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Supply chains are experiencing significant advances in digital technologies, particularly those associated with industry 4.0. An example of such technology is blockchain. Blockchain is a disruptive technology characterised by anonymity and identity, consensus mechanism, decentralisation, overall performance and expectancy, reliability of systems and data, and information transparency. Blockchain offers supply chain opportunities to strengthen end-to-end visibility and traceability, leading to enhanced levels of transparency. Supply chains are increasingly exploring blockchain technology and transparency, with many focusing on system development. This paper explores transparency in blockchain-based supply chains to understand the principles underlining its design. A systematic review of literature is used, accompanied by data-driven analysis. The results present the principles within a framework for transparency by design in blockchain-based supply chains. Limitations and areas for future work are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional solar screens in Iran (called Moshabak) are architectural devices used mainly in hot-arid regions, with two interrelated functions: controlling the penetration of sunlight and gaze from outside. Consequently, Moshabak plays a significant role in veiling the interior from both and improving the quality of space. This research investigates the significance of aperture proportions for the lighting behaviour and transparency characteristics of Moshabak. The experiments are conducted in a typical residential room, under the sunny and clear sky of Kashan - a typical desert city in Iran. The study is divided into three stages and uses three kinds of Moshabak based on aperture proportions: horizontal, vertical, and square. Stage one of the research focuses on daylighting behaviour, stage two measures annual glare and stage three analyses transparency. For each type of Moshabak three different perforation percentages are used in order to better clarify the performance of different aperture proportions. The research findings show that aperture proportion has a significant impact on the performance of Moshabak. Moreover, Moshabak with horizontal apertures perform better than the rest, while Moshabak with vertical aperture proportions had the lowest performance in the three stages of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algorithmic decision making is used in an increasing number of fields. Letting automated processes take decisions raises the question of their accountability. In the field of computational journalism, the algorithmic accountability framework proposed by Diakopoulos formalizes this challenge by considering algorithms as objects of human creation, with the goal of revealing the intent embedded into their implementation. A consequence of this definition is that ensuring accountability essentially boils down to a transparency question: given the appropriate reverse-engineering tools, it should be feasible to extract design criteria and to identify intentional biases. General limitations of this transparency ideal have been discussed by Ananny and Crawford (New Media Soc 20(3):973–989, 2018). We further focus on its technical limitations. We show that even if reverse-engineering concludes that the criteria embedded into an algorithm correspond to its publicized intent, it may be that adversarial behaviors make the algorithm deviate from its expected operation. We illustrate this issue with an automated news recommendation system, and show how the classification algorithms used in such systems can be fooled with hard-to-notice modifications of the articles to classify. We therefore suggest that robustness against adversarial behaviors should be taken into account in the definition of algorithmic accountability, to better capture the risks inherent to algorithmic decision making. We finally discuss the various challenges that this new technical limitation raises for journalism practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The documentary Citizenfour, directed by Laura Poitras, tells the story of the data leak by Edward Snowden, a senior analyst at the United States National Security Agency (NSA), which granted him access to confidential documents. In view of this, we conducted a film analysis of the documentary as a way to understand the optics of transparency and protection of personal data from the perspective of the Brazilian public administration. The documentary makes reference to the data policy undertaken by the United States government in relation to its citizens, by demonstrating that there is a high power of surveillance without a legal regulatory apparatus for such a situation when the US government itself denied undertaking any kind of surveillance. In reflection of the Brazilian context, legal orders in this sense have been instituted, and the efforts in the processes of inspection and control in the direction of transparency in the fight against corruption are relevant and constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption and implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are anticipated to enhance the quality and credibility of financial statement in terms of reliability, transparency and comparability. Consequently, it presupposes improving the functioning of the capital market and influence foreign investments to flow into adopting countries. This study examines the effect of the adoption of IFRS on foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in Africa. Annual FPI data from the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position from 1994 to 2015 were employed. The panel data regression considered fixed-effects and random-effects models. Besides, the system generalised method of moments estimator is employed for the robustness of the model and to address the problem of endogeneity. In correspondence with the decision-usefulness theory, our findings indicate that FPI is promoted in the African countries that apply IFRS-based financial statement. The adoption of IFRS is assumed to be an informational change that would eliminate information barriers facing the users of financial statements. Therefore, the development of IFRS is aimed at improving the usefulness of financial reporting by facilitating the comparability and reliability of financial information in African countries. This will influence foreign investors to shift their capital to such an economy, consequently increasing the inflow of FPI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In water, transparency seems an ideal concealment strategy, as testified by the variety of transparent aquatic organisms. By contrast, transparency is nearly absent on land, with the exception of insect wings, and knowledge is scarce about its functions and evolution, with fragmentary studies and no comparative perspective. Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) represent an outstanding group to investigate transparency on land, as species typically harbor opaque wings covered with colored scales, a key multifunctional innovation. Yet, many Lepidoptera species have evolved partially or fully transparent wings. At the interface between physics and biology, the present study investigates wing transparency in 123 Lepidoptera species (from 31 families) for its structural basis, optical properties, and biological relevance in relation to visual detection (concealment), thermoregulation, and protection against UV. Our results suggest that transparency has likely evolved multiple times independently. Efficiency at transmitting light is largely determined by clearwing microstructure (scale shape, insertion, coloration, dimensions, and density) and macrostructure (clearwing area, species size, or wing area). Microstructural traits, scale density and dimensions, are tightly linked in their evolution, with different constraints according to scale shape, insertion, and coloration. Transparency appears highly relevant for concealment, with size‐dependent variations. Links between transparency and latitude are consistent with an ecological relevance of transparency in thermoregulation, and not so for protection against UV radiation. Altogether, our results shed new light on the physical and ecological processes driving the evolution of transparency on land and underline that transparency is a more complex coloration strategy than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we argue that transparency of machine learning algorithms, just as explanation, can be defined at different levels of abstraction. We criticize recent attempts to identify the explanation of black box algorithms with making their decisions (post-hoc) interpretable, focusing our discussion on counterfactual explanations. These approaches to explanation simplify the real nature of the black boxes and risk misleading the public about the normative features of a model. We propose a new form of algorithmic transparency, that consists in explaining algorithms as an intentional product, that serves a particular goal, or multiple goals (Daniel Dennet's design stance) in a given domain of applicability, and that provides a measure of the extent to which such a goal is achieved, and evidence about the way that measure has been reached. We call such idea of algorithmic transparency "design publicity." We argue that design publicity can be more easily linked with the justification of the use and of the design of the algorithm, and of each individual decision following from it. In comparison to post-hoc explanations of individual algorithmic decisions, design publicity meets a different demand (the demand for impersonal justification) of the explainee. Finally, we argue that when models that pursue justifiable goals (which may include fairness as avoidance of bias towards specific groups) to a justifiable degree are used consistently, the resulting decisions are all justified even if some of them are (unavoidably) based on incorrect predictions. For this argument, we rely on John Rawls's idea of procedural justice applied to algorithms conceived as institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A versatile imaging‐based method is presented for quantifying the transparency of materials based on "illumination diffusion" (ID), representing scattering‐ and refraction‐induced change in the spatial distribution of transmitted light intensity. Samples are backlit through a graticule mask, with analysis performed by comparative evaluation of graticule images recorded as‐is and viewed through a sample, mimicking visual perception. ID‐haze is quantified as the reduction of contrast, while ID‐sharpness is derived from imaged knife‐edge acuity. Measurements are performed for diverse materials, including clarified polyolefins, silica‐filled amorphous polymers, semicrystalline films, and etched polymer sheets. Comparisons with the respective haze and clarity values obtained using a common ASTM D1003 haze‐meter are made in terms of their quantitative correlation and suitability for applications. In particular, unlike conventional instruments, ID‐based analysis captures the variation of transparency with sample‐to‐object "airgap" distance. Gratifyingly, ID‐haze generally features a one‐to‐one correlation with standard ASTM haze, when determined at a specific distance. The presented method also enables sensitive detection of local defects—differentiating them from large‐area characteristics—and accurately extracts the contribution of luminescence to loss of transparency. ID‐based method therewith offers unique opportunities for application‐ and airgap‐specific transparency analysis, and advanced options for optical process‐ and quality control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a transparency illusion that can be observed with an ordinary metal knife and fork. Placed in the correct configuration relative to the fork, the metal knife appears transparent, with some observers experiencing a bistable percept in which transparency alternates with reflective appearance. The effect is related to other illusory percepts that follow from careful placement of mirrored surfaces, but to our knowledge, it is unique in that the key feature of the illusion is how the mirrored surface (in this case, the knife) is perceived rather than how a mirror induces altered perception of other objects and surfaces. We describe conditions that do and do not affect the strength of the illusion and point out its connections to previously reported phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvement of imaging quality has the potential to visualize previously unseen building blocks of the brain and is therefore one of the great challenges in neuroscience. Rapid development of new tissue clearing techniques in recent years have attempted to solve imaging compromises in thick brain samples, particularly for high resolution optical microscopy, where the clearing medium needs to match the high refractive index of the objective immersion medium. These problems are exacerbated in insect tissue, where numerous (initially air-filled) tracheal tubes branching throughout the brain increase the scattering of light. To date, surprisingly few studies have systematically quantified the benefits of such clearing methods using objective transparency and tissue shrinkage measurements. In this study we compare a traditional and widely used insect clearing medium, methyl salicylate combined with permanent mounting in Permount ("MS/P") with several more recently applied clearing media that offer tunable refractive index (n): 2,2′-thiodiethanol (TDE), "SeeDB2" (in variants SeeDB2S and SeeDB2G matched to oil and glycerol immersion, n = 1.52 and 1.47, respectively) and Rapiclear (also with n = 1.52 and 1.47). We measured transparency and tissue shrinkage by comparing freshly dissected brains with cleared brains from dipteran flies, with or without addition of vacuum or ethanol pre-treatments (dehydration and rehydration) to evacuate air from the tracheal system. The results show that ethanol pre-treatment is very effective for improving transparency, regardless of the subsequent clearing medium, while vacuum treatment offers little measurable benefit. Ethanol pre-treated SeeDB2G and Rapiclear brains show much less shrinkage than using the traditional MS/P method. Furthermore, at lower refractive index, closer to that of glycerol immersion, these recently developed media offer outstanding transparency compared to TDE and MS/P. Rapiclear protocols were less laborious compared to SeeDB2, but both offer sufficient transparency and refractive index tunability to permit super-resolution imaging of local volumes in whole mount brains from large insects, and even light-sheet microscopy. Although long-term permanency of Rapiclear stored samples remains to be established, our samples still showed good preservation of fluorescence after