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This paper investigates ethnic inequity in cycling to work in London, as ethnic minorities in London cycle to work less frequently than white Londoners. The study adopts three methods: spatial statistics, linear regression and spatial econometrics based on recent UK census and official statistical data (2011–17) of 33 London regions. Spatial analysis shows that cycling networks and bike schemes are concentrated around Inner London. Regions with less cycling infrastructure tend to have a greater proportion of residents of ethnic minorities. The paper highlights the spatial dependence between ethnic inequalities and cycling to work at a regional level in London. There is also evidence of spatial spillovers between neighbouring regions. The paper highlights the need to shift the policy focus from the provision of cycling infrastructure to mobility justice. This means recognizing the needs of distinct groups of cyclists coming from various ethnic minorities. Overall, this paper expands the transportation policies approach by linking it with the concepts of mobilities and regional inequalities. This study of London demonstrates the mechanisms responsible for regional ethnic inequalities in cycling to work that could be relevant in other large urban agglomerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As humanity pushes deeper into the Anthropocene, Social-Ecological Systems (SESs) across the world are facing mounting pressures. Managing, protecting and understanding these systems require research into their complex and interlinked nature. One area that has been met with increased research in recent times is Sense of Place (SoP), broadly defined as the emotional bond that people have with a 'place'. There has been substantial growth in the number of studies seeking to understand and quantify SoP across different contexts to help integrate it into decision-making processes. This targeted scoping review aims to explore the environmental literature for examples of applied studies that measure SoP in social-ecological contexts with a focus on how SoP has been quantified and measured. Our results show a growing body of literature as well as a number of clear knowledge gaps. The majority of studies to date have focussed on the Global North (accounting for 79% of the published papers), particularly the USA and Australia, with the distribution of authors closely mirroring this same pattern. Marine and freshwater ecosystems were understudied in comparison to terrestrial ecosystems. Mixed methods were most commonly used to collect data, with interviews and surveys being the most common instruments. Further research into why SoP is being measured is required, but preliminary investigations indicate there is a perceived applicability to policy and planning. We explore these findings and identify research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing personalized recommendation service for users and improving the accuracy of recommendation and user satisfaction are the main research tasks of current travel recommendation systems. The intelligent recommendation model of tourist places requires the algorithm to be able to accurately recommend tourist attractions according to the user's interests. Big data and artificial intelligence technologies have driven the development of intelligent recommendation systems. However, realistic data are often sparse, and the lack of common rating items among users makes some traditional similarity measures impossible to calculate. In addition, traditional collaborative filtering algorithms ignore the issue of user preferences, which can cause a decrease in recommendation accuracy. To address these issues, this paper analyzes the factors affecting users' interest preferences in terms of their global and local rating information. The interest preferences of users are calculated by computing the probability distribution of user rating information globally and using Hamming approach degree. A similarity algorithm about user preferences is derived using Jeffries-Matusita distance. The similarity algorithm is effectively combined with the traditional similarity algorithm to propose a model of collaborative filtering recommendation algorithm for tourist attractions based on user preferences under sparse data. The paper aims to improve the accuracy of tourist attraction recommendation systems by incorporating user preferences and addressing the issue of sparse data and the lack of common rating items among users that traditional similarity measures cannot calculate. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm model outperforms the traditional collaborative filtering algorithm and other algorithms. And it also has high accuracy rate on more sparse tourism data set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human resource management was of great significance for enterprises to formulate development strategies and improve competitiveness. With the rapid development of new technologies such as knowledge economy and big data, the traditional human resource performance appraisal model had certain limitations and was not objective, which had been difficult to adapt to the increasingly highly integrated development needs of modern enterprises. Therefore, this paper used big data analysis and new technical means to put forward the study of human resource performance evaluation model based on Bayesian network, aiming to provide some theoretical reference for modern enterprise human resource management. First of all, it summarized the related concepts of performance appraisal and its important position in enterprise management, analyzed the characteristics of human resources performance appraisal indicators and their mutual relations, and expounded the common methods and characteristics needed to build a performance appraisal system. Secondly, it summarized the relevant theory of Bayesian network and its advantages in solving complex random problems, and proposed a performance appraisal model based on Bayesian network for the needs of enterprise human resources management. Finally, the balanced scorecard method was used to build a performance appraisal system, and the performance appraisal model proposed in this paper was