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Recent years have seen an increase in data and method reflection in corpus-based discourse analysis. In this article, we first take stock of some of the issues arising from such reflection (covering concepts such as triangulation, objectivity/subjectivity, replication, transparency, reflexivity, consistency). We then introduce a new 'accountability' framework for use in corpus-based discourse analysis (and perhaps beyond). We conceptualise such accountability as a multi-faceted phenomenon, covering various aspects of the research process. In the second part of this article, we then link this framework to a new cross-institutional initiative – the Australian Text Analytics Platform (ATAP) – which aims to address a small part of the framework, namely the transparency of analyses through Jupyter notebooks. We introduce the Quotation Tool as an example ATAP notebook of particular relevance to corpus-based discourse analysis. We reflect on how this notebook fosters accountability in relation to transparency of analysis and illustrate key applications using a set of different corpora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed methods research—methodologies that synthesize qualitative and quantitative approaches in the design, collection, analysis, and dissemination of research related to a specific topic or aim—is increasingly common, offering innovative empirical insight into families and relationships. We first elaborate on our definition of mixed methods research, emphasizing that there is significant heterogeneity within mixed methods approaches to studying families and relationships. Second, we discuss benefits of mixed methods projects within family and relationship research, including theory building and innovation. Third, we provide practical suggestions for designing and implementing a mixed methods project, highlighting useful resources for researchers as they develop research questions, plan designs, collect and analyze data, and disseminate findings. We emphasize the unique opportunities from abductive analytic approaches for mixed methods researchers and point to the need for reflexivity. Fourth, we consider common obstacles associated with disseminating mixed methods research and explain why family researchers need "mixed methods literacy" regardless of their research paradigm. Finally, we identify key areas of future growth for mixed methods researchers. We advocate that understanding mixed methods research has practical benefits, even for researchers not using these approaches. To cohesively build—and critique—our knowledge of families and relationships, family and relationship researchers across paradigms should be familiar with the basic tenets, strengths, and limitations of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Scott–Vogelius finite element pair for the numerical discretization of the stationary Stokes equation in 2D is a popular element which is based on a continuous velocity approximation of polynomial order k and a discontinuous pressure approximation of order k - 1 . It employs a "singular distance" (measured by some geometric mesh quantity Θ z ≥ 0 for triangle vertices z ) and imposes a local side condition on the pressure space associated to vertices z with Θ z = 0 . The method is inf-sup stable for any fixed regular triangulation and k ≥ 4 . However, the inf-sup constant deteriorates if the triangulation contains nearly singular vertices 0 < Θ z ≪ 1 . In this paper, we introduce a very simple parameter-dependent modification of the Scott–Vogelius element with a mesh-robust inf-sup constant. To this end, we provide sharp two-sided bounds for the inf-sup constant with an optimal dependence on the "singular distance". We characterise the critical pressures to guarantee that the effect on the divergence-free condition for the discrete velocity is negligibly small, for which we provide numerical evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We answer a question posed by Gallai in 1969 concerning criticality in Sperner's lemma, listed as Problem 9.14 in the collection of Jensen and Toft (Graph coloring problems, Wiley, New York, 1995). Sperner's lemma states that if a labelling of the vertices of a triangulation of the d-simplex Δ d with labels 1 , 2 , ... , d + 1 has the property that (i) each vertex of Δ d receives a distinct label, and (ii) any vertex lying in a face of Δ d has the same label as one of the vertices of that face, then there exists a rainbow facet (a facet whose vertices have pairwise distinct labels). For d ≤ 2 , it is not difficult to show that for every facet σ , there exists a labelling with the above properties where σ is the unique rainbow facet. For every d ≥ 3 , however, we construct an infinite family of examples where this is not the case, which implies the answer to Gallai's question as a corollary. The construction is based on the properties of a 4-polytope which had been used earlier to disprove a claim of Motzkin on neighbourly polytopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the concept of Worldwide one network (WON), a hypothetical ultra-large scale ad-hoc wireless network characterized by its non-hierarchical, open, scalable, homogeneous, and autopoiesis nature. The primary objectives are to address challenges in network formation, individual node unique addressing, and network management. This paper proposes a novel addressing mechanism named 'Cubid', which utilizes geo-coordinates as the primary identifier for network nodes with 1 m resolution and aims for at least 512 unique node addresses per cubic meter space on Earth. Unique three-dimensional address space, received signal strength based trilateration for network formation, address negotiation, and the use of Cubid as a MAC address to bypass traditional Layer 2–3 Internet Protocol activities are few of the differentiator aspects involved in this research work. Preliminary tests of this hypothetical network yield in practical viability of identifying network node's geographical coordinates with an accuracy of 3 m without GPS devices, and corresponding simulations results in an average frame delivery time of 27 ms over a 100-hop, varying hop length network path. These findings indicate that WON could serve as a viable alternative communication network, especially when substantial infrastructure-based networks, such as the Internet fails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic emission (AE) source localization technology, since the early application to one-dimensional structures, has been extended to a wide range of applications to two-dimensional (2D) structures, including isotropic and anisotropic materials, which are currently the most widely studied and the most mature. With the development of AE source localization technology, more and more significant challenges have arisen for three-dimensional (3D) structures, which are mostly anisotropic and have complex propagation paths. This paper summarizes and discusses the AE source localization methods in different dimensions as well as their applications, including the main methods for 2D AE source localization, such as the triangulation method, beam forming, strain rosette technique, modal AE, artificial neural network, optimization and the time reversal technique, as well as state-of-the-art AE source localization methods in isotropic and anisotropic structures utilizing these methods. Recent advances in AE source localization in complex 3D structures are also reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of REICE. Ibero-American Journal on Quality, Effectiveness & Change in Education / REICE. Revista Iberoamericana Sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación is the property of Red Iberoamericana de Investigacion sobre Cambio y Eficacia en Educacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In light of the growing demand for audio description (AD) in China, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, coupled with the persistent shortage of qualified AD scriptwriters, this article advocates for AD translation from Spanish to Chinese, a type of indirect translation, as an alternative approach to addressing this issue, potentially benefiting from localisation techniques (Jankowska et al., 2017; Remael & Vercauteren, 2010). This article presents the development of a set of guidelines for localising AD scripts from Spanish into Chinese, resulting from triangulating a corpus study comparing Chinese and Spanish ADs, interviews with Chinese AD providers, a reception study with end-users, and participant observation through a field study. Additionally, it discusses three controversial elements related to AD scriptwriting, along with four norms that guide the script writers' decision-making process, which must be considered when localising AD scripts in Chinese. It concludes with a summary of the localisation guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue Addressed Methods Results Conclusion So What? Intersectoral action is integral in promoting population health and health equity. In South Australia, public health partnership authorities (PHPAs) are one mechanism to promote intersectoral collaboration for addressing complex public health issues. This case study examined contemporary evidence on the critical