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Transnational routes such as direct-entry have become a more attractive option for Chinese students, due to the pandemic-imposed travel restrictions in China. The rise of Chinese direct-entry students can potentially lead to a significant increase in demand for academic and non-academic support not only after their arrival, but also before their departure from China. By applying Schlossberg's transition theory, this paper seeks to develop a good understanding of the academic and social belonging of Chinese direct-entry students in the UK through re-analysing the portraits (written narratives) of a previous research project. The findings indicate that these students were feeling disconnected from the academic and social communities. The factors affecting their sense of belonging are described using the 4S framework, namely self, strategies, situation and support. The paper ends with recommendations to key university stakeholders on how the partner institutions in China and the UK can help enhance a sense of academic and social belongingness of Chinese direct-entry students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper defines the concept of an information graph and proposes its use to describe information links and analyze the information flow in any organization regarding information security. Research on information graphs in this aspect should be developed, especially in identifying "dangerous graph structures" such as the Hamiltonian graphs or cliques. Information graphs containing such a structure as a Hamilton cycle can be analyzed using results from the theory of finding and existence of Hamilton cycles, an essential branch of graph theory. The paper also describes a graph of potential security conflicts, a thematic graph, i.e. a specific information graph. Two theorems concerning the properties of information graphs are also proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning and innovation networks for sustainable agriculture (LINSA) are considered drivers of innovation towards a more sustainable agri-food system. However, sustaining long-term funding remains a challenge for many networks. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive conceptualization of how funding relates to LINSA continuation and suggests a classification of relevant funding instruments. Being purely conceptual, this paper combines perspectives of strategic management and nonprofit finance with empirical insights from innovation network literature to develop a conceptual framework on LINSA funding. The conceptual framework suggests that thriving LINSA require both an appropriate funding mix, which corresponds with the benefits provided, and an anticipatory utilization of financial resources to build and maintain relevant intangible resources. The availability of funding instruments which incorporate these findings is crucial for successful LINSA. The conceptual framework provides guidance to practitioners and policy makers who reflect on appropriate strategies and instruments for LINSA funding. By integrating perspectives from different disciplines, namely the resource-based view and the benefits theory of nonprofit finance, this paper contributes to an increased understanding of funding in network organizations. This is the first paper to offer an explicit conceptualization of how funding relates to LINSA development. It also provides a classification of relevant funding instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper examines the circumstances under which the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adjust peace operations mandates to safeguard civilians during mass atrocities. Peacekeepers are usually deployed where civilians face threats from rebels and/or government forces. The literature shows that, with adequate numbers, peacekeepers effectively protect human lives. Additionally, the norms of Protection of Civilians (PoC) and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) create expectations that missions will be adjusted to protect individuals at grave risk. The paper evaluates cases where PKO were active during the occurrence of targeted mass killings (TMK), covering the years from 2006 to 2017. Using a qualitative mixed-methods approach, this study relies on the TMK dataset from the Australian National University and the Peacekeeping Mandates (PEMA) database to compare the timelines of PKO and spot whether mandates were changed after mass atrocities with new tasks to protect civilians. The paper also briefly assesses the case of South Sudan to evaluate the congruence between mass atrocity triggers and mandate adjustments. Our analysis aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the factors influencing the UNSC's decision-making process in adjusting peace operation mandates to protect civilians during mass atrocities and its limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the present paper is to provide the reasons behind the rise and fall of resources for innovation policies in Brazil between 1999 and 2016. The paper also intends to provide a broad map of the financial relations between funding sources and financial agents in the Brazilian National System of Innovation (NSI). In order to do that, the paper uses mixed methods: a historical approach to cover the motivations of the political economy; principles of network analyses to map the institutional relations between funding sources and financial agents; and economic theory to understand the determinants of the cash flows that finance science, technology and innovation (STI) policies. The institutional arrangement of the Brazilian NSI led the financial cycle to rely, on a general level, on GDP dynamism; the strategy of selected public bodies; on the federal budget decision process; and on the external economic cycle. Between 2003 and 2014, political struggles led to economic policies that favoured GDP growth and public spending, while the opposite occurred from 2015 onwards. In general, institutions were not equipped to protect the financial resources from the political changes of the mid-2010s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School-based education in England has undergone significant changes since 2010, with a huge expansion of academies, schools outside local authority control, funded directly by central government. Academies and local authority (LA) maintained schools are subject to different legislative and regulatory frameworks. This paper focuses on the governance of LA maintained schools, single academy trusts (SATs) and schools that are part of multi-academy trusts (MATs). The research involved analysing legislative provision, policy documents, and documents addressing the governance arrangements of a sample of 23 secondary schools. Our findings reveal a fragmented state-funded secondary school system as regards overall governance, school admissions, the curriculum, and the use of funding. Significantly schools in MATs, which are governed by the trust board, lack the autonomy of either SATs or maintained schools and are