ML) model that helps us to prevent when a patient is about to be critical. Although we are in the era of data, regarding the SARS-COV-2 patients, there are currently few tools and solutions that help medical professionals to predict the evolution of patients in order to improve their treatment and the needs of critical resources at hospitals. Moreover, most of these tools have been created from small populations and/or Chinese populations, which carries a high risk of bias. In this paper, we present a model, based on ML techniques, based on 5378 Spanish patients’ data from which a quality cohort of 1201 was extracted to train the model. Our model is capable of predicting the probability of death of patients with SARS-COV-2 based on age, sex and comorbidities of the patient. It also allows what-if analysis, with the inclusion of comorbidities that the patient may develop during the SARS-COV-2 infection. For the training of the model, we have followed an agnostic approach. We explored all the active comorbidities during the SARS-COV-2 infection of the patients with the objective that the model weights the effect of each comorbidity on the patient’s evolution according to the data available. The model has been validated by using stratif

Purpose LCA is increasingly used in infrastructure policy and planning. This study maps approaches used in comparativeLCA of road and rail infrastructure to (1) determine the length of the analysis period, (2) estimate the maintenance frequency,and (3) include the efects of climate change on infrastructure performance. A LCA may need to fulfl diferent requirementsin diferent decision-contexts. The relevance of the approaches for decision-making in policy and procurement is thereforediscussed. Methods Ninety-two comparative LCAs of road and rail infrastructure published in peer-reviewed journals January 2016–July 2020 were reviewed. Papers were found through a systematic process of searching electronic databases, applying inclusion criteria, and conducting backward and forward snowballing. Results and discussion The analysis period was commonly determined based on infrastructure service life. The maintenancefrequency was estimated based on current practice, laboratory tests, modelling, or scenarios. The efects of climate changewere considered in two papers by comparing results in a control case and in a changed climate. In policy and procurement,current practice approaches are not adapted to innovative solutions or to climate change. Modelling and laboratory tests couldimprove calculations of the maintenance phase but might have some limitations related to innovative solutions. Scenarioscould be readily applied in a policy context; however, in procurement, consistent and generic scenarios should be used. Conclusions Results suggest what approaches could be used to account for maintenance in infrastructure LCA dependingon the decision-context. The LCA community is suggested to research other approaches than current practice to account forlong analysis periods, climate change, and innovative solutions. Additionally, literature not covered here could be reviewedfor additional approaches and perspectives. Examples include stand-alone LCAs, method development papers, pape, QC 20221012

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) establishes a right for individuals to get access to information about automated decision-making based on their personal data. However, the application of this right comes with caveats. This paper investigates how European insurance companies have navigated these obstacles. By recruiting volunteering insurance customers, requests for information about how insurance premiums are set were sent to 26 insurance companies in Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Poland and Sweden. Findings illustrate the practice of responding to GDPR information requests and the paper identifies possible explanations for shortcomings and omissions in the responses. The paper also adds to existing research by showing how the wordings in the different language versions of the GDPR could lead to different interpretations. Finally, the paper discusses what can reasonably be expected from explanations in consumer oriented information., QC 20220530

Collaborative design approaches have been increasingly adopted in the design of learning technologies since they contribute to develop pedagogically inclusive and appropriate learning designs. Despite the positive reception of collaborative design strategies in technology-enhanced learning, little attention has been dedicated to analyzing the challenges faced in design processes using a collaborative approach. In this paper, we disclose the collaborative design of a chatbot for self-regulated learning in higher education using an action research approach. We analyze the design process of EDUguia chatbot, which includes diverse evidence from questionnaires and workshops with students and lecturers, as well as intermediary design objects. Based on the qualitative analysis, we identify several challenges that are transversal to the co-design work, as well as specific to the design phases. We critically reflect on the strategies deployed to overcome these challenges and how they relate to decision-making processes, highlighting the need to make stakeholders’ tacit knowledge explicit, cultivate trust-building and support democratic decision-making in technology design processes. We believe that the recommendations we present in this paper contribute to developing best practices in the collaborative design of chatbots for the self-regulation of learning, as well as learning technology in general.