elements of successful partnerships, explored the role of formalisation in success, and examined how identified critical elements were operationalised over time in an existing PHPA.In the first phase, a scoping review was conducted. The second phase was a retrospective longitudinal case study of a government‐academic PHPA agreement, involving partnership document review and key informant interviews. Data triangulation and iterative thematic analysis were performed.The critical elements of successful partnership, triangulated through multiple data sources, are mutuality, governance, communication, resources, leadership, and interactions and relationships. These elements have a high degree of interdependence. Trust supports and is reinforced by these elements, particularly during times of change or crisis. Formalisation of a partnership supports success in many ways but is insufficient on its own.Operating in dynamic environments, a partnership requires dedicated time and effort to be successful. Attention to the strength and interconnectedness of the critical elements over the course of a partnership is crucial.This case study describes how the elements of successful partnership can be applied to progress beyond transactional relationships towards authentic collaboration and overcome cross‐border and cross‐boundary public health challenges to promote population health and well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we first study clusters in type 픸̃ by collecting them into a finite number of infinite families given by Dehn twists of their corresponding triangulations, and show that these families are counted by the Catalan numbers. We also highlight the similarities and differences between the annuli diagrams used to study clusters and those used to study exceptional sets in type 픸̃. We then focus on exceptional collections (sets) of modules over path algebras of quivers by first showing that the notion of relative projectivity in exceptional sets is well defined. We finish by counting the number of exceptional sets of representations of type 픸 quivers with straight orientation and using this to count the number of families of exceptional sets of type 픸̃ with straight orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ship detection and formation recognition in remote sensing have increasingly garnered attention. However, research remains challenging due to arbitrary orientation, dense arrangement, and the complex background of ships. To enhance the analysis of ship situations in channels, we model the ships as the key points and propose a context-aware DGCN-based ship formation recognition method. First, we develop a center point-based ship detection subnetwork, which employs depth-separable convolution to reduce parameter redundancy and combines coordinate attention with an oriented response network to generate direction-invariant feature maps. The center point of each ship is predicted by regression of the offset, target scale, and angle to realize the ship detection. Then, we adopt the spatial similarity of the ship center points to cluster the ship group, utilizing the Delaunay triangulation method to establish the topological graph structure of the ship group. Finally, we design a context-aware Dense Graph Convolutional Network (DGCN) with graph structure to achieve formation recognition. Experimental results on HRSD2016 and SGF datasets demonstrate that the proposed method can detect arbitrarily oriented ships and identify formations, attaining state-of-the-art performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the accuracy of visual SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology has seen significant improvements, making it a prominent area of research. However, within the current RGB-D SLAM systems, the estimation of 3D positions of feature points primarily relies on direct measurements from RGB-D depth cameras, which inherently contain measurement errors. Moreover, the potential of triangulation-based estimation for ORB (Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF) feature points remains underutilized. To address the singularity of measurement data, this paper proposes the integration of the ORB features, triangulation uncertainty estimation and depth measurements uncertainty estimation, for 3D positions of feature points. This integration is achieved using a CI (Covariance Intersection) filter, referred to as the CI-TEDM (Triangulation Estimates and Depth Measurements) method. Vision-based SLAM systems face significant challenges, particularly in environments, such as long straight corridors, weakly textured scenes, or during rapid motion, where tracking failures are common. To enhance the stability of visual SLAM, this paper introduces an improved CI-TEDM method by incorporating wheel encoder data. The mathematical model of the encoder is proposed, and detailed derivations of the encoder pre-integration model and error model are provided. Building on these improvements, we propose a novel tightly coupled visual-inertial RGB-D SLAM with encoder integration of ORB triangulation and depth measurement uncertainties. Validation on open-source datasets and real-world environments demonstrates that the proposed improvements significantly enhance the robustness of real-time state estimation and localization accuracy for intelligent vehicles in challenging environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we will place clusters in type 픸̃ (equivalently triangulations of an annulus) into infinite families parametrized by winding numbers of certain arcs in the corresponding triangulation. We will count how many such families there are and provide an algebraic description of these families in terms of the corresponding cluster category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseño y Comunicación is the property of Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Diseno y Comunicacion and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There is a growing integration of technology in the workplace (World Economic Forum), and with it, organizations are increasingly relying on advanced technological approaches for improving their human capital processes to stay relevant and competitive in complex environments. All professions must keep up with this transition and begin integrating technology into their tools and processes. This paper centers on how advanced technological approaches (such as natural language processing (NLP) and data mining) have complemented a traditional practice analysis of the accounting profession. We also discuss strategic selection and use of subject‐matter experts (SMEs) for more efficient practice analysis. The authors have adopted a triangulation process—gathering information from traditional practice analysis, using selected SMEs, and confirming findings with a novel NLP‐based approach. These methods collectively contributed to the revision of the Uniform CPA Exam blueprint and in understanding accounting trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to describe how the Provincial Smart-City Agency in Indonesia adapted agile practices. Implementing agile in conventional government is challenging because formal regulations dictate that a government entity operates by default. While agile approach demands a quick and effective response to shifting circumstances, its deployment frequently contrasts with the established bureaucracy. Considering practicing agile in government organizations, this paper asks how the Provincial Smart-City Agency adapts an agile approach to comply with the conventional government. This case study uses a qualitative method and NVivo software to organize and analyze data. Data were collected through internship observation from April to August 2022 and semi-structured interviews between June and September 2022. Data triangulation was used to validate the informants’ information. By describing the adaptation of agile practices in a provincial smart city agency, this paper expands knowledge on the adaptation of government organizations to implement agile concepts within a conventional bureaucracy that previous studies did not discuss. The result of this study contributes to agile adaptation practice to help government organizations start implementing agile practice by learning from the Provincial Smart-City Agency's success through six elements adapted to enable agility: the innovative structure of the organization, flexible working hours for non-permanent employees, workflow interaction, operational flexibility in the workplace, categorization of work into dynamic flexible tasks and routine repetitive tasks, and work location. These elements are affected by several factors, some of which arise from inherent characteristics of the agile components that influence the other components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schmitt's map was one of the outstanding survey products of the late 18th century, produced through Habsburg military mapping in the shadow of the Napoleonic Wars in the area of today's southern Germany and some neighboring regions. The main geodetic basis for the map work was the series of surveys in Germany conducted by C.