instead under the ultimate control of the trust board. The paper argues that there is a need for greater consistency regarding the governance of state-funded schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the view that community participation can be defined as the continuous trans-local mobility and localisation of not only organisations and individuals but also various nonhuman elements such as information and events, this paper explores how the community participation of Hong Kong in the conservation of Pokfulam Village is understood as socially extrospective and introspective processes. This paper is aimed to reveal how the knowledge of Treasure Hill in Taipei has been adapted (or not) to the community participation of Hong Kong's Pokfulam Village's heritage conservation. This provides insights into how the global flow of people, information, discourse, and technology has influenced the community participation in heritage conservation, especially across the Pacific Rim cities. Finally, the research discusses how local community can play a role in the dynamic local social structure of conserving their heritage, as well as 'whose heritage' in the mobility of global knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 lockdown, cultural heritage institutions responded promptly to this difficult time by launching a series of digital collections of traces of this historical moment. Due to the limitations of the lockdown, such collections have generally focused on the intimate dimension of the pandemic, representing represented the outside world (streets, shops, cultural venues, etc.) as a site of emptiness. This paper examines the 'Windows in lockdown' initiative, which aimed to collect photographs of the messages displayed in physical locations during the lockdown period. The collection was carried out through an action research approach based on a participatory platform and social media. A collection of 1,224 photos taken in France between March and May 2020 was built. This paper analyses this collection through a social semiotics approach. The analysis highlights the role played by the outside world as a generator of an alternative collective memory during COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study an efficient lightweight method of electric vehicle power packs, the paper proposes that a hybrid method is combined with the modified Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II), the contribution analysis method and the TOPSIS method for improving the battery pack enclosure (BPE) crashworthiness and reducing the structural mass. First, the finite element model of BPE and the crushing crashworthiness model were established and effectively verified by constrained modal analysis and crushing tests. Next, the initially selected optimized components were screened with the contribution analysis method to identify the final optimized components with thickness as the design variable. Also, the battery pack structure values at a design point with the Latin hypercube sampling are obtained. Moreover, the response surface (RSM) agent model was used to construct a relationship between optimization indicators and the design variables. Based on that, this paper carried out the multi-objective optimization design of NSGA-II algorithm and obtained the optimal compromise solution by TOPSIS method. And finally, by numerical simulation, the optimization results were verified and compared with the initially designed BPE. The results showed that the optimized battery pack components reduced the total weight by 4.31% and the crushing deformation of the box by 5.97%.These results contribute to the lightweight and crash-resistant BPE design with excellent performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wire ropes are widely observed in many industries such as marine engineering and civil engineering, as a type of structure that can bear huge axial force. There are various kinds of wire ropes in practical engineering, corresponding to different usage scenarios. This paper focuses on 6 × 36SW + 1WR with a diameter of 16 mm. The axial mechanical properties of the wire rope are investigated by experimental, theoretical, and numerical methods. The stress–strain curve and ultimate strength of the steel wire rope obtained in the test are compared with the corresponding results from the finite element simulation. The comparison demonstrates the accuracy and reliability of the finite element model. In addition, a series of parametric studies are conducted to investigate the influence of pitch length and friction coefficient, etc. The purpose of this paper is to propose an accurate and efficient finite element model for the mechanical analysis of wire ropes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper outlines the functioning of Hungarian weekend schools in the United Kingdom, which are key institutions in emerging diaspora communities. The paper interprets Hungarian weekend schools in two paradigms: it approaches them as diaspora institutions, and also as Anglo-Saxon supplementary schools. One of the paper's main conclusions is that, in addition to the manifest functions of Hungarian weekend schools (e.g., preservation of national identity, mother-tongue education, community engagement), latent functions are also essential, such as the psychological need of belonging to a community, the support of children's educational attitudes, the consciousness of bilingualism, the enhancement of social capital, and integration into the host community. Thus, weekend schools are not only sites for knowledge transfer, but they also provide space for the institutionalization of diaspora as cultural community-building institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the impact of The Global Agenda (GA) process and focuses on its relevance for social work practitioners and educators in the United Kingdom (UK). It asks, is there a global social work profession? The paper explores three key elements. Firstly, to what extent is it possible to view the diversity of social work under the differing national frameworks, as a coherent, single professional identity? Secondly, to what extent are national concepts of social work related to global instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thirdly, are there universal theoretical models? Having explored these questions, The GA process unequivocally adopted the position that there is a global social work profession, that its members and practitioners do share core values, principles and practice models, that these models require constant review and revision, and that one purpose of the process was/is to stimulate those discussions and explore those narratives, as is evident in the four GA reports. This makes The GA process as relevant for practice and policy in the UK, as it is for other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyprus is a nation of great history, old and new, that makes up a controversial and often stressful environment in which social work is practiced. The intent of this paper is to highlight the Cypriot context and discuss