It is known that the generating function f of a sequence of Toeplitz matrices {Tn(f)}n may not describe the asymptotic distribution of the eigenvalues of Tn(f) if f is not real. In this paper, we assume as a working hypothesis that, if the eigenvalues of Tn(f) are real for all n, then they admit an asymptotic expansion of the same type as considered in previous works, where the first function, called the eigenvalue symbol f, appearing in this expansion is real and describes the asymptotic distribution of the eigenvalues of Tn(f). This eigenvalue symbol f is in general not known in closed form. After validating this working hypothesis through a number of numerical experiments, we propose a matrix-less algorithm in order to approximate the eigenvalue distribution function f. The proposed algorithm, which opposed to previous versions, does not need any information about neither f nor f is tested on a wide range of numerical examples; in some cases, we are even able to find the analytical expression of f. Future research directions are outlined at the end of the paper.

In this paper I discuss how to consistently incorporate higher-order corrections to the bubble-nucleation rate at finite temperature. Doing so I examine the merits of different approaches, with the goal of reducing uncertainties for gravitational-wave calculations. To be specific, the region of applicability and accuracy of the derivative expansion is discussed. The derivative expansion is then compared to a numerical implementation of the Gelfand-Yaglom theorem. Both methods are applied to popular first-order phase transition models, like a loop-induced barrier and a SM-EFT tree-level barrier. The results of these calculations are presented in easy-to-use parametrizations that can directly be used in gravitational-wave calculations. In addition, higher-order corrections for models with multiple scalar fields, such as singlet/triplet extensions, are studied. Lastly, the main goal of this paper is to investigate the convergence and uncertainty of all calculation. Doing so I argue that current calculations for the Standard Model with a tree-level barrier are inaccurate.

Importation in fictional discourse is the phenomenon by which audiences include information in the story over and above what is explicitly stated by the narrator. This paper argues that importation is distinct from generation, the phenomenon by which truth in fiction may outstrip what is made explicit, and draws a distinction between fictional truth and fictional records. The latter comprises the audience’s picture of what is true according to the narrator. The paper argues that importation into fictional records operates according to principles that also govern ordinary conversation. An account of fictional records as a species of common ground information is proposed. Two sources of importation are described in detail, presupposition accommodation and conversational implicatures. It is shown that presuppositions are both mandatorily imported and mandatorily generated. By contrast, conversational implicatures are neither mandatorily imported nor mandatorily generated. The paper distinguishes conversational implicatures from contextual inferences. Both rely on background assumptions, yet conversational implicatures moreover depend on assumptions concerning Gricean cooperation.

Based on the review of a wide range of literature, this paper finds that: (1) the average specific surface energy of various single crystals is only 0.8 J/m². (2) The average specific fracture energy of the rocks with a pre-crack under static cleavage tests is 4.6 J/m². (3) The average specific fracture energy of the rocks with a pre-cut notch but with no pre-crack under static tensile fracture (mode I) tests is 4.6 J/m². (4) The average specific fracture energies of regular rock specimens with neither pre-made crack nor pre-cut notch are 26.6, 13.9 and 25.7 J/m² under uniaxial compression, tension and shear tests, respectively. (5) The average specific fracture energy of irregular single quartz particles under uniaxial compression is 13.8 J/m². (6) The average specific fracture energy of particle beds under drop weight tests is 74.0 J/m². (7) The average specific fracture energy of multi-particles in milling tests is 72.5 J/m². (8) The average specific energy of rocks in percussive drilling is 399 J/m³, that in full-scale cutting is 131 J/m³, and that in rotary drilling is 157 J/m³. (9) The average energy efficiency of milling is only 1.10%. (10) The accurate measurements of specific fracture energy in blasting are too few to draw reliable conclusions. In the last part of the paper, the effects of inter-granular displacement, loading rate, confining pressure, surface area measurement, premade crack, attrition and thermal energy on the specific fracture energy of rock are discussed.