tested by experiments, and compared with the traditional method. The results showed that the performance appraisal model proposed in this paper had significant advantages and could be better applied to the performance appraisal management of enterprise human resources. The research of this paper can not only provide theoretical guidance for further research on enterprise human resource allocation and management, but also provide reference for performance appraisal in other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The study of business performance has a substantial impact on improving the internal management and economic performance of companies. By analysing the previous literature, this paper chooses to measure the factors affecting business performance at four levels, including R&D investment intensity, human capital, patents, and brand value. The purpose of the study is to find out whether these selected factors work equally well for small and medium-sized enterprises. The sample size was 846 Chinese small and medium enterprises from different industries. The firm performance indicators were ROA and ROE. The data has been collected through National Equities Exchange and Quotations platforms based on updated annual reports in 2019. Finally, a stepwise descriptive analysis and multiple linear regression were conducted and predicted the tendency of business performance. The analysis provided the linear combination of four independent variables (R&D, human capital, patents, and brand value) which are significantly related to the dependent variable (business performance). In conclusion, we found that there is a positive impact of patents and brand value on business performance. In detail, we concluded that only production and highly educated personnel show a positive influence. For R&D intensity, there is no strong connection could be observed. In practical terms, this paper allows SME firms to appreciate the importance of human capital, patents, and brand value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to assess the non-linearities between the ESG activities and firm performance in case of an emerging market. China is identified as a case study for the present examination. Even though this research objective has been explored by past researcher, the evidence presented in literature is not conclusive. The paper hypothesizes that such conflicting or inconclusive results can potentially be attributed to wrong modeling, datasets that include both developing and the developed markets, and the prevalent endogeneity issue in corporate governance literature. For the purpose of this paper, the author uses the dynamic panel approach of First difference and the System Generalized Method of Moments. The findings from the analysis of 232 Chinese listed firm show a positive association between ESG activities and the firm performance. However, the relationship is nonlinear. In other words, the relationship between ESG activities and the firm performance is inverted U-shaped. This indicates the relationship is positive up to a certain threshold and once the ESG activities cross that threshold it start to have negative effect. The key insight from this research is that the firm has to find their threshold of ESG activities to gain maximum benefits from such activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of Internet infrastructure construction on enterprise transformation and upgrading and the underlying mechanisms using a progressive double difference model based on a quasi-natural experiment of the Chinese government's "broadband China" policy by matching A-share listed companies and city panel data from 2008–2019 in Shanghai and Shenzhen. The conclusions show that the "broadband China" policy can significantly promote the transformation and upgrading of enterprises in pilot cities. However, its effect shows a diminishing marginal contribution, and the policy is more effective for traditional manufacturing industries during the implementation period. Enhancing human capital and reducing internal transaction costs are two important channels for Internet infrastructure construction to help enterprises transform and upgrade. Combined with the life cycle theory, we find that the "broadband China" policy has the most significant impact on changing and upgrading enterprises in the growth and maturity stages, especially those in the manufacturing industry, but not those in the maturity and decline stages of the service industry. Finally, a series of robustness tests using Monte Carlo simulation, entropy balance method, and instrumental variables method, excluding other factors, show that the findings are still robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the panel data of 285 cities in China from 2000 to 2019, this paper searches the number of patent applications related to urban artificial intelligence from five dimensions: algorithm, data, computing power, application scenario and related technology. Combining the two perspectives of industrial upgrading and rationalization, we analyze the internal influence theory of the research topic from the theoretical and empirical perspectives. The results show that artificial intelligence is not only conducive to industrial upgrading, but also significantly inhibit the deviation of industrial structure from equilibrium, which is conducive to industrial rationalization. In addition, the conclusion of this paper is still valid after a series of robustness tests, such as eliminating the samples of central cities, winsorize treatment and instrumental variables method. Through the heterogeneity test, it is found that the promoting effect of artificial intelligence on industrial upgrading is more obvious in big cities and cities with high level of industrial upgrading. The internal mechanism test results show that artificial intelligence promotes industrial upgrading by promoting technological innovation. In cities with a high degree of marketization and Internet development, the role of artificial intelligence in promoting industrial upgrading can be strengthened. The research conclusions of this paper will be conducive to accelerating the development of artificial intelligence to promote industrial upgrading, and provide a useful reference for