how the Global Agenda is integrated in it. Drawing on the key objectives of the Global Agenda — promoting social and economic equalities; promoting the dignity and worth of peoples; promoting community and environmental sustainability; and, strengthening recognition of the importance of human relationships — the paper explores the challenges and barriers that social work in the nation faces in an attempt to promote the wellbeing and growth of communities, families and individuals. With consideration to the many and rich initiatives toward increasing social solidarity, collaboration and community engagement, the paper makes suggestions to overcome the challenges that prevent social work from fully committing to the agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several communities in India have defined the contours of the extent and quality of women's education based on the shifts in the demands of marriage within the community. The following paper traces a similar pattern in the educational trajectories of first-generation women of the Meena community across the rural and urban areas, to access the state government's women's college in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, India. The relevant data has been collected through fieldwork conducted in Sawai Madhopur in the year 2017. The paper explores the complicity of the women's college with the institutions of family and marriage that result in a complete elimination of the classroom as a meaningful space of learning for women. The paper focuses on these and other such costs that Meena women bear for access to education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy promotes the development of high-tech industrial parks (HIP) and the improvement of their innovation efficiency. To conduct an in-depth study of the driving path and differences of HIP policies on innovation efficiency, by making a theoretical analysis on the impact of scientific and technological innovation policies (STI) on innovation efficiency, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of STI on innovation efficiency of high-technology industrial parks. Linear regression and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) are mainly used. Empirical tests found that policy targets drove innovation efficiency in a relatively minor way. Demand-based policy tools had the most significant influence on that. Supply-based and environment-based policy tools had a notable positive impact during the lag periods of policies.As the results of QCA, in the early stage of the development of HIP, the supply-led environment optimization path and the supply-led comprehensive path are the two forms of policy combination approaches of STI, and supply-based policies have a greater impact. In the later stages, there are four forms of policy mix approaches to STI that affect innovation efficiency, including targets-directed pathway, demand-driven pathway, supply-dominated environment optimization pathway, and environment-dominated comprehensive pathway. Given the above, this paper put forward relevent proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) has become increasingly popular among policymakers because of its potential to drive economic growth. In many countries, the promotion of EE has been linked with innovation policy but little research has been done to examine whether such policy can facilitate EE's development. Using the case study method to examine the growth of China's unicorns, which are productive entrepreneurial outputs of EE, this paper investigates the process of EE's emergence and development, and the role of government policies, including innovation policy, in promoting EE's growth. The paper advances three policy implications derived from the case study; first, the important role of government policies in creating institutional contexts; second, developing informal institutions, and third, implementing a systemic intervention, to promote EE's emergence and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government implemented education access policies occupy a prominent place in the discourse on access to education. Education access issues have, thus, been examined almost exclusively from macro-level structural perspective. The micro-politics that take place behind the scenes after structural access issues have been resolved is minimally broached. Drawing on qualitative data from first generation educated women in Ghana and their mothers, this paper addresses the dark underbelly of girls' access to education, and the resistance activities undertaken by women to ensure that girls who become causalities of non-enrolment decisions are enrolled. Thus, the paper is guided by two questions. How do girls who become casualties of non-enrolment decisions go to school? How does the resistance activities women take against such non-enrolment decisions enable access for girls? In presenting the roles played by different actors such as mothers and kins, this paper makes an argument that, through women's resistance activities such as subverting the norms, covert diplomacy, and infractions of gendered rules in decision-making, women resist structural distribution of norms that exclude them from decision-making before girls can go to school unimpeded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimizing semiconductor manufacturing processes is needed to solve the current shortage of computer chips. Discarding unfinished chips based on data-driven predictions models can significantly reduce time and resources otherwise spent on finishing faulty chips. The current paper presents the value proposition of predictive discarding at different stages in the manufacturing process, by combining model performance metrics with costs and benefits related to false and correct discards. While applied to the chip manufacturing process in this paper, predictive discarding is a generic methodology to minimize wasted resources by predicting product quality from process data. Through sensitivity analysis, we show that even with weak predictors, predictive discarding can still be beneficial, from both economic and sustainability perspectives. The proposed method is illustrated by analysing an empirical benchmark data set from the semiconductor manufacturing domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on Vietnamese PhD students' imaginative geographies of their destination countries. Using the data collected from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 18 Vietnamese PhD students, the study examines the participants' preparation for their sojourn before their departure, as well as their first multi-sensory experiences of the study countries on the first days of arrival, which then revealed how their imaginative geographies had been constructed and how they perceived the contrast between their imaginative geographies and reality. The findings of the study suggest that when the students chose to study overseas, they had diverse imaginations of the destinations that had been constructed over long periods of time thanks to the influences of movies, newspapers, media, and