Importation in fictional discourse is the phenomenon by which audiences include information in the story over and above what is explicitly stated by the narrator. This paper argues that importation is distinct from generation, the phenomenon by which truth in fiction may outstrip what is made explicit, and draws a distinction between fictional truth and fictional records. The latter comprises the audience’s picture of what is true according to the narrator. The paper argues that importation into fictional records operates according to principles that also govern ordinary conversation. An account of fictional records as a species of common ground information is proposed. Two sources of importation are described in detail, presupposition accommodation and conversational implicatures. It is shown that presuppositions are both mandatorily imported and mandatorily generated. By contrast, conversational implicatures are neither mandatorily imported nor mandatorily generated. The paper distinguishes conversational implicatures from contextual inferences. Both rely on background assumptions, yet conversational implicatures moreover depend on assumptions concerning Gricean cooperation.

It is known that the generating function f of a sequence of Toeplitz matrices {Tn(f)}n may not describe the asymptotic distribution of the eigenvalues of Tn(f) if f is not real. In this paper, we assume as a working hypothesis that, if the eigenvalues of Tn(f) are real for all n, then they admit an asymptotic expansion of the same type as considered in previous works, where the first function, called the eigenvalue symbol f, appearing in this expansion is real and describes the asymptotic distribution of the eigenvalues of Tn(f). This eigenvalue symbol f is in general not known in closed form. After validating this working hypothesis through a number of numerical experiments, we propose a matrix-less algorithm in order to approximate the eigenvalue distribution function f. The proposed algorithm, which opposed to previous versions, does not need any information about neither f nor f is tested on a wide range of numerical examples; in some cases, we are even able to find the analytical expression of f. Future research directions are outlined at the end of the paper.

Lung field segmentation is the first step towards the development of any computer aided diagnosis (CAD) system for interstitial lung diseases (ILD) observed in chest high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images. If the segmentation is not done efficiently it will compromise the accuracy of CAD system. In this paper, a deep learning-based method is proposed to localize several interstitial lung disease patterns (ILD) in HRCT images without performing lung field segmentation. In this paper, localization of several ILD patterns is performed in image slice. The pretrained models of ZF and VGG networks were fine-tuned in order to localize ILD patterns using Faster R-CNN framework. The three most difficult ILD patterns consolidation, emphysema, and fibrosis have been used for this study and the accuracy of the method has been evaluated in terms of mean average precision (mAP) and free receiver operating characteristic (FROC) curve. The model achieved mAP value of 75% and 83% on ZF and VGG networks, respectively. The result obtained shows the effectiveness of the method in the localization of different ILD patterns.

Civil engineering structures continuously undergo environmental conditions changes that can lead to temporary variations of their dynamic characteristics. Therefore, damage detection techniques have to be able to distinguish abnormal changes in the response due to damage from those normally related to environmental conditions variability. This paper addresses this issue by presenting a damage detection method that uses machine learning to detect and localize damage in railway bridges under varying environmental conditions (i.e. temperature). Results of the application to simulated data are shown with validation purposes. The first stage of the proposed algorithm consists in training a set of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to predict deck accelerations during train passages assuming the bridge to be undamaged (or in a known state of preservation). In the second stage, the currently measured response is compared with that predicted by the trained ANNs. Since possible changes in the bridge state of preservation (damage) decrease the predictive accuracy of the ANNs, this comparison allows for the damage detection. During both stages, air temperature is given as input to the networks together with the train characteristics (i.e. speed and load per axle). The application results in the paper prove the ability of the algorithm to detect and localize damage. Furthermore, when the same procedure was applied neglecting the environmental factor, a noticeable decrease of the prediction power was met. This proves that changes in structural properties due to temperature variation can mask the damage occurrence and prevent its detection. The importance of accounting for environmental variations in damage detection is thus highlighted., QC 20220819Part of proceedings: ISBN 978-3-319-67443-8; 978-3-319-67442-1