realizing high-quality development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have sought to understand how Indigenous and Western knowledge systems can be bridged for development research to be (a) more inclusive of local actors and knowledge and (b) more relevant to the problems it aims to address. Research in Amazonian Indigenous contexts remains dominated by a 'Western' science struggling to accommodate bottom-up development research. This paper examines how Indigenous and Western knowledge is bridged in knowledge co-production with Amazonian Indigenous communities, and what outcomes such bridging incurs. The paper uses a systematic realist review analysing 22 studies. It finds that the bridging of Indigenous and Western knowledge, in co-production with Amazonian Indigenous communities, was based on partnership between Indigenous and scholarly communities. Emphasising mutual respect, power-sharing, and empowerment of Indigenous communities, this bridging contributes to generation of knowledge that is more legitimate and beneficial for all actors involved in the co-production process. However, the paper also observes a gap between knowledge co-production in theory and practice. Power-relations between Western scientists and Indigenous communities need to be further addressed in development research. More work is needed to enhance the legitimacy of knowledge, in order to further empower Indigenous communities to address local challenges according to their own contexts and needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Craniomaxillofacial (CMF) surgery is a challenging and very demanding field that involves the treatment of congenital and acquired conditions of the face and head. Due to the complexity of the head and facial region, various tools and techniques were developed and utilized to aid surgical procedures and optimize results. Virtual Surgical Planning (VSP) has revolutionized the way craniomaxillofacial surgeries are planned and executed. It uses 3D imaging computer software to visualize and simulate a surgical procedure. Numerous studies were published on the usage of VSP in craniomaxillofacial surgery. However, the researchers found inconsistency in the previous literature which prompted the development of this review. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the findings of the studies by conducting an integrated approach to synthesize the literature related to the use of VSP in craniomaxillofacial surgery. Twenty-nine related articles were selected as a sample and synthesized thoroughly. These papers were grouped assigning to the four subdisciplines of craniomaxillofacial surgery: orthognathic surgery, reconstructive surgery, trauma surgery and implant surgery. The following variables – treatment time, the accuracy of VSP, clinical outcome, cost, and cost-effectiveness – were also examined. Results revealed that VSP offers advantages in craniomaxillofacial surgery over the traditional method in terms of duration, predictability and clinical outcomes. However, the cost aspect was not discussed in most papers. This structured literature review will thus provide current findings and trends and recommendations for future research on the usage of VSP in craniomaxillofacial surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image processing algorithms based on time-frequency analysis are frequently used in testing and researching the mechanical properties of high-temperature materials, especially in aerospace, engines, and ships. However, due to the complexity of the high temperature environment itself, there are many factors that affect the measurement accuracy, among which the existence of thermal airflow disturbance has a particularly significant impact on the digital image correlation method. This paper mainly focuses on two aspects of high temperature edge detection and digital image correlation. On the one hand, the existing algorithm is improved to make it suitable for material property detection in high temperature environment. And relevant experiments are carried out to verify the feasibility and accuracy of the algorithm. The full-field coefficient caching method for fitting initial values proposed in this paper has the premise that the accuracy is comparable to that of the reverse combined Gauss-Newton matching algorithm, but the running speed is improved by about 10%, and the matching accuracy of both is obviously higher than that of the surface fitting algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on bulletin of citation number and citation frequency of fuzzy information and engineering papers including reliable pattern recognition with Machine Learning techniques.

General diagnosis of poultry viruses primarily relies on detection of viruses in samples, but many farms are located in remote areas requiring logistic transportation. Filter paper cards are a useful technology that offer an alternative for collecting and preserving samples without hazardous exposure. The goal of this study was to compare three filter papers: the Flinders Technology Associates filter (FTA®) card, dried blood spot (DBS) card and qualitative filter paper (FP) grade 2 to collect poultry samples. In particular, we have used Newcastle disease virus (NDV) to evaluate safety and a Marek’s disease virus (MDV) attenuated vaccine (CVI988) to evaluate stability of viral DNA. This experiment was divided into two parts. The first part was to determine the DNA stability and detection limit of CVI988 in samples collected in different paper supports after four storage times (3, 7, 14 and 30 days post spot). The second part was to determine the safety of papers by evaluating the viral inactivation efficacy using NDV as a representative virus. Results showed that all papers could preserve CVI988 DNA at all times, with a detection limit of 0.5 PFU/5 µl for FTA® and DBS cards, and 5 PFU/5 µl for FP. Our results showed that the NDV remained viable and infectious on the DBS card and FP, while no viable virus was detected on the FTA® card, suggesting that the FTA® card was safest to use. Therefore, the use of the DBS card and FP for infectious sample collection should be discouraged and reconsidered. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS The detection limits of the FTA® card, DBS card and FP for CVI988 detection were 0.5, 0.5 and 5 PFU/5 µl, respectively. All three filter papers could preserve viral DNA for at least 30 days of post spot. The DBS card and FP are not suitable for collecting NDV samples, which is one of the major economical threats for the poultry industry worldwide. The detection limits of the FTA® card, DBS card and FP for CVI988 detection were 0.5, 0.5 and 5 PFU/5 µl, respectively.All three filter papers could preserve viral DNA for at least 30 days of post spot.The DBS card and FP are not suitable for collecting NDV samples, which is one of the major economical threats for the poultry industry worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discussed the fuzzy reliability of pulping system in paper industry. Pulping system consists of four subsystems such as Digester, Knotter, Deckers, and Openers. These subsystems are working in series. In subsystems Knotter and Openers, one unit is operative and another unit is kept as cold standby. Fuzzy failure rates and fuzzy repair rates of the subsystems are taken as general. Trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are used to find out the reliability of the pulping system. Using Mehar’s method, the numerical results for reliability are obtained by considering exponential, Rayleigh, and Weibull distributions. On the basis of the results obtained in this study, it is suggested that paper industry management should involve Weibull distributed random variables for pulping system to attain higher reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the education sector, forcing institutions, instructors, students, and parents to adapt to online or hybrid learning models. The Journal of Statistics & Data Science Education has published fifteen papers that describe approaches to addressing the challenges of the pandemic, with a focus on improving inclusive and flexible learning environments. The current issue of the journal features ten papers on various topics, including emergency online teaching, technology-enhanced instruction, and engaging students with COVID-19 journal articles. The journal also explores other timely topics such as causal inference, personalized education, and case studies using data from the U.S. Geological Survey. The collection of papers is available for free online and can provide valuable insights for the community to learn from this challenging time. [Extracted from the article]

Analyses of policy documents and interviews with three Norwegian politicians revealed differences in how school leaders were described, positioned and ascribed responsibility in Norwegian education policy between 1990 and 2017. While how politicians positioned school leaders changed substantially during the period, a stable trait was vague descriptions of school leaders' responsibility. In 1990, school leaders were envisioned in a managerial position, above teachers, as employers. A more recent White Paper, from 2017, positioned school leaders closer to the teaching profession. The interviews showed that after the PISA-shock in 2001, politicians united across party lines in a 'new regime of understanding', downplaying traditional conflicts between Norwegian politicians. While Parliamentary politicians rhetorically disagreed, there was, underneath the policy discourse, a growing realpolitik consensus in questions of education policy. The study investigates policy descriptions of school leaders after 1990, when Management by Objectives was introduced in education. To position Norway in the international policy context, we draw on Stephen Ball's concepts fabrication, managerialism, magical solutions and neoliberal performativity. Three periods, with simultaneously appearing residual and emerging tendencies were identified. In conclusion, we question an apparent lack of ambitions for school leadership in Norwegian education policy. The article contributes with new insights into education policy fluctations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By establishing the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) in 2018, China has attempted to enhance foreign aid as a diplomatic means and has been more assertive in providing foreign aid through both bilateral and multilateral channels. However, China only publishes aggregated foreign aid statistics in white papers, and data beyond 2019 are not available. This paper aims to estimate China's foreign aid from 2001 to 2022 as a proxy for Official Development Assistance (ODA) defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The results revealed that China's foreign aid, on a grant-equivalent basis, decreased from US$6.4 billion in 2019 to US$5.0 billion in 2020. China has mobilized a large amount of funding for international cooperation on COVID-19. It is unclear how much of this was financed by regular foreign aid budgets. Thus, two cases were set in the current study. In the upper case, all donated vaccines, estimated at US$3.9 billion, came from other sources while in the lower case, it was assumed that the regular foreign aid budget covered all costs. China's foreign aid in 2022 was estimated at US$7.9 billion in the upper case and US$5.0 billion in the lower case. Compared with major ODA donors, China ranked 6th in the upper case and 13th in the lower case. Currently, the CIDCA is attempting to mobilize new financial resources to expand its activities under the Global Development Initiative. It is important to continue to comprehensively examine how China proceeds in improving its development cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term irrigation using wastewater from paper industry may cause seriously problems to the receiving soil. This work surveyed and monitored the soil quality of a wastewater irrigation wetland system in Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province in China in 2014 and 2015. Τhe wetland soil showed different soil properties and TX, AOX, heavy metal contents after long-term wastewater irrigation. Long-term irrigation also accumulated the heavy metals such as Cu, Cd, Zn, and Pb in the wetland soil. Compared to the control, TX in the irrigated soil increased by 47.7–69.8% (2014) and 61.5–83.1% (2015). AOX varied in concentration from 1.7 to 55.0 mg kg−1(2014) and 11.0 to 