experiences of those in their social networks. Furthermore, the paper also highlights the collective imagination about countries in the West and the imagination of the collective West among Vietnamese students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is Paper No. 1, and forms part of a series together with Paper No. 2 (From novels to figures: themes and strategies of a political practice – Part I), and Paper No. 3 (From novels to figures: themes and strategies of a political practice – Part II; Sexual difference: an occasion for being). Papers No. 2 and No. 3 are forthcoming in Law & Literature. The three papers constitute a whole project of translation and commentary composed of translated extracts from the "Catalogo n. 2 – Le madri di tutte noi," published by the Milan Women's Bookstore in 1982. The idea for the project was conceived by Silvia Niccolai and Angela Condello, who selected the extracts and provide the written commentaries on the original texts. The Catalogue, in which we find collective discussions, pages of personal diaries and, overall, the enterprise of a group of women debating over their literary symbolic mothers (who to read? And why?), is an fascinating example of the collective work of feminist groups of women, the themes they addressed and their methodology. In particular, the debate on the literary "mothers," on the female authors that can contribute to the formation of a feminine symbolic, shows the kind of concerns of difference feminism in Italy (especially during the Seventies). The text offers, in other words, the opportunity to enter a world that nowadays – with the new, varied streams of feminism and the battles over the neutralization of sexual identity – is less frequent, and nevertheless we find it important in order to understand the social, political and cultural power of feminism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the aurality of voice-activated AIs (VA AIs) through uncanny encounters with the devices. Glitches such as Alexa spontaneously bursting into laughter or accidental activations putting users' privacy at risk, have incited suspicions among users as to the motives of tech companies and the technical capabilities of their devices. Building on previous contributions that show that the feminised voices of VA AIs are strategically designed to display reassuring attributes and obscure surveillance practices, I discuss the aural moments in which VA AIs fail to reassure, shifting from a convenience to a threat through the experience of the uncanny. I argue that anxieties tied to VA AIs are both produced and mediated by their aurality: both their voices and listening practices. I theorise uncanny encounters with the voice and listening capacities of VA AIs such as glitches, features which seek to imitate humans, disembodied voices and disembodied listening, and invasions of privacy as enacting perversions of care and inducing fear of impersonation and intrusion. This paper contributes to the literature on the specificity of sound in conceptions of the uncanny valley, and also seeks to enrich conception of vocality and listening as vector of anxieties within the neoliberal condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An aggressive driving state impacts drivers' decisions, which could potentially lead to accidents. Real-time recognition of driving state is particularly important for improving road safety. However, the majority of modeling in existing studies relies on a single algorithm, which may lead to unreliable predictions. This paper proposes a stacking ensemble aggressive driving state recognition model using electroencephalography (EEG), which is able to combine different heterogeneous classification algorithms. Five types of classification algorithms and their variants are tested and compared to identify suitable base classifiers. All of these classifiers are optimized by Bayesian optimizer before the comparison. Three stacking ensemble recognition models using different meta-classifiers (i.e., logistic regression, random forest, and AdaBoost) and an equal-weight voting ensemble recognition model are established. The aforementioned recognition models are evaluated by using a dataset collected from a car-following simulated driving experiment. Fast Fourier transformation (FFT) and wavelet packet transformation (WPT) are adopted to extract features from raw EEG data. The results suggest that the stacking ensemble recognition models outperform the best single (i.e., support vector machine) model; the random Forest stacking recognition model achieves the best performance and the accuracy is increased from 81.21% to 84.23% using FFT features and from 86.45% to 87.38% using WPT features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the representation of the other in relation to justice regardless of ethnicity in two Fatih Akın films: The Edge of Heaven and In The Fade. By addressing the potential effect of transnationalism on the narrative in both films in terms of the portrayal of the other and the self, this paper offers an alternative reading of the representation of justice as served by a westerner, albeit in different ways. Unlike most works on Akın's cinema, this paper aims to reveal whether Akın's films embrace the concept of western superiority against the other in the context of justice. To that end, this paper explores how the film characters, on their quest for justice, might reflect the director's political view. The main analysis first examines the representation of the other, and then, the representation of justice as it relates to the main characters within the scope of transnationalism in both films and discusses how this problematizes the concepts of the other and the self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does the closure of prisons impact local communities where the prison is sited? The paper compares three prison closures in northern and central Kazakhstan through field observations, interviews, and focus groups at the sites. We find that respondents unanimously opposed closure by appealing to the apparent good performance of the prison. Beyond the economic loss incurred by closure, respondents reported a loss of communal identity, as well as prestige connected to the presence of the military at the colony. The paper analyzes these responses by examining the logics by which the prisons came to be opened in the Soviet period as well as investigating how the relationship between punishment, economy, and society in Kazakhstan has changed since that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contributes to strategic thinking about infrastructure resilience and adaptation. A technique is presented in a case study for analysing options on the timing of protection against climate change. Predetermined trigger points for responses to resilience weaknesses are discussed, showing how flowcharts can act as prompts to the need for action. The roles of national governments in improving resilience in key areas are discussed. The paper introduces the concept of a 'chain of resilience' for interdependent