storage for more than a year at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses a theoretical and methodological framework derived from the political theorist Quentin Skinner and the conceptual historian Reinhart Koselleck to examine ideational and conceptual tensions and shifts related to the transparency of algorithmic and other automatic governmental decision-making in Finland. Most of the research material comprises national and international official documents and semi-structured expert interviews. In Finland, the concepts of 'algorithmic transparency' and other 'transparency of automatic decision-making' are situated amongst a complex array of legal, ethical, political, policy-oriented, managerial, and technical semantic fields. From 2016 to 2019 Finland's Deputy Ombudsman of Parliament and the Constitutional Committee of Parliament pinpointed issues in algorithmic and other automatic decision-making with the consequence that at the turn of 2019 and 2020, the Ministry of Justice started moving towards the preparation of new legislation to resolve these issues. In conclusion and as expected, Finland's version of the Nordic tradition of the public sphere with established legal guarantees of public access to government documents indeed has both important enabling and constraining effects upon resolving the transparency issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the kinds of transparency that appeal to different parts of the public and the extent to which transparency can be a remedy for declining trust in journalism. It uses a representative survey of Swedes, and the results show that there are three distinct forms of transparency, including the previously unreported ambient transparency, and that they appeal to different people. News consumption or social media use has little or no effect on transparency. The strongest positive effect on transparency comes from appreciation of the current quality of journalistic performance, high trust in journalists and media, and having news media and authorities as the preferred channels of information. Those most skeptical about journalism are also least positive about transparency. The results suggest that transparency has very limited reach as a cure for declining trust in, and the trustworthiness of, journalism, possibly since the acts of transparency themselves remain non-transparent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concepts of Transparency, Citizen Participation and Open Government is increasingly being used by politicians, public officials and civil society. Open Government strategies are being assumed by public administration at different levels of government, but also by civil society organizations that are involved in issues of transparency, citizen participation mainly. However, there is a diversity about how the concepts are used by different social sectors. In this sense, it is pertinent to know how these concepts are perceived among the main sectors that trigger policies of transparency, citizen participation and open government. The objective of this research is to analyze transparency, citizen participation and open government from the perspectives of two fundamental sectors in the political-social participation process: Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and Government. To contrast the perspectives of the two sectors, the case of the State of Jalisco, Mexico is studied. This research shows the results of a survey administrated to members of CSO and public officials involved in open government actions. In order to contrast ideas and assessments, three dimensions are established for its analysis: a) open government, c) transparency and b) citizen participation. The results show a considerable gap between the perceptions of public officials and organized civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birefringence, intrinsic to anisotropic phase-structured ceramics, can cause severe light scattering hence low transmittance. In this work, by tuning the addition of Sr(Al 0.5 Ta 0.5)O 3 (SAT), we constructed a gradual phase structure evolution in K 0.5 Na 0.5 NbO 3 (KNN) ceramics at room temperature (RT). Results exhibit that the KNN-0.16SAT ceramic with an isotropic phase structure shows the highest transmittance close to 70% at 2000 nm. The relationship between transparency and phase structure was then systematically investigated, and the contribution of birefringence to transparency was also evaluated in a proposed model. Our work confirms that the absence of birefringence benefits the transparency in the KNN-based transparent ceramics, and fills up the missing link between phase structure and transparency in related fields. • The KNN-0.16SAT ceramic obtained the highest transparency close to 70% at 2000 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of transparency in public relations, or as it is more often referred, the conflict of interest, belongs to the group of the crucial ethical issues. Nevertheless, among scholars, there exist the question of how strict the imperative of transparency should be, not just concerning the cultural differences or the areas in the world where public relations professionals come from. Given the reputation of the public relations profession, which is still partially marked with negative labels, the issue of transparency in self-regulation of professionals in PR is of utmost importance. Aiming to explore the importance of transparency for PR professionals, and how this issue is regulated, the research was conducted through a method of qualitative content analysis based on 13 ethical codes, delivered by 18 major associations of public relations professionals at national and international levels, which belong to the Western Circle: United States, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Croatia. Although the value of transparency is articulated in all ethical codes, there exist some differences, especially if a distinction is made between conflicts of interest and financial interests. In this respect, few differences emerged with regard to the character of membership in associations (individual/corporative/mixed membership), or their type (national or international) and much less within the geographical milieu of the association. The core finding is actually "the struggle" between the principle level and the operational level of transparency in PR-field: is it possible to be "ethically correct" just if PR-professionals announce that they are in conflict of interests and the client has nothing against?