-F. Cassini de Thury in the 1760s. However, this was only a horizontal control for part of Schmitt's map. The Cassini survey chains were linked in the 1790s by a complementary survey in the northern part of the map work: the Staržinsky-Sarret survey, which is the subject of this study. The authors have searched through the archive summary drafts of this survey. The georeferencing of the photographed sketches in the Cassini projection was feasible with surprisingly low error. By using the global SRTM elevation database, it was possible to identify the points/summits of the Staržinsky-Sarret survey between which visibility is possible. Thus, despite the fact that only one of the seven map sketches examined explicitly presents a triangulation structure, we present a possible triangulation pattern that could have been used to provide geodetic control in the northern part of the Schmitt map. The authors consider this survey as the basis for the assumption that georeferencing the Schmitt map in its own projection is possible in this area with relatively small residual errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce a Meshfree Variational-Physics-Informed Neural Network. It is a Variational-Physics-Informed Neural Network that does not require the generation of the triangulation of the entire domain and that can be trained with an adaptive set of test functions. In order to generate the test space, we exploit an a posteriori error indicator and add test functions only where the error is higher. Four training strategies are proposed and compared. Numerical results show that the accuracy is higher than the one of a Variational-Physics-Informed Neural Network trained with the same number of test functions but defined on a quasi-uniform mesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation Integrating information from data sources representing different study designs has the potential to strengthen evidence in population health research. However, this concept of evidence "triangulation" presents a number of challenges for systematically identifying and integrating relevant information. These include the harmonization of heterogenous evidence with common semantic concepts and properties, as well as the priortization of the retrieved evidence for triangulation with the question of interest. Results We present Annotated Semantic Queries (ASQ), a natural language query interface to the integrated biomedical entities and epidemiological evidence in EpiGraphDB, which enables users to extract "claims" from a piece of unstructured text, and then investigate the evidence that could either support, contradict the claims, or offer additional information to the query. This approach has the potential to support the rapid review of preprints, grant applications, conference abstracts, and articles submitted for peer review. ASQ implements strategies to harmonize biomedical entities in different taxonomies and evidence from different sources, to facilitate evidence triangulation and interpretation. Availability and implementation ASQ is openly available at https://asq.epigraphdb.org and its source code is available at https://github.com/mrcieu/epigraphdb-asq under GPL-3.0 license. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The given text discusses Sperner's lemma, a combinatorial result related to topology, and its applications in various mathematical concepts such as simplicial complexes, orientations, and colorings. The text provides technical explanations, proofs, and examples to support the understanding of these concepts. It also mentions previous works and suggests further research in the field. The author acknowledges the contributions of others and mentions funding from the Simons Foundation. [Extracted from the article]

We prove that every triangulation of either of the torus, projective plane and Klein bottle, contains a vertex-spanning planar Laman graph as a subcomplex. Invoking a result of Király, we conclude that every 1-skeleton of a triangulation of a surface of nonnegative Euler characteristic has a rigid realization in the plane using at most 26 locations for the vertices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs multivariate analysis within a multifactorial design to investigate the author-translator style of distinguished Chinese author Eileen Chang. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), it examines Chang's stylistic multiverse across three literary types: original writing, self-translation, and regular translation of others' works. The findings reveal diverse patterns of stylistic convergence and divergence among these literary types, analyzed using the metrics of the most frequent words: 200-MFW, 20-MFW, and 5-MFW. These patterns are shaped by the perspectives introduced by two explanatory factors, translation status (original versus translated) and translation type (self-translation versus regular translation), and influenced by Chang's literary ambition, translation philosophy, and patronage. The study contributes methodologically to author-translator style research by demonstrating the effectiveness of multifactorial and multivariate approaches, which not only provide profound insights into datasets but facilitate methodological triangulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a set of dot pattern point set P with the size n in the plane, we propose a Delaunay triangulation-based shape reconstruction algorithm, entitled prudent carving, that can reconstruct the inner boundaries (holes) and outer boundaries of P with the same approach. Our prudent carving algorithm is a parameter-free algorithm that has the ability to detect multiple components, sharp corners, and nested holes independent from the number of them in the total O (n log n) time. The qualitative and quantitative comparison of the results with the state-of-the-art algorithms shows that the prudent carving algorithm provides an enhancement over the previously best-known algorithms for reconstructing the boundaries of points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we focus on the space of C 2 quartic splines on uniform criss-cross triangulations and we propose a method based on weighted essentially non-oscillatory techniques and obtained by modifying classical spline quasi-interpolants in order to approximate piecewise smooth functions avoiding Gibbs phenomenon near discontinuities and, at the same time, maintaining the high-order accuracy in smooth regions. We analyse the convergence properties of the proposed quasi-interpolants and we provide some numerical and graphical tests confirming the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a novel model to analyze serially correlated two-dimensional functional data observed sparsely and irregularly on a domain which may not be a rectangle. Our approach employs a mixed effects model that specifies the principal component functions as bivariate splines on triangles and the principal component scores as random effects which follow an auto-regressive model. We apply the thin-plate penalty for regularizing the bivariate function estimation and develop an effective EM algorithm along with Kalman filter and smoother for calculating the penalized likelihood estimates of the parameters. Our approach was applied on simulated datasets and on Texas monthly average temperature data from January year 1915 to December year 2014. Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Women with learning disabilities are less likely to access cervical and breast cancer screening when compared to the general population. The Social Ecological Model (SEM) was used to examine the inequalities faced by women with learning disabilities in accessing cervical and breast cancer screening in England, UK. Methods: The findings from a qualitative systematic review and a Q methodology study were triangulated. Framework analysis, in line with the SEM, was used to develop an integrated set of findings. Findings: Women with learning disabilities may lack knowledge of cancer symptoms, and cancer screening, as well as being scared about the process and getting the results. The attitudes of family and paid carers towards screening may influence women with learning disabilities' decisions as to whether screening is seen as favourable; support and training may ensure unbiased perspectives. Barriers were also associated with how cancer screening programmes are designed, such as postal invitations which assumes an ability to read. In addition, screening staff need to be aware of the general needs of people with learning disabilities, such as the benefits of easy‐to‐read documents. Lastly, multidisciplinary working is required so reasonable adjustments can be embedded into cancer screening pathways. Conclusion: This article highlights multiple methods to reduce the inequalities faced by women with learning disabilities, which can be achieved through reasonable adjustments. Embedding reasonable adjustments can support women with learning disabilities in making an informed decision and accessing screening if they choose to. This may result in women with learning disabilities getting a timely cancer diagnosis. Accessible Summary: Women with learning disabilities should be invited for checks to find out if they have cancer. Sometimes women with learning disabilities do not go for these checks, and we wanted to find out why.We found that women might not know about these checks or know what they will be asked to do in them. We found that women are also scared about going for the checks.Our results found there are a lot of things that can help women. Carers, nurses, and doctors can help women in knowing about the checks, and writing should have pictures to help women understand. Information can be given to women but these may not be routinely used.We found that women should be asked what can help them to go for the check. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equivariant Ehrhart theory generalizes the study of lattice point enumeration to also account for the symmetries of a polytope under a linear group action. We present a catalogue of techniques with applications in this field, including zonotopal decompositions, symmetric triangulations, combinatorial interpretation of the h ∗ -polynomial, and certificates for the (non)existence of invariant nondegenerate hypersurfaces. We apply these methods to several families of examples including hypersimplices, orbit polytopes, and graphic zonotopes, expanding the library of polytopes for which their equivariant Ehrhart theory is known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Toba Batak people are known as people who like to migrate. They can easily adapt to new environments and cultures, but the cultures such as language and customs are not something that can be easily forgotten. One of the Toba Batak people’s local wisdom that is deeply rooted and is very proud of in their life is dalihan na tolu (DNT)- which needs to be maintained so that it does not disappear. However, passing it on to children in the midst of modernization is difficult. Interethnic marriages of the Toba Batak migrants are such a challenge in internalizing the DNT values. This present study aims to analyze internalization stages of the DNT local wisdom values in the life of the Toba Batak migrants. This study was done using the explorative-qualitative research method and a case study approach to answer research problems. The data was collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis. The data obtained was validated using the data triangulation method. The results show that the internalization stages of the DNT local wisdom values included introduction, intimacy, acceptance, adjustment, implementation, and inheritance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally alcohol consumption is a leading risk factor for premature death and disability and is associated with crime, social and economic consequences. Local communities may be able to play a role in addressing alcohol-related issues in their area. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and cost–benefit of an asset-based community development approach to reducing alcohol-related harm and understand the context and factors that enable or hinder its implementation. Design: A mixed-methods evaluation. Area-level quasi-experimental trial analysed using four different evaluation methods (a stepped-wedge design where each area was a control until it entered the intervention, comparison to matched local/national controls and comparison to synthetic controls), alongside process and economic evaluations. Setting: Ten local authorities in Greater Manchester, England. Participants: The outcomes evaluation was analysed at an area level. Ninety-three lay persons representing nineareas completed questionnaires, with 12 follow-up interviews in five areas; 20 stakeholders representing ten areas were interviewed at baseline, with 17 follow-up interviews in eight areas and 26 members of the public from two areas attended focus groups. Interventions: Professionals in a co-ordinator role recruited and supported lay volunteers who were trained to become alcohol health champions. The champion's role was to provide informal, brief alcohol advice to the local population and take action to strengthen restrictions on alcohol availability. Main outcome measures: Numbers of alcohol-related hospital admissions, accident and emergency attendances, ambulance call-outs, street-level crime and antisocial behaviour in the intervention areas (area size: 1600–5500 residents). Set-up and running costs were collected alongside process evaluation data exploring barriers and facilitators. Data sources: Routinely collected quantitative data on outcome measures aggregated at the intervention area and matched control and synthetic control areas. Data from policy documents, licensing registers, meeting notes, invoices, time/cost diaries, training registers, questionnaires, interviews, reflective diaries and focus groups. Results: The intervention rolled out in nine out of ten areas, seven of which ran for a full 12 months. Areas with better-established infrastructure at baseline were able to train more champions. In total, 123 alcohol health champions were trained (95 lay volunteers and 28 professionals): lay volunteers self-reported positive impact. Champions engaged in brief advice conversations more readily than taking action on alcohol availability. There were no consistent differences in the health and crime area-level indicators between intervention areas and controls, as confirmed by using three different analysis methods for evaluating natural experiments. The intervention was not found to be cost-beneficial. Limitations: Although the sequential roll-out order of the intervention was randomised, the selection of the intervention areas was not. Self-reported impact may have been subject to social desirability bias due to the project's high profile. Conclusions: There was no measurable impact on health and crime outcomes. Possible explanations include too few volunteers trained, volunteers being unwilling to get involved in licensing decisions, or that the intervention has no direct impact on the selected outcomes. Future work: Future similar interventions should use a coproduced community outcomes framework. Other natural experiment evaluations should use methodological triangulation to strengthen inferences about effectiveness. Trial registration: This trial is registered as ISRCTN81942890. Funding: This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme (NIHR award ref: 15/129/03) and is published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 12, No. 9. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information. Plain language summary: What was the question?: Alcohol consumption puts an individual's health and social relationships at risk of harm. The more a person drinks, the more harmful it is. The harmful effects can place a burden on emergency services and hospitals. We wanted to find out whether community members can make a difference by taking action to address alcohol harm in their local area. What did we do?: Local councils in Greater Manchester developed a project called Communities in Charge of Alcohol, where volunteers in targeted local areas were trained to become 'alcohol health champions'. Alcohol health champions gave alcohol-related brief advice to people to help them drink less. They had a say about when, where and how alcohol is sold by reporting issues to their local council. We compared numbers of alcohol-related hospital admissions, accident and emergency attendances, ambulance call-outs and reports of crime and antisocial behaviour between areas that had alcohol health champions with other similar areas in England that did not. We calculated how much it costs to run and whether Communities in Charge of Alcohol could save society money. What did we find?: Not as many volunteers came forward to become an alcohol health champion as hoped for. Those who did give alcohol-related brief advice to people. They preferred not to report issues about alcohol sales to their local council, either because it was too complicated or because they did not want to be called a 'grass'. We did not find levels of alcohol harm changed in the Communities in Charge of Alcohol areas. Because of this, we could not demonstrate that Communities in Charge of Alcohol could save society money. What does this mean?: Getting involved in alcohol licensing decisions needs to be made easier for communities, with more anonymity, through the support of professionals. More work needs to be done to understand whether giving brief advice can reduce alcohol harm in whole communities. Scientific summary: Background: The availability of, and access to, alcohol is a key determinant of alcohol harm, and powers exist within the Licensing Act 2003 of England and Wales that enable the public to influence the local sale and supply of alcohol. At an individual level, implementing programmes to promote early risk identification and brief advice have the potential to reduce alcohol consumption and prevent alcohol-related harm, but there is a dearth of evidence to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of lay people having a role. The Greater Manchester (GM) Combined Authority (GMCA) and Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSCP) designed a new programme, 'Communities in Charge of Alcohol' (CICA) in 2017 to train lay volunteers to become alcohol health champions (AHCs), who would be able to (1) give alcohol-related brief advice to individuals and (2) help communities influence alcohol availability and strengthen restrictions in alcohol risk environments. Overall aims: To evaluate the effectiveness and cost–benefit of implementing a locally delivered AHC intervention and understand the context and factors that enable or hinder the intervention. Objectives: Relating to the outcome evaluation: to determine the effect on area-level key health performance indicators: alcohol-related hospital admissions (narrow measure), weekend accident and emergency (A&E) attendances (Friday 3 p.m.