infrastructure systems and identifies some key questions for national governments to ask about the linkages between systems before requiring appropriate remedial actions. Practical steps for private owners and investors to increase resilience in their own infrastructure are identified. Some suggestions for tackling the increasingly important area of cyber resilience are presented. The use of actuarial techniques is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental disorders negatively affect employee well-being and organizational performance. Organizations face a challenge in terms of how to manage mental health. This paper clarifies three issues (underlying patterns, trends, and impact of COVID-19) regarding the scientific study of mental health in organizations from a healthcare analytics framework. The framework comprises eight stages considering a text-driven approach with scientific corpora assisted by linguistic/computational and statistical resources. This study discovers a new taxonomic model comprising five patterns in the scientific discourse on the topic. Trend analyses reveal imbalances and concerns regarding the interests associated with the patterns, which is reinforced by examining patterns "before" and "during" COVID-19. This paper complements psychological/epidemiological studies on mental health in organizations from a healthcare analytics perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper surveys leadership in the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin in The Troubles (1968–1998), using four typologies to frame its analysis: position-based leadership; person-based leadership; results-based leadership; and process-based leadership. The paper considers the question—Are the four typologies a useful way of analysing leadership within the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin in The Troubles? The paper examines milestone points in The Troubles, including the formation and coming to prominence of Provisional IRA; the conflict in the prison system culminating in the hunger strikes of the early 1980s; the growth of the political party Sinn Féin; and the peace talks which brought about the end of The Troubles. The paper argues that, over time, the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin shifted towards process-based leadership as they moved from an armed struggle to political engagement. Position-based and person-based leadership were also evident as key figures switched towards electoral participation. Political engagement also served results-based leadership, given Sinn Féin's electoral presence and influence in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, semantic segmentation algorithms based on deep learning have been widely used in building extraction, which requires large sample data and does not consider the geometric features of the building, and the effect of the extraction is greatly affected by the data scene, while the traditional methods are difficult to extract the remote sensing buildings accurately because they only consider their greyscale features when extracting them. To solve this problem, we propose a method for building classification extraction from remote sensing images that combine over-pixel and maximum interclass variance. The method combines superpixel and maximum interclass variance (OTSU). First, a number of superpixel subregions with different shapes and sizes are generated based on the watershed transform. Then, the superpixels of buildings are merged using the spectral features of buildings, so the first extraction of buildings is achieved by this method.Then, the noise is suppressed with median filtering. Finally, the post-extraction of buildings is performed according to the OTSU algorithm. In this paper, seven images of buildings located in different landscapes were selected. The experimental results show that the algorithm is more advantageous than the classical algorithm and the deep learning algorithm.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary discusses the growing connections between sustainable tourism research and the sustainability transitions literature. The common ground between sustainability transitions and sustainable tourism starts from the problem definition of unsustainability in tourism and the consequent need for system change. Research into sustainable tourism engages with several areas discussed in the recent sustainability transitions research agenda. These include: understanding radical innovation for sustainability that involves (socio-technical) system level change; the politics and power struggles in transitions processes; organisational and industrial aspects of sustainability transitions; the geography of transitions; and ethical/just transitions. The papers in this special issue also show that evolutionary economic geography (EEG) views on sustainability transitions in tourism are in line with the concepts of innovation and change in the multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions (MLP). This should enable a fruitful interaction between the two fields of sustinability transitions and sustainable touism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conceptual paper argues that there are unrealized benefits from a cross-fertilization between research on sustainable tourism and sustainability transitions studies. With the aim to stimulate such cross-fertilization, the paper identifies three contemporary streams in sustainability transitions studies that are particularly relevant for sustainable tourism: deep transitions, transitions in practice, and the geography of transitions. These three streams present complementary perspectives, which can help reach a more nuanced understanding of transition processes in the tourism sector. The paper concludes that while research on sustainable tourism can benefit from theories, concepts, and frameworks from research on sustainability transitions, research on sustainable tourism can support further conceptual developments in sustainability transitions studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is rich research on tourism destination evolution, the literature on how normative social and environmental goals (as opposed to contingent events or economic imperatives) drive the evolution of tourism towards more sustainable forms remains under-developed. As a result, the overall understanding of how sustainability in tourism is pursued on the ground and what context-specific factors shape these processes is still insufficient. To address this lacuna, the paper draws upon the sustainability transitions (ST) agenda that focuses on the ground level processes of transitions and conceptualises sustainability transitions as multi-actor, multi-dimensional, evolutionary, disruptive and contested processes. As such, the paper offers a constructive response to Niewiadomski and Brouder's (2022) call for bridging the gap between the research on tourism evolution and the sustainability transitions agenda. More specifically, the paper adopts selected concepts of evolutionary economic geography (EEG) (which