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent technological advancements are facilitating the use of satellite remote-sensing techniques for the measurement of atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions. This article evaluates the potential for these satellite-enabled measurements to contribute to transparency and answerability for state emissions, with a focus on international space law and policy, and the Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We show that in the context of the international space governance framework, the dissemination of integrated emissions data sets has the potential to enhance public answerability for the mitigation performance of states. Under the Paris Agreement, there is scope for space-based measurement techniques to provide an independent data source to support verification activities for national emissions inventories, and for aggregated data to be utilized as part of the global stocktake under Article 14. There are, however, a number of impediments to translating these transparency gains into enhanced answerability for states' emissions reduction pledges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the association between CEO power and firm opacity. We discuss the entrenchment and managerial power theories to develop a coherent hypothesis that captures a negative relationship. To investigate the relationship, we use CEO pay slice (CPS) and opacity index as proxies for CEO power and information environment, respectively. With alternate model specifications, we consistently find that firm opacity is positively associated with CPS. With the findings, we conclude that powerful CEOs pursue greater firm opacity-leading to poorer information environments-to hide, if any, agency issues or poor firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxicity studies on chemicals registered under the European Union's Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation are provided as summaries instead of as a full study report. Because the registration data are used by regulatory agencies to identify chemicals of concern, the study summaries must accurately reflect the information in studies. A "study summary" should include sufficient information on the objectives, methods, results, and conclusions in the full study report in order for the relevance of the study to be determined. Sometimes a "robust study summary" is required, which should contain more detailed information to enable an independent assessment of the study. The aim of the present investigation is to examine how well published toxicity papers were reflected in study summaries submitted by registrants under REACH. Summaries of 20 published studies (peer‐reviewed studies, including 1 abstract) were examined and broad categories of various types of observed differences were derived. The extent to which information in the published studies was reported, as well as how accurately the information was reflected, varied. How accurately the information was reflected also varied. Differences between the published studies and the summaries included simple typing errors, unclear and incomplete reporting, as well as the omission of information on, for example, study design, results, or interpretation of the results, which in some cases could be considered relevant for the risk assessment. This raises concerns regarding the accuracy of study summaries and their use for decision making. Moreover, the possibility for third parties to independently assess and scrutinize the summaries is limited. Considering that we rely on REACH registration data for chemical safety, all data used for risk assessment should be accessible for thorough examination and fully independent assessment. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;00:000–000. © 2019 SETAC Key Points: European manufacturers and importers of chemicals are required under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation to summarize data that they submit to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) rather than submit original reports.The study summaries must accurately reflect the information in the original reports because the data serve as a basis for identifying chemicals of concern.The extent to which information was reported as well as how accurately the information was reflected was found to vary for the studies included in this analysis.The current system depends upon expert judgment, is susceptible to bias, hampers scrutiny of data, and has limited resources to check compliance, thus, original reports should be possible to access on request to ensure data can be scrutinized and independently assessed by third parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐profile reports of detrimental scientific practices leading to retractions in the scientific literature contribute to lack of trust in scientific experts. Although the bulk of these have been in the literature of other disciplines, environmental toxicology and chemistry are not free from problems. While we believe that egregious misconduct such as fraud, fabrication of data, or plagiarism is rare, scientific integrity is much broader than the absence of misconduct. We are more concerned with more commonly encountered and nuanced issues such as poor reliability and bias. We review a range of topics including conflicts of interests, competing interests, some particularly challenging situations, reproducibility, bias, and other attributes of ecotoxicological studies that enhance or detract from scientific credibility. Our vision of scientific integrity encourages a self‐correcting culture that promotes scientific rigor, relevant reproducible research, transparency in competing interests, methods and results, and education. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;00:000–000. © 2019 SETAC Key Points: Scientific integrity in ecotoxicology and the environmental sciences cannot be ensured by impeccable policies or checklists; it is an attitude to be embraced, maintained, and enforced through the support, guidance, and approval of one's peers through a community of practices.Reliability, rigor, relevance, and reproducibility of science are more important than novel advances.Studies that are not supported by primary data released through data repositories or detailed supporting information are not fully credible.Science should not be judged by its funder; rather, open‐minded skepticism is applicable when the funder has a stake in the outcome of a study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A limnic eruption in 1986 at Lake Nyos in Cameroon was caused by sudden release of magmatic CO 2 dissolved in the lake water. For frequent measurements of CO 2 in the lake water, we developed a simple method of CO 2 monitoring using sound speed (SS) measurement. We measured the depth profile of sound speed at Lake Nyos in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Furthermore, in the 2014 and 2015 survey, we took movies of the underwater and the bottom of the lake using an underwater camera housed in a pressure-resistant container. The vertical change of transparency of water was checked by the visibility of reflectors set in front of the camera. A pressure sensor monitored the depth simultaneously. In both years, in addition to well-known red surface water, we discovered a cloudy layer near the upper chemocline around 100 m depth. The depth of chemocline is a good indicator of the change of total amount of CO 2 in Lake Nyos. Because the transparency can be detected by a simple optical sensor, we can now apply our low-cost monitoring tool to find the depth of chemocline for Lake Nyos. Highlights • Under-water camera system resistant to water pressure of 200 m was constructed. • Under-water movies of Lake Nyos were taken in 2014 and 2015 survey. • A script to quantify the brightness of the reflector in a movie was made and the transparency of lake water was evaluated. • We found a cloudy layer around the depth of the upper chemocline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the 7th of June 2018, The National Archives UK held its inaugural digital lecture, delivered by Professor Luciano Floridi entitled "Semantic Capital: What it is and how to protect it". The lecture was followed by a poster exhibition, showcasing nine cutting-edge digital research projects at The National Archives (You can listen to the lecture's podcast and