–Sunday 3 p.m.), weekday A&E attendances (Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. each day), weekend ambulance call-outs (Friday 3 p.m.–Sunday 3 p.m.), weekday ambulance call-outs (Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. each day) to determine the effect on key crime indicators (street-level crime data) at the weekend (Friday 3 p.m.–Sunday 3 p.m.) and weekday (Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. each day) to determine the effect on key antisocial behaviour (ASB) indicators (police recorded calls for service were classified as ASB according to the National Standard for Incident Recording). Relating to the process evaluation: to explore policy context and variation in licensing practice, including any impact of devolution in GM to explore barriers and facilitators at key stages of the implementation of the intervention: recruitment of AHCs to initial training and cascade training, delivery of initial training and cascade training, use of skills beyond the training in AHC activity, retention of AHCs to explore responses to AHC training, modelling of health behaviours, perceptions of community cohesion and development to determine numbers of brief interventions applied and community awareness events organised/participated in to examine and quantify the amount and success of community involvement in licensing issues to determine whether there was a change in composite measures of alcohol availability. Relating to the economic evaluation: to identify set-up and running costs using a standardised costing exercise to resolve costs by sector (health, ambulance and police) before, during and after set-up to quantify benefits due to reduced hospital admissions, ambulance call-outs, A&E use, crime and ASB. Methods: Communities in Charge of Alcohol was a complex intervention already planned by the GMCA in 10 small local authority areas (~1600–5500 residents each) and was outside direct researcher control. Intervention areas were chosen by each local authority public health team as having high levels of alcohol harm in comparison to the rest of the local authority. All intervention areas were at the bottom of the deprivation index, in deprivation decile 1 or 2. Using a stepped-wedge design, researchers were able to randomise the order of roll-out of intervention areas to bring a quasi-experimental approach to the evaluation. Two additional evaluation designs were used in order to triangulate findings, namely comparison to matched controls and comparison to synthetic controls. Ethical approval was received from the University of Salford Research Ethics Committee on 17 May 2017 (reference number: HSR1617–135) and obtained from the University of Bristol on 16 May 2019 (reference number: 82762). Outcome evaluation data sources: Routinely collected data at the lower-layer super output area (LSOA) level for intervention areas was compared with control areas. Data sources were as follows: alcohol-related hospital admissions data – Public Health England (now Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) accident and emergency department attendance data – NHS Digital ambulance call-out data – North West Ambulance Service reported crime and ASB data – GM Police. Analysis spanned a 10-year period (7 years pre intervention and a maximum of 3 years post implementation), ending in January 2020. Data were analysed using log-rate growth models and time series analyses to quantify the effect of the CICA programme on key performance indicators. Process evaluation data sources: Pre-implementation phase document review of local Statements of Licensing Policy (n = 9), alcohol availability composite score of on- and off-licensed premises (n = 9 areas), roll-out preparatory meeting notes. Train-the-Trainer attendance registers by area (n = 5, representing 9 areas, attended by 48 lay participants and 25 professional participants). Cascade training attendance registers by area (n = 11, representing 7 areas, attended by 47 lay participants and 3 professional participants). Pre- and post-training questionnaires (n = 93 lay people, 98% response rate). Baseline interviews with stakeholders (n = 20) (initial implementation phase); interviews with lay volunteer AHCs (n = 5, representing 3 areas) within 3–6 months of initial training (implementation phase). Follow-up interviews (12 months) with stakeholders (n = 11, representing eight areas), licensing officers (n = 6, representing six areas) and lay volunteer AHCs (n = 7, representing four areas); follow-up questionnaires with AHCs (n = 11); focus groups with local residents (n = 3 groups, representing two areas, with a total of 26 participants). Economic evaluation data sources: Time and transportation costs incurred during project meetings aggregated from meeting minutes and stakeholder time/cost diaries. Invoices for the design, development and delivery of training packages and accreditation fees. Invoices for the qualification and assessment fees, time and miscellaneous (transportation, room hire, catering, printing costs). AHC time and costs aggregated from volunteer diaries and stakeholder time/cost diaries. Invoices for engagement materials (AUDIT-C scratchcards). Greater Manchester Combined Authority research team's (formerly New Economy) cost–benefit analysis (CBA) tool was populated using aggregated outcome evaluation data to resolve costs for each key performance indicator before, during and after CICA setup. Results: Nine out of 10 local authorities rolled out the CICA intervention on their given start date: seven areas completed a full year, carrying out cascade training in the first 12 months, two areas withdrew at 6 and 9 months and one area withdrew in the pre-implementation phase. There were 118 [interquartile range (IQR): 60–205] alcohol-related hospital admissions per month per pre-intervention LSOA , rising to 134 (IQR : 67–203) post intervention. Some outcomes had very small counts at the LSOA level; notably, there were only 2 (IQR : 1–3) weekend crimes per month pre-intervention and 4 (IQR : 2–6) post intervention. The primary, stepped-wedge analyses provide weak evidence of an average increase in alcohol-related hospital admissions following the implementation of CICA of about 13%, corresponding to about 20 admissions weekly, although the confidence interval was wide, −1.98 to 31.39, and not statistically significant (p~0.09), while the analysis that made use of local controls suggested a bigger effect, at 16.4% (7.33–26.16, p < 0.001). However, the other methods of analysis (national controls and counterfactuals) indicated much smaller effect sizes and confidence intervals, including unity: 3.42% (−4.56 to 12.07; p = 0.41) and 7.14% (−9.76 to 24.04; p = 0.41), respectively. The other quantitative outcomes (A&E admissions, or ambulance call-outs to the area, nor to reported crimes or reported ASB incidents) showed some were individual statistically significant effects (with some methods and some indicators), but these were more often not in favour of the intervention. Triangulation of three methods of analysis did not indicate any consistent differences between control and intervention areas. The pre-implementation phase was defined as the period leading up to the roll-out of the first Train-the-Trainer event. Several facilitating contextual factors were identified a priori. The total number of these factors in place at baseline correlated with numbers trained in the first year (Rs = 0.77, p = 0.01). Specifically, areas with a healthcare provider to co-ordinate the intervention (p = 0.02); a pool of other volunteers to recruit from (p = 0.02); a contract in place with a commissioned service (p = 0.02); and formal volunteer arrangements (p = 0.03) trained more AHCs. Across all nine areas, fewer volunteers were recruited than the anticipated target of 35 per area. In total, 123 AHCs were trained and gained a Royal Society for Public Health Level 2 qualification. Of these, 95 were lay volunteers from the intervention areas. The majority identified as white (70%), with ages ranging from 18 to 65+, and almost half aged between 41 and 60 (48%). Slightly more women volunteered compared to men (61%). Most AHCs self-reported being in the lower-risk drinking category (66% scored 0–4 on AUDIT-C). Post-training questionnaires suggested that volunteers felt more confident to talk about the harms associated with alcohol and give alcohol-related brief advice than they did pre training (91.4% compared with 79.6%, p < 0.001) and that they felt more confident to raise issues about venues selling alcohol (90.3% compared with 74.2% pre training, p < 0.001). Intervention areas that recorded AHC activity (n = 5) captured 1100 conversations, 251 AUDIT-Cs completed and 65 community events attended. Time/cost diaries suggested that AHCs spent on average 11 minutes having an informal brief advice conversation. Interviews with AHCs on self-reported activity were consistent with time/cost and reflective diaries: AHCs put