The effect of a room temperature curable dielectric ink (ZrSiO₄) printed on commercial photo paper and prepared nanopaper on the dielectric properties at 2.4 GHz are studied. In both cases, the dielectric layer decreased the relative permittivity and dielectric loss and made the flexible substrates rigid. For the nanopaper, the permittivity decreased from 4.7 to 3.57 and the loss value from 0.12 to 0.04. The measured decreases for the photo paper were from 3.12 to 2.61 and from 0.09 to 0.05, respectively. In the performance of the simulated and fabricated inverted-F antennas, the effect of the dielectric layer could be observed in the decrease of its frequency with about 130 MHz mainly due to the thicker substrate. The measured total efficiency and gain were 83% and 3.4 dB. The proposed approach could be in the future used for further development of the antenna by modification of the dielectric ink with different additives.

We investigate the total number of edge crossings (i.e., the crossing number) of the Euclidean minimum weight Laman graph MLG(P) on a planar point set P. Bereg et al. (2016) showed that the upper and lower bounds for the crossing number of MLG(P) are 6|P|-9 and |P|-3, respectively. In this paper, ...

Can stakeholder organisations support and put pressure on organisational change at universities to implement sustainable development? In recent years, universities across the world have made progress in both promoting and implementing sustainable development (SD). However, despite the fact that the United Nations message that stakeholder participation is crucial for the implementation of sustainable development (in particular SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals), research on the role of higher education stakeholder networks in the context of organisational change towards sustainable development remains underdeveloped. First, the paper discusses state of the art literature on the role of stakeholder networks for the implementation of sustainable development in higher education. Secondly, using a systemic approach the paper explores some potential steps for addressing the practical and policy challenges required to support the implementation of sustainable development through the role of stakeholder networks. The paper then critiques the present and future prospects of such relationships. This paper will present a systemic perspective of how universities can be more attuned and adapt to continue the promotion of sustainable development goals amongst their community of influence. It will also be useful for practitioners and policy makers working to address sustainable development implementation challenges in higher education.

Globally, the clocking of the year 2015 marked a significant landmark in the Global Corporate Social Responsibility (GCSR) arena. That is, landmark in policy, research, practice, scholarly and managerial aspects of CSR agenda. This year saw how the ISO 26000 [a corporate social responsibility, CSR guidance standard] had been tested for 5 years since its inception in 2010, yet the MDGs framework has ended. While the intermarriage of these two frameworks (ISO 26000, and, MDGs) provided a basis for refinement of CSR to fit in a global CSR arena as witnessed by Katamba, Nkiko, Tushabomwe-Kazooba, et al., (International Journal of Social Economics, 39, 375–390, 2016) in their works, “Community Involvement and Development: An intermarriage of ISO 26000 and Millennium Development Goals,” the current SDGs framework 2030, presents a need to re-visit the effectiveness of CSR and sustainability interventions in a localized setting, that is, at local, regional or country level. Thus, the purpose/originality of this paper/chapter is to demonstrate how global sustainable development [CSR] frameworks or standards can be localized for refinement of CSR activities. To realize this purpose, the authors have reviewed CSR publications from Uganda to identify how CSR is managed in 50 companies that have won various CSR accolades in Uganda. Then these CSR management practices were matched against internationally proclaimed CSR [sustainable development] frameworks notably ISO 26000, SDG Agenda 2030, CEO Water Mandate, and UN Global Compact in order to reveal the development impact realized after these activities are localized. The outcome was a profile of localized CSR activities of various companies. These CSR activities, thru the Adaptive Theory, have been generalized to form, ‘The Most Important CSR Issues in Uganda.’ To bring out the concept of localization, the chapter/paper proceeds to show how companies use these international framework [e.g., SDG Framework] to manage their CSR.