see the posters at: https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/digital-lecture-semantic-capital/ Accessed on 12 July 2018). This paper aims at giving a distinct overview of The National Archives' digital research priorities, drawing on examples from the active and recently completed research projects, which were displayed at the exhibition on the 7th of June 2018. The focus of this paper is to discuss the research challenges that we are facing as we seek to become a second-generation digital archive, that is digital by instinct and design. By placing a particular emphasis on the conceptual and epistemological challenges relating to trust and openness, the paper suggests that research is the key for us as a rapidly evolving digital archive; enabling us not only to inform but also innovate around the forthcoming digital challenges, and helping us to define future directions and lead the shaping of the future archive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photothermal effects in an optical cavity driven by a strong control field and a weak probe field have recently been shown to generate an induced transparency phenomenon (Ma et al., 2020). This phenomenon, referred to as photothermally induced transparency (PTIT), arises from the nonlinear behavior of an optical resonator caused by optical heating of the its mirrors. In this study, we investigate the manipulation of PTIT by substituting the strong coupling field in the PTIT scheme with a spatially periodic standing wave (SW) coupling field, resulting in the diffraction of the weak probe field into high-order diffractions. The resulting structure, termed the photothermally induced grating (PTIG), can be effectively controlled by adjusting various system parameters, including the coupling strength, effective detuning, interaction length, and photothermal coefficient. By carefully optimizing the coupling strength, we demonstrate that a significant portion of the probe field energy can be efficiently transferred to the third-order diffraction grating. The introduction of a spatially periodic standing wave coupling field opens up new possibilities for designing and manipulating photothermally induced gratings with enhanced functionalities. • This paper presents a theoretical study of PTIG, where a weak laser is used to probe an optical cavity that exhibits photothermal effects. • The beating of the SW and the probe field induces diffraction gratings, which can be adjusted to different orders of diffraction by tuning the system parameters. • The third-order diffraction grating can be achieved by adjusting the coupling strength g c p. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work presents some transformations that have occurred in Brazil in recent years in the public transparency aspect, mainly in view of the legal structure after the signing of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) treaty. In summary, it exposes beyond the legal apparatus, the growth of the portal of public transparency and the classification of the country regarding the opening of public information, theme of item 2 - Transparency and Open Government. Contemporary literature has addressed the potential of the Internet to broaden the possibilities of bringing together the State and society by providing information on legislative activities and governmental procedures, contributing to a greater possibility for citizens to know and make use of their rights and how to act more actively as a social actor. With the use of Information and Communication Technology, especially after the various legal aspects adopted by Brazil, this public participation has expanded and gained more relevance. Briefly, the opening of public information increases the level of confidence of the administrations and enables the wide inspection of citizens, legitimizing and strengthening the presence of the state and in accordance with constitutional principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As more police departments adopt body cameras (BCs), there is a hope that the devices will help usher in a new era of police accountability. Turning to the first online archive of BC footage, this article examines the emergent possibilities and problems that arise when human actors interact with technical designs in applied contexts. Communication affordance theory is used as a framework to situate the archive within discussions about police use of social media, visibility, transparency, and police-community relations. A web application using YouTube’s public API was used to analyze the usage and interaction statistics of the archive. Then, a focus group was conducted to discuss the usability of the archive and its benefits and drawbacks for police-community relations. Findings show that despite the visibility of social media, the videos have low view counts, little interaction, are not easily searchable, and raise more questions about police-community relations than they answer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparency is used in product design across various product categories. Because of the physical property of letting light go through, transparency can create unique visual styles. Transparency can also communicate additional information as a result of what is situated underneath the product cover, which prompts different consumers’ interpretations. To support designers to use transparency effectively, this research aims to explore the use of transparency in product design to provide an overview of the design intentions of using transparency. Specifically, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, in-depth interviews with experienced designers (N = 6) were conducted and the results revealed the overview of the following five design intentions of using transparency in product design: enrich visual appeal, enrich product experience, improve product usability, facilitate consumers’ comprehension and demonstrate product functionality. The overview was further validated through consumer interviews (N = 13) in Study 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydroxyl terminated polyurethanes covalently bonded anthraquinone chromophores into skeleton were successfully synthesized based on 1-amino-4-hydroxy-2-(6-hydroxy-hexyloxy) anthraquinone (AHHA) and dimethylolpropionic acid (DMPA) as chain extenders. The UV–visible spectroscopy of polyurethane solution revealed that the conjugated structure of chromophore was not affected after bonding into polyurethane. Owing to the absorption of chromophore in the range of 360–630 nm, the polyurethane with 0.12 wt% AHHA in backbone possessed high transmittance of 94.6% in the range of 630–800 nm and that of polyurethane with 0.89, 1.32, 2.13 wt% AHHA were 87.9%, 82.5%, 78.6%, respectively. Interestingly, the optical transmittance of corresponding polyurethane was 80.5% in the range of 630–800 nm. Transparency was strongly related to the phase separation and crystallization behavior. The DSC curve revealed no endothermic peak and XRD showed a broad diffraction peak, demonstrating that chromophore-incorporated polyurethane with different AHHA amounts had no distinct phase separation and crystallization that accounted for good transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct primary elections were introduced in the United States to limit the power of parties, to favor entry of new candidates, and to foster competition. However, a majority of incumbents faces no competition in their primary. We propose a formal model of primaries to rationalise this fact and analyse its welfare consequences. The party of the incumbent can influence the challenger's entry cost in the primaries. Primary challengers choose strategically to enter only when the incumbent is of low competence. Voters, who are poorly informed about the competence of candidates, use the competitiveness of the primary to update beliefs. We identify three sources of uncontested primaries: a lower bound on the challenger cost of entry; an absence of commitment to set this entry cost by the party of the incumbent; and an imperfect observability of the entry cost by voters. Regulation favoring challenger entry can benefit voters and even the party of the incumbent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image matting is an essential technique in many image and video editing applications. Although many matting methods have been proposed, it is still a challenge for most to obtain satisfactory matting results in the transparent foreground region of an image. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel matting algorithm, i.e. adaptive transparency-based propagation matting (ATPM) algorithm. ATPM algorithm considers image matting from a new slant. We pay attention to the transparencies of the input images and creatively assign them into three categories (highly transparent, strongly transparent and little transparent) according to the transparencies of the foreground objects in the images. Our matting model can make relevant adjustment in terms of the transparency types of the input images. Moreover, many current matting methods do not perform well when the foreground and background regions have similar color distributions. Our method adds texture as an additional feature to effectively discriminate the foreground and background regions. Experimental results on the benchmark dataset show that our method gets high-quality matting results for images of three transparency types, especially provides more accurate results for highly transparent images comparing with the state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the extent to which 'pictorial art' resists legibility, transparency and coherence. The analysis of three artistic case studies, Idris Khan, Maria Chevska and Jane and Louise Wilson, serves to investigate established hierarchies in our perception of visual referents. In the discussion, the article inquires the means of erosion, veiling and dissemblance as ways to critique assumption of the homogeneity of the image. All artists cast a view of the external world by diverting it, defacing it and distancing themselves from the external environment. However, the distancing is never disconnected from the everyday and never succumbs to abstraction. The article argues that the crisis of the image offers a productive framework that allows artists to draw attention to the absence of logical structure and the instability of the visual sign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper was to investigate transparency and mechano-acoustic properties of poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA)/polycarbonate (PC) based nanocomposites, reinforced with silica (SiO2), zinc dioxide (ZnO), and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles. For this purpose, morphological, transparency, acoustical and mechanical tests were carried out on the specimens, prepared by melt-compounding method in a twin-screw extruder. The morphological test results confirmed uniform dispersion of the nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. The results also revealed that transparency of the PC and PMMA nanocomposites, characterized by the degree of light transmittance, was decreased by adding 0.3 wt% of the nanoparticles. Also, tensile modulus of the nanocomposite specimens was higher than that of neat PC and PMMA. Unlike the neat PC specimens, tensile strength showed a decrease in PMMA specimens. The presence of nanoparticles in the composites decreased mobility of polymer chains and consequently, reduced elongation at break in the specimens. After surface roughening process, noise absorption coefficient in PC/PMMA nanocomposite specimens (PCSI3-R, PMSI3-R, and PMZN3-R) showed a higher absorption coefficient than the other specimens in the dominant frequency of traffic noise (500 Hz). As conclusion, roughening the surface of materials would be one of the most important factors enhancing the absorption coefficient of some of the nanocomposites in the middle frequency. The rough surface of particles in the base matrix increases the absorption coefficient of the materials, especially in the frequency of 500 Hz, as the dominant frequency of noise traffic. The suggested materials are predestinated to be appropriate in building industry, particularly in the structure of noise barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titania aerogels are synthesized using various solvents for sol preparation. The morphology, the optical transmittance, the phase composition and the specific surface area of samples are determined. The sample prepared from isopropanol is found to be white and light-tight and to consist of fibers about 17 nm wide. The fibers are crystalline and have an anatase structure. The specific surface area of the sample is 150 m 2 /g. The samples prepared from methoxy- or etoxyethanol are transparent yellowish monoliths. They are X-ray amorphous and consist of spherical nanoparticles 1.5–3.5 nm. The specific surface area of these samples is more than 500 m 2 /g. Transparent titania aerogels are prepared in all-solution approach for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the results of the national survey of 287 Public Relations Society of America members regarding current media transparency practices in the United States. The purpose of the study was to understand the forms of media non-transparency that exist in the United States, levels of non-transparency at the national and local/regional media, and perceptions of non-transparent practices by the public relations practitioners in the country. The project builds on previous research on global media transparency (Tsetsura & Kruckeberg, 2011) and uses Tsetsura’s (2005) framework to study media transparency. The survey results showed that direct media bribery is not a pressing issue in the United States; however, indirect media pressures that involve new forms of content creation, including native advertising and content marketing, are worrisome. Specifically, forms of indirect media bribery are common at the local and regional media levels in the USA. Research findings demonstrate that U.S. practitioners experience particular non-transparent challenges when working with the media and recognize financial pressures that U.S. media outlets face today. The results provide a basis for creating standards in U.S. practice to ensure that new forms of content creation, including native advertising and content marketing, are not acceptable at any level when sources of content are not disclosed. The study concludes with the discussion about the importance of understanding how new forms of sponsored content relate to media transparency in the USA and why U.S. practitioners should understand how media non-transparency relates to the issues of native advertising and brand journalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the Y 3 Al 5 O 12 :Ce 3 + (YAG) phosphor-in-glass (PIG) was successfully