have long proved helpful in research on both tourism evolution and sustainability transitions) to address how sustainability in tourism is mindfully pursued in the Outer Hebrides (Scotland, UK) and what geographical and historical factors shape this transition. The analysis draws from 17 semi-structured interviews (conducted in 2020-2021 with tourism businesses and various organisations involved in tourism in the Outer Hebrides) and documentary analysis. Two main groups of place- and path-dependent factors that shape the ongoing transition to sustainable tourism in the Outer Hebrides are identified: 1) institutional and social fragmentation, and 2) infrastructural deficiencies and challenges. The paper finds that the transition to sustainability in tourism in the Outer Hebrides is fragmented and intermittent. Although numerous promising changes are taking place, the transition suffers from a lack of systemic and systematic governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a life after breast cancer. The prerequisite is early detection. Breast cancer is curable when detected early, tiny, and has not spread – regular screening aids in early detection. Clinical Thermography and artificial intelligence are potentially a good fit for early breast cancer screening. This survey paper presents a systematic review of artificial intelligence-based breast cancer screening using thermal infrared cameras. Initially, we will present the qualitative analysis of the existing literature regarding the trend and distribution. This review manuscript will then explore the literature about infrared thermal image acquisition and storage techniques. We will then highlight various segmentation techniques used for processing infrared thermal images. This paper presents the experimental results of the traditional image processing and deep learning-based segmentation techniques available in the literature using infrared breast thermal images. We then summarize the works that have used artificial intelligence to segment and classify infrared thermal images. The existing literature shows opportunities to explore the area of explainable artificial intelligence (AI). Explainable AI will make clinical Thermography into assistive technology for the medical community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-colour four-way traffic light completed 100 years in 2020. Even though the traffic light in the form of Semaphore arms has been in use in London since 1868, electric traffic lights came into existence in 1912 and the standard three-colour four-way light in 1920. Research is continuously being carried out to develop better algorithms to improve safety, reduce travel delays, and optimize road capacity. Hence a review of the evolution of traffic lights is warranted. This paper presents an all-round review using a six-prong approach. Timeline of the evolution of the literature in the last 100 years, the evolution of hardware, algorithms, traffic control schemes, standards and the pedestrian lights and count down timer are the six areas in which the review is carried out. A timeline of the different keywords related to the various algorithms in use is presented. This article delves into the thinking and meticulous approach of early researchers and practitioners of the field while dwelling on the past. They laid the rock-solid foundation of today's research. Also, future research areas like connected vehicles and automated vehicles are pointed out, and a summary of the findings is presented at the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a growing new materialism paradigm and research on multimodality, there is an increasing attention on the role of material objects in science teaching and learning. However, there is currently no available framework, coding scheme, or method of inquiry to specifically analyze the use of material objects in science meaning-making. This paper presents and discusses two analytical frameworks developed to examine teachers' and students' interaction with material objects during classroom discourse. The first analytical framework was theoretically informed by multimodal interaction analysis (MIA), focusing on humans' situated interaction using embodied and disembodied modes located in the material world. The second framework was informed by social semiotics multimodal analysis (SSMA), focusing on material interaction as a semiotic mode with unique affordances for sign-makers to make meaning alongside other semiotic modes (e.g. speech, gesture). Both frameworks are used to analyze two vignettes of classroom discourse generated from video data to illustrate their applications, coding procedures, and interpretative potential. The MIA-informed framework highlighted the dynamic and reciprocal relations between students' experiences and the transformation of materials, while the SSMA-informed framework highlighted the subtle meanings constructed with the unique affordances of the material mode. The affordances and limitations of the two frameworks are discussed, along with their compatibility and complementary relations. This work contributes to the emerging field of materiality in science education research and provides a foundation for future studies on the analysis of material interaction in science meaning-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A move beyond static and representational accounts of science learning and becoming through relations is needed. In this paper extra-learning activities in science offered by a community organization to an elementary class over one academic school year are assessed in light of their contributions to science learning and becoming. The latter is explored through a theoretical grounding and focus on the entanglements of bodies, materials, and affect. In doing so, the paper speaks to the affective turn in science education. The study is grounded in a non-representational and subjective reading of the work affect is doing yet also attends to the role of materials and bodies within that process, speaking to materialism, embodiment, and dignity. One elementary school class, participating in a one-year long activity assumed by a community organization (CO). Data was collected through a video ethnography of the science activities assumed by the CO. Through interaction analysis, telling moments of joint-engagement in science were analysed by centering body-material-affect entanglements. By juxtaposing these moments with background information from interviews of the teacher and the instructor, a bricolage of data sources led to narratives presented as three stories. Making evident entanglements through three stories, the paper offers insights into ways non-representational embodied and material forms of learning and becoming can be studied and documented and the insights they might offer into understanding learning and becoming in science. The stories speak to the kind of work entanglements make evident in terms of lived affect in science but also moments of relations between participants and dignity affirming or undermining work in science learning and