We investigate the total number of edge crossings (i.e., the crossing number) of the Euclidean minimum weight Laman graph MLG(P) on a planar point set P. Bereg et al. (2016) showed that the upper and lower bounds for the crossing number of MLG(P) are 6|P|-9 and |P|-3, respectively. In this paper, ...

The Data availability statement of this article has been modified to add the accession link to the raw data. The old Data availability statement read “Materials and data that support the findings of this research are available within the paper. All data are available from the corresponding author upon request”. This has been replaced by “Materials and data that support the findings of this research are available within the paper.

We investigate the total number of edge crossings (i.e., the crossing number) of the Euclidean minimum weight Laman graph MLG(P) on a planar point set P. Bereg et al. (2016) showed that the upper and lower bounds for the crossing number of MLG(P) are 6|P|-9 and |P|-3, respectively. In this paper, ...

In ordinary discourse we often attribute beliefs not just to individuals but also to groups. But can groups really have genuine beliefs? This paper considers but ultimately rejects one of the main arguments in support of the claim that groups can be genuine believers - the Argument From Interpretationism - and concludes that we have good reasons to be sceptical about the existence of group beliefs. According to the Argument From Interpretationism, roughly speaking, groups qualify as genuine believers because we can interpret (or predict) their behaviour in much the same way that we can interpret (or predict) the behaviour of individuals. While this argument may seem initially attractive, I argue that it is ultimately unsuccessful. In particular, I argue that the argument is unsuccessful even if one is generally sympathetic towards interpretationism. The reason for this, as we will see, is that a number of problems arise when we try to apply the interpretationist strategy - originally formulated with individual subjects in mind - to plural subjects or groups. In showing why the Argument From Interpretationism fails, the paper also brings into focus some more general constraints on the scope and applicability of interpretationism.

In ordinary discourse we often attribute beliefs not just to individuals but also to groups. But can groups really have genuine beliefs? This paper considers but ultimately rejects one of the main arguments in support of the claim that groups can be genuine believers - the Argument From Interpretationism - and concludes that we have good reasons to be sceptical about the existence of group beliefs. According to the Argument From Interpretationism, roughly speaking, groups qualify as genuine believers because we can interpret (or predict) their behaviour in much the same way that we can interpret (or predict) the behaviour of individuals. While this argument may seem initially attractive, I argue that it is ultimately unsuccessful. In particular, I argue that the argument is unsuccessful even if one is generally sympathetic towards interpretationism. The reason for this, as we will see, is that a number of problems arise when we try to apply the interpretationist strategy - originally formulated with individual subjects in mind - to plural subjects or groups. In showing why the Argument From Interpretationism fails, the paper also brings into focus some more general constraints on the scope and applicability of interpretationism.

Not-substring is currently among the least supported types of string constraints, and existing solvers use only relatively crude heuristics. Yet, not-substring occurs relatively often in practical examples and is useful in encoding other types of constraints. In this paper, we propose a systematic way to solve not-substring using based on flat abstraction. In this framework, the domain of string variables is restricted to flat languages and subsequently the whole constraints can be expressed as linear arithmetic formulae. We show that non-substring constraints can be flattened efficiently, and provide experimental evidence that the proposed solution for not-substring is competitive with the state of the art string solvers.

In ordinary discourse we often attribute beliefs not just to individuals but also to groups. But can groups really have genuine beliefs? This paper considers but ultimately rejects one of the main arguments in support of the claim that groups can be genuine believers - the Argument From Interpretationism - and concludes that we have good reasons to be sceptical about the existence of group beliefs. According to the Argument From Interpretationism, roughly speaking, groups qualify as genuine believers because we can interpret (or predict) their behaviour in much the same way that we can interpret (or predict) the behaviour of individuals. While this argument may seem initially attractive, I argue that it is ultimately unsuccessful. In particular, I argue that the argument is unsuccessful even if one is generally sympathetic towards interpretationism. The reason for this, as we will see, is that a number of problems arise when we try to apply the interpretationist strategy - originally formulated with individual subjects in mind - to plural subjects or groups. In showing why the Argument From Interpretationism fails, the paper also brings into focus some more general constraints on the scope and applicability of interpretationism.