into practice brief advice conversations more than community action to influence licensing. Interviews with stakeholders indicated several enabling factors to consider when rolling out and embedding an AHC intervention: a clear understanding of the place-based focus; commissioned provider services needing a clear understanding of own roles and the anticipated outcomes; and co-ordinators having the skills and capacity to support inexperienced volunteer groups. The importance of infrastructure was reflected in interviews, recognising that preparing the ground at a hyperlocal level takes time, needing to be well in advance of the formal implementation period. Recruitment strategies need to be multipronged, and stakeholders need to be prepared to provide a sustained period of support for new and existing champions. In the follow-up phase, 12 months post intervention, interviews with stakeholders revealed how the local co-ordinators' ability to operationalise and sustain CICA was significantly impacted by their lack of capacity to sustain the levels of support, as well as the complexity of skills required of the role. After 12 months, there was strong consistency in findings from follow-up interviews with stakeholders, AHCs and focus groups with members of the public. Communities in Charge of Alcohol's intended mechanism of action was to reduce alcohol-related harm through secondary prevention interventions; however perceptions of those most in need of an AHC conversation were 'problem drinkers' to signpost into tertiary interventions. Quality of local alcohol treatment services was considered to be poor, with multiple barriers to help and information seeking. Conclusions: To our knowledge, CICA is the first alcohol-focused champion role of its kind to be investigated and across multiple intervention sites. It is also the first evaluation of a health champion programme that uses methodological triangulation to strengthen inferences about effectiveness. There was evidence that lay people trained as AHCs were able to have conversations with members of their communities who were consuming alcohol at higher risk levels, demonstrating a level of skill and confidence that can sometimes be absent in health professionals. AHCs, their co-ordinators and the public valued the role. However, significant infrastructure is needed to support an intervention such as CICA , and time is needed to develop and embed a group of volunteers. Despite evidence (from the process evaluation) of the planned activity taking place at local level, we were not able to show that CICA was effective, nor was it cost-effective. There are likely to be two main reasons for this. Firstly, the number of champions trained was too small to have a sufficient number of brief advice conversations to generate any measurable effect at the area level of analysis. Moreover, brief interventions may not directly impact on primary health and crime outcomes at a population level. Secondly, the AHCs were less willing (and had less opportunity) to get involved with alcohol licensing decisions. Since licensing policies theoretically have an impact at an area level, this theoretically would have been more likely to generate a significant area-level effect. The evidence from this study is that communities continue to struggle to influence statutory processes that affect alcohol availability where they live, and further consideration of how to enable increased community engagement is necessary. Recommendations for future research (numbered in priority order): natural experiment evaluations should include methodological triangulation to guard against overinterpretation of spurious results investigate coproducing a community outcomes framework to measure reductions in alcohol harm evaluate whether rebalancing local licensing policy to be community-centred might increase community engagement in the local licensing decision-making process investigate the effectiveness of CICA in areas where indicators of alcohol harm are increasing but are not at the highest level of harm within the local authority a wider range of external contextual factors could be tested in the pre-implementation phase of a complex intervention, incorporating methods to combine factors into mean scores, to test relationships between process indicators and outcomes. Trial registration: This trial is registered as ISRCTN81942890. Funding: This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme (NIHR award ref: 15/129/03) and is published in full in Public Health Research; Vol. 12, No. 9. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript presents a comprehensive exploration of an innovative active learning approach implemented in a Master's Degree in Construction Engineering program. The pedagogical intervention involved a series of competitive battles among student teams, wherein each team formulated and presented multiple-choice questions to their peers. The study aims to provide a detailed account of the implementation process, assess the effectiveness of this approach, and evaluate its impact on students' learning and motivation. The assessment was conducted through triangulation of experiences, surveys, and interviews. The results provide key insights into how Team-Based Questioning Battles can foster highly competitive environments, enhancing the learning experience, understanding, and retention of concepts, all while motivating and engaging students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the investigation of logistic regression models utilizing sparse triangulation within a compact domain in R², this study addresses the limited research extending the triogram model to logistic regression. A primary challenge arises from the potential instability induced by a large number of vertices, hindering the effective modeling of complex relationships. To mitigate this challenge, we propose introducing sparsity to boundary vertices of the triangulation based on the Ramer-Douglas-Peucker algorithm and employing the K-means algorithm for adaptive vertex initialization. A second order coordinate-wise descent algorithm is adopted to implement the proposed method. Validation of the proposed algorithm’s stability and performance assessment are conducted using synthetic and handwritten digit data (LeCun et al., 1989). Results demonstrate the advantages of our method over existing methodologies, particularly when dealing with non-rectangular data domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We present a unique triangulation measurement of Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE) observed on Sept 3rd, 2022, at Athabasca, Canada. Using two Digital single‐lens reflex (DSLR) color cameras with all‐sky fish‐eye lenses, we show the profile of STEVE altitude variation over time in 1 min resolution for the first time. We estimate the altitude variation of its visible purplish arc and green picket fence structures. We also compare the DLSR camera images with narrowband all‐sky images of an Optical Mesosphere Thermosphere Imager (OMTI) to see the correspondence of color camera images with 630 nm and OH‐band auroral/airglow emission images. The height of the purplish STEVE arc was stable at 150–170 km while present (∼0,546–0,633 UT), except for a short excursion to ∼200 km at 0,600 UT. The green picket fence structures appeared at 0,549 UT when the intensity of the STEVE arc started to intensify. They presented only for ∼7 min, and their altitude was steady at ∼110 km. The vertical movement of the STEVE arc to ∼200 km was found to be accompanied by the motion across the local magnetic field lines, suggesting a southward E × B drift underlying the westward ion drift. From the comparison with the OMTI images, we find that the purplish STEVE arc moved closer to the 630 nm arc in the all‐sky image when it rose to a higher altitude, indicating the occurrence of electron heating at a same or slightly higher altitude than the STEVE. Plain Language Summary: The Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE) is a longitudinally extended purplish/mauve arc observed at subauroral latitudes, a region slightly equatorward of the typical aurora region. The morphological (shape and motion) characteristics of STEVE indicate that STEVE originates differently from typical aurora. Although it has been suggested that some chemical progresses are possibly triggering a STEVE, significant differences between observation and model still remain. The understanding of STEVE morphological characteristics, especially temporal features of STEVE development, will be helpful to improve our understanding about the STEVE generation. This paper presents a case study regarding the time variation of STEVE altitudes. The altitudes of STEVE are determined by triangulation using two color all‐sky cameras. We found that though the height of STEVE arc was stable for most of the time, it also rose and then descended for a short period. We also compared the images with camera detecting several wavelengths, and found that the STEVE moved closer to the red (wavelength: 630 nm, originating from oxygen) auroral arc in the all‐sky image when the STEVE elevated. This paper presents the first estimation of the temporal variation of STEVE altitudes. Key Points: First estimation of temporal variation of the altitudes of a Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE)The estimated height of the STEVE arc was stable at ∼150–170 km for most of the time, except for a short elevation to ∼200 kmThe vertical motion of the STEVE arc entailed crossing of local magnetic field lines, and it moved closer to the 630 nm emission [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on Katherine Verdery's Transylvanian villagers and fieldwork in Latvia, this article discusses triangulation as an imperial power device whereby one actor makes an alliance with another to influence a third. The social and political field within which triangulation is deployed is not a flat world of nation-states or networks, but a three-dimensional social and political field. The actors involved are not of the same kind (e.g., ethnic groups or nation-states), nor are they arranged in binary pairs (e.g., colonizer and the colonized). Most importantly, triangulation is not a power device deployed solely by the empire's agents. It is also used by subjects of empire to pursue their own ends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper submits that the hegemonic order in celebrity studies is fixated upon questions of utility, yield and economic asset value. These technical considerations support a technocratic engagement with celebrity that exaggerates the importance of technology and linearity. By the same token, it devalues philosophical perspectives that address questions of Transcendence and Ultimate Meaning. The term 'Triangulation' is introduced to describe the dominant paradigm in celebrity studies. The paper develops the case that to ignore these philosophical issues impoverishes the domain of celebrity studies. The value of these questions is demonstrated by discussing the relevance of Kant's concepts of noumena and noumena, Hegel's account of World Historical Individuals. This material is used to advance the value of phenomenological perspectives, notably the contributions of Bergson and Husserl, in respect of time and space, in the analysis of celebrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the problem of estimating the error in calculating the gradient of functions of Sobolev classes for piecewise linear approximation on triangulations. Traditionally, problems of this kind are considered for continuously differentiable functions. In this case, the corresponding estimates reflect both the smoothness class of the functions and the quality of the triangulation simplexes. However, in problems of substantiating the existence of a solution to a variational problem in the nonlinear theory of elasticity, conditions arise for permissible deformations in terms of generalized derivatives. Therefore, for the numerical solution of these problems, conditions are required that provide the necessary approximation of the derivatives of continuous functions of the Sobolev classes. In this article, an integral estimate of the indicated error for continuously differentiable functions is obtained in terms of the norms of the corresponding spaces for functions that reflect, on the one hand, the quality of triangulation of the polygonal region, and on the other hand, the class of functions with generalized derivatives. The latter is expressed in terms of the majorant of the modulus of continuity of the gradient. To obtain the final estimate, the possibility of passing to the limit using the norm of the Sobolev space is proven.

We introduce the abstract notion of a chain, which is a sequence of n points in the plane, ordered by xcoordinates, so that the edge between any two consecutive points is unavoidable as far as triangulations are concerned. A general theory of the structural properties of chains is developed, alongside a general understanding of their number of triangulations. We also describe an intriguing new and concrete configuration, which we call the Koch chain due to itssimilarities to the Koch curve. A specific construction based on Koch chains is then shown to have Ω(9.08n ) triangulations. This is a significant improvement over the previous and long-standing lower bound of Ω(8.65n ) for the maximum number of triangulations of planar point sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a weak Galerkin finite element approximation for a class of fourth-order singularly perturbed parabolic problems. The problem exhibits boundary layers and so we have considered layer adapted triangulations, in particular Shishkin triangular mesh in the spatial domain. For temporal discretization, we utilize the Crank-Nicolson scheme on a uniform mesh. Stability and error estimates along with the uniform convergence of the method has been proved. Numerical examples are included which verifies our analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the classical Riemannian systolic inequality of Gromov, we present a combinatorial analogue providing a lower bound on the number of vertices of a simplicial complex in terms of its edge-path systole. Similarly to the Riemannian case, where the inequality holds under a topological assumption of "essentiality", our proofs rely on a combinatorial analogue of that assumption. Under a stronger assumption, expressed in terms of cohomology cup-length, we improve our results quantitatively. We also illustrate our methods in the continuous setting, generalizing and improving quantitatively the Minkowski principle of Balacheff and Karam; a corollary of this result is the extension of the Guth–Nakamura cup-length systolic bound from manifolds to complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a lattice path ν from the origin to a point (a, b) using steps E = (1 , 0) and N = (0 , 1) , we construct an associated flow polytope F G ^ B (ν) arising from an acyclic graph where bidirectional edges are permitted. We show that the flow polytope F G ^ B (ν) admits a subdivision dual to a (w - 1) -simplex, where w is the number of valleys in the path ν ¯ = E ν N . Refinements of this subdivision can be obtained by reductions of a polynomial P ν in a generalization of Mészáros' subdivision algebra for acyclic root polytopes where negative roots are allowed. Via an integral equivalence between F G ^ B (ν) and the product of simplices Δ a × Δ b , we thereby obtain a subdivision algebra for a product of two simplices. As a special case, we give a reduction order for reducing P ν that yields the cyclic ν -Tamari complex of Ceballos, Padrol, and Sarmiento. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducts an in-depth analysis of 820 maps with a focus on the western coast of the Black Sea, from Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi to Cape Kaliakra, and gives special attention to the Danube Delta. The research highlights Pietro Vesconte's critical role in the accurate depiction of the area and examines the stylistic developments over time and their effects on the mapping of the region. It also delves into the relationship between navigational practices and cartographic representation, noting the limited influence of Ottoman conquests on local mapping techniques. The study draws attention to a resurgence in the use of Ptolemaic principles, occurring simultaneously with the adoption of modern surveying techniques, such as triangulation. By concentrating on the Danube Delta and the adjacent coast of the Black Sea, the study provides a detailed understanding of the cartographic history of the area, highlighting the mix of precision and creative interpretation in maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A necessary and sufficient condition is established for the strict inequality pc(G∗)

Abstract Employer of choice (EOC) is a relatively new phenomenon, particularly in Human Resources Management. Existing employees and prospective talent have reasons and expectations to designate an employer as an EOC. While EOC has received extensive attention from both academics and practitioners over the past few years, the work has mostly focused on managerial and marketing perspectives, and thus far lacks a strong theoretical foundation. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory (SET), based on Human Resources and employees’ perceptions and experiences, this research aims to explore and investigate the factors that constitute/designate an employer as an Employer of Choice EOC. Two qualitative triangulated data sets were collected from existing full-time employees at a Saudi multinational corporation: open interviews and document analysis (cross-sectional and longitudinal). Thematic analysis (TA) was employed to analyze both methods. The findings reveal that company image, training, and development, satisfaction, involvement and commitment, fairness, work culture, reward, opportunities for growth, teamwork, motivation, and corporate social responsibility are the factors that lead employees to designate an employer as an EOC. This research contributes to knowledge conceptually, theoretically, and empirically, mainly in the area of Human Resources Management. This research represents one of the first studies to empirically identify and investigate employee-related factors and evaluate them all together in a multinational Saudi organization. Recognizing the findings of this empirical-based research assists HR managers in designating their organizations as an EOC for current employees and prospective talents.