becoming. More studies are needed to engage with body-material entanglements in and through affect and report on the manner affect supports dignifying forms of engagement with science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of smart port is still disputed in the literature, appearing in dispersed contributions, often not aligned with its intelligent systems background. In this sense, this paper proposes a theoretical framework for smart port terminals by presenting a literature review and conceptual definition, proposing a maturity model, and exploring a research agenda. We investigate defining characteristics and relations between enablers, applications, and outcomes for smart port terminals. The proposed maturity model evaluates these main aspects in six areas of interest, providing maturity indexes that enable identifying the current state of intelligence in a port terminal, hence aiding its improvement. The application of the maturity model in two Brazilian container terminals provided feedback to the theoretical proposition and supports its use as a tool for general assessment of smart port terminal maturity. As such, the paper can serve as a comprehensive guide for researchers and port managers to understand the field, fostering the development of roadmaps and smart applications in port terminals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes further generalisations based on the application of edge-based state decomposition methods on average consensus. The edge-based state decomposition method is a privacy-preserving technique that leverages the number of neighbours to decompose node information, effectively safeguarding the privacy of nodes in average consensus, even in the absence of reliable neighbours. Building upon this method, our research expands its applicability to bipartite consensus and scale consensus. In bipartite consensus, the method can also accurately achieve consensus while guaranteeing privacy. In contrast, scale consensus effectively protects the privacy of the final consistency result. In addition, this paper refines the privacy proofs for different enemies. Finally, the simulation results presented at the end of the paper validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work of elementary science teaching is challenging given the wide array of subject matter most teachers are expected to teach and a systematic de-prioritisation of science at these grades. In this literature review (63 papers; 2010–2020), we use a framework of readiness for science teaching. Using this framework allows us to illustrate foundational characteristics and abilities that preservice teachers may start with and develop as they become well-started beginners for elementary teaching in the face of systemic challenges. To this end, we identify what is known from the research literature about the strengths that preservice elementary teachers bring to this difficult work with regard to their characteristics and abilities in addition to the challenges they face, describing a foundation on which preservice teachers can build. We also highlight additional studies that show how teacher education can build on preservice teachers' strengths and support them in areas that are challenging. We identify themes around novices' identities, dispositions, emotions, beliefs, attitudes, self-efficacy, knowledge, engagement in and with science practices, lesson planning, and lesson enactment. Finally, we highlight four implications for science teacher educators, noting focal areas that may compensate for challenges preservice elementary teachers face while building on their strengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the well-known and often-taught novel The Chrysalids toward a reconsideration of the novel's place within curriculum and the pedagogies it may offer. Framed as a mourning ceremony, a way of revisioning what the novel could mean in the present by saying goodbye to what it has meant in the past, the paper progresses in two major moments. The first looks at the novel in the author's lived experience and discusses personal mourning. The second engages affect theory toward a (re)reading of the material resistances and erasures within one copy of the text. The author concludes by expressing the need for a (re)visioning of what curricular fixtures such as The Chrysalids could mean today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Link-Travel-Time (LTT) estimation is essential for the planning and operations of a variety of transportation services. Given the random sampling of a very large number of GPS-points over a highly complex urban network, the task of organizing these individual GPS readings to estimate LTTs requires the development and implementation of a novel comprehensive data processing and path-finding methodology which is described in detail in this paper. As part of this novel methodology, an innovative data-driven matching-algorithm to estimate urban LTT from high-sampling-rate GPS data projected onto the Open-Street-Map network is developed and implemented. Then, using these LTTs, we construct Path-Travel-Time (PTT) between major origin-destination pairs. PTT of Actual-Paths (AP) followed by GPS-enabled vehicles are compared with k-Shortest-Paths (SP), allowing us to better understand route-choice behavior and overall traffic conditions. We compare PTT from observed-trips (OD-trips), map-matched AP, and SP paths with Free-Flow (FF). Results show that OD-trips, AP, and SP exceed FF by 15%, 41%, and 15%, respectively. The difference in PTT between OD-AP is ∼5%, which means the map-matching process works well and does not create bias in our analysis. People using the shortest-path varies with the distance; for ∼3-mile-paths, 50% of users do not use it. For ∼6-mile-paths, the percentage reduces to 35%, and for ∼9-mile, the percentage is 25%. A relatively high number of trips spend more time than the average and much longer than the shortest PTT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing is a critical foundational literacy skill for preschool and kindergarten and has received increased attention in research and policy as a result. Further, the nature of literacy more broadly is shifting towards more digital forms and formats. Research suggests that children approach tasks with and without technology differently and similarly, other research suggests that young children approach writing differentially depending upon the task context. In a small sample (n = 35) of preschool and kindergarten children at university lab school, this study sought to understand children's writing development in traditional (paper-pencil) and digital (iPad-stimulus/finger) contexts across a variety of writing skills. Results suggest that children have varied writing skills that develop considerably across the school year. Further findings indicate that children's writing products and the ways they take up writing are often different depending on the context (traditional v. digital). Implications for practice are discussed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the landslide