53.0 mg kg−1(2015). The long-term irrigation of wastewater to wetland systems caused the accumulations of heavy metals, TX, and AOX in the soil and the levels of accumulations were related to several factors including soil properties, wastewater quality, and irrigation time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In order to improve the widening technology of cement concrete pavement of rural highway, this paper further studies the blockage simulation process of permeable concrete pavement. Moreover, this paper separately studies various external conditions such as sediment gradation, horizontal runoff velocity, seepage velocity, porosity, etc., and reveals the mechanism of pore blockage in permeable pavement. After decades of self-gravity consolidation and the effect of traffic load on the subgrade of the rural old road, the consolidation of the old road has been basically completed. At the same time, after the new road is built, due to its own load and vehicle load, it gradually generates its own settlement, resulting in differential settlement of the old and new subgrade. In addition, this paper explores this difference through digital simulation, and puts forward several suggestions in combination with the simulation model. Finally, on this basis, this paper verifies the method proposed in this paper through experimental research. The research results show that the improvement strategy proposed in this paper is suitable for the widening construction of cement concrete pavement of rural highway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several authors have highlighted the importance of family firms in the worldwide generation of wealth, wellbeing, and employment. Recently, the importance of family firms has resulted in the proliferation of many academic works in prestigious journals. Hence, studying their development and evolution is deemed necessary. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of the literature on family firms to show the research trends and guide researchers in their work; it is conducted using a detailed and systematic study of the scientific production of papers on family firms published in the Web of Science (WoS) between 1975 and May 2020. Its contributions are as follows. First, it consolidates family firms as an area of research, which reflects on several papers focusing on this topic (1990 papers published in the WoS database, 55982 total citations). Second, it finds that family firm research has mainly developed in the last few years. Third, it discovers that Kellermanns and Chrisman are the most relevant authors in this field. Fourth, it suggests that the most influential journal is Family Business Review. Fifth, it finds that that the Mississippi State University is the most renowned family firm research institution. Sixth, it discovers that the United States has the highest production in the field. Finally, the bibliometric map identifies four clusters, the most relevant being the family firm theory and its evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this article is to explore and develop a basic understanding of a new formulation of children's learning within ECEC policies in Norway. In the Nordic Countries, one question of importance is the shift in ECEC policy from a social-pedagogical approach and a holistic perspective on children's learning towards a heavier emphasis on school readiness, mathematics, and linguistic skills. And it is this latter approach which is our topic here. The research question is as follows: What transformations can be identified in learning discourses in the Norwegian government's White papers? Analysing political reports will help us identify discourses, including the power and resistance of the ECEC professionals. For this purpose, Fairclough's three-dimensional analysis model is an appropriate way to analyse dynamic processes of recontextualization and reconceptualization. His analysis includes three levels: social structure, social practices and social events, with the aim being to discover how the existing order of discourse is being reproduced or reconstructed. Further, the concept of interdiscursivity describes how texts draw on previous and existing discourses. The article identifies movements and complexity both in policies and among professionals. The learning discourses are strongly influenced by New Public Management in the way of individualization, assessment and accountability. There are signs of silence and acceptance, but resistance and countermovements are also present in the field of ECEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document discusses the importance of understanding the physicochemical properties of aerosol particles in order to comprehend aerosol dynamics and transformations. It highlights the need for new laboratory, theoretical, and modeling studies to address barriers in our understanding of aerosol physical chemistry. The document mentions two conferences that focused on aerosol physical chemistry and microphysics, which provided a platform for interdisciplinary discussions and the exchange of ideas. The document also introduces a special issue that collects papers on topics such as particle surfaces, particle phase, and particle acidity, which address complex aspects of aerosol physical chemistry. Several papers in the special issue explore how different physical properties of aerosols can influence heterogeneous reaction rates involving atmospheric organics. Other papers examine the limitations of experimental techniques and propose improvements, while some highlight the applications of aerosol microphysics in areas such as ice nucleation, cloud activation, and bioaerosols. The document concludes by expressing gratitude to the authors and hopes that the collection stimulates further discussion on these important topics. [Extracted from the article]