Indonesia is known for its abundant coal reserve. However, weak ge-ological condition of the rock is one of the most common challenges in Indonesia coal mining. The study area of this research is PT Gerbang Daya Mandiri (GDM) mine which is situated in East Kalimantan. Stratigraphy of this area comprises of claystone as dominant rock and the present of multiple coal seams with the thick-ness ranging from 0.15m to 9.8m. In this mine, longwall mining is adopted for coal seam extraction. Recently, GDM had begun their development of trial panel for depth around 100m to 150m to understand the behavior of the rock for the real longwall operation. Physically, for this trial study depth, claystone is weaker than coal. Thus, by leaving part of coal seam on top and bottom of the excavated entry-gate would help to retain its stability. This paper will use numerical simu-lation by FLAC3D to investigate the optimum remain coal thickness (RCT) for stability of the entry-gate of trial panel and to identify appropriate roof support. Model simulation is verified using displacement data from extensometer. The outcome results show that the optimum RCT is 1m on roof and 1.5m on the floor. SS540 with 0.5m spacing is appropriated for adopting for this trial panel. The recommended additional support during longwall operation are 5m, 9m, and 25m for 100m, 125m, and 150m coal seam depth respectively.

The amount of fly ash disposed as industrial wastes is increasing with increasing coal demands all over the world. Although fly ash is generally disposed by landfill, the demand of effective utilization of them is increasing because of the limitation of the disposal site. 80 % of coal ash is utilized such as a material for cements though less of them are disposed by landfill. Considering the preparation of landfill area and environmental issues, it is very meaningful to discuss the utilization of fly ash except a cement usage. Most of coal is mined by open-pit mining method in Indonesia. A broad post-mining area is built after the mining operation. The broad area has to be revegetated in terms of environmental conservation. However, soil acidification caused by mixing acid sulfate rocks or soils mined in the operation influences the revegetation. As the plant growth is inhibited under the acidic conditions, the utilization of fly ash which has higher neutralizing capacity due to its alkalinity is expected in order to improve the conditions of seedbed in the revegetation area. In this paper, the utilization of fly ash for preparation of seedbed in disturbed land in Indonesian open cut coal mine is discussed by means of laboratory vegetation test by using simulated acidic soil with a mixture of pyrite, fly ash which has higher alkalinity, and Acacia mangium which is a typical species planted for fast growing tree in Indonesia. The results suggested that the appropriate mixture of fly ash to neutralize the acidic soil can be improved the plant growth under the acidic condition.

The stability of mine development is very important during the planned period of production. Additionally, it would be a great challenge for redeveloping rest mine project to extend the mine area due to the effect of previous mined-out area. The deposits of rest mine are usually located in deeper regions; accordingly, stress condition will be greatly changed. The existence of underground water from previous mined-out area is also possible to infiltrate into the redevelopment of rest mine area which will influence the stability of new openings. This paper describes the stability design of a redevelopment of a rest mine, with National Prosperity Gold Production Group Limited (NPGPGL) underground gold mine in Myanmar as a case study. This mine adopts overhand cut and fill method to extract the minerals. NPGPGL is characterized with steeply dipping vein with complex fractures and underground water, particularly during rainy season. NPGPGL has been developing stopes up to 150 m from the surface, and the mining activities are going to continue to deeper levels by introducing redevelopment rest mine project. Redevelopment of rest mine is not easy considering the instability can rise at new stope opening not only due to its own induced stress but also the effect of previous mined-out area. Therefore, suitable countermeasure arrangements are paramount to be prepared by considering the stability of stope. To determine the stability of stope and barrier pillar design of new opening, numerical simulations was carried out by using 3D finite difference software (FLAC 3D).