fabricated by one-step low-temperature co-sintering technology, which showed excellent thermal behavior and high visible transparency in the sintering case of 600 °C without noticeable interaction with phosphor. The luminescence performance of PiG-based WLEDs could be easily improved by tuning the phosphor concentration and specimen thickness. Experimental results demonstrated that the ideal phosphor content and specimen thickness are 8 wt%, 0.8 mm, respectively. Notably, the obtained WLED with an 8% phosphor content and 0.8 mm thickness exhibits a high luminous efficacy (LE) of 102.6 lm/w, a correlated color temperature (CCT) of 6290 K and a color rendering index (CRI) of 71.4, under the operating current of 20 mA. In addition, the test of temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) indicated that the thermal stability of PiGs was superior to the phosphor-in-silicone (PiS) up to 200 °C. Therefore, we fabricate a high transparent PiG with promising candidate for applications in the WLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wood-based plastics obtained via chemical modifications are usually dark and opaque, which limits their potential applications. All-wood plastics (AWPs) derived from ball-milled mulberry wood (BMMW) via an efficient heterogeneous esterification for 2 h in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMIMCl) with the molar ratios of DMSO to BMIMCl at 5.9:1 exhibit a highly translucent appearance. With desirable thermoplasticity and tensile strength, AWPs can be processed into light-permeable specimens and transparent film. FT-IR and solid-state 13 C NMR spectra provide evidence for successful substitution of hydroxyl groups of BMMW by carboxybenzoyl groups. The darkness of AWPs arising from the oxidation of phenolic lignin into benzoquinone indicates that reaction time plays a critical role for controlling the transparency of AWPs. AWPs represent composite structures, including cellulose I and cellulose II. Different degradation mechanisms are observed among AWPs differently esterified. Moreover, the SEM and AFM images demonstrate the self-reinforcement of AWPs specimens and the heterogeneous surface of a transparent AWP film, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the role of price transparency in consumer preferences and demand. We assemble a detailed dataset on the driving school industry in Portugal to quantify how firms present the price of the course of instruction, and its individual components, to potential students. Our unique data allows us to estimate a structural model of school choice and measure the impact of varying levels of price information on demand. The results show that consumers are willing to pay a significant amount for price transparency, on average 11% of the service price, and that consumer demographics drive heterogeneous preferences for transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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ABSTRACT Trisilanolphenyl-polyhedral oligosilsesquioxane (trisilanolphenyl-POSS) structure is introduced into a polysiloxane network in an attempt to produce thermally stable material with improved transparency. A series of organic-inorganic resins comprised of diphenylsilanediol, 3-methacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane, and varying content of trisilanolphenyl-POSS were copolymerized through condensation followed by curing using phenyltris(hydrogendimethylsiloxy)silane as curing agent. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), proton-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR), and silicon-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (29Si-NMR) were used to confirm the synthesized product. Excellent thermal stability, improved glass transition temperature ( Tg), and lower coefficient of thermal expansion with the increasing POSS content were observed from thermomechanical analysis. Its extreme thermal degradation stability was attributable to the crosslinked network as well as the heavily substituted aromatic ring present in the system. Steric hindrance effect is noticeable beyond 5.66 mol % trisilanolphenyl-POSS content. Incorporation of POSS substituent in methacrylate-based polysiloxane give excellent transparency and improved thermal discoloration resistance as deduced from UV/vis Spectrophotometer, making it a potential material to be used in optoelectronics. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45285. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a theoretical analysis for corneal transparency by using a 3D simulator of FDTD (Finite Difference Time Domain) method. For that purpose, we examined light transmittance through detection of output light intensity with a simplified lattice model for the collagen fibrils in the corneal stroma. The geometrical nano-structure of the collagen fibrils in the corneal stroma is the main factor for light transparency of the cornea. Thus, we examined the effect of fibril diameter and lamellae staking angle on the light transparency of the cornea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As robot reasoning becomes more complex, debugging becomes increasingly hard based solely on observable behaviour, even for robot designers and technical specialists. Similarly, non-specialist users have difficulty creating useful mental models of robot reasoning from observations of robot behaviour. The EPSRC Principles of Robotics mandate that our artefacts should be transparent, but what does this mean in practice, and how does transparency affect both trust and utility? We investigate this relationship in the literature and find it to be complex, particularly in nonindustrial environments where, depending on the application and purpose of the robot, transparency may have a wider range of effects on trust and utility. We outline our programme of research to support our assertion that it is nevertheless possible to create transparent agents that are emotionally engaging despite having a transparent machine nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EPSRC's Principles of Robotics advises the implementation of transparency in robotic systems, however research related to AI transparency is in its infancy. This paper introduces the reader of the importance of having transparent inspection of intelligent agents and provides guidance for good practice when developing such agents. By considering and expanding upon other prominent definitions found in literature, we provide a robust definition of transparency as a mechanism to expose the decision-making of a robot. The paper continues by addressing potential design decisions developers need to consider when designing and developing transparent systems. Finally, we describe our new interactive intelligence editor, designed to visualise, develop and debug real-time intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Transurethral surgery has been traditionally done using the nonelectrolyte, isotonic 1.5% glycine solution as irrigation fluid. The emergence of modern technologies, which can be applied with electrolyte solutions, such as bipolar resection and LASER evaporation, as well as the worry of transurethral resection (TUR) syndrome have driven urologists away from glycine toward the use of physiologic solution. Differences in the transparencies of these fluids have not been studied. Materials and Methods: The ability to resolve two bars at 1 mm apart using a 30° cystoscope lens immersed in different