The article introduces triangulation to converge evidence from corpus and experimental data, by means of two case studies in second language (L2) learners of Greek. The first case study investigates the acquisition of gender agreement, while the second probes the development of relative clauses. In both studies, findings from the corpus are tested against online experimentation using eye‐tracking and self‐paced reading tasks, a combination that is scarce in research implementing triangulation. The findings suggest that methodological convergence yields both congruous and incongruous evidence. However, both types of evidence contribute to a nuanced understanding of the linguistic phenomena under study, as well as the different perspectives from which they are approached. The article concludes that such an approach to triangulation can significantly contribute to enhancing the reliability and validity of the findings, provided that methodological convergence has been achieved at the design level of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the potential of an Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) system to enhance search-and-rescue operations. While prior research has explored ISAC capabilities in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), our study focuses on addressing the specific challenges posed by modern communication standards (e.g., power, frequency, and bandwidth limitations) in the context of search-and-rescue missions. The paper details effective methods for processing echoed signals generated by downlink transmissions and evaluates key performance indicators, including Noise Equivalent Sigma Zero (NESZ) and channel capacity. Additionally, we utilize synchronization uplink signals transmitted by User Equipment (UE) to improve target detection and classification of possible victims by fusing SAR imagery with triangulation results from uplink signals. An experimental campaign validates the proposed setup by integrating SAR images of the environment with active localization results, both produced by a UAV equipped with a Software Defined Radio (SDR) payload. Our results demonstrate the system's capability to detect and localize buried targets in avalanche scenarios, with localization errors ranging from centimeters to 10 m depending on environmental conditions. This successful integration highlights the practical applicability of our approach in challenging search-and-rescue missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates precision enhancement in regional quasi-geoid refinement through ADS80 tri-linear array scanning stereoscopic imagery for aerial triangulation coupled with GNSS gravity-potential modeling. By acquiring stereoscopic imagery and analyzing triangulation accuracy using an ADS80 camera, we performed this study over the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau's elevated, desolate terrain, collecting 593 GNSS points following high-precision stereoscopic imagery modeling. By utilizing 12 gravity satellite models, we computed geoid heights and China's 1985 Yellow Sea elevations for 28 benchmarks and GNSS points, thereby refining the Qinghai Province Quasi-Geoid Model (QPQM) using geometric techniques. The findings reveal that POS-assisted ADS80 stereoscopic imagery yields high-precision triangulation with maximal horizontal and elevation accuracies of 0.083/0.116 cm and 0.053/0.09 cm, respectively, across five control point arrangements. The RMSE of normal heights for 1985, processed via these GNSS points, achieved decimeter precision. By applying error corrections from benchmarks to the 1985 elevation data from gravity satellites and performing weighted averaging, the precision of EGM2008, SGG-UGM-2, and SGG-UGM-1 models improved to 8.61 cm, 9.09 cm, and 9.38 cm, respectively, surpassing the QPQM by 9.22 cm to 9.99 cm. This research demonstrates that the proposed methods can significantly enhance the precision of regional quasi-geoid surfaces. Additionally, these methods offer a novel approach for rapidly establishing regional quasi-geoid models in the uninhabited areas of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grid map, often referred to as the tile map, stands as a vital tool in geospatial visualization, possessing unique attributes that differentiate it from more commonly known techniques such as choropleths and cartograms. It transforms geographic regions into grids, which requires the displacement of both region centroids and boundary nodes to establish a coherent grid arrangement. However, existing approaches typically displace region centroids and boundary nodes separately, potentially resulting in self‐intersected boundaries and compromised relative orientation relations between regions. In this article, we introduce a novel approach that leverages the Snake displacement algorithm from cartographic generalization to concurrently displace region centroids and boundary nodes. The revised constrained Delaunay triangulation (CDT) is employed to represent the relations between regions and serves as a structural foundation for the Snake algorithm. Forces for displacing the region centroids into a grid‐like pattern are then computed. These forces are iteratively applied within the Snake model until a satisfactory new boundary is achieved. Subsequently, the grid map is created by aligning the grids with the newly generated boundary, utilizing a one‐to‐one match algorithm to assign each region to a specific grid. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach excels in maintaining the relative orientation and global shape of regions, albeit with a potential increase in local location deviations. We also present two strategies aligned with existing approaches to generate diverse grid maps for user preferences. Further details and resources are available on our project website: https://github.com/TrentonWei/DorlingMap.git. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser Triangulation On-Machine Measurement (LTOMM) is being implemented increasingly to inspect aeronautical components accurately and efficiently, with its enhanced application in adaptive machining. This work proposes an error compensation and controlling method for measuring the typical features of steps, holes, and freeform surfaces to improve accuracy. Then, the global path to inspect the cabin's structures is planned by introducing optimization algorithms, thus providing an appropriate sequence to shorten the traveling length. After these, the test piece was designed, measured, and manufactured using the adaptive machining process that integrates the LTOMM. The results show that the measurement errors of steps, holes, and freeform surfaces are +0.0092, −0.006, and +0.0406 mm, respectively, and further reduced to +0.0013, −0.0019, and +0.0083 mm after error controlling. The cabin's freeform surface was fabricated with the maximum positive and minimum negative errors of +0.184 and −0.123 mm, which is evaluated by the mechanical probe. The measured data-driven machining process can guarantee that the error satisfies the required tolerance, promoting the application of the LTOMM process in aeronautical intelligent manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]