Recently, infrastructure at ASEAN countries like Indonesia is rapidly growing due to satisfy the high rates of economic growth in this region. The increasing of infrastructure is followed by increasing demand on chemical grouting. Unfortunately, there is no any established chemical grouting considering to the typical tropical soil of this region, which is acid or alkaline. Four decades ago, a chemical grouting has been developed in Indonesia. However, this chemical grouting has completely been prohibited by the government after the chemical is identified generates polymeric chemicals pollution. Based on this experience, this paper investigates the applicability of the chemical grouting of sodium silicate chemicals in tropical region with Indonesia as a case study. In the experiment, the chemical grouts were injected into Indonesian sands. After solidification of the chemical grouts, coefficient of permeability was measured by falling head hydraulic conductivity test. As the conclusion, it is indicated that the sodium silicate chemical grouting is useful to improve tropical acid soil environmentally friendly.

This paper discusses the size control method of fragmented rocks in-duced by bench blasting in an open pit mine, especially the effect of delay time and firing pattern. Based on the results of a series of field tests, it can be said that the delay time and firing pattern have an impact on the size of fragmented rocks. The application of two directions of firing pattern that the order of ignition of blast holes is from the center to both ends of the row of blast holes can produce a more uniform size of fragmented rocks compared with that of a one-directional firing pattern which is the order of the ignition of blast holes from one side to the other. Due to the rock mass conditions and products specification, the size of fragmented rocks and its distribution can be controlled by applying an appropri-ate delay time and firing pattern.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on education and re-search in universities throughout the world. Many academic libraries have been closed, and users have had to use e-books instead of printed books in libraries. As e-books are not yet commonly used in Japan, this paper examines the impact of the pandemic on the use of e-books in academic libraries in Japan. As a case study, the usage data for each e-book platform in Kyushu University in Japan were analyzed, and the overall trends in each period before and during the pan-demic were revealed. The access counts of e-books from January to June 2019 and those for 2020 were examined. The number of total access counts in 2020 was higher than that in 2019 on all nine platforms. The platform that saw the highest access count growth rate was JSTOR, with an 846% increase. The us-age of e-books in the Maruzen eBook Library, which holds many Japanese textbooks, was examined in detail. E-books on mathematics, medical science, and programming languages were in constant use both before and during the pandemic. E-books in law and economics started to be used during the pandem-ic. These results indicate that the pandemic has evoked new needs for e-books in certain fields.

We investigate the total number of edge crossings (i.e., the crossing number) of the Euclidean minimum weight Laman graph MLG(P) on a planar point set P. Bereg et al. (2016) showed that the upper and lower bounds for the crossing number of MLG(P) are 6|P|-9 and |P|-3, respectively. In this paper, ...

Half of the world population live in the cities. Cities energy consumption, environmental impact, and the opportunities they provide for our planet’s sustainability make them attractive for governmental authorities. Any action taken in the cities has immediate repercussions. For this reason, many statistical data are published every year. This paper makes the best use of these data to calculate cities CO2 emissions and their thermal and electric energy consumption. The methodology applied takes into consideration each city size by number of inhabitants and gets results per inhabitant and household. This will make possible to put into practice the right actions to reduce CO2 emissions and to use alternative energy. This paper also defines an index to facilitate and simplify the analysis of results. This study was applied to the case of Spain to show the methodology here proposed. In fact, this type of study has never been carried out in Spain before. With this purpose, the 145 Spanish cities with more than 50,000 people were considered. Results show that cities with larger populations present higher consumptions per inhabitant and household. The smallest the population of a city is, the less energy the city consumes. However, electric energy consumption remains constant regardless of the population size. With regard to the CO2 emissions, results bring to light that the biggest cities produce the highest emissions. Furthermore, comparing emissions produced by electrical sources to the total emissions, it was concluded that the smallest cities produce the highest electrical emissions.