This study aims to investigate a new method of glazing for improving the storage quality of frozen horse mackerel. Specifically, this study explored the effect of double-glazing with theaflavins on the quality of horse mackerel stored at −20°C for 28 weeks by comparing with unglazed and those single glazed with theaflavins. Chemical indicators were used to assess deterioration during storage, the water-holding capacity (WHC), weight loss, drip loss, and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) were used to analyze the water retention of fish and water migration in tissues. The water retention analysis results showed that double-glazing can maintain higher WHC, T22 values and lower weight loss, drip loss, T23 values at the end of storage. Chemical analysis results showed that double-glazing combined with theaflavins was highly effective in maintaining lower TVB-N, FAAs, MDA values, and higher SH, IFI values in frozen horse mackerel, especially theaflavins as inner layer glazed material, perhaps due to the synergistic effect of anti-crushing and antioxidant abilities. Therefore, the double-glazing with TF inner layer was more effective in controlling quality changes of frozen horse mackerel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to avoid the "Jesus multiplying bread and fish" myth and "Münchausen baron bootstrap" legend in individual bibliometric indices: a simple bimedian method applied to Italian ASPA academic members Dear Editor in Chief, Over a decade ago we assessed the status of the bibliographic indicators of ASPA members (Pulina and Francesconi [10]) and since then much water has passed under the bridge of bibliometric science. Based on the weak or null correlation amongst the indicators above discussed, I have developed some bimedian graphs that can help to discriminate high shared authorship and high self-citation ratio as the worse position in the bibliometric space of the scientific careers of academic ASPA members. Conclusions The ASPA community exhibits a good scientific performance with high values of the main bibliometric indicators, obviously greater for the older compared to the younger scientists, with a limited number of co-authors per paper and a low degree of self-citations. [Extracted from the article]

It is a privilege to have the chance of congratulating Professor Efron first on this wise paper, then on the richly merited International Prize, the award of which the paper commemorates, but above all on the whole body of his deeply impressive, wide-ranging contributions to our subject. One of the great masterpieces of our field, largely unread nowadays, is M.S. Bartlett's (1958) I Introduction to stochastic processes and their application i and Bartlett's influence on statistical development, at least in UK, was second only to Fisher's. Professor Efron in his theoretical papers manages with great skill and panache to combine careful mathematical discussion with judicious statistical emphasis. [Extracted from the article]

The article reviews the 2009 special issue titled "Norse Greenland: Selected Papers From the Hvalsey Conference 2008," of the periodical "Journal of the North Atlantic."

Our purpose here is to provide an introduction to the set of papers in this Special Edition on "The measurement of agricultural productivity in Africa" and to draw lessons for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The OECD is an inevitable force in contemporary education. This paper illustrates how the OECD affects recent education policy-making in Iceland with a particular focus on recent documents establishing the new Education Policy 2030 in Iceland and on OECD reports that directly relate to this policy. We illustrate the relationship between these documents both topically and chronologically and use Marilyn Strathern's (2006) reasoning about policy making by bullet-points to understand these policy products. Our conclusions are that education policy 2030 is a clear step into a more Nordic tradition of policymaking, in terms of basing policy in previous works and official reports as well as increasing involvement by stakeholders. However, they are characterized by politically admirable, albeit lofty, formulations of ambitions and focus areas, rather than measurable, actionable and implementable policies. The OECD is given a great influence not only as a referential point and a tool to legitimate particular policies, but also a post-hoc policy-implementation adviser and auditor of the policy. Even though the OECD is asked for evaluation of the visionary policy and seems to be the solution to the perceived lack of professional procedure in Icelandic governance, the time-frame seems not to have allowed a thorough use of their advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The task of change detection (CD) in optical and SAR images is an ever-evolving and demanding subject within the realm of remote sensing (RS). It holds great significance to identify the target areas by using complementary information between the two. Due to the distinct imaging mechanisms employed by optical and SAR sensors, effectively and accurately identifying changing regions can be challenging. To this end, a novel heterogeneous RS images CD network (Twin-Depthwise Separable Convolution Connect Network, TDSCCNet) is proposed in this paper. Image domain transformation is a front-end task, while the back-end employs a single-branch bilayer depthwise separable convolutionconnected encoder-decoder to accomplish CD work. Specifically, first, the cycle-consistent adversarial network (CycleGAN) serves to integrate the optical and SAR visual domains, and a consistent feature expression is obtained. Second, the single-branch encoder structure of bilayer depthwise separable convolution is employed to realize change feature extraction. Finally, the multiscale connected decoder reconstructed by change map is utilized to reconstruct the original images and solve the local discontinuities and holes in the binary change map. Multiscale loss is designated for optimizing the global and local effects to alleviate the class imbalance problem. It was tested on four representative datasets from Gloucester, Shuguang Village, Italy and WV-3 datasets with an overall accuracy of 97.36%, 97.01%, 97.62%, and 98.01% respectively. By comparing the existing methods, experimental results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite natural image super-resolution (SR) methods have achieved great success, super-resolution methods for hyperspectral image (HSI) with rich spectral features are still a very challenging task. Furthermore, due to the diversity of HSI captured by different cameras, their degradation