solutions was studied. Physiologic solution, distilled water (DW), and 1.5% glycine solutions containing increasing concentrations of blood, from 0.5% to 2%, were tested. Solutions containing 2% blood were inspected with magnification and microscopy. Results: One-millimeter resolution was reached in as much as 2% blood in 1.5% glycine solution and as much as 1% blood in DW, but in none of the blood-saline solutions. Magnified and microscopic views of 2% blood solutions showed an even distribution of red blood cells (RBCs) in physiologic solution, clumps of RBCs in 1.5% glycine, and an almost complete hemolysis in DW. Conclusions: Glycine solution increases the transparency compared to physiologic solution or DW owing to the clumping of RBCs. When the risk of TUR syndrome is low, as in resection of bladder tumors or small prostates, we propose that 1.5% glycine solution should be preferred over saline, owing to its improved visibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many scientific and engineering applications of transparent glass including optics, communications, electronics, and hermetic seals. However, there has been minimal research toward the additive manufacturing (AM) of transparent glass parts. This paper describes and demonstrates a filament-fed technique for AM of transparent glass. A transparent glass filament is melted by a CO2 laser and solidifies as the workpiece is translated relative to the stationary laser beam. To prevent thermal shock, the workpiece rests on a heated build platform. In order to obtain optically transparent parts, several challenges must be overcome, notably producing index homogeneity and avoiding bubble formation. The effects of key process parameters on the morphology and transparency of the printed glass are explored experimentally. These results are compared to a low-order model relating the process parameters to the temperature of the molten region, which is critical to the quality of the deposited glass. At lower temperatures, the glass is not fully melted, resulting in index variations in the final part, while at higher temperatures, phase separation introduces bubbles and other defects into the part. The correct process avoids these issues and deposits optically transparent glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Translucent objects such as fog, clouds, smoke, glass, ice, and liquids are pervasive in cinematic environments because they frame scenes in depth and create visually-compelling shots. Unfortunately, they are hard to render in real-time and have thus previously been rendered poorly compared to opaque surfaces. This paper introduces the first model for a real-time rasterization algorithm that can simultaneously approximate the following transparency phenomena: wavelength-varying (“colored”) transmission, translucent colored shadows, caustics, volumetric light and shadowing, partial coverage, diffusion, and refraction. All render efficiently with order-independent draw calls and low bandwidth. We include source code. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Here, we demonstrated the transparency of graphene to the atomic arrangement of a substrate surface, i.e., the "lattice transparency" of graphene, by using hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorods as a model system. The growth behaviors of ZnO nanocrystals on graphene-coated and uncoated substrates with various crystal structures were investigated. The atomic arrangements of the nucleating ZnO nanocrystals exhibited a close match with those of the respective substrates despite the substrates being bound to the other side of the graphene. By using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory, we confirmed the energetic favorability of the nucleating phase following the atomic arrangement of the substrate even with the graphene layer present in between. In addition to transmitting information about the atomic lattice of the substrate, graphene also protected its surface. This dual role enabled the hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods on a Cu substrate, which otherwise dissolved in the reaction conditions when graphene was absent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Least Significant Bit Matching Revisited (LSBMR) is among the most commonly used methods on image steganography, aiming to make only smaller changes in an image. While security is considered as one of the basic evaluation criteria for steganography techniques and notably, LSBMR can be easily recognized due to its well-known structure, it is important to find a way to help improve this approach so that it might cause less variation in the image and also increase security. To this end, the current paper deploys divided blocks of the original cover image and a selection of the best layout to embed secret message bits from each block into color images by using LSBMR. The simulation results indicate that this improved method makes small changes in the image and increases its security, compared to the LSBMR technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amorgina are a type of garment known from the Greek written sources of the Classical period. They are described as transparent and luxurious, and there is a discussion about their raw material (flax, silk or other). In this paper, I analyse the term both terminologically and technically in order to identify the characteristics of the amorgina garments. Etymologically it is connected to the olive oil residue, amorgē and the treatment of textiles with olive oil known in several stages of the chaîne opératoire. A treatment with oil would indeed add softness and brilliance to the fabric, and accentuate its effect of transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detailed optical research is carried about to examine the transparency characteristics out of the atmosphere which influence the flight control of self-moving and self-indicating flying machines. Methods for determining the atmosphere transparency coefficient for monochrome and compound radiation are proposed. The water vapours quantity in horizontal and vertical direction is calculated. Methods for determining the mass of the air and the carbon gas in horizontal, included and vertical direction are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three norbornene derivatives containing bulky hydrocarbon groups (M1-M3) have been prepared and polymerized efficiently via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) using different Grubbs catalysts (G1-G3) to afford polymers in high yield. Gel permeation chromatography curves show that all the obtained polymers exhibit unimodal distribution. Unsaturated moieties in the main chain of the obtained polymers are hydrogenated based on the chemistry of the reactive intermediate diimide (HNNH) in quantitative conversion, confirmed by 1H NMR measurement. All the polymers display relatively high thermal stability according to thermogravimetric analyses test. The results of differential scanning calorimetry measurement show that the cardo-like structure such as M2 and M3 is contributed to improve the Tg of cyclicolefin polymer materials. The highest Tg (up to 277 °C) of hydrogenated polymer H-PM3 is achieved, which is so far the highest value obtained by the ROMP approach, to the best of our knowledge. Furthermore, all the hydrogenated polymers show excellent transparency because of their amorphous structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]