recognition problem in remote sensing images, this paper designs a visual transformer network model based on DEM (digital elevation model) feature enhancement, which is experimentally validated on the Bijie landslide dataset and Landslide4Sense2022 dataset. The lion optimizer is used during training. The results show that 98.49% accuracy and 97.24% F1 score are achieved on Bijie dataset, and 88.22% accuracy and 90.16% F1 score on Landslide4Sense2022 dataset, which is a significant improvement in landslide recognition compared with other mainstream network models. Therefore, it can be found that this paper's method is effective in the recognition of landslide from remote sensing images. Firstly, the swin transformer network model was successfully applied to remote sensing landslide image classification by means of transfer learning. Secondly, an information enhancement approach based on DEM features was designed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This storied paper reflects my awakening to the notion of interbeing, a core concept of Engaged Buddhism posed by the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh. My awareness was heightened in writing about a young Vietnamese child, Dylan, with whom I engaged in an early childhood study in Aotearoa New Zealand. Underpinned by Chen's Asia as Method, interbeing is considered a research orientation for decolonization, an alternative way of knowing and thinking in mutuality and relatedness. In the light of interbeing, the writing is a process of living my lives and the others' lives as well as transforming myself to see with the child. The paper conveys critical moments in my writing path with the potential to integrate non-Western philosophy into qualitative research with young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on a webinar on digital technology and networked spaces in outdoor education, where three researchers presented their work through responses to two discussion statements: First, 'the use of digital technology in outdoor education is fundamentally contrary to all its values.' Second, 'if we accept that digital technology is embedded in outdoor education, what do we know about its potential? And what are key areas to explore more deeply?.' Despite there being no advance planning to produce a research output from the webinar, the organisers' basic analysis of the webinar's frontchannel and backchannel revealed areas of the conversation that may merit targeted empirical attention. Three principal themes emerged from participants' responses during the webinar: the need to move beyond binary thinking; the importance of considering digital technology in regard to specific learning objectives and contexts; and to inform oneself about the affordances of digital technology, while thinking critically about its applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The condensate gas reservoir with bottom water and oil-rim faces the invasion of oil-rim and bottom water in the process of depleted gas production. In order to explore the invasion mechanism and distribution of oil-rim for a better coping strategy, the long-core displacement apparatus was modified for X-CT scan withstanding high temperature and high pressure (HTHP). From 56.58 to 47 MPa, the oil-gas contact rose fast and gradually slowed down, and the corresponding invasion volume accounted for 82.98% of the total invasion volume. From 47 to 8.8 MPa, the watercut soared to 98% and the invasion rate tended to stagnate. Finally, oil-rim oil was left completely in the reservoir pores and the recovery of condensate oil was only 30.27%. The paper revealed the damage of excessive pressure drop to condensate and oil-rim, and discussed its influencing factors and various pressure control methods. The modified apparatus filled the gap of obtaining oil saturation by X-CT scan under stable HTHP, which had a general application prospect in subsequent optimization and core displacement experiments where oil distribution needed to be observed under HTHP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the role of an Action Learning Coach in real-world scenarios. The coach addresses challenges such as team members leaving for phone calls, disruptions caused by important participants and the team returning from a break visibly shaken. As the coach, I employed an approach involving awareness, team queries, and collaborative decision-making. The paper emphasizes the vital function of language in coaching, advocating for a non-judgmental, future-positive approach to instill a learning mindset. The paper underscores the transformative potential of action learning, a process that encourages constant questioning and questioning everything. Action learning coaching leverages coaching at the group level, fostering self-awareness, goal setting and feedback. The article concludes by highlighting the impact of coaching on participants' goal orientation and self-efficacy, stressing the importance of a learning orientation for building powerful, growth-oriented teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper poses the question 'What can we learn from the person-centred counselling literature which could be used by the action learning facilitator to help benefit the set?'. This question may be particularly important to facilitators seeking new ways to run their sets and to facilitators who would like to introduce a more humanistic and less mechanistic way of working with set members. Person-centred counselling is an approach to helping which aims to foster human growth and wellbeing. The person-centred approach was developed by Carl Rogers in the 1950s and has a number of similarities with Revan's original ideas. Although Revans was insistent that action learning was not counselling there are several facets of person-centred theory which align with Revans underlying ideas and philosophy. The paper concludes with suggestions of how to incorporate Rogerian ideas into facilitation, namely those of empathy, congruence and Unconditional Positive Regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a reflective Account of Practice paper that delves into the author's role as an Action Learning coach, emphasizing the crucial role of intuition in facilitating breakthroughs and creating an environment conducive to problem-solving. It narrates a transformative 2019 coaching session where the author used unconventional techniques to empower a team member to create a comprehensive action plan for a complex issue. The paper underscores the significance of addressing 'invisible' group dynamics, such as shifts in group energy and emotional responses. It emphasizes personal reflection, shared learning and heightened sensitivity to group dynamics for effective coaching. The paper discusses daily practices: mindfulness, compassion and post-session reflection; these amplify intuitive responses, resilience and self-awareness. The paper highlights the Action Learning coach's capacity to positively impact others, inspire authentic responses and unveil hidden potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]