conditions vary. Currently available HSI SR methods are mainly based on fixed degradation models, and their performance is severely affected when the actual degradation does not match the assumed degradation model. To address this issue, this paper proposes a single-band hyperspectral image super-resolution (SBHSR) method for HSI. This method assumes that the degradation Gaussian blur kernel parameters of the HSI are unknown, and adapts to various degradation conditions by conducting blind super-resolution on the image. It also combines another band with better spatial structure as an auxiliary band for feature fusion. To address the spectral differences between the super-resolution band and the auxiliary band, we use the Spatial Adaptation Module (SAM) to map the feature distribution, ensuring consistent spectral brightness between the auxiliary band and the super-resolution band. Due to the use of blind degradation super-resolution method, our method is more robust compared to previous HSI SR methods. Additionally, as it is specifically designed for single-band hyperspectral image super-resolution, it has the advantage of being faster and more efficient. Experimental validation on two hyperspectral datasets demonstrates the superiority of our method, as it improves the spatial resolution of the image while preserving the spectral features, and performs better than existing blind super-resolution methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing deep learning-based change detection networks encounter challenges related to the temporal dependency inherent in dual-temporal images. In this study, a weight-shared dual-difference change detection network (DDCDNet) model is proposed based on feature extraction networks. The model employs feature discrimination modules fused with spatial and channel attention mechanisms at different hierarchical levels of the backbone network. In the encoding phase, the tiny version of the Swin Transformer is utilized as the backbone network, with a weightsharing strategy applied to extract feature information from bitemporal remote sensing images. The proposed model in this paper is experimented on the LEVIR-CDþand DSIFN datasets, achieving F1-scores (F1) of 87.71% and 85.79%, recalls of 83.87% and 81.17%, and IoU (Intersection over Union) scores of 78.11% and 75.12%, respectively. These results indicate that the proposed model significantly outperforms other comparative models, demonstrating a better capability of identifying temporal changes in buildings, excellent generalization capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is intended to summarize the research conducted during the first 2 years of the Dragon 5 project 59,332 (geophysical and atmospheric retrieval from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data stacks over natural scenarios). Monitoring atmospheric phenomena, encompassing both tropospheric and ionospheric conditions, holds pivotal significance for various scientific and practical applications. In this paper, we present an exploration of advanced techniques for estimating tropospheric and ionospheric phase screens using stacks of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images. Our study delves into the current state-of-the-art in atmospheric monitoring with a focus on spaceborne SAR systems, shedding light on their evolving capabilities. For tropospheric phase screen estimation, we propose a novel approach that jointly estimates the tropospheric component from all the images. We discuss the methodology in detail, highlighting its ability to recover accurate tropospheric maps. Through a series of quantitative case studies using real Sentinel-1 satellite data, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our technique in capturing tropospheric variability over different geographical regions. Concurrently, we delve into the estimation of ionospheric phase screens utilizing SAR image stacks. The intricacies of ionospheric disturbances pose unique challenges, necessitating specialized techniques. We dissect our approach, showcasing its capacity to mitigate ionospheric noise and recover precise phase information. Real data from the Sentinel-1 satellite are employed to showcase the efficacy of our method, unraveling ionospheric perturbations with improved accuracy. The integration of our techniques, though presented separately for clarity, collectively contributes to a comprehensive framework for atmospheric monitoring. Our findings emphasize the potential of SAR-based approaches in advancing our knowledge of atmospheric processes, thus fostering advancements in weather prediction, geophysics, and environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the Multi-Temporal Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (MT-InSAR) technology is adopted to monitor the Line of Sight (LOS) displacement of Fushun West Opencast Coal Mine (FWOCM) and its surrounding areas in northeast China using Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images acquired from 2018 to 2022. The spatial-temporal evolution of urban subsidence and the south-slope landslide are both analyzed in detail. Comparison with ground measurements and cross-correlation analysis via cross wavelet transform with monthly precipitation data are also conducted, to analyze the influence factors of displacements in FWOCM. The monitoring results show that a subsidence basin appeared in the urban area near the eastern part of the north slope in 2018, with settlement center located at the intersection of E3000 and fault F1. The Qian Tai Shan (QTS) landslide on the south slope, which experienced rapid sliding during 2014 to 2016, presents seasonal deceleration and acceleration with precipitation, with the maximum displacement in vicinity of the Liushan paleochannel. The results of this paper have fully taken in account for the complications of large topographic relief, geological conditions, spatial distribution and temporal evolution characteristics of surface displacements in opencast mining area. The wide range and long time series dynamic monitoring of opencast mine are of great significance to ensure mine safety production and geological disaster prevention in the investigated mining area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doing