To better prepare the next generation of software professional, it is important to provide opportunities for them to work on real software project along with real customer during their studies. This is the reason universities around the world offer project-based capstone course. Such courses help students to understand what they will face in the industry and experience real customer interaction and challenges in collaborative work. In regards, University of Oulu, Finland offers a software factory (SWF) course to enhance the learning and experience multicultural teamwork. This paper presents the design of the SWF course and student and teacher experiences. It discusses the importance of reflective learning diaries and serious games. Additionally, this paper examines factors in the SWF learning environment that affect student learning in the SWF course. Survey data were collected from the last 6 years of SWF projects. The results show that students consider the SWF to be a good collaborative learning environment that helps them achieve academic triumphs and enhances various professional skills. The learning diaries are effective for increasing students’ learning experiences as well as providing an opportunity for teaching staff to monitor students’ progress and offer better facilitation. These results are helpful for academic institutions and industry when developing such a learning environment.

Hitherto, the concept of Enterprise Architecture (EA) Smells has been proposed to assess quality flaws in EAs and their models. Together with this new concept, a catalog of different EA Smells has been published and a first prototype was developed. However, this prototype is limited to ArchiMate and is not able to assess models adhering to other EA modeling languages. Moreover, the prototype is not integrate-able with other EA tools. Therefore, we propose to enhance the extensible Graph-based Enterprise Architecture Analysis (eGEAA) platform that relies on Knowledge Graphs with EA Smell detection capabilities. To align these two approaches, we show in this paper, how ArchiMate models can be transformed into Knowledge Graphs and provide a set of queries on the Knowledge Graph representation that are able to detect EA Smells. This enables enterprise architects to assess EA Smells on all types of EA models as long as there is a Knowledge Graph representation of the model. Finally, we evaluate the Knowledge Graph based EA Smell detection by analyzing a set of 347 EA models., Part of proceedings: ISBN 9783030912789, QC 20230117

This paper proposes a neural approximation based model predictive control approach for tracking control of a nonholonomic wheel-legged robot in complex environments, which features mechanical model uncertainty and unknown disturbances. In order to guarantee the tracking performance of wheel-legged robots in an uncertain environment, effective approaches for reliable tracking control should be investigated with the consideration of the disturbances, including internal-robot friction and external physical interactions in the robot’s dynamical system. In this paper, a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) approximation based model predictive controller (NMPC) is designed and employed to improve the tracking performance for nonholonomic wheel-legged robots. Some demonstrations using a BIT-NAZA robot are performed to illustrate the performance of the proposed hybrid control strategy. The results indicate that the proposed methodology can achieve promising tracking performance in terms of accuracy and stability., QC 20220811

Background: Climate change is a problem which is global in nature, and whose effects go across a wide range of disciplines. It is therefore important that this theme is taken into account as part of universities´ teaching and research programs. Methods: A three-tiered approach was used, consisting of a bibliometric analysis, an online survey and a set of case studies, which allow a profile to be built, as to how a sample of universities from 45 countries handle climate change as part of their teaching programs. Results: This paper reports on a study which aimed at identifying the extent to which matters related to climate change are addressed within the teaching and research practices at universities, with a focus on the training needs of teaching staff. It consists of a bibliometric analysis, combined with an online worldwide survey aimed at ascertaining the degree of involvement from universities in reducing their own carbon footprint, and the ways they offer training provisions on the topic. This is complemented by a set of 12 case studies from universities round the world, illustrating current trends on how universities handle climate change. Apart from reporting on the outcomes of the study, the paper highlights what some universities are doing to handle climate issues, and discusses the implications of the research. Conclusions: The paper lists some items via which universities may better educate and train their students on how to handle the many challenges posed by climate change., QC 20220504