co-design and co-production is challenging, resource intensive, and outcomes do not always translate into action. Evaluations of processes are needed to identify what enables and constrains 'co' efforts. This paper draws on the findings of an evaluation of a co-design process undertaken by Aotearoa New Zealand's Biological Heritage National Science Challenge, Ngā Koiora Tuku Iho (BHNSC) in 2019. The independent evaluation, commissioned by the BHNSC, draws on process observations and 25 semi-structured interviews with BHNSC leaders and process participants. In this paper, we present key insights from the evaluation through the application of co-production quality assessment principles and a knowledge governance conceptual framework. Our analysis identifies the BHNSC's values as a critical factor in its journey to conduct a process that would foster collaboration between mātauranga Māori and Western science knowledge systems and deliver impact-focused biodiversity and biosecurity research. We propose an additional principle for assessing the quality of co-production processes: values-inspired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central bank communication plays a crucial role in the conduct of monetary policy, yet the research on central bank communication, while growing, is still scarce. In this paper, we analyze the communication reaction function of the European Central Bank (ECB) through topic-based indices derived from the bank's speeches. These indices are used as dependent variables in policy and communication reaction function models, as suggested by recent literature. The topics are extracted using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), a popular text mining algorithm for topic extraction. The ECB has recently reviewed its monetary policy strategy, which led to an increase in studies incorporating the new methods offered by text mining for analyzing the policy reaction function of the bank. We show how indices built through topic modelling can be used to study the communication reaction function of a central bank, and we examine which variables are significant for every topic communicated by the ECB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike existing flexible display technologies such as foldable, rollable, or slidable displays, stretchable displays can change the size of surface areas. Furthermore, they can be transformed into a multi-curvature shape in any direction. These may be the reasons they are often called freeform displays. Stretchability, the extent displays can be stretched, is one of the most important performance factors of stretchable displays. The length ratio before and after stretching is widely utilized to represent one- or two-dimensional stretchability. However, the length ratio cannot be directly applied to three-dimensional stretching. Hence, this paper introduces new measures of three-dimensional stretchability. The pros and cons of the proposed measures are explained. In addition, experimental results to evaluate the proposed measures' performance are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zero watermarking constructs the watermark information according to the characteristics of the original data, without changing the data structure and data accuracy. Maintaining high data accuracy is the premise of building information modelling (BIM) usability, so zero watermarking is a hotspot in the research of BIM data security protection. BIM model is a type of 3D model, however, most of the existing zero watermarking algorithms for 3D models are difficult to be better applied to BIM data due to data structure differences. To solve this problem, a zero-watermarking algorithm for BIM data based on distance partitioning and skewness measure is proposed. Firstly, after spatial partitioning based on element paradigm value, the mapping relationship between different partitions and watermarking bits is established. Then, the skewness of elements is calculated, and the skewness measure sign is used as the feature to obtain the binary sequence. Finally, the dissimilarity operation is performed on the binary sequence and the original watermarking sequence which was disordered to construct the zero watermark of the BIM data. The experimental results show that the zero watermarks constructed from different BIM data are unique and robust to translation, rotation, element deletion, element addition, and format conversion attacks. In addition, the superiority of this paper's algorithm over the comparison algorithm in terms of robustness is compared. Therefore, the proposed algorithm can effectively provide technical support for BIM data copyright protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows a 2-step procedure for obtaining a variable-bandwidth recursive digital filter whose structure contains cascaded second-order (2nd-order) sections. Such a cascade-form structure is insensitive to the round-off noises that come from filter-coefficient quantizations in hardware implementations. This paper also shows how to utilize a 2-step procedure to get a variable-bandwidth recursive filter that is absolutely stable. The first step (Step-1) of the 2-step procedure designs a series of constant-bandwidth filters for approximating a series of evenly discretized variable specifications, and the second step (Step-2) fits the coefficient values obtained from Step-1 by employing individual polynomials. To ensure the stability of the resultant constant-bandwidth filters in Step-1, coefficient transformations are first executed on the 2nd-order transfer function's denominator-coefficients, and then each coefficient of both numerator and transformed denominator is found as an individual polynomial. Once all the polynomials are obtained, the polynomials corresponding to the transformed denominator are further converted to composite functions for ensuring the stability. Hence, the 2-step procedure not only produces a cascade-form variable-bandwidth filter that has low quantization errors, but also ensures the stability. A lowpass example is included for verifying the achieved stability and showing the high approximation accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including health disparities, health economics, and health financing.